Lesson video

Hi everyone.

My name is Ms. Boyle, and welcome to this reading lesson where we are going to be exploring and engaging with the themes in "A Christmas Carol." You may wish to refer to the adapted version of "A Christmas Carol," which this unit is based on.

You can find this in the additional materials section in this lesson.

During this lesson, you'll need to be listening and looking carefully and there'll be lots of tasks where you need somebody to talk to.

I hope you are feeling excited and ready to learn.

Let's get started.

The learning outcome in today's lesson is: I can identify and engage with the key themes in "A Christmas Carol." Here are our keywords.

Let's practise saying them.

My turn, your turn.

Theme.

Convey.

Transformation.

Great job.

Let's take a look at their definitions.

A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs within a story.

To convey means to communicate a message to the reader directly or indirectly.

Transformation is the process of significant change, often resulting in a big shift in character, beliefs, or behaviour.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

In the first part, we will be identifying and reflecting on themes.

And in the second part, we will be engaging with the theme of transformation.

So let's begin with identifying and reflecting on themes.

"A Christmas Carol." Here is a summary of the story.

Ebenezer Scrooge is introduced as a cold-hearted, miserly old man who cares only for his wealth and has a disdain for Christmas and its festivities.

Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, who warns him of the consequences of his greed and selfishness.

Marley informs Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits.

One by one, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts who show him events from his past, present, and future.

Through these ghostly visits, Scrooge begins to realise the error of his ways and the impact his actions have on others.

He experiences profound guilt and remorse, and his heart softens as he sees the potential for redemption.

Upon waking on Christmas morning, Scrooge is filled with a newfound sense of purpose and compassion.

He sets out to make amends for his past behaviour by showing kindness and generosity to those around him.

Scrooge reconciles with his nephew Fred, assists the Cratchit family financially and becomes a beloved figure in his community.

The story ends with Scrooge fully embracing the spirit of Christmas and experiencing new found generosity and love for others.

A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs within a story.

Within literature, authors use techniques to convey themes to the reader.

These themes often mirror issues and topics that we encounter in our own lives, making the story relatable to the reader.

Examples of themes that you might notice in stories are: friendship, family, love, courage, betrayal, good v.

evil, death, protection, loneliness, survival.

Identifying themes within a text involves inference.

Themes are not explicitly stated within a text.

Authors commonly use repetition to convey themes to the reader.

There are a few ways to identify themes.

We can do this by considering actions and characteristics of people within the text, by identifying repetition of actions, emotions, and traits, by searching for deeper meaning using inference, and by considering the overall message of the text.

There are many possible themes that can be drawn out from this text.

Readers may interpret themes and their importance differently.

Let's look at some examples of some of the themes that we can identify in "A Christmas Carol." The contrast in lives between the rich and the poor.

This is explored through showing the money that Scrooge has and his selfishness with it while lots of other people are struggling.

Greed.

The story conveys this theme through Scrooge's unwillingness to share with others or help them.

Christmas.

This is a key time of year during which the story is set.

Family.

We explore the relationship that Scrooge has with his family through reading about his interactions with his nephew.

These are just some of the themes that can be inferred.

There are many more.

Let's check your understanding.

Match the theme with how it is conveyed in the text.

Our themes are: greed, Christmas, family.

For how it is conveyed in the text, we have: Scrooge's relationship with his nephew is something that features throughout the story, Scrooge keeps all his money and gives very little away, and the story takes place during the Christmas period.

It is an important backdrop for Scrooge's transformation.

Pause the video and match these themes to how they're conveyed in the text.

Let's take a look at the answers together.

Greed.

Scrooge keeps all his money and gives very little away.

Christmas.

The story takes place during the Christmas period.

It is an important backdrop for Scrooge's transformation.

And family.

Scrooge's relationship with his nephew is something that features throughout the story.

Well done for identifying how these themes were conveyed through the story.

It's time for your first task and it is a talk task.

Discuss which other themes appear throughout the narrative.

We have already identified the following themes: contrast between rich and poor, greed, Christmas, family.

Can you infer and identify any other themes? Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

Welcome back.

I loved listening to your discussions.

You inferred such interesting themes.

Let's take a look at some of the examples I had.

Poverty.

This theme is explored through the way we see many people struggling to meet their basic needs because they do not have enough money.

Social class.

This refers to the way that groups within society can be divided according to how much money they earn.

