Good morning.

It's lovely to see you all again.

My name is Miss Holiday and I'll be your teacher for today.

I can't wait to hear all your incredible ideas and suggestions.

So let's get started.

So today's lesson is called Stave 4, the Last of Three Spirits.

And what we're going to be doing today is reading Stave 4 and discussing the very last Spirit who visits Scrooge.

So by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to understand the role of the last Spirit.

So let's get started.

Here are some keywords that you'll need in order to unlock today's learning.

So we've got repentance, abhorrent, to evaluate, introspection and spiritual judgement.

Here are the definitions of these keywords.

If you'd like to take a little bit longer to read them, then please do feel free to pause the video and read them at your own pace.

So here's today's lesson outline.

We're going to begin by reading Stave 4, which I'm really looking forward to 'cause it is a fantastic stave.

I can't wait.

And then we're going to move on to discussing the last spirit to visit Scrooge, the Solemn Phantom.

So let's start by reading Stave 4.

Let's begin with a little bit of a discussion and a recap.

So I'd like you to discuss with the people around you, what changes in Scrooge have we seen thus far, and what do you think this last spirit, whose name is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, might show Scrooge.

So a little prediction task for you there.

And finally, what further changes in Scrooge might we see in Stave 4? So I'm going to invite you now to pause video while you have that quick recap and discussion.

And before we move on to reading the text, off you go.

Some fantastic discussions.

Now in terms of some quick feedback and a little bit of a recap, obviously we know that in the beginning of the novella in stave 1 we meet Scrooge, who is this really miserly, really misanthropic character.

And gradually over the course of the novella we've started to see Scrooge soften a little bit and kind of accept his responsibility for society a little bit more than he did in the beginning.

So in this stave, we are somewhat hopeful that we might see more positive changes in Scrooge.

And obviously because this is the final spirit to visit Scrooge, this is a really key moment for Scrooge because it's his last chance to take on board the messages from the supernatural spirit guides that he has been sent.

So we're hoping to see yet more positive transformation in Scrooge.

And we're maybe thinking that the ghost might show Scrooge a glimpse of what his future might look like because his name is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

So we can kind of infer from that that this ghost might be showing Scrooge some kind of future for him.

Okay, so excellent recap and let's see, shall we? So before I set you off reading independently, I wanted to read some of the text with you.

So let's read through the text together.

As I'm reading, you should be following along either with your own copy of "A Christmas Carol," or onscreen.

The phantom, slowly, gravely, silently approached.

When it came near him, Scrooge bent down upon his knee for in the very air through which the spirit moved, it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery.

It was shrouded in a deep black garment which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible, save one outstretched hand.

But for this, it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded.

He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him and that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread.

He knew no more for the spirit, neither spoke nor moved.

A very ominous extract there.

So let's check for understanding quickly before we move on.

Which of these figures, based on that description, do you think that the Phantom most closely resembles? Is it A Jack Frost, B, the Grim Reaper, or C Father Christmas? I'm going to invite you to pause the video now while you jot your answer down.

Fantastic work.

I'm really well done because the answer is in fact B, the Grim Reaper.

Now we're gonna talk a little bit more about the significance of the ghost looking like the Grim Reaper later, but well done if you identified that of these three options, the answer must have been the Grim Reaper because we know that Father Christmas is a really jolly figure.

And equally Jack Frost we imagine kind of clad in blue and white because he represents wintertime.

So therefore, by process of elimination, I'm hoping that most of you got the answer of B, the Grim Reaper.

And as I said, we'll talk a little bit more about that in a moment.

So well done.

Let's carry on reading.

"I am in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?" said Scrooge.

The spirit answered not but pointed onward with its hand.

"You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not happened but will happen in the time before us," Scrooge pursued.

"Is that so, Spirit?" The upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant in its folds as if the Spirit had inclined its head and that was the only answer he received.

So now that we've read that bit of extract, here are some discussion questions that I'd like you to discuss.

