Good morning and welcome to today's lesson.

Thank you so much for joining me.

My name is Ms. Halladay and I'll be your teacher for today.

I can't wait to see all the incredible ideas that you come up with.

So let's get started.

So today's lesson is called Symbolism in "A Christmas Carol".

And by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to understand how Dickens uses that symbolism to reflect Scrooge's journey of redemption.

Here are some keywords that you'll need for today's lesson.

We've got symbolism, to redeem, transformed, moral awakening, and unity.

Here are the definitions of these keywords.

So first of all, symbolism is where the writer uses an object or an 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.

And finally, unity is the state of being together.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to begin by looking at the symbolism of weather.

Then we're going to look at the symbolism of bells in the novella before finishing by looking at the symbolism of music.

So a real journey there of three different symbols that we're going to examine.

So let's start off first of all with the symbolism of weather.

So let's start off with a quick discussion.

What weather do we consider to be good weather and what weather do we consider to be bad weather? What is pathetic fallacy and how is Scrooge described in Stave 1? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you have those discussions and before we share some ideas.

Some fantastic conversations there.

Now, in terms of what's good weather versus bad weather, I think people have different ideas about this.

However, generally speaking, I think we tend to consider good weather, very sunny, very mild, and warm weather.

And then bad weather tends to be kind of the torrential rain, thunder and lightning, and things like that that are more unpleasant to be outside in.

Well done, to those of you that remember that pathetic fallacy is when the writer uses the weather to reflect the mood.

So that could be the mood of the character or the mood of the atmosphere.

And finally, Scrooge in Stave 1 is a very miserly, miserable, and misanthropic character.

So well done If you describe Scrooge in that way in Stave 1, excellent work.

We're gonna begin today's lesson of looking at symbolism by looking at an extract that contains some really interesting descriptions of weather.

So I'm going to read this extract to you and it would be great if you could be following along either in your copy of "A Christmas Carol" or using the text on screen.

"Meanwhile, the fog and darkness thickened so, that people ran about with flaring links, proffering their services to go before horses and carriages and conduct them on their way.

The ancient tower of a church became invisible, and struck the hours and quarters in the clouds, with tremulous vibrations afterwards as if its teeth were chattering in its frozen head up there.

The cold became intense.

The water-plug being left in solitude, its overflowing sullenly congealed and turned to misanthropic ice.

Foggier yet, and colder.

Piercing, searching, biting cold." So there we had an extract from Stave 1.

What I'd like you to do now is consider the following questions.

What does the fog here symbolise? What might the darkness reflect? And finally, what is the effect of Dickens' list of verbs as adjectives here that I've highlighted for you in purple? So I'm going to now invite you to pause the video while you have those conversations and before we share some ideas together, off you go.

Some fantastic discussions there.

And I was really impressed to see that many of you recognise that the fog in Stave 1 symbolises Scrooge's ignorance.

Now fog limits our ability to see, and this might reflect, metaphorically, Scrooge's willful ignorance or his inability to see how his actions affect others.

The darkness similarly reflects Scrooge's immorality and his cruelty towards other people, as well as his miserable nature.

So again, here we really see Dickens using the weather to reflect the nature of our main character.

So using that pathetic fallacy.

Furthermore, Dickens' use of verbs as adjectives, in "Piercing, searching, biting cold" is actually really reminiscent of his description of Scrooge earlier in the very same stave where he describes Scrooge as squeezing, wrenching, grasping.

So Dickens makes explicit links between Scrooge and the weather here.

Now the word searching gives the weather some malevolence.

Okay, it's almost threatening, okay? And it's almost described as a predator and that shows its mercilessness and its cruelty and callousness.

And that reflects Scrooge's character as well.

So well done if you've got any of those ideas, I'm really impressed.

So let's check for understanding, which of the following best describes how Dickens uses fog in Stave 1? So what I'm going to do now is ask you to pause the video while you read the two options and describe which best describes Dickens' use of weather in Stave 1.

So off you go.

And a massive well done if you correctly identified that it is in fact A, Dickens uses fog in Stave 1 to represent Scrooge's willful ignorance to the suffering of the poor.

Despite the fact that many wealthy Victorian citizens lived alongside impoverished Victorian citizens, the plight of the poor was largely ignored.

