English - Worle Community School

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WCSA

English

Home Learning and Key Revision Book

Learning Cycle 3

English Language and Literature

Name: ___________________________Tutor Group: 10___

English Teacher(s): ________________________________

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Learning Cycle 3

The aim of the homework throughout Year 10 is to build up comprehensive revision notes ready for

revision in Year 11 – the more work you do now, the easier your revision process will be later next year!

February

10 11 12 13 14 Teaching week 1

17 18 19 20 21 Half Term


March





April


6 7 8 9 10 Easter Break

13 14 15 16 17 Easter Break

20 21 22 23 24 Assessment week

27 28 29 30 1 Super Teaching week

Useful Websites

http://literary-devices.com/

http://www.stormfax.com/1dickens.htm - (Full text online for free)

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/christmascarol/

https://www.yorknotes.com/gcse/english-literature/a-christmas-carol-2017/revision-cards/01_characters

https://www.bbc.com/education/topics/zcs8qty

http://literary-devices.com/

http://www.stormfax.com/1dickens.htm

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/christmascarol/

https://www.yorknotes.com/gcse/english-literature/a-christmas-carol-2017/revision-cards/01_characters

https://www.bbc.com/education/topics/zcs8qty

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Context – A Christmas Carol was written by Charles Dickens in 1843 Charles Dickens – Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and spent the first years of his life in Kent, England. At 9, he moved to London. At 12, his father was sent to debtors’ prison for racking up huge debts, and Charles was given a painful job labelling bottles near the prison. He found this period in his life hellish, and it doubtlessly led him to draw readers’ attention to the plight of the poor when he later found success as an author. Many of his works are about social hardships and inequalities.

Class Divides – Despite industrial changes altering the social landscape, there were still relatively distinct social classes in operation: the nobility upper class, the middle class, and the working class. Life was terrible for the poorest: Lack of money resulted in a negligible food supply. For some working families, money was so tight that they required their children to work in order to survive.

The Victorian Era– The Victorian era describes the period in which Queen Victoria sat on the English throne – between 1837 and 1901 (most of Dickens’ life). Whilst this was a time of industrial revolution, it was also an extremely harsh time to live, and the differences between the lives of the richest and the poorest were exacerbated. The Victorian era was a period of great change. In this time, the population of England doubled – from 16.8 million 1851 to over 30 million in 1901.

Health and Medicine –Healthcare was more of a luxury at the time, and medicine was nowhere near as advanced today, Many diseases were rife, and childbirth and poverty were very real dangers to people living in the era. As a result, a middle class person may expect to live to 45 at the time, whereas a working class person would have been lucky to have lived half that time. In A Christmas Carol, the restrictions in healthcare are evident in Tiny Tim’s continued suffering.

Workhouses– A workhouse was a place where a person went if they could not afford to financially support themselves and their families. Men, women and children (mostly orphans) lived and worked in the workhouses, which were very crowded – making living conditions unhealthy and unpleasant. People slept in dormitories, where disease was easily spread. In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge voices his support for workhouses.

Christmas– We now associate Christmas as being a time of seasonal goodwill, love and friendship. However, before the Victorian era, when writers such as Dickens spread these messages through their novels, there was no Santa Claus, Christmas cards, and no holidays from work! Christmas Day was a far more low-key affair. Writers such as Dickens encouraged middle-class families to share their wealth and act selflessly.

Main Characters – Consider what Dickens intended through his characterisation of each of the below… Ebenezer Scrooge – Scrooge is the lead protagonist of the novella. He is a miserly owner of a counting house (what would now be called an accountant’s office). Initially greedy, selfish and cold, Scrooge hates Christmas and lacks any form of Christmas spirit. He experiences a moral and psychological transformation through his visits from the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come.

The Cratchits– Bob Cratchit is Scrooge’s kind, mild-mannered clerk, who is treated terribly by his employer. He is a very poor man, with a large family, including Tiny Tim. Tiny Tim is a young boy who has been born with physical disabilities that his family are too poor to have treated. Despite these hardships, the family are cheery and determined to enjoy the few positives that they can get from life.