So first of all, what do you notice about Scrooge's reaction to the Spirit and why do you think Dickens chooses to make the spirit silent? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video for a moment while you answer those questions with the people around you.

Fantastic discussions.

Now, I'm really hoping that many of you notice a real difference in the way that Scrooge interacts with this spirit initially versus the last few.

Now with the other spirits, we know that Scrooge has been terrified of them and he's not been as receptive to their messages and their teaching as he is here.

When he meets this spirit here, he actually is the one to kind of approach the spirit and speak first.

And he actually tries to preempt what the Spirit is going to show him.

And that shows that he's a lot more willing to learn from this spirit than he has been with some of the others.

Okay, particularly if we think about Marley's ghost and the ghost of Christmas past, Scrooge was not very receptive to their lessons initially at all.

But here we see him openly asking the Spirit what he's going to be shown and that curiosity shows his transformation because Scrooge really wants to learn here.

And secondly, in terms of why Dickens makes the spirit silent, well the spirit silence creates that really ominous and quite terrifying atmosphere and it makes the spirit appear a lot more scary to Scrooge and also the reader because the silence is really unnerving and quite eerie.

So well done if you got either of those answers to those questions.

Really good comprehension work.

And let's carry on reading.

The Spirit paused a moment as observing his condition and giving him time to recover.

But Scrooge was all the worst for this.

It thrilled him with a vague, uncertain horror to know that behind the dusky shroud there were ghostly eyes intently fixed upon him.

While he though he stretched his own to the utmost, could see nothing but a spectral hand and one great heap of black.

"Ghost of the Future!" he exclaimed.

"I fear you more than any spectre I've 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.

Will you not speak to me?" So again, now that we've read the extract, I'd like you to discuss the following questions.

First of all, what impression of the spirit does Dickens create here? And secondly, how do you think that Scrooge feels in the presence of this spirit? So again, I'd like you to pause the video and have those discussions now.

Fantastic work and let's run through some answers really quickly.

So first of all, in terms of Dickens' impression, I'm sure many of you identified that the spirit is presented really menacingly and quite threateningly here.

Okay, and I think that's partly because of the silence and the lack of conversation between the two.

But it's this description, this one great heap of black and the fact that Scrooge feels the spirit's eyes burning into him when he can't actually see them.

So it's almost this feeling of Scrooge being watched constantly or judged in some way, but he can't quite because he can't see the spirit's eyes it appears even more threatening and menacing because he is not quite sure where that judgement is coming from.

Now in terms of how Scrooge feels, well it's quite clear that he's absolutely petrified of this spirit and rightfully so because I'm not going to lie, it quite scares me as well.

I think Dickens' description of this spirit is really, really convincing and really vivid because it terrifies me.

So I can't even begin to imagine how Scrooge must have felt standing in the presence of this spirit.

But again, here, even though he's frightened, he's asking the spirit to speak to him.

He wants to learn, he says, "I'm prepared to bear your company, I want to learn from you." And he says, "I do it with a thankful heart." So again, here we see Scrooge, even though he's petrified, even though he is terrified, he's still really receptive to the spirit's teachings and he's grateful for this opportunity that he's been given to learn.

So well done if you discuss any of those ideas.

Now, before I set you off reading independently, I just wanted to really quickly remind you of the fact that as you are reading, you should be reading using your interactive reading strategies, okay, you should be circling key vocabulary, you should be underlining important words and phrases and using square brackets to draw attention to important paragraphs that you might want to come back to after we finish reading the novella in full.

Again, make sure that you're putting stars next to key ideas and make sure that as you are reading, just quickly jot down your initial impressions of situations, characters and scenarios.

So interactive reading strategies are really important because they allow you to have prepared notes so that when you come to revise this text, you've got a really strong starting point from which to revise.

So now I'm going to set you off independently and I'd like you to read the rest of Stave 4 from it gave him no reply all the way to the end where it says that it dwindled down into a bedpost.