Dickens uses the thick fog to reflect the fact that wealthy citizens like Scrooge could not see beyond their own prejudice and refused to view the poor as human beings in need of aid.

So it's not that they didn't notice the poor, it's that they notice them but refuse to help them.

So well done if you recognise that difference between the two responses.

A is the correct one.

So onto the first task of the lesson, we're gonna have a look at how Dickens uses the weather to reflect the stage that Scrooge is at in his redemption.

So what I've given you here is a timeline and I'm going to ask you to plot the weather from each stave onto this timeline and then consider how it reflects the stage Scrooge is at in its redemption.

So here's an example.

In Stave 1, we have this, "Foggier yet and colder.

Piercing, searching, biting cold." Now I've written on the timeline that this represents Scrooge's initial cruelty and ignorance.

So here his right at the beginning of his transformation.

The thought of transformation has not even occurred to Scrooge yet because he's that ignorant and that is reflected in the fog.

Again, I've helped you out with Stave 2 and I've given you the quotation.

So it's the weather in Stave two is, "He was obliged to rub the frost off with the sleeve of his dressing-gown before he could see anything; and could see very little then.

All he could make out was, that it was still very foggy and extremely cold." What I haven't done is told you how that reflects Scrooge's stage in his redemption.

So what I'd like you to do is finish the Stave 2 explanation and then plot the rest of the weather from the other staves onto the timeline to show how it reflects Scrooge's transformation.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you have a go at that task now.

Off you go.

Some fantastic work there and what we're going to do is work our way through the staves looking at the weather.

So make sure that you've added anything that you missed onto your timeline.

Now, in order to complete the Stave 2 section of the timeline, what you needed to add in was this idea that actually the weather reflects Scrooge's cold heartedness and unwillingness to change, okay? Scrooge's very resistant to changing the beginning of the novella because he's so set in his miserly and misanthropic ways.

He's not yet receptive to the teaching of the ghosts and therefore the persistent fog and persistent cold reflects Scrooge's persistent refusal to listen and change.

So well done if you got that.

Now, in terms of Stave 3, we have this quotation here.

"The sky was gloomy, and the shorter streets were choked up with a dingy mist, half thought and half frozen." Now, this is why I love Dickens.

I just think this is so, so clever.

That word half reflects that Scrooge is at the midpoint or the half point, if you see what I mean, in his transformation.

And that therefore the mist or the fog of Scrooge's ignorance is now clearing away, okay? I just love that, it's one of my favourite things in this whole novella is the way that Dickens uses weather.

It's just fantastic.

Okay, so really cleverly there Dickens using the half thawed, half frozen weather to reflect Scrooge's a half thawed character in his transformation.

Very, very clever.

In Stave 4, we've got this, "Cold, isn't it? Seasonable for Christmas time." Now that was said between the two businessmen having a conversation and the cold here represents the fact that Scrooge hasn't yet completed his transformation.

He still needs to learn, but interestingly, no fog is mentioned and that's because Scrooge has a new insight, he has a new perspective and he's no longer ignorant, not only to the suffering of others, but the impact of his own behaviour on other people as well.

So whilst the ignorance has lifted, we haven't yet seen him as a warm character and that's why it's still cold.

So let's carry on.

And finally, at the beginning of Stave 5, in the chapters that we see Scrooge's is impressive transformation in, we see that there is "No fog, no mist", and that the weather is described as "Clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold, cold, piping for the blood to dance to." And this golden sunlight is described as well.

Now that reflects Scrooge's redeemed character.

All of his ignorance, all of his callousness has lifted away and left this kind of really moral and well-intentioned character.

So here we see the fog of his ignorance has cleared and the darkness of his misery has gone away leaving that golden sunlight.

Again, I love this description and you might be thinking, but now that Scrooge is a warm character, why is it still cold outside? And that would be a really good question to ask.

However, the cold is actually welcomed at this time of year.

It would be really bizarre, wouldn't it if December was really, you know, warm.

And Dickens is actually embracing the cold here and presenting the cold as a natural part of the weather cycle throughout the year, but also as a good thing because it's presented as a motivator and actually a source of energy rather than something that slows people down or makes them miserable.

