Investigating 'A Christmas Carol' and Ebenezer Scrooge
by Melissa Thibodeaux, thethibodeauxs@peoplepc.com

Content Area(s)
English/Language Arts

Grade Level(s)
6, 7, 8, 

Overview
In this unit, students will research what life was like in Victorian England, read 'A Christmas Carol,' and then investigate the development of the character of Ebenezer Scrooge. This should take approximately ten - twelve 50-minute class periods, and would work well if begun immediately after Thanksgiving.

Software
FlingIt
Word to Go (or another word processing software)
Palm Reader
Inspiration for the Palm

Technology
ebook of 'A Christmas Carol'
PC
Microsoft Word

Objectives
TLW:
•Research life in Victorian England in order to gain a better understanding of the characters and setting of 'A Christmas Carol';
•Identify foreshadowing and flashbacks in 'A Christmas Carol';
•Make inferences and draw conclusions about the reasons for Scrooge’s miserly nature and his change of heart;
•Create a web reflecting the development and transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge;
•Develop a short essay, giving an opinion on the changes in Scrooge.

Procedures
1.Using FlingIt, students will review the Gale Group articles previously beamed to their handhelds from the InfoMarks, in order to gain an understanding of what life was like in Victorian England.

2.Explain to students that this story is about a hard-hearted man who has a rude “awakening” about his wicked ways and that they will be exploring the changes that come over him, as well as determining what caused him to be so hard-hearted in the first place.

3.Upon completion of this review, students will read the story, 'A Christmas Carol' in Palm Reader, making notes in Word to Go on what they discover about Scrooge’s character, evidence of foreshadowing and flashback, etc.
a.*NOTE: 6th grade students may do better having the story read to them, since the language style is rather difficult for them to understand, or you may want to use an edition of the book designed for Junior High students. Also, you may want to divide the class into 5 groups and assign each a group a stave to read and explore.

4.After reading the story, discuss with the class what they think the reasons are for Scrooge’s miserly nature and why he had a change of heart. Have students make inferences and draw conclusions about these things based on information in the book.
a.Encourage students to consider the times in which Scrooge lived and draw a conclusion about whether this had an impact on his hard-heartedness or his change of heart.

5.From there, have students create webs, using Inspiration for the Palm, which depict the events that led him to become cold and the changes wrought in Scrooge following the visitations. Allow students to display their webs using an ELMO or Margi Presenter and discuss their findings. Allow students time to revise webs, if needed, based on points brought up in course of discussion.

6.After discussion, assign the writing of a short (100 – 150 words) essay in which students give their opinion on the changes in Scrooge. Essay should be based on Inspiration web and be typed using Microsoft Word.

Other Supporting Material
Infomark%20page
Essay%20Rubric

Submitted on: 12/9/2004 7:07:49 PM