Exploring and engaging with themes in 'A Christmas Carol'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can identify and engage with the key themes in ‘A Christmas Carol’.
Key learning points
- A theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story.
- Themes often link together and overlap.
- The theme of transformation is an important theme in ‘A Christmas Carol’.
- Transformation is depicted through Scrooge's journey from a miserly individual to a compassionate and generous one.
- Dickens uses Scrooge’s treatment of others and their treatment of him to convey this change.
Keywords
Theme - A theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story.
Convey - To convey means to communicate a message to the reader directly or indirectly.
Transformation - Transformation is the process of significant change, often resulting in a big shift in character, beliefs, or behaviour.
Common misconception
Children may not realise that a story can contain multiple themes which sometimes overlap.
Discuss a simple but well known tale and its many themes in advance of the lesson.
Teacher tip
Discuss themes that frequently appear. Think about and discuss the key themes present in some of the books the children know really well.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these does the theme of love link to?
Q2.Which of these does inference help with?
Q3.Order the following events from 'A Christmas Carol'.
Q4.True or false? Poverty in Victorian London was worse than in London today.
Q5.Which of these reactions suggest you are happy to see someone?
Q6.True or false? The moral of a story is the lesson it teaches you.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to their definitions.
Q2.What does Scrooge promise to do to help Bob?
Q3.True or false? Considering actions and characteristics of people within the text is a good way to identify a theme.
Q4.Which of these are themes from 'A Christmas Carol'?
Q5.Match the theme with how it's conveyed in the text.
Q6.At the beginning of the story, Scrooge is miserly and mean. Which words describe him at the end?
To help you plan your 4 English lesson on: Exploring and engaging with themes in 'A Christmas Carol', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 4 English lesson on: Exploring and engaging with themes in 'A Christmas Carol', 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.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
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 2 English lessons from the 'A Christmas Carol': narrative writing and reading unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.