I'd like you to remember to do your interactive reading, and once you finish reading stave 4, I've got a little activity for you to do.

So make sure you come back and complete the activity.

So what I'm going to invite you to do now is pause the video while you finish your reading of stave 4.

Well done, some great reading.

I'm really impressed with your interactive reading as well.

I can see lots of very full copies of the text, which is fantastic.

Now as I said, once you finish reading, I do have a little activity for you to complete that will just check your comprehension and make sure that you've understood what's happened in this stave because it is a really significant stave.

So here is your activity.

What I'd like you to do is sort the events from Stave 4 on the following slides into chronological order, beginning with the first.

So what I'm going to show you is the events now that you'll be sorting, okay? I'm not going to read them out to you because I want to go through them when they're in the right order.

So you'll have to read them for yourself.

But here are your events.

So we've got four events on this slide.

And then we've got seven events on this slide.

So make sure that you have organised the events of both slides into chronological order.

So what I'm going to do now is invite you to pause the video while you have a go at that activity and before we share the correct order.

So off you go.

Fantastic work.

And I can see that many of you understood the stave really well and remembered the exact order that the events go in.

So what we're going to do now is go through the order of the events and if you've got any wrong, just make sure that you've switched them on your copy so that you've got a full summary of the stave for when you come to revise.

So here's the correct order.

First of all, Scrooge sees some businessmen and these businessmen are discussing a significant death really callously because they're speculating about where the dead person's money will go.

Whilst watching this, Scrooge tries to understand why he's been shown these scenes and he looks for himself in the scenes, but he can't see himself.

Next Scrooge is taken to a beetling shop, full of infamous horrors where Mrs. Dilber bargains with three people about the price of the possessions that they have stolen from a dead man's empty house.

And they say that the owner was a wicked old screw who deserved to have be looted.

And whilst watching this, Scrooge is absolutely horrified by the lack of empathy and respect that the two women and the man demonstrates towards this dead person.

Next Scrooge is shown the neglected body of the deceased man and he's horrified by this.

He asks the spirit if there is anybody who feels emotional about this man's death.

So the spirit takes Scrooge to see a young couple, who are in great debt and the emotion that they feel about this man's death is feeling of great relief because they owed the dead man money.

And now that he has died, they have a little bit more time to organise their debt and get it together.

So they feel real relief.

Scrooge is then taken to see the Cratchits who are struggling to cope with the death of Tiny Tim.

And this is a really sad moment in the novella.

Then Scrooge yearns to know the identity of the dead man with no mourners, but the spirit doesn't tell him.

Instead the spirit takes Scrooge to a neglected grave that's overrun by grass and weeds.

Scrooge asks whether the spirit is showing him the shadows of things that will be, or the shadows of things that may be.

And finally, in a very dramatic end to the stave, Scrooge reads his name upon the neglected gravestone and he's absolutely hysterical and he repents hysterically and makes lots of promises about becoming a much better and moral person and holding Christmas dear in his heart.

The phantom then disappears, collapsing into Scrooge's bedpost and he's left on his own again.

What I likely to do now that we've got the events in the correct order is consider well off these events, which do you think was the most crucial in getting Scrooge to realise that he really needs to change his ways? And I'm going to ask you to justify your response.

So make sure that you're prepared to say why.

So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you have a quick discussion and decide which of the events you think was the most crucial in getting screws to change his ways.

Off you go.

Fantastic, some really insightful discussions there and a massive well done.

So let's move on to the second part of our lesson now where we're going to look at the Solemn Phantom and his description and his role in the novella.

So in stave 4, the final spirit is described as a phantom.

And I know that many of you noticed this as you were reading through.

Here are some definitions for the word phantom and I'd like you to discuss, well, which definition do you think best describes the phantom that is described in stave 4 and why? So first of all, a phantom can be described as a spirit of a dead person believed by some to visit the living.

