Lesson video

Hi everyone, my name is Ms. Voyle, and welcome to today's lesson where you are going to be planning the climax of "A Christmas Carol." During this lesson, you'll need to be listening and looking carefully.

There'll be tasks where you need somebody to talk to, and you will also need a piece of paper and pen or pencil for writing your plan.

I hope you are feeling excited and ready to learn.

Let's get started.

The learning outcome for today's lesson is I can generate precise vocabulary to plan the climax of "A Christmas Carol." Here are the key words for today's lesson.

Let's practise saying them.

My turn, your turn.

Climax, suspense, ominous, fraught.

Great job, well done.

Let's take a look at their definitions.

The climax is the point in the narrative that describes the main action and takes the suspense to its highest point.

Suspense is a state of feeling excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen.

Ominous is an adjective used to describe something showing a sign of misfortune to come, and fraught is an adjective used to describe something that causes anxiety and stress.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

In the first part, we will be preparing to plan, and in the second part, you will be planning the climax.

So let's begin with preparing to plan.

"A Christmas Carol" can be structured like this: opening, build-up, climax, resolution.

You have already written the opening and the build-up of your narrative.

In this lesson, you will be generating precise vocabulary to plan the climax.

The purpose of the climax is to describe the main action and take the suspense to its highest point.

You'll be planning and writing about Scrooge's visit from the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who is also referred to as the Ghost of Christmas Future.

And you will be writing about this for the climax of your narrative.

Let's check your understanding.

What is the purpose of the climax in a narrative? A, to set the scene and introduce the main characters.

B, to describe the main action and take the suspense to its highest point.

C, to create an atmosphere that gradually builds suspense.

Pause the video and select the correct answer.

The answer is B, well done.

The purpose of the climax in a narrative is to describe the main action and take the suspense to its highest point.

What happened in the build-up of "A Christmas Carol"? Let's recap and remind ourselves.

Scrooge returned home and he felt relieved to have escaped London's Christmas joy.

He was comforted by the bleakness of his residence.

The usual silence of Scrooge's home was disrupted by strange whispering sounds.

The atmosphere in his home became increasingly unnerving, and then the ghost of Jacob Marley appeared.

Marley warned Scrooge of his selfish, cruel ways and informed him that he would be visited by three ghosts: the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

In the climax of the story, Scrooge is visited by each of the three Christmas ghosts.

Let's learn a little bit about each of these visits.

Christmas Past.

The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge on a journey through his childhood and early adulthood.

He shows him happy and painful memories, including the loss of a great love and his transformation into a miser.

Christmas Present.

The Ghost of Christmas Present reveals to Scrooge the joyous celebrations of Christmas happening in the present, including the humbled festivities of the Cratchit family.

Scrooge witnesses the warmth of human connection that he has been missing out on.

You are going to focus on the visit from the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in your climax.

Let's learn a little bit about this visit.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives and shows Scrooge a grim vision of the future, which scares him.

Scrooge witnesses his own lonely demise where he feels unloved and nobody mourns the loss of him.

His horror deepens when he has shown the future suffering of those he has wronged.

He witnesses the current fate of the Cratchit family, who are impoverished and mourning the loss of their child.

This visit serves as a stark reminder to Scrooge of the consequences of his selfish and unkind behaviour if he does not change his ways.

Let's check your understanding.

Number the following from one to four to show the order of events in the climax.

A, Scrooge is shown the current fate of the impoverished Cratchit family.

B, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives and show Scrooge a grim vision of the future.

C, Scrooge feels the weight of what the future holds if he does not change his ways.

D, Scrooge witnesses his own lonely demise, unloved and unmourned.

Pause the video now and number these one to four to show the order of events in the climax.

Let's take a look at the answers together.

One, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives and show Scrooge a grim vision of the future.

Two, Scrooge witnesses his own lonely demise, unloved and unmourned.

Three, Scrooge is shown the current fate of the impoverished Cratchit family.

