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.

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

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

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

Subjects which particular individuals may be sensitive to, eg, adoption, migration, bereavement or death, divorce.

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Which is the first death mentioned in 'A Christmas Carol?'

Which of the following deaths does Scrooge react compassionately to in 'A Christmas Carol'? 

the feeling of not being bothered by something

a person's happiness, health and wellbeing

when emotions are pushed down and ignored

the process of investing in one's community

Which of the following definitions is the correct one for 'repression'?

Complete the quotation from Stave 4 of 'A Christmas Carol': "unwatched, unwept, {{}} for, was the body of this man."

how important it is to live a fulfilling and moral life

What do the deaths in stave 3 and 4 of 'A Christmas Carol' teach Scrooge? 

to make as many friends as possible to leave a lasting legacy

to make as much money as possible so we can donate it

to contribute to the welfare and happiness of others

to speak to others and understand what they go through 

What did Dickens believe our purpose in life was? 

What figure does the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come most resemble in 'A Christmas Carol'? 

the businessmen's conversations about a dead man

Mrs. Dilber and her criminal accomplices in the beetling shop

Starting with the first, put the scenes that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge in stave 4 of 'A Christmas Carol' in chronological order.

because it's disgusted by Scrooge's attitude so doesn't want to speak to him

because this allows Dickens to make it a more threatening presence

because it has nothing to teach Scrooge so doesn't feel the need to speak

because this means that Scrooge has to interpret its lessons for himself

because it represents Scrooge's silence in the past about social issues

Why doesn't the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come speak in 'A Christmas Carol'? 

She was the only family member Scrooge had.

What do we know about Scrooge's little sister Fan in 'A Christmas Carol'? 

Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone.

It was a cold December night in the counting house.

What is the opening line of 'A Christmas Carol'? 

What method does Dickens use in stave 4 of 'A Christmas Carol' to slowly reveal the identity of the anonymous dead man? 

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Adult supervision recommended

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

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

Lesson outcome

Content guidance

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