Good morning.

Welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Miss Halliday and I'll be your teacher for today.

Thank you so much for joining me.

I'm really looking forward to hearing all of your incredible ideas and suggestions.

So let's get started.

So today's lesson is called "A Victorian Ghost Story," and by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain why Dickens used the ghost story genre to underpin his didactic message.

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

We've got genre, supernatural, Victorian respectability, deviant, and conservative.

Here are the definitions of these keywords.

So first of all, we've got genre, which is a style or category of literature.

We've got supernatural, which is a phenomenon that cannot be explained by science or constrained within the laws of nature.

We've got Victorian respectability, which is the Victorian belief that people should act, dress and behave in a certain socially acceptable way.

Anything deviant goes against the accepted norm or standard of behaviour.

And finally, if someone is conservative, it means that they're very traditional and established and often quite resistant to change.

So here's our lesson outlined for today.

We're gonna begin by looking at Dickens' use of genre before moving on to looking at his supernatural messengers.

But let's start first of all by examining Dickens' use of genre.

I'd like to begin with a quick discussion and I'd like to establish what you might already know about Victorian respectability.

So I'd like you to pause the video for a few moments while you consider with the people around you or on your own what you already know about Victorian respectability.

Off you go.

Some fantastic discussions there and really well done.

I'm really impressed by how much you already seem to know about this topic.

So let's recap together some of the ideas you might have come up with.

So first of all, many Victorians held very traditional and strict views about how they believed that life should be lived.

And some Victorians were very, very dismissive of any behaviour that they felt was deviant.

Now, when we say deviant behaviour, we mean any behaviour that goes against the accepted norm in society.

And this included things like strong displays of emotion or non-binary preferences.

So that could be non-binary relationship preferences or non-binary choices when it came to appearance.

Now some Victorians are quite preoccupied with this idea of respectability 'cause they like to think of themselves as well to do people.

And this idea of them being well to do was very tied in with the idea of respectability as they felt like a person's respectability was often indicative of their morals or social status.

Now, as we've just said, some Victorians believe that being respectable was tied to a certain kind of morality, to public forms of behaviour, or to clothing, appearance and any other indicator of class or social position.

Now, Victorian respectability meant that any kind of deviant behaviour or interests were often condemned, often quite harshly by some members of the Victorian population.

So there's some of the ideas you might have got and a massive well done for those discussions.

Fantastic work.

What we're going to do now is check for understanding.

So which of the following is the best explanation of Victorian respectability? I'm going to invite you to pause video for a few moments while you read through the two answer options and make your choice.

Off you go.

And a massive well done if you correctly identified that it is in fact A.

Victorian respectability was all about the way other people perceived you.

Many Victorians were very strict about what was and what wasn't appropriate behaviour.

And some people were judged on their morals, their behaviour, and their clothing.

And these were all allegedly indicators of class.

Any kind of deviant behaviour or interests were condemned.

So well done if you got answer A, you are absolutely right.

Now gothic literature is generally considered to have been birthed in the 18th century, however, it was hugely popularised in the Victorian era.

And there are earlier examples of gothic texts with gothic conventions in.

As we said, gothic fiction was popularised in the Victorian era.

And that's because many of the very famous gothic novels that we know and love today were actually written in the Victorian era.

Now, many Victorians really loved gothic literature and anything horrifying or supernatural.

Now, when I told that to Lucas, he had this to say, "Hang on a second, that doesn't make sense.

If the Victorians were so traditional and judgmental, why on earth did they like horrifying and supernatural stories?" And I think that's a really interesting question from Lucas, and it's a question that I'd like you to try and answer.

So I'd like you to discuss now, can you answer Lucas's question? So pause the video and have a go at answering that question for Lucas.

Off you go.

Some really fantastic discussions there.

Let's turn to our Oak pupils and see if they've got any suggestions.

So first of all, Laura states, "Well, it must have been a form of escapism for them as it wasn't often deemed acceptable for them to be interested in these kinds of deviant things.

They must have loved being able to indulge in them via books." And that's a really good point from Laura because many Victorians hugely enjoyed ghost stories because it felt exciting and thrilling to them to read such frightening stories when they lived in such a conservative society.

We've got to remember, as John says, "That they didn't have films or rollercoasters to get their adrenaline fix.

So the scary stories must have really thrilled the Victorians and given them an exciting experience." I also think that because many Victorians were quite preoccupied with morality, they found it really interesting to examine the darker side to people's morality or a lack of morality.