Quote: “It's enough for a man to understand his own business” Quote: “I am sure we shall none of us forget poor Tiny Tim” Jacob Marley and Fred– Joseph Marley is Scrooge’s late business partner, and Fred is Scrooge’s nephew. They represent the two extremes of Christmas spirit. Joseph Marley symbolises the limitations of a life-lived focused on greed and selfishness, whilst Fred’s life appears fulfilled through his perpetual joy, kindness and interactions with others. After his death, Joseph Marley has been condemned to wander the world as a miserable ghost.

The Ghost of Christmas Past – This is the first spirit to visit Scrooge. He is a curious child-like figure that has an illuminated head, symbolising how shining a light on memories from the past can be used to illuminate one’s thoughts and behaviours in the future. The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge to a number of places from his childhood and early adulthood, including his old school, hometown, and the scene of his engagement being broken off.

Quote: "you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate.” Quote: “Strange to have forgotten it for so many years!”

The Ghost of Christmas Present – The Ghost of Christmas Present is the second of the three ghosts to visit Scrooge. He is a majestic jolly giant, who is dressed in a green robe. His lifespan is restricted to Christmas Day, and he has ‘over 1800 brothers’, representative of the other Christmas Days that were once in the present. He escorts Scrooge on a tour of how his contemporaries spend Christmas day, to force him to contemplate his own solitary existence. He also shows him the need to consider ‘Want’ and ‘Ignorance.’

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come – The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is the third and final spirit to visit Scrooge. He is a silent phantom that is clad in robes (he rather resembles common characterisations of ‘Death’). He presents Scrooge with an ominous view of his own death: the only people who his death remotely affects are those he owes money to (who are relieved), those who can make money from him (such as those dealing with his estate) and those who he could have saved (Tiny Tim).

Old Major Quote: ““Come in! and know me better, man!” Quote: "The Spirit answered not, but pointed onward with its hand.’

Themes – A theme is an idea or message that runs throughout a text.

Greed and Selfishness – Characters such as Scrooge represent the selfish middle classes, who sought to amass, rather than share their wealth. Jacob Marley demonstrates the burden that such a selfish life will inevitably bring. Through these characters and the events of the novel, Dickens criticises how wealth had become associated with the root of happiness, at the expense of close relationships and goodwill. Divisions– Divisions are evident throughout the novel, as those with power and money seek simply to exert and recycle their advantages over those without (rather than aiding them). The book shines a light on the plight faced by poor families such as the Cratchits, which demonises the negative attitudes towards the poor held by the rich. Transformation – Physical transformations are evident throughout A Christmas Carol, as objects, settings, and characters appear and vanish under the manipulation of the ghosts. Spiritual transformations take place too, as the reader witnesses a lonely boy’s transformation into an embittered old man, and the efforts made to transform his character to reconnect with those around him. Time – Time is stretched by the ghosts – the events that Scrooge experiences appear to have taken days, and yet all takes place in the space of one night. A race against time is also taking place, as the spirits work to prevent Scrooge (and in turn, Tiny Tim) from experiencing their fateful demise. The reader is taught to value the time that we have, and use it to spread happiness to others.

KNOWLEDGE ORGANISER

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Scene-by-Scene Summary – Alongside key quotations from each scene.

STAVE ONE

It is a foggy Christmas Eve, and Scrooge is working in his counting house. He refuses to buy another lump of coal to heat Bob Cratchit’s (his clerk’s) office. Scrooge’s cheerful nephew, Fred, enters, inviting Scrooge to Christmas party,

but he declines. After he leaves, two gentlemen enter, asking if Scrooge is willing to make a charitable donation to the poor. Scrooge again declines. He begrudgingly gives Bob Cratchit the day off. Scrooge follows his usual routine

on the way home. At home, he sees the ghost of his old business partner (Jacob Marley) in the knocker. Marley is in chains as punishment for his selfishness and greed when living. He says that he seeks to save Scrooge from the same fate,

and hence Scrooge will be visited by 3 ghosts over the next 3 nights.

“Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about

that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman,

the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner.

Scrooge signed it.”

STAVE TWO

Scrooge is confused to wake at midnight, as it was after 2am when he went to sleep. At one o clock, Scrooge is visited by a strange child-like figure that

emanates wisdom – The Ghost of Christmas Past. The spirit touches Scrooges heart, granting the power to fly. The ghost takes Scrooge back to where he

was raised – Scrooge is touched by memories of his childhood. He sees himself as a schoolboy spending Christmas alone, being visited by his sister (linking to

the theme of family), being at a party held by Scrooge’s old boss Fezziwig, and with his old partner Belle, who is breaking off their engagement on

account of his greed. He sees Belle in a more modern time, with her husband, discussing how Scrooge is now ‘quite alone in the world.’ Scrooge is upset by the visions, and begs with the ghost to take him back home. Scrooge finds

himself back in his bedroom, where he once again falls asleep almost instantly.

“But the strangest thing about it was, that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible; and which

was doubtless the occasion of its using, in its duller moments, a great extinguisher for a cap,

which it now held under its arm.”

STAVE THREE

The bell strikes one, and Scrooge is awake once more. At fifteen minutes past one, he wanders into the next room, where he finds the Ghost of Christmas

Present waiting for him. He is a majestic jolly giant, and sits atop of a mountain of food. The spirit takes Scrooge to the bustling streets on Christmas

morning, where passers-by joyfully greet each other. The spirit then takes Scrooge to the home of Bob Cratchit, where the family savour the Christmas

that they can afford. Their visibly-ill son, Tiny Tim, is cheering despite his ailments. Scrooge begs to know whether he will survive. They also visit Fred’s

Christmas party, which Scrooge enjoys (though no one can see him). Eventually, Scrooge is brought to a vast expanse, where two sickly children, ‘Want’ and ‘Ignorance’ emerge. When Scrooge asks if there is anything that

can be done, the spirit mocks his prior selfishness.

“Its dark brown curls were long and free;

free as its genial face, its sparkling eye, its

open hand, its cheery voice, its

unconstrained demeanour, and its

joyful air.”

STAVE FOUR

Scrooge is approached by a hooded phantom. The spirit is silent, and Scrooge is terrified by him. Scrooge pleads with him to provide his next lesson. The

ghost takes him to the stock exchange, where men discuss the accounts of a rich man, a dingy pawn shop, where the rich man’s stolen goods are being

sold, and the Cratchit household, where the family struggles with the death of Tiny Tim. Scrooge is then taken to a freshly dug grave in a graveyard. The gravestone reveals that it is his own grave. Appalled, Scrooge begs with the spirit to give him another chance to show that he has learnt his lesson. The phantom begins to tremble and disappears, and once again Scrooge finds

himself in the relative safety of his own bed.

I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to

do me good, and as I hope to live to be another

man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with

a thankful heart”

STAVE FIVE

Scrooge realises that he has been returned to Christmas morning, and is utterly overjoyed. He pays the first boy that he meets a huge sum to deliver a great big turkey to Bob Cratchit’s household. He bumps into the gentlemen

collecting for charity, apologises for his prior behaviour, and promises to donate lots of money to the poor. He attends Fred’s party and is so happy and kind that the other guests can barely believe his behaviour. The next morning,

he pretends to scold Bob Cratchit for arriving late, before promising to give him a large raise and to care for his family. As time passes by, he stays true to

his word – he helps the Cratchits and becomes like a second father to Tiny Tim, who does not die. Scrooge brings Christmas cheer to every day, and shrugs off the doubts that others have about his changed behaviour. The

narrator concludes by suggesting that Scrooge’s changed attitude and behaviour should be shared by everyone.

“He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but

lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever

afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any

man alive possessed the knowledge….God bless us all, every one!”

Dickens’ Literary Devices Structural Features

Simile This gives the reader a better image of

characters and places, e. g Scrooge described as ‘hard and sharp as a flint.’

Five Staves – The story is set out in five Staves – a structure that mimics musical organization – the opening sets the scene, the middle is the turning point, and the last stave concludes.