Morality.

This means considering what's right and wrong.

The story makes us consider this by exploring the ways in which different characters behave.

Belonging.

We see Scrooge feel very isolated to begin with, but we see him searching for a sense of belonging towards the end of the story.

Loneliness.

This is a key theme explored through Scrooge's circumstances early on.

Unkindness.

This is shown through the way that Scrooge treats other people.

And transformation.

We see Scrooge's character transform throughout the story.

He is a very different character at the end of the story to the one he was at the beginning.

Often, themes link together and overlap.

For example, family and Christmas are closely linked because family is a big part of many people's Christmas celebrations.

Bob Cratchit and his family represent this.

I'd now like you to consider the link between two other themes in the story.

Your question is, how does loneliness link to unkindness in "A Christmas Carol?" Your sentence starter is, Loneliness and unkindness are linked because.

Pause the video and discuss this question with your partner now.

You had such interesting discussions about this question.

You used your inference skills.

But I also noticed another wonderful skill you used, empathy.

Let's take a look at two good examples.

Aisha said, "Loneliness and unkindness are linked because I think Scrooge is mean to others because he doesn't really have anyone in his life." And Laura said, "Scrooge lives all by himself and I think this has made him unhappy.

It seems like he takes this unhappiness out on the people he encounters." Both of these answers demonstrate empathy for Scrooge's loneliness in order to understand how this links to his unkindness.

Well done for identifying and reflecting on the themes within the story.

It's now time for the second part of our lesson where we will be engaging with the theme of transformation.

Throughout the story, Scrooge undergoes a huge transformation.

At the start of the story, he is introduced as a cold-hearted, miserly old man who cares only for his wealth.

Through the visits from the different ghosts, Scrooge begins to realise the error of his ways and the impact his actions have on others.

Scrooge transforms and sets out to make amends for his past behaviour by showing kindness and generosity to those around him.

Let's check your understanding.

Describe Scrooge's transformation by choosing words from the word bank below to complete the sentences.

Your sentences are: At the beginning of the story, Scrooge is.

At the end of the story, he is.

The words for you to choose from are: generous, interesting, funny, miserly.

Pause the video to choose the appropriate adjectives to fill in the blanks now.

Let's look at the answers.

At the beginning of the story, Scrooge is miserly.

At the end of the story, he is generous.

Well done for showing your understanding of how Scrooge's character transforms. One way in which Charles Dickens conveys the theme of transformation is through the contrast between how Scrooge treats others at the beginning of the story and how he treats them at the end.

In the following quote from chapter one, I would like you to consider how Scrooge treats Fred.

Read and listen carefully to this quote.

"Ebenezer waived his hand dismissively and barked, "Christmas dinner? A waste of time and money if you ask me.

You should be working instead of wasting your time with frivolous celebrations." A reminder of your question.

In this quote from chapter one, how does Scrooge treat Fred? Pause the video and discuss with your partner.

Well done for analysing the text to consider how Scrooge treated Fred.

Let's take a look at a couple of the examples I had.

Laura said, "Scrooge is being unkind.

He is not taking Fred's opinion seriously and is speaking to him impatiently.

Andeep said, "Scrooge is treating Fred badly even though he is family.

He's being very judgmental about how Fred celebrates Christmas." These were great answers that picked out the ways in which Scrooge showed unkindness to Fred at the beginning of the story.

Now we are going to look at a quote from the end of the story and consider how Scrooge treats Fred at this point and compare that with how he treats him in chapter one.

Read and listen to this extract carefully.

"With a smile that reached his eyes for the first time in years, Scrooge hugged his nephew.

He felt the warmth of family and friendship and accepted Fred's invitation with gratitude and joy." A reminder of your question.

In this quote from the ending, how does Scrooge treat Fred? How does it compare with chapter one? Pause the video and discuss this with your partner.

You are fantastic at spotting how differently Scrooge treats Fred at this point in the story.

Let's take a look at a couple of the answers I heard.

Laura said, "Scrooge is showing emotions like affection and gratitude that we didn't see from him in chapter one." Jacob said, "By hugging Fred, Scrooge is demonstrating love.

He seems completely transformed." Both of these answers highlight how differently Scrooge treats Fred towards the end of the story.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false.

Charles Dickens uses Scrooge's treatment of others to convey the theme of transformation.

Pause the video and select your answer.