And many gothic novels touch upon this idea of a lack of humanity or depravity in some way.

So again, their interest in morality is evident in their kind of enthusiasm for gothic literature.

So well done if you've got any of those ideas and suggested them to Lucas.

Well done.

So I'd like you to discuss now, well what do we know about Dickens' attempts to bring about social change? How had he already tried to get more support for the poor prior to writing the novella? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you try to remember some of the strategies and approaches Dickens had already taken before he wrote "A Christmas Carol." Off you go.

Fantastic work.

And I was really impressed to see that so many of you remembered that Dickens had actually started to write this pamphlet that was titled "An Appeal to the People of England on Behalf of the Poor Man's Child." But that was a pamphlet that he later scrapped in favour of the novella "A Christmas Carol" as he felt that this would be more of a "sledgehammer blow" to the population and they might be able to relate to a story more than a political pamphlet.

We also know that Dickens gave a speech in Manchester in 1843 in which he condemned the rich for their brutal ignorance and years of wicked action.

So well done if you remembered any of those facts about Dickens.

I'd like you to think now, well what do you think Dickens' hopes for the novella were and why? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you consider what you think Dickens' ambitions and hopes for this novella were.

Off you go.

Again, some fantastic discussions there and some really perceptive and insightful suggestions.

Once again, I'm going to turn to our Oak pupils and see if they've got any ideas they'd like to share with you.

So Laura had this to say, "Dickens must have wanted the novella to be widely read and in order for society to change, Dickens needed lots of people to read the novella and make positive changes.

So he wanted it to be a bestseller." And then John replies, "Well, I wonder if that's why he made the novella a ghost story then?" And this is where I'm going to hand over to you 'cause I'd like you to try and think, well what does John mean by that? And how does the genre of the novella link to Dickens' intentions? So I'm gonna invite you now to pause the video while you consider those two questions on screen now.

Off you go.

Some fantastic discussions there.

And really well done if you made the connection that actually Dickens deliberately chose to use the ghost story genre because he knew it was a popular kind of fiction at the time.

So really well done for making those connections.

I'm really impressed.

So as we just established, we know that Dickens deliberately made "A Christmas Carol" a ghost story and he perhaps did this because he knew that his readers would love a ghost story and he wanted the novel to be widely read and equally widely discussed so that there was a greater audience for his moral message of social responsibility.

Dickens hoped that if more people read and enjoyed the text, more people would want to make society fairer and more equal.

So again, using Lucas's idea there, I'd like you to think, well, how did Dickens' preface also reinforce the idea? So if you remember the preface is the section right at the beginning of the text that kind of introduces the writer's aims. And how do you think Victorian readers might have responded to the novella? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you consider those questions with the people around you, or on your own if you are at home.

Off you go.

Amazing discussions.

And it was so lovely to see so many of you opening up your copy of the text and having a look at that preface again.

And just trying to think really where we see Dickens' aims and intentions in that preface.

So you might have pulled out, if you remember from the preface, that quotation of, "May it haunt their houses pleasantly." And again there we see Dickens' play on words there.

He's not only kind of playing with his reader because he knows he's written a ghost story, but he's also got that more serious undertone where he's trying to suggest that he hopes people really take the time once they've put this book down to reflect on their own actions and behaviour and some of the perceptions that they might hold and they might kind of enact in society.

And I think that Dickens really wanted this book to be a point of reflection for his readers.

And I think that for many Victorian readers it probably was.

We know that this book was released before Christmas and therefore I think it would've made Victorian readers think really carefully, especially in the lead up to Christmas, about how they were treating other people.

And equally those Victorians that were aware that they perhaps weren't being as responsible or as moral as they could be, I think possibly would've been quite frightened by the prospect of being visited by supernatural spirits such as the ones that Dickens writes into "A Christmas Carol." So I think this novella would've been a really hard hitting text and indeed it is today.

You know, it's such a powerful message from Dickens that it's still really impactful and it's got a really powerful legacy even in today's society.

So well done if you've got those ideas.

Excellent work.

So onto our first task of the lesson, and I'd like you to complete the following three sentences for me.

We've got Dickens used the ghost story genre for "A Christmas Carol" because.

Dickens used the ghost story genre for "A Christmas Carol," but.

And finally, Dickens used the ghost story genre for "A Christmas Carol," so.

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

I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Fantastic work.

And it's lovely to see so many long, extended and detailed sentences that were very heavily informed by your notes.

So massive well done there.

Here's what you might have written.