Clear Narrative Viewpoint

The narrator gives views to tell the reader how to think – e.g. Scrooge was a ‘tight-

fisted hand at the grindstone.’

Surface Level Story – A literal story that works on a surface level, e.g. The story of one cruel and harsh man being visited by ghosts who teach him a lesson, making him kind and compassionate.

Metaphor Used to represent deeper meanings and

ideas. For example, the children ‘Want’ and ‘Ignorance’ represent the poor in society.

Symbolic Level Story – A deeper, more hidden meaning to the story, e.g. There exists a selfish society, who needs to heed this warning, in order to become more caring.

Personification To emphasise the atmosphere of places and settings: e.g. ‘the crisp air laughed to hear it.’

The Number 3 – Scrooge is visited by 3 ghosts: Past, Present, and Yet to Come. This is a common feature in magical fairy stories: e.g. 3 wishes, 3 choices etc. This adds to the mystical feel of the novella.

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Week 1 – Consolidating Context - p4, 6 & 7

To fully understand the novella A Christmas Carol, it is important to know about the social and

historical issues around the time that Dickens was writing.

Task 1: Read through the context notes on p4 and highlight what you think is the most important

point from each section.

Task 2: Read through the following two extracts of information and fill in the blanks using words

from the key words box.

Christmas Prison problems twelve Portsmouth

charities generosity poverty poorest improve

school education Victorian social help

critical wealthy responsibility special Factory

Charles Dickens is one of the most famous ____________ authors. He was born in Landport,

near _____________in 1812, to John and Elizabeth Dickens. Two years later, his family moved to

London and then on to Chatham, where Charles went to ___________. The good fortune of

being sent to school at the age of nine was short-lived because in 1821 his father fell into debt

and was arrested. The entire family, except Charles, were sent to Marshalsea _________ along

with their father. Charles was sent to work to earn money for the family in Warren's Blacking

__________, enduring horrible conditions. He was only ________ years old. This experience gave

him a great determination to _______________ his life and he worked hard to become first a

writer.

Dickens’s experience of ___________ made him __________ of the way Victorian society

treated its ___________ people. His own experiences had taught him how unpleasant it could

be. He strongly believed that it was the responsibility of the _________ to ________ those who

were in poverty. He believed that ignoring this ____________ would eventually cause much

bigger _________. Dickens urged people to help by providing them with __________ and by

donating to, and working with, ___________.

‘A Christmas Carol’ strongly emphasises this importance of _______ responsibility and the duty

to provide for the less fortunate. He set his novel at ___________ because he saw this as a

___________ time of year, when people treated each other with kindness and _________. This

was an attitude that he believed should continue all year round.

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generous poor laws uncaring fear poverty

society idle overpopulation cruel die

shared workhouse selfish laziness surplus

financial famine discourage wrong unemployed

Week 1 – p6 – Boosting Tier 2 Vocabulary for ‘A Christmas Carol’

In 1798, the economist Thomas Malthus wrote that the human population would always

grow faster than food supplies. This would mean that _____________ would lead to many people,

usually the poor, dying due to ________. For Malthus, _________ was the inevitable result of

overpopulation because the worst-off in _________ would get less and less. Malthus argued that

people should have families later in life and not have lots of children to stop the population getting

too large.

Malthus, and others, also thought that the existing _____ _____ in Britain were too charitable

– they argued that poverty relief for the poor encouraged _________ and reduced the incentive to

work hard and save money. In 1834 a new Poor Law was introduced to reduce the _________ help

available to the poor. It ruled that all ____________ people would have to enter a __________ in

order to receive food and shelter. However, these workhouses were extremely harsh places –

inhabitants had to work hard and families were often split up. Many people lived in ________ of

being forced to enter a workhouse, where the conditions were made deliberately unpleasant to

__________ the poor from relying on society to help them.

In A Christmas Carol, Dickens attacks what he saw as an __________ attitude towards the

poor. Dickens believed that Malthus was _______ and that there was plenty of food to go around –

but only if the rich were more __________. He thought it was wrong that the poor should suffer

because the rich were too to ________ share their wealth.

