The preface comes at the beginning of a book and introduces its aims or scope.

Someone impoverished would have very little money and very few possessions.

Being avaricious means having an extreme greed for wealth or possessions.

A miser is a person who hoards wealth and spends as little money as possible.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 1: Scrooge the Miser

English

In 'A Christmas Carol: Scrooge's redemption, pupils trace the way Scrooge changes across the text as a result of his interaction with the ghosts. In 'A Christmas Carol: a ghost story', pupils  examine the use of gothic tropes in more detail and in particular the use of the supernatural and the ghosts, which allow the past to interrupt the present and even future. 

In 'Victorian Childhood', pupils read a number of non fiction extracts about the suffering of poor children and campaign for better laws to protect them as part of a persuasive speaking role play. In 'A Christmas Carol', pupils learn about Dickens as a social campaigner and the way in which he wrote the novella to encourage people to help the poor. 

Nineteenth century text: first study

A covetous person has a strong desire for wealth or possessions, often those that belong to other people.

An asyndetic list is one which does not contain conjunctions like ‘and’ or ‘or'.

Conservation means the preservation of a useful resource.

Somebody demonstrating contempt for something would be showing a strong dislike or hatred for it.

Somebody callous is cruel, harsh and insensitive.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 1: The Characterisation of Scrooge

Penance is an action performed by somebody who has sinned to show remorse or regret for their sins.

Somebody showing remorse would apologise for their actions and try to make amends.

The culmination of something is the direct result of it.

Somebody who believes in social responsibility invests in their community and supports those in need.

A catalyst is the cause of an important change.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 1: Meeting Marley's ghost

The word ‘Malthusian’ refers to the ideas of an economist called Thomas Malthus who influences Victorian attitudes towards poverty.

To embody means to be the perfect example of - to exemplify something.

An ideology is a system of beliefs or values.

A philanthropist promotes the welfare of others, often by giving money to charity or campaigning for equality.

A misanthropist is someone who views the human race distinctly negatively. They harbour a dislike or hatred for other people.

'A Christmas Carol': Scrooge as a very Victorian character

If a dire warning is delivered, it is incredibly serious and urgent.

Someone indifferent to other people would show little concern or interest in them.

A harbinger is a person or thing that signals the arrival of something.

A meagre meal would contain very little food.

'A Christmas Carol': planning an essay on Scrooge

Taking an analytical approach means examining something carefully to reach a conclusion.

The thesis is the main idea, argument or theory of a piece of writing.

If someone is affluent, they have a lot of money.

If something is quintessential, it represents the most perfect or typical example of something.

When you put a quotation inside your own sentence you have embedded it.

'A Christmas Carol': writing about Stave 1

If light is emanating from a lamp, it is coming from, or beaming out of the lamp.

Showing empathy means putting yourself in someone else’s position and understanding how they might feel.

If you enlighten someone, you provide them with the information necessary for them to understand something.

If something is inescapable, you cannot get away from it.

A manifestation is a visible representation of something (usually something abstract).

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 2: the first of the three spirits

Any act that involves unfairness to another or a violation of somebody’s rights can be described as an injustice.

Somebody resentful has a feeling of anger or bitterness because they feel they have been treated unfairly.

If a smell is reminiscent of your family home, it reminds you of it.

Somebody benevolent is inherently kind and well-intentioned.

If something has the power to be transformative, it has the power to change things significantly for the better.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 2: Scrooge's childhood and Fezziwig

If something has the power to corrupt someone, it has the power to make them dishonest and immoral.

An ethereal being is a beautiful and other-worldly creature.

If you idolise someone, you adore and admire them very much.

If you do something wilfully, you do it knowingly and on purpose.

If you feel fulfilled, you feel that all your hopes and ambitions have been met.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 2: Belle

Context is the circumstances in which a text was produced.

The impact of something is its influence on something else.

If you integrate two things, you combine them together.

Being analytical means examining the text in detail to learn more about it.

'A Christmas Carol': writing about Stave 2

Feedback is information given to someone to help them improve something.

Redrafting something means rewriting it to improve it.

Engaging in introspection means examining your own thoughts and feelings.

If an argument is compelling, it is convincing and persuasive.

A discourse marker is a word or phrase that helps us to organise our speech or writing into sections. An example would be ‘so’ or ‘also’.

'A Christmas Carol': improving analytical writing

If someone is receptive, they are willing to consider or accept new suggestions and ideas.

If someone is reflective, they are able to evaluate their own actions and behaviour.