That is true, well done.

Now it's time to justify your answer.

A, the contrast between Scrooge in chapter one and Scrooge in the ending shows he has been on a journey and has changed.

Or B, transformation appears in a number of ways.

Pause the video and select the correct justification.

The answer is A, well done.

The contrast between Scrooge in chapter one and Scrooge in the ending shows he has been on a journey and has changed.

Charles Dickens conveys this through showing the different ways that Scrooge treats other characters.

Another way in which Charles Dickens conveys the theme of transformation is through the contrast between how others treat Scrooge at the beginning of the story and how they treat him at the end.

We are now going to read another quote from chapter one and consider how others treated Scrooge at this point.

Read and listen to this extract carefully.

"Mr. Scrooge, sir," Bob said timidly, "might I have a bit more coal for the fire? It's awfully cold in here." "Coal costs money, Cratchit," Ebenezer snapped.

"If you are cold, you should work harder and warm yourself up that way." Bob nodded meekly and went back to his work." A reminder of your question.

Read this quote again from chapter one and consider how do others treat Scrooge at this point in the story.

Pause the video and discuss with your partner.

Well done for analysing the way in which Bob spoke to Scrooge in order to understand how other characters felt about Scrooge at the beginning of the story.

Laura said, "Bob seems scared of Scrooge.

He doesn't have much confidence when he talks to him and just accept Scrooge's decision even though it's not fair." This is a really good point that highlights that other characters were perhaps intimidated by Scrooge because of his unkindness.

Let's now read a quote from the ending and consider how others feel towards Scrooge at this point in the story and compare that with chapter one.

Read and listen to this extract carefully.

"Passers-by smiled with joy and young children leapt with glee as they saw Scrooge bound along the street chuckling and smiling to himself." A reminder of your question.

Read this quote from the ending again.

How do others treat Scrooge at this point in the story and how does that compare with chapter one? Pause the video and discuss with your partner.

Well done for noticing the key differences in how other characters interacted with Scrooge towards the end of the story.

Let's take a look at a good answer.

Sam said, "People are treating Scrooge with positivity.

They are smiling and jumping when they see him.

This is very different to chapter one." It's now time for a task.

Make a chart to track Scrooge's transformation throughout the story.

On the Y axis, we have a scale from bad person at the bottom to good person at the top.

On the X axis, we can see the key points in the story all the way along the bottom.

First, chapter one, then meets ghost of Marley, then meets ghost of Christmas past, then meets ghost of Christmas present, then meets ghosts of Christmas future, and last, wakes up on Christmas day.

Place a cross on the chart for each key point in the story to show how much of a bad or good person you think Scrooge is at this point.

Pause the video and do the task now.

Let's take a look at the answers.

At the beginning of the story in chapter one, we saw Scrooge demonstrate some very unkind qualities, so you would probably place your X right down near the bottom next to bad person.

But as the story continued, we saw Scrooge gradually develop into a much kinder person.

And by the end of the story, he demonstrated qualities of a very good person.

Your chart should demonstrate the transformation of Scrooge's character from demonstrating qualities of a bad person at the beginning to demonstrating very kind qualities belonging to a good person at the end.

Well done.

It is time for your final task and it is a talk task.

Which of these statements describes Scrooge's transformation best? Why? A, anyone can change.

B, you are never too old to improve yourself.

Or C, good deeds make up for bad ones.

Your sentence starter is, I think.

describes Scrooge's transformation best because.

Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

Welcome back.

Well done for discussing this question and sharing your opinion with others.

I heard lots of different answers.

I am now going to share the most common answer I heard.

Laura said, "I think A describes Scrooge's transformation best because you might think that Scrooge is far too nasty to transform, but he managed to turn things around." I really liked Laura's explanation here.

At the beginning of the story, Scrooge is so mean that it seems impossible to imagine him being any different.

But the story is a good example of showing that anyone can change.

We've now come to the end of our lesson, so let's go over a summary together.

A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs within a story.

Themes often link together and overlap.

The theme of transformation is an important theme in "A Christmas Carol." In "A Christmas Carol," transformation is depicted through Ebenezer Scrooge's journey from a miserly and mean individual to a compassionate and generous one.

Dickens uses Scrooge's treatment of others and their treatment of him to convey this change.

Well done for exploring and engaging with themes in "A Christmas Carol." I have really enjoyed teaching you this lesson.