Dickens used the ghost story genre for "A Christmas Carol" because he recognised that the genre was becoming popular and he wanted "A Christmas Carol" to be widely read and discussed.

You might have also said, Dickens used the ghost story genre for "A Christmas Carol," but he did not invent the genre.

Gothic literature, which included ghost stories, was already increasing in prevalence in the Victorian era.

Though it is undeniable that Dickens had a profound impact on the popularity of the genre.

And finally, you might have put, Dickens used the ghost story genre for "A Christmas Carol" so that more people would read and discuss the novella.

In doing so, Dickens hoped that more people would internalise his message of social responsibility and undertake the introspection and positive change required to make society more equal and fair for everybody.

And massive well done if you've got anything that resembles any of these three answers.

And as always, if there's something on screen that you would like to steal and copy into your own notes, then please do take the time to do so.

Well done.

Fantastic work.

And a great start to the lesson.

So onto the second part of the lesson now where we're going to look at the ghosts of Dickens' supernatural messengers.

So I'd like you to discuss, well, the ghosts in early gothic fiction exist in their own supernatural worlds, but Dickens makes his ghosts an extension of the natural world.

So they still occupy the same world that we all occupy, the human world.

And they exist alongside human beings in our human world.

I'd like you to discuss, well, why do you think Dickens made this choice? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you consider that now.

Some fantastic discussions there.

And let's hear from some of our Oak students.

So here's Andeep.

He says, "I think that Dickens made the ghost an extension of the natural world so that they are more believable to readers.

Remember, Dickens wanted to spur his readers on to change their ways.

So by making them believe that these kind of judgmental spirits actually live alongside them, they might be more likely to think twice about the way that they treat people." A really great point from Andeep there, I like that point a lot.

And Alex replies, "Well, I like that idea." So me and Alex are in agreement there.

"I also think it's because making them an extension of the natural world makes them inescapable.

Readers can't think, 'Well, that won't happen to me because I don't live in that world,' because the ghosts inhabit their world.

So again, Dickens is using his readers' fears to motivate them to change." And what I really like about both these points is they both touch on this idea of fear, okay? And I think often when we talk about Dickens, we kind of talk about him kindly and say, "Oh, he didn't wanna scare anyone.

'cause he uses that word pleasantly in the preface, "May it haunt their houses pleasantly." But actually, I think he did wanna scare people.

Not to the point of obviously where they're terrified and there's a switch off from his moral teachings.

But I think he really wanted to make them think twice about the way that they treat people and kind of give them that level of threat almost.

Okay? So maybe not scaring them.

But a kind of threat of sorts where if they were to behave in the same way as Marley, or they know that they have behaved in that way, that they better sort their actions out because otherwise this is the kind of fate that will lie in store for them.

So I think there's definitely an element of scare mongering from Dickens here because he has the spirits inhabit the natural world, so people can't get away from them.

There's no comfort given to his readers of, well, this won't happen to you because Dickens is definitely implying that it will and it could happen to anyone who behaves in this way.

So I really like both those suggestions from Andeep and Alex here.

So following that brief discussion, I'd like you to now think, well, who do you most agree with and why? So I'm gonna invite you now to pause the video and reflect on what's been said and decide with who you most agree.

So off you go.

Fantastic.

And as this is an open question, it's very subjective, we're not going to give an answer because it is completely up to you who you most agree with.

You might disagree with them both, and that's absolutely fine, that's your response.

But well done for interacting so respectfully with one another, great discussion.

So let's check for understanding.

Why did Dickens make the ghosts an extension of the natural world? Was it A, to make them more terrifying? B, to show that spiritual judgement is inescapable? C, to make them more believable and feel real? Or is it D to make the readers enjoy the novella more? So I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you select the correct response.

So off you go.

And well done if you selected B and C.

You are absolutely right.

Dickens made the ghosts an extension of the natural world, not only to show that the spiritual judgement is inescapable, but also to make them feel more believable and feel more real.

And there's that element of threat, like I said before, because if they feel real, then there's a suggestion that this could happen to you.

So well done if you got B and C.

So here's the opening to the novella.

"Marley was dead, to begin with.

There is no doubt whatever about that.

The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner.

Scrooge signed it.

And Scrooge's name was good upon change for anything he chose to put his hand to.

Old Marley was as dead as a doornail." Now given what we've just discussed about the ghosts being extension of the natural world, why does Dickens make it so, so clear that Marley was definitely dead? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you discuss that question and before we share some answers.

So again, let's hear from our fantastic Oak students starting with Izzy.