An object of continual dread or abhorrence.

Something apparent to sense, but with no substantial existence or the visible representation of something abstract, especially as appearing in a dream or a hallucination.

So what I'd like you to do is discuss, well which definition do you think best describes the phantom in Stave 4.

But also why do you think Dickens uses that word phantom rather than the word spirit, which he's used for all of the previous ghosts.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you look at those definitions and then discuss the two questions on screen.

So off you go.

Some fantastic discussions there.

And what I'm really hoping is that many of you identified that actually the phantom that we see in stave 4 of "A Christmas Carol," could be categorised as any of these types of phantom, okay? Yes, it's an object of continual dread and abhorrence it's described as a great heap of black that is terrifying.

Again, it's got no substantial existence.

Scrooge can't see its face again, the fact it's described as a great heap of black and it moves like mist along the ground suggests that it doesn't really have a fixed, a visible and tangible form.

Again, the visible representation of something.

We're going to talk about what the phantom might represent, but it's arguably representative of death or judgement.

And again, when Scrooge awakes again and it dwindles down into a bed post, you could argue that perhaps the phantom is almost like it appears in a dream or hallucination because of the fact that it dwindles away back into a bedpost.

It's almost like a nightmarish visitor for Scrooge.

And again, it's sent to visit Scrooge as a living person to warn him about his future and the fate that he might end up with if he doesn't change his ways.

And again, in terms of why Dickens uses that word phantom rather than spirit, I think it's perhaps to show that this spirit is distinct from the others.

It's different in some way.

And again, we'll talk about why in a moment.

But also that word phantom has quite scary, very gothic connotations, which again reflects the spirit's frightening appearance here.

So that could be one of the reasons Dickens uses that word phantom rather than the word spirit.

Now, I'm sure many of you noticed, and we've spoken about this already, that the final ghost, so the phantom doesn't speak to Scrooge at all.

So what we're going to do now is read the extract and then discuss, well what is the effects of the spirit's silence? And why do you think Dickens made that choice to make it a silent visitor? So here's our extract, I'll read it and you follow along.

"I'm in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come," said Scrooge.

The spirit answered, not but pointed onward with its hand.

"You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not happened but will happen in the time before us," Scrooge pursued.

"Is that so, Spirit?" The upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant in its folds as if the spirit had inclined its head.

That was the only answer he received.

Although well used to ghostly company by this time, Scrooge feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath him and he found that he could hardly stand when he prepared to follow it.

So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you discuss, well what's the significance and the effect of the spirit's silence, and why do you think Dickens made that choice? So off you go.

Some fantastic discussions.

And here's some of our students from Oak and what they think the significance of the spirit's silence is.

So first of all, Alex says, "Dickens chose to have the phantom silence to contrast more harshly with the previous spirit who was jolly and loud.

This makes the phantom more terrifying to the reader and Scrooge." And Sophia replies, "The ghost's silence is what makes it utterly abhorrent.

Its silence means that Scrooge is denied comfort much like he did to others." And Izzy replies, "Dickens makes the ghost silent so that Scrooge can interpret the scenes for himself.

The ghost doesn't guide Scrooge, it just shows him visions.

Scrooge must guide himself showing his newfound introspection." So some really good ideas from our Oak students there.

And hopefully you will have got some of those yourself as well and well done.

So here's the first description of the Phantom.

So let's have a look at its physical appearance, now.

Scrooge beheld a solemn, phantom draped and hooded, coming like a mist along the ground towards him.

Again, quite a threatening description of this ghost here.

So what I'm going to ask you to do now is a little bit of an evaluation task.

Now when we evaluate, what you've got to do is you've got to weigh up different options or different solutions to a problem and then pick the one that you think best fits.

So here I'm going to ask you to evaluate from the quotation above which word or phrase do you think is most effective in characterising the phantom as terrifying? And you can only pick one and you must be prepared to justify your opinion.

