'A Christmas Carol' Stave 4: Scrooge's fears
I can explain how Scrooge’s fears change throughout the novella.
'A Christmas Carol' Stave 4: Scrooge's fears
I can explain how Scrooge’s fears change throughout the novella.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Scrooge's Stave 1 behaviour is arguably motivated by his fear of abandonment; fear of poverty and fear of vulnerability
- Scrooge’s fears and the behaviour that these fears have encouraged exemplify Dickens’ fears for society
- Through Scrooge’s fear of poverty, we see how punishing life was for impoverished Victorian citizens
- Dickens criticises Victorian stoicism, suggesting that it led to a lack of empathy for others, which exacerbates poverty
- By the end of Stave 4, Scrooge’s greatest fear is the lack of legacy he will leave behind him, showing his change
Keywords
To abandon - to leave a person behind, usually forever
Vulnerability - able to be easily hurt or attacked, either physically or emotionally
To advocate - if you advocate for something, you promote it
Legacy - the long impact of a person's life
Stoic - enduring hardship without showing it - not showing one’s emotions
Common misconception
Students think that, in Stave 4, Scrooge is frightened of dying.
Scrooge is not frightened of death. He is frightened of dying without leaving a legacy because he has not contributed anything to society.
To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: 'A Christmas Carol' Stave 4: Scrooge's fears, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: 'A Christmas Carol' Stave 4: Scrooge's fears, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 english lessons from the A Christmas Carol: Scrooge's redemption unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You will need access to a copy of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' for this lesson.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
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