Some might argue that Scrooge raising Bob’s wage is not an act of charity, but an act of employer responsibility.
Sabbatarianism is the belief that all shops and businesses should be closed on the holy day (Sunday).
Dickens seems to be criticising Sabbatarianism in Stave 3 of the novella.
Dickens highlights the hypocrisy of those who claim to be religious, but seek to undermine others’ charitable efforts.
Dickens places emphasis on the importance of individual charity.

Keywords

Institutional - relating to organised establishments like schools, churches, charities etc.
Welfare - a person’s health, happiness and fortune.
Sabbatarianism - the belief that no work should be undertaken on the holy day (Sunday).
Charitable - being generous with one’s resources - using them to aid those in need.
Employer responsibility - the belief that employers should be responsible for the welfare of their employees.

Common misconception

Some students might think that Scrooge raising Bob's wage is an act of charity or generosity.

Scrooge never paid Bob fairly to begin with. He is therefore not doing him a favour by raising his wage, but simply doing the decent thing.

Task B in learning cycle 2 could be done as a class discussion, with pupils linking their ideas back to the text.

Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need a copy of Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' for this lesson.

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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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Worksheet

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.

Which of the following might be considered an act of charity?

throwing our clothes out

letting your friend copy your homework

Correct answer: volunteering at a local food bank

Correct answer: donating money to a natural disaster relief fund

going to the cinema with your sibling

Q2.

Who comes and asks Scrooge for a charitable donation in Stave 1 of 'A Christmas Carol'?

Marley's Ghost

The Ghost of Christmas Present

Fred

the caroller boy

Correct answer: the two portly gentlemen

Q3.

How does Scrooge respond to the portly gentlemen in Stave 1 of 'A Christmas Carol'?

He shuns them and accuses them of being wicked and immoral people.

Correct answer: He resents them for wasting his time and tries to get rid of them quickly.

Correct answer: He is rude to them and dismisses the good work that they do.

He is upset with them for not asking him for a donation sooner.

He is indifferent to them and ignores them.

Q4.

Complete the quotation from 'A Christmas Carol': "If they would rather die...they had better do it, and decrease the population."

Correct Answer: surplus, surplus., Surplus., Surplus, 'surplus'

Q5.

What does Scrooge learn from watching Fezziwig's Christmas party in Stave 2 of 'A Christmas Carol'?

He learns how to throw a successful party that everyone enjoys.

He learns the importance of family and communication.

Correct answer: He learns that a little bit of philanthropy can make a lot of people happy,

He understands the price of happiness - money does buy happiness.

He learns that throwing parties and welcoming everybody makes you moral.

Q6.

In Stave 5 of 'A Christmas Carol', when Scrooge donates an undisclosed amount of money to the poor, why doesn't Dickens tell us how much he donates?

because the amount was not very much and Scrooge was embarrassed

Correct answer: so that people who have less money are not put off by the vast sum

Correct answer: because it doesn't matter how much he donated - it was about the act of donating

because Dickens did not want to promote excessive charity

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.

What was the predominant religion in 19th century England?

Judaism

Correct answer: Christianity

Buddhism

Islam

Sikhism

Q2.

Which values does Christianity champion?

wealth

wisdom

Correct answer: charity

Correct answer: empathy

humour

Q3.

In Stave 5 of 'A Christmas Carol', how do we know that Scrooge understands his responsibility as an employer?

Correct answer: He raises Bob's wage.

He donates money to the poor.

He is jolly and jovial to all.

He pretends to be angry with Bob.

Q4.

Match the vocabulary up to its definition.

Correct Answer:institutional,relating to organised establishments

relating to organised establishments

Correct Answer:welfare,a person’s health, happiness and fortune

a person’s health, happiness and fortune

Correct Answer:charitable,being generous with resources - using them to help others

being generous with resources - using them to help others

Correct Answer:employer responsibility,the idea that employers should look after their workers

the idea that employers should look after their workers

Q5.

What laws were in discussion which affected poor people's ability to eat hot food?

a law to ban the poor from leaving their homes at the weekend

a law to stipulate that all poor people must go to Church once a week

Correct answer: a law to ban the bakers from allowing the poor to use their ovens on a Sunday

a law to stop the poor from having any days off work

Q6.

Complete the sentence: The belief that all businesses should be closed on Sunday, to facilitate observation of the Sabbath (the holy rest day) is known as .

Correct Answer: Sabbatarianism, Sabbatarianism., sabbatarianism, sabbatarianism.