'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens

Course Overview

Students will study Charles Dickens' 1843 classic novel, 'A Christmas Carol.' Reading will take place both during lessons and as home learning activities to ensure lesson time can be focused on analysis as well as reading. Students will begin by learning the importance of the historical and social context of the text - Victorian London - and how this comes into play over the course of the novel. Students will learn of Dickens' literary legacy, and the course will focus predominantly on the power of language. The lessons will be delivered through extract analysis, teaching students how to conduct close language analysis and critical reading. They will analyse key themes and characters, as well as exploring writer intention/reader effect, and they will examine the importance of essential themes, engaging in sophisticated debate and discussions. Key themes include the supernatural, poverty, social inequality and Christmas. Each of these themes will be covered in detail in order to appreciate the novel's overarching message. Students will explore the representation of central characters: Scrooge, Bob, Tiny Tim and the Cratchit family, Fred and the three Ghosts. They will learn to annotate, interpret, infer and analyse extracts in preparation for an assessment question - 'Discuss the significance of the theme of X across the text.' Students will learn the fundamental skills of literary analysis while practising reading, writing and oracy skills in the process.