Now I've given you a little bit of help in the form of a sentence frame, and this should help you structure your discussions.

So you can say things like, I think that the word or phrase and then you put your word off phrase is most effective in characterising the fans most terrifying because, and you'll give your reason.

So what I'm going to do now is invite you to pause the video while you have those discussions, now.

Fantastic discussions and it was so lovely to hear so many of you using that sentence frame to aid your discussions.

Now obviously there is no right or wrong answer to this because it's an evaluation question and therefore I'm going to talk you through some possible answers that you might have got.

So here are some responses and the justifications that you might have said.

So here's our quotation again, and you might have picked out that word solemn and said, well I think this word solemn is the most successful in portraying the phantom is terrifying because solemn means stern and serious.

And this reflects the idea that the phantom represents spiritual judgement.

And spiritual judgement is inevitable and inescapable.

And the thought of that is quite terrifying both to us as a reader, but also to Scrooge, especially given that he has already seen Marley's fate and what's become of Marley because of his actions in life.

You also might have picked out this phrase, draped and hooded.

Now the draped and hooded appearance of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, makes it reminiscent of the grim reaper, okay? Which is the figure of death.

It's the one you know with the black hood and the sides and it walks along the ground and it kind of people believe that the grim reaper appears at your point of death.

Okay, so you might have seen this depicted in some popular films, but it's a very terrifying figure in popular culture, particularly around the 14th century where it was depicted wearing a black robe, much like the one that Dickens describes in this scene.

Now, the phantom in the stave and its dark appearance reflects not only scrooge's mortality.

So again, we see that idea of the grim reaper because it appears at the point of death, but also the spiritual judgement that he will face in his afterlife.

And we already know as a reader, and Scrooge already knows that that judgement is not going to be kind to him 'cause he's been avaricious and greedy his entire life.

So you might have picked out that draped and hooded.

Now you might have picked out this similarly of like a mist and Dickens uses a similar to like and the phantom to mist.

And this is probably the one that I would've chosen.

I'm not gonna lie to you because I think it's so effective in characterising the phantom as truly terrifying.

It reflects not only the way it moves because it creeps slowly.

You can almost imagine it like mist just kind of drifting over and covering everything and obscuring your vision which would be utterly terrifying.

But also this idea of it being inescapable, okay? You can't get away from mist 'cause it's made of such small particles of water that it's not physically possible to escape the mist.

It's everywhere and it obscures our vision, which is truly terrifying.

Now this idea of it obscuring vision reflects Scrooge's later inability to understand that the dead man is actually himself.

And it reflects the uncertainty of Scrooge's future because the ghost cannot say for certain what the future holds for Scrooge because it's actually up to Scrooge.

He just shows scrooge the visions of things that may be so as I said, I think that if it was me completing this activity, I probably would've chosen this just because I think it's really kind of creates this really vivid depiction of the ghost, almost like drifting along towards Scrooge in a really threatening silent and menacing way.

Really, I find it truly terrifying if I'm honest with you.

So I think I would've chosen this, but obviously you could have picked solemn, you could have picked the word phantom itself.

You could have picked draped and hooded because Dickens is just such a master of words that to be honest, every single word that Dickens chooses is so effective in characterising the phantom as terrifying.

So let's check for understanding, which of the following does the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come represent? Is it a man's ignorance and want, B, spiritual judgement , C, evil and wickedness, or D, mortality and death? I'm gonna invite you to pause the video for a few moments while you jot your answer down.

And congratulations to those of you that decided it was in fact B and D.

Okay, yes, the phantom represents virtual judgement , but it also represents mortality and death.

And that's kind of where the links to the grim reaper come from.

Well done.

So once our final task of the lesson, now you might have noticed that there's actually much less physical description of the Ghost Christmas Yet to Come versus the other spirits.

And I'm going to give you some quotations that I'd like for you to use to answer the following questions.

So here's your quotation.

