Lesson 2

A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens
What you will need
• A copy of the novella – A Christmas Carol
• Exercise book / Workbook 1 (ACC)
• Pencil case
• Quiet space to access the lesson from
Lesson 2 starter and homework check
You completed an SPO for homework on why Charles Dicken wrote A
Christmas Carol.
T.S. Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol because he believed the
poor and destitute deserved better.
D.S.1……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
D.S.2……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
D.S.3……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
D.S.4……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Convert the SPO into a paragraph. Do not complete the concluding
sentence.
 key moments in the story e.g. climax
LI: Identify the plot points of A
Novella written by CD in 1843. set in London Christmas Carol and the reasons
Dickens used the narrative genre.

fictional story
Recap: Just how much did Dickens’ upbringing
influence his views and values?
Dickens, when interviewed in the final years of his life, commented on
his time as a child labourer:
The deep remembrance of the sense I had of being utterly neglected
and hopeless; of the shame I felt in my position; of the misery it was to
my young heart to believe that, day by day, what I had learned, and
thought, and delighted in, and raised my fancy and my emulation up by,
was passing away from me, never to be brought back any more, cannot
be written. My whole nature was so penetrated with the grief and
humiliation of such considerations, that even now, famous and caressed
and happy, I often forget in my dreams that I have a dear wife and
children; even that I am a man; and wander desolately back to that
time of my life.
So why did Dickens write A Christmas Carol?

• He felt people had lost the spirit of giving at Christmas.

• He wanted people to be more charitable, especially the wealthy upper class.
• He felt he needed to advocate on behalf of the poor, particularly children.
• He could empathise with the poor, especially child labourers as he had
experienced it himself as a child.
• He felt a short narrative would be the most powerful way of getting his message
across. He believed it would create a ‘sledgehammer blow’ on behalf of poor
children and have ‘twenty thousand times the force’ of a pamphlet.
• He wanted his readers to realise that if they continued to deny poor children the
necessities of life – such as food, shelter, warm clothing, healthcare and an
education – they would grow up to become dangerous, violent adults.
Social Reform
Reform – making changes in order to improve something.
You will remember from our prisons unit that prisons were reformed to improve human rights.

Social – relates to society and the way we live together

This means social reform is when people seek to make changes to society in order to improve life
for people.
Social Issues:
• Homeless shelters
• Suffrage
• Treatment of prisoners

Charles Dickens was a social reformer because he sought to raise the quality of life for others.
Social reform used correctly?
1. Social reform has long been a goal of adult education (Yes / No)

2. I am a social reformer because I won’t watch the news with the rest
of the family. (Yes / No)

3. Social reform was required in the football team so they could score
more goals (Yes / No)

4. Social reform helped bring about the change to the marriage act
which means same-sex couples can marry. (Yes / No)
Sentence unscramble

• change charles poor desired dickens for the

Charles Dickens desired change for the poor.

• campaigned dickens rights social reforms other childrens for and

education

Dickens campaigned for children’s rights, education and other social

reforms.
Time to parse

Charles Dickens desired change for the poor.

Now it’s your turn. Parse the following sentence by writing each word
class alongside it.

Dickens campaigned for children’s rights, education and other social

reforms.
Dickens (n) campaigned (v) for (prep) children’s (adj) rights (n),
education (n) and (conj) other (adj) social (adj) reforms (n).
Sentence structure

Charles Dickens desired change for the poor.

Dickens campaigned for children’s rights, education and other social

reforms.
Plot Points – A Christmas Carol
1. Ebeneezer Scrooge introduced as a greedy banker who doesn’t care about
Christmas.

2. Scrooge is visited by Marley, his former business partner, in the form of a ghost.
Marley warns him he needs to change or be condemned for life.

3. Scrooge is paid a visit by the ghosts of Christmas ‘Past’, ‘Present’ and ‘Yet to
Come’ and the misery in his life has been laid out in front of him.

4. Scrooge realises he needs to be happy and to believe in the spirit of Christmas or

he will die as a lonely old man.

5. After the visit by the ghosts, Scrooge is returned to the real world. He happily
joins friends and family for dinner on Christmas Day.
Let’s read pages 1-5
As we read, keep in mind our plot points from earlier in the lesson.
After reading, you will be asked to share what we learn about Scrooge.
Let’s read pages 1-5
Now that we’ve read the first five pages, turn to the character
description section of your booklet to write what we’ve learned about
Scrooge.
- His business partner was Marley.
- He was Marley’s only friend.
- Business was important to Scrooge.
- He was a miserable, tight-fisted man who did not mix with other
people.
- He doesn’t like Christmas.
Homework
Read pg 6 – 15.
After reading:
- Add to your notes about Scrooge.
Learning Review Live Chat
1. Please sign in
2. Do you have any questions from the lesson?

Quick Fire Questions (general recap from the beginning of unit)

• What is social reform? Provide an example.
• What did Dickens campaign for?
• Who is Scrooge?
• Who is Marley?

Short answer questions

In the chat function, write two adjectives that could be used to describe Scrooge.