So Izzy says, "Dickens has to make it clear that Marley was definitely dead so that when his ghost visits Scrooge, we are in no doubt that this is the ghost of Jacob Marley.

Arguably for Dickens' readers to change, they have to really believe in the reality of the supernatural in this story." And Alex replies, "Dickens characterises Scrooge as a very rational man in stave one, again to show us the validity of what is happening to him.

Scrooge tries to explain the visit from Marley's ghost, rationally justifying it as hallucinations from 'a slight disorder of the stomach.

' Again, Dickens shows us here that to Scrooge's disbelief, this is really happening to him and it could happen to us too." So again, this idea of Dickens is a little kind of half threats to people that if they, you know, if they've behaved in this way, this series of events could well happen to them.

So nobody's safe from this kind of divine judgement or supernatural judgement.

So I really like both these points from Alex and Izzy, and I think they really clearly illustrate why Dickens has made it so clear that Marley was definitely dead.

And it's this idea that they need to be believable because if Victorian readers don't believe that supernatural's real, they're not going to change their ways.

The threats that Dickens is making.

So I think both of these are real valid suggestions and well done to our Oak students.

So on to our last task of the lesson now.

So here are three students' views on the purposes of the ghosts in "A Christmas Carol." So Jacob states, "The ghosts act as spiritual and moral guides for Scrooge along his journey of transformation.

Each ghost teaches Scrooge a unique lesson and guides him towards rediscovering his empathy and generosity." And Sophia states, "Dickens employs the spirits as a plot device to move the story along.

The spirits give the narrative structure and act as a countdown to Scrooge's impressive transformation in stave five." And finally, Andeep replies, "The spirits are the voice of Dickens in the novella conveying his message of social responsibility." What I'd like you to do now is discuss, well who do you most agree with and why? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you have those discussions and before we share our ideas as a group.

Some lovely discussions there.

I'm going to pick out some of the things that I think that you might have said.

So first of all, I think it's worth noting that actually all the students raise really valid points about the purpose of the ghosts in the novella.

And all of them are equally valid and are really important uses that Dickens makes of the ghosts.

However, what I would say is that the primary purpose is probably not as a plot device, but probably more to be Scrooge's spiritual and moral guides, and also to act as kind of the mouthpiece or the voice of Dickens in the novella because these are the characters who really impart Dickens' message not only to Scrooge, but also to the readers.

We learn at the same time as Scrooge about social responsibility and kindness and empathy.

But that is not to say that they don't also move the plot along because of course they do.

Each day, you know, a different ghost visits.

It moves the text along towards that impressive transformation by Scrooge.

But I think that we would kind of be undermining the importance of Dickens' message if we were to say that moving the plot along is more important than his message of social responsibility.

So I think really that yes, they are a plot device and yes, they do move the text along.

I think that they're much more instrumental in imparting Dickens' message of social responsibility.

So I personally would say that that is their primary purpose.

So that's just what you could have said.

You might disagree with me and that's absolutely fine, but that's kind of my opinion and that's what how I feel about the text.

So what I'd like you to do now is, this is a really interesting question, but I'd like you to think, well, which spirit do you think is the most influential in Scrooge's transformation and why? So I'm gonna invite you to pause the video while you just have a think about which spirit you think is the most important and it has the biggest impact on Scrooge and his transformation.

So off you go.

Some fantastic discussions there and really interesting to find out what you all think about this.

I think there's a real kind of spectrum of opinions here and it's really lovely to see that you've all got that personal response to the text and you've all got your own ideas and opinions on this.

So well done some really fruitful discussions there and some fantastic opinions and ideas.

So to summarise today's learning, we've learned that the Victorians were very conservative and they were deeply concerned with this idea of respectability.

We've also learned that Dickens was influential in establishing the ghost story as a popular genre in the Victorian period.

And that actually Dickens capitalised on the popularity of this genre to spread his social message because he wanted the novella to be a bestseller so that he'd have a bigger audience to impart his message of social responsibility to.

Now, unlike the ghosts of early gothic fiction, Dickens makes the supernatural an extension of the natural real world, and this makes the ghost feel more real and be more believable so that readers are more likely to heed their messages.

We also learned that Dickens uses the ghosts to explore moral and social issues, and that they represent his ideas and opinions in the novella.

And finally, the apparitions structure the narrative and move it towards all important Christmas Day where we see Scrooge's impressive transformation.

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

It's been absolutely fascinating to engage with you and discuss the text with you.

So thank you for all your contributions and incredible suggestions.

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

See you later.