So Dickens is actually celebrating every aspect of the festive period here, including the cold and kind of suggesting that the cold is just what comes with that time of the year, but that Scrooge is no longer cold hearted and that's why all the darkness and the fog has lifted.

Now, the fact that the sun has come out, reflects Scrooge's emotional warmth and the fact that he will later become a life source for others through his generosity.

So the fact that he will become a pillar of his community.

So again, really clever use of weather there and pathetic fallacy from Dickens.

So well done if you've got any of those ideas on your timeline, really good work.

So onto looking at the second part of the lesson now where we're going to have a look at the symbolism of bells in the novella.

So first of all, let's have a think of, well, what do we use bells for? On what occasions might you expect to hear bells? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you have those discussions and before we share some ideas together.

Off you go.

Some fantastic discussions.

And I loved hearing this idea that we tend to use bells to announce something, okay? And in terms of occasions, we have funeral bells, we have wedding bells, we have christening bells.

Most of these are religious celebrations and they mark either the beginnings of something or the deaths of something.

Okay, so again, really interesting there.

And let's have a look at how the idea of rebirth or death manifests in the form of bells in the novella.

So what I've got for you here is some quotations from different parts of the novella and then some probing questions that will really enable you to analyse these quotes really richly.

So on the left hand side I've put the quotations, and here's an example.

We've got, "Whose gruff old bell was always peeping slightly down at Scrooge, struck the hours and quarters in the clouds." So I'd like you to take that quotation and then use this question, what is the effect of Dickens' use of personification here to analyse that quotation and think about the symbolism of bells in the novella.

So here we are quotations and the corresponding questions that I would like you to discuss.

So what I'm going to do now is invite you to pause the video while you use the questions on the right hand side of the grid to analyse the quotations on the left hand side of the grid, thinking specifically about the symbolism of bells in "A Christmas Carol".

So pause the video and off you go.

Wow, I heard some really incredible ideas there.

I'm really impressed with how quickly you're picking up this idea of symbolism.

So first of all, this gruff old bell that peeps slightly down at Scrooge, Dickens is using personification here and he's giving the bell's human quality and he is making it sound almost omniscient, okay? And that word omniscient means that it's as if it can see and hear everything, okay? So that gives the distinct impression that this bell has been watching Scrooge and judging his behaviour in life, okay? Now in terms of at the end of Stave 1, before Molly's ghost visit Scrooge, when "He starts to see the bells begin to swing.

And it swung so softly, but soon it rang out loudly and so did every bell in the house." Well, Dickens here uses the bells to create this really tense and ominous and supernatural atmosphere to announce the arrival of Molly's ghost and therefore the beginning of Scrooge's transformation.

Now again, at the arrival of the next ghost, we have this quotation, "To his great astonishment the heavy bell went on from six to seven, and from seven to eight, and regularly up to 12; and then stopped." Now this bell allows screws to keep track of time in the novella because time is quite transient, okay? It's not fixed and time goes kind of forwards and backwards throughout the novella.

But that represents this idea that time is really fleeting and it's of the essence.

And again, Dickens uses the bells here to create a really supernatural atmosphere and suggests that Scrooge is about to be judged for his moral crimes in life.

So again here, this is the bell before the ghost of Christmas present appears, "When the bell struck one and no shape appeared, he trembled violently." Now again, we see the bells announcing the presence of the ghosts in the novella, which is why Scrooge reacts so fearfully to them because he begins to associate bells with the idea of moral judgement.

And finally, before the final ghost visit Scrooge, we see the bell striking 12.

And "As the last stroke ceased to vibrate, he remembered the prediction of old Jacob Marley." And he knows that that spirit is coming, okay? So again, we see the bells representing judgement and moral awakening in the novella because when the bell chimes Scrooge knows fully well that he's about to learn his next lesson, okay? So here we see the bells really representing this idea of moral awakening and spiritual judgement.

So let's check for understanding.

What do the bells represent in "A Christmas Carol"? Is it A, poverty and suffering, B, judgement and moral awakening, or is it C, change and transformation? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video and make your answer selection.

And really well remembered if you put that the answer is in fact, B.

Bells in "A Christmas Carol" represent judgement and moral awakening because they often announce the arrival of the ghosts who deliver that judgement and the moral messages that will allow Scrooge to be reborn later in the novella.

So well done.