And four, Scrooge feels the weight of what the future holds if he does not change his ways.

Well done for showing your understanding of the chronology of events in the climax.

You will write two paragraphs for the climax.

In paragraph one, the Ghost of Christmas Future appears and transport Scrooge to an empty graveyard.

You'll describe the following: the vision of Scrooge's own lonely demise, unloved and unmourned; and the current fate of the impoverished Cratchit family.

In paragraph two, the suspense will reach its highest point and leads to Scrooge's ultimate realisation.

It'll describe the following: Scrooge's panic as he asks the ghost worried questions and Scrooge's realisation that the future holds grave consequences if he does not change his ways.

Let's consider the details for paragraph one.

The Ghost of Christmas Future appears and transports Scrooge to an empty graveyard, showing him visions of his current fate.

This paragraph will need to include precise and descriptive vocabulary that conveys an ominous atmosphere.

Ominous is an adjective which means being or showing a sign of misfortune to come.

Let's look at some examples of precise vocabulary that conveys an ominous atmosphere for paragraph one.

The Ghost of Christmas Future and visions that are shown: tall, shadowy figure eerily beckoned Scrooge with skeletal hands; bleak cemetery filled with weathered gravestones; neglected, moss-covered grave, which lay isolated and forgotten; tearful, impoverished Cratchit family, who were consumed by grief.

Let's take a look at Scrooge's emotions for paragraph one through use of show and tell: weary and tortured miser felt the weight of what he saw; overwhelmed by the level of suffering and grief he witnessed; struggled to breathe as his feelings of despair grew.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following phrases create an ominous atmosphere? Remember that ominous means being or showing a sign of misfortune to come.

A, watch the future visions carefully while feeling assured.

B, forgotten, weathered grave, which lay isolated and unvisited.

C, felt his chest tighten as his feelings of despair grew.

D, peaceful rows of well-kept gravestones.

Pause the video and select your answers now.

The answers are B and C, well done.

Forgotten, weathered grave, which lay isolated and unvisited, felt his chest tighten as his feelings of despair grew, these phrases convey an ominous atmosphere to the reader.

Let's consider the details for paragraph two now.

The suspense reaches its highest point as Scrooge becomes panicked and scared that the visions he has seen will come true.

This paragraph will need to convey Scrooge's fraught emotions, leading to his realisation that he must change his ways.

Fraught is an adjective which means affected by anxiety and stress.

You'll include the following in paragraph two: pieces of direct speech for Scrooge and Scrooge's inner thoughts.

Let's look at some examples of precise vocabulary that convey Scrooge's fraught emotions for paragraph two.

For pieces of direct speech for Scrooge: "Please, tell me that these events are not a certainty!" Scrooge desperately pleaded.

"What can I do to prevent this suffering?!" Scrooge inquired in a voice mixed with despair and hope.

For Scrooge's inner thoughts: Scrooge considered all of the unkind treatment he had shown others and he felt a wave of regret.

Scrooge realised that he could not continue this way and knew that it was time for him to change his ways.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following conveys Scrooge's fraught emotions? Remember that fraught means causing or affected by anxiety and stress.

A, "Please, tell me this is not my fate!" Scrooge pleaded while shaking.

B, Scrooge wondered if it might be sensible to show greater kindness.

C, "Are you sure this will actually come true?" Scrooge asked calmly.

D, Scrooge thought of every unkindness he had shown and felt ashamed.

Pause the video and select your answers now.

The answers are A and D, well done.

"Please, tell me this is not my fate!" Scrooge pleaded while shaking.

And Scrooge thought of every unkindness he had shown and felt ashamed.

Both of these examples convey Scrooge's fraught emotions.

It's now time for your task.

Fill in the blanks in these examples for paragraph one and paragraph two of the climax.

Paragraph one.

Remember, the focus here is conveying an ominous atmosphere that builds suspense.

Emerging from the shadows, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come approached Scrooge and over him.

Without warning, Scrooge was transported to a frightful, graveyard.

And paragraph two.