In Chapter One, Scrooge tells the charity collectors that he can’t afford to “make _______

people merry”, and he says that he supports the prisons and workhouses. His views seem ________

and unfeeling. Scrooge also tells the charity collectors that it would be better if the poor people

would _______ and in doing so “decrease the surplus population”. This is a direct reference to

Malthus’s theories – Dickens is highlighting how cruel Malthus’s views seemed to be.

In Chapter Three, the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to bustling shops where it

shows him the huge amount of food on display. This lengthy, mouth-watering description

emphasizes Dickens’ point that there was plenty of food to go around – the problem was that it

wasn’t _______ with the poor. Also in Chapter Three we meet the Cratchit family, who appear to

work hard, going against the ideas of the poor as being “idle”. When Scrooge expresses sympathy for

Tiny Tim and Ignorance and Want, the spirit quotes Scrooge’s harsh comments from Chapter One

about “________ population” and sending the poor to prisons and workhouses. Scrooge realizes

that his beliefs about the poor were wrong, a message Dickens is trying to send to the wealthier

class of society.

Parent/ carer comments:

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Week 2 – Appreciating Stave One – P8 & 9

Task 1: Using the plot breakdown on page 5 to help you, number the events of Stave One in the correct

order that they happen within the novella.

Order of events

Stave One Events

a) Marley’s ghost appears and tells Scrooge he will be doomed to walk the earth in chains after death unless he begins to be kind to people, and tells him he will be haunted by three spirits.

b) Scrooge’s clerk requests Christmas day off, and Scrooge grudgingly allows it, telling him to come in earlier on Boxing Day.

c) Scrooge walks the streets of London and everyone avoids him.

d) Two portly gentlemen visit to ask Scrooge to give money to charity, but he refuses and says they should be in prisons or workhouses, or dead.

e) Scrooge returns home, witnessing a series of supernatural events, starting with Marley’s face appearing in the door knocker.

f) Fred, Scrooge’s nephew visits his uncle to invite him to Christmas dinner. Scrooge refuses him and says he hates Christmas, while his nephew tries to convince him to love Christmas.

Task 2.

Fill in the blanks to complete these important quotations from Stave One (be careful as there are some words shown which aren’t used!). Once completed, identify which character the quotation is about/ said by.

“to ________ his way along the crowded paths of life, ________ all human

sympathy to keep its distance”

"I want ________ from you; I ask nothing of you; why cannot we be ______?"

"If they would rather _______…they had better do it, and decrease the

_________ population.”

"A _______ excuse for _________ a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of

December!"

“‘I wear the chain I _________ in life"

“_______________ was my business.”

warning poor family surplus edge made nothing

friends die mankind move picking forged money

9 Task 3.

In the grid below are definitions of some of the more complex vocabulary used within ‘A Christmas Carol’. Using your understanding of the text, and a dictionary to help you if needed, choose the correct word from the box below to match up with the definitions.

1 a ghostly appearing figure

2 the passionate activity of expressing grief

3 any address at which you dwell more than temporarily

4 threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments

5 marked by extreme and violent energy

6 a state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion

7 furiously angry

8 fairly fat

9 without logical or meaningful connection

10 the taste experience when a flavoursome food is eaten

11 not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving

12 give as a gift

13 firm in purpose or belief

14 forceful exertion

15 uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing

16 a thin porridge

17 get by special effort

18 a purposeful or industrious undertaking

19 poor enough to need help from others

20 showing arrogance by patronizing those considered inferior

21 voluntary self-punishment in order to atone for something

22 a ghostly appearing figure

23 argue in protest or opposition

24 a constitutional tendency to be gloomy and depressed

25 relating to or characterized by charity

procure destitute ominous incredulous incoherent

rapture gruel remonstrance lamentation melancholy

endeavour apparition livid vigour spectre

charitable penance bestow savour portly

abode incessant ferocious condescension resolute

Parent/carer comments:

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Week 3 – Appreciating Stave Two – p10 & 11