If you have an abundance of something, you have a lot of it.

Emotional repression is when someone unconsciously pushes difficult or upsetting feelings aside so that they can’t surface.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 3: the second of the three spirits

The portrayal of a scene is how that scene is presented or depicted.

If you were being hyperbolic, you would be exaggerating.

If you had an abundance of something, you would have a lot of it.

Merriment means light hearted fun or cheerfulness, often used when talking about happy occasions.

Being optimistic means being positive and hopeful about the future.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 3: Christmas around the world

A theme is a central idea or message that is explored through a literary work.

If someone demonstrates gratitude, they are thankful for what they have.

Being resourceful means finding clever ways to overcome difficulties or challenges.

If a character exemplifies a theme, they are an example or representation of it.

If you humanise something, you present it as a human being, so that people can empathise with it.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 3: the Cratchits' Christmas

The antithesis of something is the direct opposite of it.

If two people hold opposing views on something, they have totally different opinions.

Colour symbolism is when a writer uses colours (and the particular associations they hold) to characterise a character or setting.

Being frivolous means being unserious or being silly about something.

Two contrasting things would be strikingly different from one another.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 3: Scrooge and Fred as opposite characters

Being a moral person means you understand the difference between right and wrong and do the right thing.

If someone is dependent upon someone else, it means that they rely upon them.

If something has the power to corrupt someone, it has the ability to make them behave in a dishonest and immoral way.

If someone is being neglected, their basic needs (like love, shelter and sustenance) are not being met.

Hypocrisy means claiming to have higher standard of behaviour or morals than you actually have.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 3: Ignorance and Want

To analyse a quotation means to examine it in detail to find meaning.

A method is anything the writer does - any choice that the writer makes.

A discourse marker is a word which helps us structure our writing or speech into sections.

If you become accustomed to something, you become used to it.

'A Christmas Carol': writing about the presentation of children

Someone showing repentance would be demonstrating their regret or their remorse for something they have done.

Something abhorrent would make you feel horrified, disgusted or appalled.

If you evaluate a problem, you consider all the possible ideas or answers before deciding its significance or quality.

Engaging in introspection means examining your own thoughts and behaviours.

Spiritual judgement is the idea that, when a person dies, they will be judged on their actions in life and either punished or rewarded.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 4: the last of the three spirits

If somebody is disinterested in a conversation, they simply do not care about it.

Something grotesque is hideously ugly, vile or disgusting.

If a person is frugal with their money, they try to avoid spending it.

If someone is opportunistic, they will take any chance to prosper from a situation.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 4: a significant death

If you are indifferent to something, you are not bothered about it.

Someone callous is exceptionally harsh and cruel.

If you repress your emotions, you push them to the back of your mind and try to ignore them.

A person’s welfare is their happiness, health and wellbeing.

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 4: death in the novella

to leave a person behind, usually forever

able to be easily hurt or attacked, either physically or emotionally

if you advocate for something, you promote it

enduring hardship without showing it - not showing one’s emotions

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 4: Scrooge's fears

If someone is transformed, they have changed significantly.

If something is newfound, it has been recently discovered.

If someone is liberated from prison, they are released or set free.

If an author contrasts two characters, they make them strikingly different or opposite.

Character development is the moral journey a character undertakes throughout the text .

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 5: the change in Scrooge

Symbolism is where the writer uses an object or image to represent an idea.

If someone redeems themself, they regain your respect and support.

If someone is transformed, they have drastically changed (usually for the better).

A moral awakening is the discovery of a new sense of moral responsibility.

'A Christmas Carol': symbolism in the novella

A literary hero is the main character who overcomes challenges.

If someone is inspirational to you, you want to follow their example.

Someone superstitious would believe wholeheartedly in the existence of the supernatural.

If something is culturally-significant, it bears relevance to the whole population - it is of importance to society.

'A Christmas Carol': Scrooge's redemptive journey

when something is holistic, all the separate parts are connected and work together as a whole.

to be explorative about a topic means to approach it in a spirit of investigation and curiosity.

primary evidence refers to the commonly-used quotations from a text.

secondary evidence refers to less well known quotations that can build your argument.

being reductionist means analysing something complicated into its simplest form.

'A Christmas Carol': planning an extended argument

When evaluating a response, you weigh up its success and make a judgement about it.

If something catalyses something else, it starts or triggers it.

Evolving means developing or changing gradually (usually for the better).

Nineteenth century text: first study

A Christmas Carol: Scrooge's redemption

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These lessons will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.