Remember, the focus here is conveying Scrooge's fraught emotions and the heightened suspense.

Scrooge felt panic through him as he realised the true consequences of his cruelty and.

"Is this truly what lies ahead?" he as he searched for some consolation.

The missing words for you to choose from are: chilling, silently, surge, murky, indifference, towered, inquired.

Pause the video and select the correct vocabulary to fill in the blanks for paragraph one and paragraph two now.

Welcome back.

Let's take a look at the answers together.

For paragraph one: Emerging from the murky shadows, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come silently approached Scrooge and towered over him.

Without warning, Scrooge was transported to a frightful, chilling graveyard.

And for paragraph two: Scrooge felt panic surged through him as he realised the true consequences of his cruelty and indifference.

"Is this truly what lies ahead?" He inquired as he searched for some consolation.

Well done for demonstrating your understanding of the different kinds of vocabulary you will need to use in paragraph one and paragraph two.

It's now time for the second part of our lesson where you will be planning the climax.

When we write a plan, we use notes.

Notes are concise and capture key vocabulary and information.

The purpose of notes is to help the writer to organise information easily for future use.

We use bullet points when note-taking.

They look like this.

For the climax, your plan needs to include the following: precise and descriptive vocabulary that shows and tells the reader what is happening and creates an ominous atmosphere and ideas for direct speech and inner thoughts for Scrooge that convey his fraught emotions.

Let's check your understanding.

What should the vocabulary in your plan include? A, precise and descriptive vocabulary, including show and tell.

B, precise vocabulary describing all three ghosts.

C, full sentences with capital letters and full stops.

D, ideas for direct speech and Scrooge's inner thoughts.

Pause the video and select the correct answers.

The answers are A and D, well done.

Your plan should include precise and descriptive vocabulary, including show and tell, and it should also include ideas for direct speech and Scrooge's inner thoughts.

It's now time for you to write the plan for paragraph one of the climax.

Remember that the purpose of paragraph one is to convey an ominous atmosphere that builds suspense.

You need to note down precise and descriptive vocabulary for the Ghost of Christmas Future and the vision shown, and for Scrooge's emotions, including the use of show and tell.

Pause the video and fill in the plan for paragraph one of the climax now.

Welcome back.

Well done for writing the plan for paragraph one of the climax.

Let's take a look at some good examples together now.

For the Ghost of Christmas Future and the visions that are shown: figure cloaked in shadows; stood tall and silent; desolate, bleak cemetery; cold, unmarked grave; Cratchit family - struggle, pain, and grief.

For Scrooge's emotions and show and tell: wary, tortured miser; exhausted eyes scanned; felt a heavy weight; overwhelmed by what he saw; too much to bear.

These notes convey an ominous atmosphere that gradually builds the suspense for paragraph one.

It's now time for you to write the plan for paragraph two of the climax.

You will need to note down ideas for Scrooge's speech and reporting clauses, and you will need to note down Scrooge's inner thoughts.

Pause the video and fill in the plan for paragraph two of the climax now.

Welcome back, well done for completing the plan for paragraph two of the climax.

Let's take a look at some good examples together.

For ideas for Scrooge's speech and reporting clauses: "Is this truly my fate?"; "What can I do?"; "Tell me it's not too late," desperately pleaded; voice trembled with fear.

And for Scrooge's inner thoughts: stark reminder, gravity of his actions, inevitable consequences, deep regret and sorrow, time for change had come.

These notes convey Scrooge's fraught emotions and take the suspense to its highest point.

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

The purpose of the climax is to describe the main action and take the suspense to its highest point.

The climax of "A Christmas Carol" describes Scrooge's encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

Scrooge feels great regret and sorrow upon seeing the future visions and realises he must change his ways.

Precise and descriptive vocabulary, including show and tell, is used to convey an ominous atmosphere.

And direct speech and Scrooge's inner thoughts are used to convey Scrooge's fraught emotions.

Well done for your hard work planning the climax of "A Christmas Carol".