Task 1: Using the plot breakdown on page 5 to help you, number the events of Stave Two in the correct


Order of events

Stave Two Events

a) Scrooge sees his childhood hometown, and then himself sitting alone at Christmas in school. He sobs at this sight.

b) Scrooge is awoken by the Ghost of Christmas past, who is a shape-changing creature with a beam of light shining from his head and a fire extinguisher cap.

c) Scrooge sees his ex-fiancé, Belle, breaking off their engagement because Scrooge is too obsessed with money and she has none. Scrooge describes this as torture.

d) Scrooge sees his old boss Fezziwig throwing a Christmas party for his staff and family. Scrooge enjoys the party, and wishes he could speak to his own clerk.

e) Finally, Scrooge sees Belle seven years ago with her charming family. Her husband says he has seen Scrooge, who is all alone. Scrooge is overcome and puts the cap on the spirit’s head in a rage.

f) Scrooge sees his sister, Fan, bringing him home from another lonely Christmas. The spirit reminds Scrooge she died, but had a child (Scrooge’s nephew), and Scrooge is uneasy.

Task 2. Answer the following questions: 1) Fan is Scrooge’s sister, who is shown as affectionate and loving and full of laughter. Which key theme

does she link to? ___________________________________________

2) Who is Ali Baba and what does he show about Scrooge as a child? _____________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________

3) When describing Fezziwig’s party, Dickens repeatedly uses the phrase “In came…”. What is Dickens

trying to show readers about his character? _______________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________

4) Why is it ironic when Scrooge sticks up for Fezziwig saying “He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil…. The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune"? ____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

5) Scrooge revisits the moment that Belle ended their relationship. What does this scene tell us about Scrooge’s personality at the time? ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

11 Task 3: Explode the following key quotations from Staves One and Two in as much detail as you can. Aim to make notes on AO1, AO2 and AO3.

““secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster”

““If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”

“A poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!”

“I wear the chain I forged in life”

“Another idol has displaced me…. A golden one.”


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Week 4 – Appreciating Stave 3 – p12 & 13

Task 1: Using the plot breakdown on page 5 to help you, number the events of Stave Three in the correct


Order of events

Stave Three Events

a) The spirit shows Scrooge two starved children, Ignorance and Want. He vanishes as Scrooge notices a dark, hooded figure coming.

b) The Ghost of Christmas Present appears in Scrooge’s home. He is a jolly giant who carries a horn, and the room is decorated in Christmas splendour.

c) Scrooge sees his nephew’s Christmas party, where Fred says he pities Scrooge, while the others make fun of him. Scrooge joins in with the party games.

d) Scrooge sees the Cratchit family and their paltry Christmas. He is moved by Tiny Tim, but the spirit tells him he will die if things don’t change.

e) The spirit shows Scrooge Christmas around the country, from the streets, to the miners, to the lighthouse keepers and sailors. All are festive and happy.

Task 2. Decide if the following statements are True or False.

1) The Ghost of Christmas Present is described as “a jolly giant”.

T/F

2) Wandering around London, the ghost shows Scrooge that there isn’t enough food to go around everyone.

T/F

3) The Cratchit’s have a miserable time at Christmas .

T/F

4) Dickens wants readers to sympathise with the Cratchit’s, who represent the poor in society. T/F

5) Tiny Tim is a symbol of “the surplus population” Scrooge said should “die” in Stave One. T/F

6) The ghost takes him to a miner’s cottage, a lighthouse and a ship to show that Christmas is celebrated by everyone except Scrooge.

T/F

7) Scrooge is given the chance to see himself through other people’s eyes and to learn what people really think about him.

T/F

8) Fred laughs behind Scrooge’s back and admits he doesn’t really like him.

T/F

9) Scrooge only realises that Ignorance and Want are there at the end of the Stave because he is becoming less ignorant, but they have been there all along.

T/F

10) Stave Three is all about teaching social responsibility to his readers.

T/F

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Task 3: Extending your critical vocabulary

It is important to use the best vocabulary that you can to describe the characters and their personalities.

