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

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.

In this unit, pupils read and explore 'A Christmas Carol'. They start by reading the novella in full, pausing during each stave to analyse key scenes, characters, themes and methods. After reading the novella, pupils chart Scrooge's redemptive journey and craft an essay on the presentation of fear.

Nineteenth century text: first study

Historic or outdated representations of people that may portray inequality or injustice.

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

What can we call the fundamental information your reader requires to understand your argument? 

{{}} evidence is the unavoidable evidence - the quotations that you can’t avoid referencing. These quotations are very well-known, which makes it difficult to say anything new.

Fewer people would be likely to use these quotations.

It would be difficult to say anything new about these kinds of quotations.

More people would be likely to use these quotations.

Which of the following statements is true of secondary evidence? 

writing everything that your teacher thinks down

Which of the following could help you to demonstrate a personal response to a text?

If you consider a text as a whole, you are giving a __________ view of it.

"Well, I am the most disinterested among you, after all,”

“Father is so much kinder than he used to be"

Which of the following could be considered primary quotations from 'A Christmas Carol'? 

How does Scrooge respond to Marley's Ghost in Stave 1 of 'A Christmas Carol'? 

How does Scrooge respond to the characters Ignorance and Want in Stave 3 of 'A Christmas Carol'? 

What is Scrooge's biggest fear as an adolescent in Stave 2 of 'A Christmas Carol'? 

Complete the quotation from Stave 4 of 'A Christmas Carol': “Ghost of the Future!” he exclaimed, “I {{}} you more than any spectre I have seen."

Where does Scrooge's fear of abandonment come from in 'A Christmas Carol'? 

includes a thesis statement - introduces holistic argument

includes evidence for your opinion and relevant context

revisits thesis statement - summarises overarching argument

Match the components of an essay to the correct definition.

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Adult supervision recommended

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

'A Christmas Carol': planning an extended argument

Lesson outcome

Content guidance

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.