So for our last task of the lesson, I really wanted to look more closely at the use of bells in Stave 5.

So here's a quotation from Stave 5.

"He was checked in his transports by the churches, ringing out the lustiest peals he had ever heard.

Clash, clang, hammer; ding, dong, bell.

Bell dong, ding; hammer, clang, clash! Oh, glorious, glorious!" So what I'd like you to do now is use this quotation to discuss, well how does Scrooge react to the bell here and why? And what does the bell symbolise here? And finally, can you think of any other interpretations of the bells throughout "A Christmas Carol"? So I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you have a completing our second task of the lesson.

Off you go.

Some fantastic ideas and here's what you might have said.

So as Alex points out, "Scrooge rejoices at the sound of the bell in Stave 5.

The bell symbolises Scrooge's moral awakening and functions as a call to action for him to begin making positive changes to his life." So it's like a wake up call literally and metaphorically.

"Whereas once Scrooge feared the sound of the bell, he now welcomes it showing how receptive he is to the spirit's messages." And Izzy replies, "Bells are also used at christenings and funerals.

The bell in Stave 5 could also symbolise the death of the old miserly Scrooge and the rebirth of the new moral and socially-responsible Scrooge.

Scrooge has embraced the true values of Christmas, and in this sense he has found God, so the bells may reflect this." I love this idea from Izzy.

I think it's fantastic and I really like how she's tied it to Dickens's Christian message about Christmas and goodwill.

Well done Izzy.

So onto the last part of our lesson now where we're going to have a look at the symbolism of music.

So first of all, I'm sure you all know this, and I'd be a bit concerned if you didn't buy now, but the novella's title is "A Christmas Carol".

So what I'd like you to discuss is, well what is a carol? What connotations does the phrase "A Christmas Carol" conjure up? What Christmas carols do you know? And I mean, feel free to have a little bit of a singsong if you fancy it.

And finally, why might Dickens have called the text "A Christmas Carol"? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you have a discussion about those four questions.

Off you go.

Fantastic, so let's hear some answers from our fantastic Oak students.

So Alex states, first of all that "A carol is actually a religious song sung at a festive period, in this case it's Christmas." When he thinks of Christmas carol's, he imagines groups of people gathered together all singing the same song together.

And Izzy replies, "Dickens might have given the novella its titles to reflect the idea that it might unite people and metaphorically get them singing from the same hymn sheet about society and the way that people should be treated.

Its message is that of equality and unity, so its title reflects that." So what I'd like you to do now is discuss, well how does this link to the chapters being called staves? Okay, so I'm gonna invite you to pause the video now while you have a little bit of a discussion about why the chapters might be called staves.

Some fantastic discussions there.

And the Mozarts among you might have recognised that actually staves is a musical term and the stave is made up of five lines.

So that's significant to "A Christmas Carol" because again, we have five staves in the novella.

So five chapters to represent the five lines within a musical stave.

Now again, it all links back to this idea of Dickens wanted to unite people together and get them metaphorically singing from the same hymn sheet.

So Dickens organises his chapters into staves to reflect the musical quality, not only to the novella's title, but also a lot of his description.

'Cause a lot of Dickens' writing has a real musical, lyrical quality to it.

And that's reflected in his long list of verbs as adjectives and the way that his characters speak and interact with one another.

So here Dickens calls his chapter staves to reflect the musical quality of the text.

So let's check for understanding, which of the following best describes why the novella's title is significant? I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you read the two answer options and decide which you think best describes the significance of the novella's title.

Off you go.

And well done if you identified correctly that the answer is in fact B.

The title reflects Dickens' purpose in writing the novella.

Carol's unite people together at Christmas, and in writing this novella, Dickens wanted to unite people so that a fairer and more equal society could be made.

Christmas carol's are passed down from generation to generation, so again, Dickens uses "Carol" in the title to reflect the idea that he wants this story or rather its message to be passed down for years to come.

So well done if you picked B, you are absolutely right.

And now time for another discussion 'cause you guys know that I love a discussion.

I love any opportunity to hear your ideas.

So I would like you to discuss now can you think of any moments where music features in the novella? And here's an example just to get your memory jogged.

So in Stave 1 you might remember that there is a really cute little Christmas carol boy that Scrooge intimidates and scares with a ruler, okay? So there's an example of the type of music that I'm looking for in the novella.