Read through the triplets of key descriptions and definitions and then decide whether the group of words

would best be used to describe Marley, the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present or

the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

The ghost that these words best describes is:

1. altruistic Showing a selfless concern for the well-being of others.

2. philanthropic Seeking to promote the welfare of others; generous and benevolent.

3. magnanimous Generous or forgiving, especially towards a rival or less powerful person.


1. anguished Expressing or experiencing severe mental or physical pain or suffering.

2. forsaken Abandoned or deserted.

3. reformed Having been changed in such a way as to be improved.


1. catalytic Speeding up or bringing about a change.

2. unrelenting Determined; not giving way to others.

3. ominous Giving the impression that something bad is going to happen; threatening.


1. evocative Bringing strong images, memories or feelings to mind.

2. enlightened Having a rational and well-informed outlook; spiritually aware.

3. perceptive Showing sensitive insight into the ideas or feelings of others.

What other words might you use to describe each of these characters?

Aim to choose the best five adjectives you can.


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Task 1: Using the plot breakdown on page 5 to help you, number the events of Stave Four in the correct


Order of events

Stave Four Events

a) The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge some businessman carelessly discussing the death of an unnamed man.

b) The spirit shows Scrooge a lonely dead body under a sheet. Scrooge is greatly disturbed, and begs to see someone who feels emotion at the man’s death.

c) Moving to the backstreets of London, a group of thieves meet. Mrs Dilber, Scrooge’s laundress, laughs about the sheets and bed clothes that she has stolen from the dead man.

d) Scrooge sees the Cratchit family, who are mourning the death of Tiny Tim. It could be that Scrooge’s death hurt the family as Bob became unemployed and was unable to support Tiny Tim.

e) Scrooge finds himself in a churchyard with the spirit pointing to a grave. Scrooge looks at the headstone and is shocked to read his own name. He begs to be told he can change, and wakes up in his own bed.

f) Scrooge sees a couple who are happy about the man’s death because their debt is erased. Scrooge begs to see some tenderness towards the man.

Task 2. 1) List four places that the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come takes Scrooge.

1-____________________________________________________________________ 2-____________________________________________________________________ 3-____________________________________________________________________ 4-____________________________________________________________________

2) Choose the four true answers:

A) The Ghost of Yet To Come symbolises approaching death.

B) Scrooge cowers before the ghost as it scolds him for being selfish.

C) The ghost not talking represents ideas that Scrooge must help himself to change.

D) Scrooge sees lots of his old business associates who are all upset about his death.

E) Bob Cratchit says he will visit Scrooge’s grave often.

F) The ghost’s “kind hand trembled” suggesting it pitied Scrooge.

G) The final ghost is described as a “spectre” and “phantom” which makes it scarier.

H) The final ghost is described as “the ogre of the family” having killed off Tiny Tim.

15 Task 3: Explode the following key quotations from Staves Three and Four in as much detail as you can. Aim to make notes on AO1, AO2 and AO3.

“As good as gold,” said Bob, “and better.”

"Oh, no, kind Spirit. Say he will be spared."

““This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both… but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is doom”

“But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart.”

“Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!”

Task 3.


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Task 1: Using the plot breakdown on page 5 to help you, number the events of Stave Five in the correct


Order of events

Stave Five Events

a) As the years go by, he continues to celebrate Christmas with all his heart. He treats Tiny Tim as if he was his own child, gives gifts for the poor and is kind, generous and warm.

b) He walks among the streets and has happy interactions with people, including going to church.

c) Scrooge awakens with excitement and happiness.

d) Bob is late to work on Boxing day and is terrified he will lose his job. Scrooge pretends he will sack him but raises his salary instead.

e) Calling out of his window, Scrooge speaks to a young boy, paying him to go to the poulterers and send a turkey to the Cratchit house anonymously.

f) Scrooge arrives at Fred’s house and is warmly welcomed in to join the party.

Task 2. Dickens parallels a number of things from Stave One in Stave Five to show how much Scrooge has transformed. Can you match up the parallels?

