New
New
Year 4

Planning a setting description based on 'A Christmas Carol'

I can generate precise vocabulary to plan a narrative setting description.

New
New
Year 4

Planning a setting description based on 'A Christmas Carol'

I can generate precise vocabulary to plan a narrative setting description.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. ‘A Christmas Carol’ is set in Victorian London during the Christmas period.
  2. The atmosphere is the tone or mood created in a narrative.
  3. Precise vocabulary, including a range of sensory details, conveys the atmosphere in a narrative setting description.
  4. Personification is a linguistic device used to describe a non-living thing as if it acts or feels like a human.

Keywords

  • Atmosphere - the tone or mood created in a narrative

  • Sensory details - descriptions that include touch, sight, taste, sound and smell

  • Personification - a way of describing a non-living thing as if it acts or feels like a human

Common misconception

Children may find it difficult to identify appropriate adjectives and verbs and develop their own pieces of personification.

Brainstorm as a class and create a shared bank of human adjectives and verbs that would be appropriate for personifying elements of the scene. Children can then use this bank to support them in forming their own pieces of personification.

Ensure children have access to the images when generating vocabulary and writing their plan. If time allows, hone in on the second image which shows the contrast between rich and poor and model how to include this in vocabulary generation. E.g. 'all walks of life'.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Who is the author of 'A Christmas Carol'?
Charlie Hamilton
Correct answer: Charles Dickens
David Charleston
Q2.
At what time of year is 'A Christmas Carol' set?
Easter
Summer
Halloween
Correct answer: Christmas
Q3.
Where is 'A Christmas Carol' set?
Paris
Correct answer: London
Hong Kong
Q4.
Which period of history does 'A Christmas Carol' take place in?
the Tudor period
Correct answer: the Victorian era
World War II
Q5.
Based on the time of year the story is set, what kind of weather would be experienced in the setting?
tropical weather with rain and sun
Correct answer: cold weather with winds and snow
warm and dry weather with sunshine
Q6.
True or false? Christmas would have been the same for everyone in Victorian London.
Correct Answer: False, false

6 Questions

Q1.
In which part of a narrative would there be a setting description?
the build-up
the resolution
the climax
Correct answer: the opening
Q2.
What does atmosphere refer to?
the precise words that are written
the order that the words are written in
Correct answer: the tone or mood created by the words that are written
Q3.
Match each descriptive detail to the sense which it evokes.
Correct Answer:sound,excited giggles travelled

excited giggles travelled

Correct Answer:smell,orange and cinnamon wafted

orange and cinnamon wafted

Correct Answer:sight,glistening, festive wreaths dangled

glistening, festive wreaths dangled

Correct Answer:taste,crunch of roasted chestnuts

crunch of roasted chestnuts

Correct Answer:touch/feel,crisp, frosty air sent chills

crisp, frosty air sent chills

Q4.
What is personification?
the description of humans and their movement
Correct answer: a way of describing a non-living thing as if it acts or feels like a human
using adjectives that begin with the same letter to describe an item
Q5.
Which of the following are examples of personification?
Correct answer: the wind whistled as it commanded the snow across the sky
strong gusts of wind blew across the sky
Correct answer: Christmas garlands hugged the window ledges tightly
festive wreaths dangled in doorways
Q6.
How are notes for a plan written?
in full sentences
Correct answer: as key vocabulary in bullet points
in paragraphs