Starter quiz
- What century was 1843 in?
- 17th
- 18th
- 19th ✓
- 20th
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- What do we call the era between 1837 and 1901?
- Edwardian era
- Jacobean era
- Elizabethan era
- Victorian era ✓
- Medieval era
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- Which law was reformed in 1843 to tackle poverty in England?
- The Homelessness Law
- The Beggar Law
- The Poor Law ✓
- The Workhouse Law
- The Treadmill Law
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- According to the 1834 Poor Law, who had to go to the Workhouse?
- any poor person
- poor people deemed fit enough to work ✓
- criminals
- poor people deemed not fit enough to work
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- What might the preface of a book be?
- An afterword from the author that comes at the end
- The small section of text on the back of a book that states what it is about
- An introduction to the book that comes at the beginning ✓
- A brief account of the author's life
- Who the writer has dedicated their book to
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- Which of the following is an example of pathetic fallacy?
- "He was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone."
- "Foul weather didn’t know where to have him."
- "It was cold, bleak, biting weather: foggy withal." ✓
- "The city clocks had only just gone three."
- "It was quite dark already—it had not been light all day." ✓
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Exit quiz
- In relation to 'A Christmas Carol', choose the correct statements about Marley.
- He was Scrooge's brother.
- He was Scrooge's business partner. ✓
- He had lots of friends.
- He died on Christmas Eve. ✓
- He was a very charitable character.
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- What year did Charles Dickens publish 'A Christmas Carol'?
- '1843' ✓
- Which two events occurred in Dickens' life?
- He campaigned for the rights of the rich.
- His father was sent to prison for debt. ✓
- He worked as a magistrate
- He had to work as a young boy to support his family. ✓
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- Which values did Dickens want to champion through his novella 'A Christmas Carol'? Choose the most appropriate responses.
- empathy ✓
- religion
- charity ✓
- wealth
- humour
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- Starting with the first, put the plot events from Stave 1 of 'A Christmas Carol' in order from first to last.
- 1⇔We learn that Marley is dead.
- 2⇔Scrooge's nephew visits him to invite him for Christmas dinner.
- 3⇔Scrooge is rude to his nephew and declines his offer of Christmas dinner.
- 4⇔Two gentlemen visit Scrooge and ask him for charity. Scrooge rudely declines.
- 5⇔Scrooge chides Bob Cratchit for wanting Christmas Day off.
- 6⇔Scrooge returns home and sees his dead friend Marley's face in his door knocker.
- 7⇔The ghost of Marley appears in Scrooge's house .
- In relation to 'A Christmas Carol', match the items with what they represent.
- fire⇔represents generosity (Scrooge's are always very small). ✓
- darkness⇔represents Scrooge's ignorance ✓
- gruel⇔represents Scrooge's miserliness - he denies himself luxury ✓
- bitter weather⇔represent Scrooge's cold-hearted nature ✓
Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Scrooge is portrayed as a miser
- Dickens experienced poverty firsthand and dedicated his life to campaigning for better legislation to support the poor
- Dickens uses the setting of Scrooge's lodgings to reflect his miserly nature
- Dickens is critical towards those who lack compassion for the poor, like Scrooge
- Scrooge represents selfish and greedy upper-middle class Victorian citizens, who showed little empathy for the poor
Common misconception
Pupils think that Scrooge keeps his money to himself so that he can spend it on himself.
Scrooge's frugality also extends to his own existence: Scrooge refuses to spend money even on himself, choosing to live a meagre lifestyle.
Keywords
Preface - The preface comes at the beginning of a book and introduces its aims or scope.
Impoverished - Someone impoverished would have very little money and very few possessions.
Staves - Dickens calls his chapters ‘staves’.
Avaricious - Being avaricious means having an extreme greed for wealth or possessions.
Miser - A miser is a person who hoards wealth and spends as little money as possible.
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