So what I'd like you to do now is pause the video while you have a go coming up with some more examples of music in "A Christmas Carol".

Off you go.

Fantastic, and I'm so impressed by how well you are able to remember the text.

So really well done.

Here's some examples of music in the novella.

So you might have remembered that there are fiddlers at Fezziwig's Christmas party.

You might remember that the ship's crew sing on Christmas day and that the miners sing Christmas carols around the fire in their families.

You might recall the music at Fred's Christmas party and you might remember the church bells that ring out gloriously in Stave 5.

So well done if you've got any of those.

I'm going to put the spider diagram back up for you because I'd like you to look at these examples of music and then think, well, what do you think music might represent in "A Christmas Carol" then? So again, have a look at the different kinds of music we see in the novella and think about, well, what's the significance of that music and what does it represent? So pause the video and off you go.

Some fantastic ideas.

And again, let's hear a conversation between two of our Oak students.

So first of all, Laura says, "I think that music represents unity and equality in "A Christmas Carol" because every scene that we see music in shows people celebrating together and treating one another with kindness and empathy." And Sam replies "That would explain why Scrooge intimidates the caroller boy in Stave 1.

Even he views music as an instrument or a means of uniting people and showing one's joy.

Scrooge rejects both of these principles, so in frightening the caroller boy away, Dickens shows Scrooge is rejecting unity, joy, and kindness." So basically in rejecting the caroller boy Scrooge is rejecting everything that music represents in the novella, which is that unity, joy, and kindness.

So well done if you've got those ideas.

And onto our last task of the lesson.

So what I've got for you today is a gap fill, okay? And I would like you to use the blue words to complete the paragraph below.

You can use some more than once, but you need to think very carefully about which words you're going to put where, because this task isn't quite as easy as you might think.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you have a go at completing the gap fill.

Off you go.

Fantastic work, so let's check our answers.

If you've got any wrong, that's absolutely fine, don't worry, just cross them out for me and replace 'em with the correct words so that your notes are right.

So here's what you should have got, Dickens uses music as a symbol for unity and equality in "A Christmas Carol".

In the beginning of the novella, we see Scrooge threaten a caroller boy because he's singing a festive tune, showing Scrooge's rejection of these values.

However, by the end of the novella, Dickens show Scrooge's transformation through his reaction to music being played.

In Stave 5, when the church bells ring out, Scrooge views them as glorious.

This shows that he now accepts and celebrates the values of equality and unity.

In Stave 5, Scrooge's speech is presented as musical, showing that he is almost likened to a disused instrument that has now been given a voice again.

This reflects that he has been spiritually reborn and morally repurposed.

And what I'd like to just pick out from this model answer is this idea of Scrooge being compared to a disused instrument because he really is.

All the characters around him like Fezziwig, Bob, and Fred laugh and have a musical quality to their voice, especially Fezziwig, even his name is quite musical.

But Scrooge throughout the novella is almost like an abandoned or neglected or disused musical instrument that has to learn again how to play, okay? And I really like this comparison of him to the instrument because like we said, instruments kind of are a source of joy and merriment for many people.

And musical performances unite people together.

And here in the novella, Scrooge is almost used as an instrument to unite society.

So I really like that comparison that this answer makes between Scrooge and the disused instrument.

Well done if you've got all of your words in the right place, and if you've just got one or two out of place, don't worry.

Still a fantastic effort, so well done.

So to summarise the learning from today's lesson, first of all, Dickens uses the weather throughout the text to symbolise Scrooge's redemption.

The fog in Stave 1 symbolises Scrooge's willful ignorance to the suffering of others, but the fog slowly clears as Scrooge develops more moral awareness.

Dickens uses bells in the novella to symbolise judgement and as a call to moral awakening.

When the bells chime, it is time for Scrooge to learn another lesson.

Dickens uses music throughout the novella to symbolise unity and equality, and even the novella's title is symbolic of Dickens' hope for his message to be passed down from generation to generation.

Thank you so much for coming to today's lesson.

I've really enjoyed teaching you this content.

I think it's absolutely fascinating and I hope you enjoyed learning it.

I hope to see you next time, and I hope you have a lovely rest of your day.

Thank you and see you later.