Stave One Stave Five

1 Fred visits Scrooge inviting him to dinner A Scrooge give “a great many back-payments” to the “two portly gentlemen”

2 Marley’s face appears on Scrooge’s door knocker

B Scrooge “chuckled”

3 “Foggier yet and colder!” C Scrooge is charitable to a young boy on the street

4 “Every idiot who goes about with Merry Christmas on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding”

D "I scarcely ever looked at it before. What an honest expression it has in its face. It's a wonderful knocker.”

5 Scrooge “growled” E “Ding, dong, bell, hammer, clang, clash!”

6 Scrooge refuses to give to charity F Scrooge raises Bob Cratchit’s salary

7 “Ding dong” G “A Merry Christmas to you!”

8 Scrooge frightens a young boy singing carols H “Golden sunlight; heavenly sky”

9 Scrooge threatens to fire Bob Cratchit I Scrooge visits Fred’s house for dinner

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Task 3: Extending your critical vocabulary

It is important to use the best vocabulary that you can to describe the characters and their personalities.

Read through the key word definitions below and for each word decide whether it best describes Scrooge

in Stave 1 or Stave 5.

What other key adjectives can you come up with for describing Scrooge in Stave One and Stave Five?

Stave One Stave Five

Tier 2 Vocabulary Definition Scrooge in Stave 1 or Stave 5?

1. Philanthropist A person who seeks to promote the welfare of others; generous and benevolent.

2. Beneficent Generous or doing good.

3. Exuberant Full of energy, excitement or cheerfulness.

4. Rancorous Characterised by bitterness or resentment.

5. Repentant Expressing feelings of regret and remorse.

6. Misanthrope A person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society.

7. Anti-hero A central character who lacks conventional heroic characteristics.

8. Merciless Showing no mercy or pity; ruthless.

9. Benevolent Well meaning; kindly.

10. Avaricious Having or showing extreme greed for wealth or material gain.

11. Covetous Having or showing desire to possess something belonging to someone else.

12. Jocund Cheerful and light-hearted.

13. Parsimonious Very unwilling to spend money or use resources.

14. Malevolent Having or showing a wish to do evil to others.


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Week 7 – Appreciating the whole text – p18 & 19

Task 1:

Explode the following key quotations from Stave Five in as much detail as you can. Aim to make notes on AO1, AO2

and AO3.

“I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future!”

“I’m quite a baby.”

“No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial…Golden sunlight’ Heavenly sky.”

“A great many back-payments are included in it, I assure you.”

“and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father!”

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Task 2: Plan ideas for how you would answer the following exam question.

Remember to cover AO1, AO2 and AO3.

You also need to identify some links to the wider text.

Charles Dickens – ‘A Christmas Carol’ – Extract practice.

Read the following extract from chapter 1 and then answer the question that follows.

In this extract, Scrooge is visited by the portly gentleman asking him for charity for the poor.

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens portray Scrooge’s changing attitude to other people?

Write about:

How Dickens presents Scrooge’s attitude to other people in the extract

How Dickens presents Scrooge’s attitude to other people in the novel as a whole.

[30 marks]

Scrooge and Marley’s, I believe,” said one of the gentlemen, referring to his list. “Have I

the pleasure of addressing Mr. Scrooge, or Mr. Marley?”

“Mr. Marley has been dead these seven years,” Scrooge replied. “He died seven years

ago, this very night.”

“We have no doubt his liberality is well represented by his surviving partner,” said the

gentleman, presenting his credentials.

It certainly was; for they had been two kindred spirits. At the ominous word “liberality,”

Scrooge frowned, and shook his head, and handed the credentials back.

“At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge,” said the gentleman, taking up a pen, “it

is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and

destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common

necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.”

“Are there no prisons?” asked Scrooge.

“Plenty of prisons,” said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.

“And the Union workhouses?” demanded Scrooge. “Are they still in operation?”

“They are. Still,” returned the gentleman, “I wish I could say they were not.”

“The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?” said Scrooge.

“Both very busy, sir.”

“Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them

in their useful course,” said Scrooge. “I’m very glad to hear it.”

English - Worle Community School

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