It was shrouded in a deep black garment which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible, save one outstretched hand.

But for this, it would've been difficult to detach its figure from the night and separated from the darkness by which it was surrounded.

It thrilled him with a vague, uncertain horror to know that behind the dusky shroud there were ghostly eyes intently fixed upon him while he though he stretched his own to the utmost, could see nothing but a spectral hand and one great heap of black.

So I'd like you now to discuss the following questions using those quotations.

First of all, why does Dickens make this ghost very different from the others? And secondly, what is Scrooge truly frightened of in this stave? So I'm really thought provoking questions there.

So I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you have a go at discussing those questions.

And before we share some suggestions, off you go.

Fantastic discussions.

I'm so impressed by all of your incredible ideas and suggestions.

So here's some of the things you might have said.

First of all, in response to our first question of why does Dickens make this ghost different, you might have said that unlike the previous three ghosts, this ghost doesn't really teach Scrooge anything.

It actually forces him to teach himself by showing him significant scenes and forcing him to make sense of them unaided.

Now, in forcing Scrooge to learn his own lessons, Dickens illustrates the kind of introspection and self-examination that is required for people to change their attitudes and beliefs.

Now, let's not forget that Dickens was writing for the middle and upper class Victorian reader, and therefore perhaps he's placing the responsibility of change on the individual.

So on these readers, his middle and upper class readers and emphasising their role in creating a fairer and more moral society.

So I guess what Dickens is doing here is kind of saying nobody's gonna change for you, okay? That change and that introspection has to come from you.

And just like Scrooge in Stave 4 is forced to interpret the scenes that he sees for himself, Dickens is kind of promoting and advocating for, you know, these upper to middle class Victorian readers, putting the book down and having a really good long, hard look at themselves and undertaking their own introspection so that they can become more moral citizens.

Now, in terms of the second question, well, what is screws truly frightened of? Here is a list of things that we know that Scrooge is fearful of in this stave.

So he is first of all, frightened of the ghost solemn appearance, as am I.

Okay, so that's understandable.

He's also frightened of what the ghost is showing him.

Again, understandably, because does anyone wants to see their own death? I don't think so.

He's frightened that anonymous dead man could become him.

He's frightened death itself in this scene.

He's frightened of his death not being mourned.

He's frightened of being judged.

He's frightened of being punished.

He's frightened of the person that he was, and that's really significant.

And what's important is the fact that even though Scrooge is frightened is pretty much everything in this stave, the thing that he's most frightened of is arguably the fact that he might become this neglected dead man that nobody cares has died.

Now that's really significant because that shows us his transformation because stave 1 Scrooge probably wouldn't have cared that nobody would care that he died.

But here he's actually really frightened of the fact that he's not leaving a positive legacy, that no one cares that he's dead.

And he recognises that actually this would be his punishment for his miserliness, greed and ignorance.

And this is kind of what spurs him to finally vow and promise to make those positive changes to his life.

So well done, if you've got any of those answers, really well done.

So to summarise today's learning in Stave 4 Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

Who shows him the shadows of things that may be, and that's significant because we know that because there may be Scrooge can still change them.

Dickens refers to this ghost as a phantom rather than a spirit, and that characterises it as distinct from the others.

Dickens describes the phantom in a way that is reminiscent of the grim reaper with the hooded and draped appearance, the kind of heap of black that all characterises it as reminiscent of the grim reaper.

The purpose of the phantom is to force Scrooge to interpret the visions for him himself and reaches own conclusions as to how he can change his fate.

And in doing this, Dickens is placing responsibility to change on the individual, highlighting the impact of one person's actions on their community.

And then finally, at the end of this stave, we see Scrooge promising to change his ways and repenting for his sins, which shows him as a transformed character.

I'd like to thank you for to today's lesson.

You've been absolutely fabulous and I've really enjoyed engaging with you and listening to all your fantastic suggestions.

Have a lovely rest of your day.

Thank you.