'A Christmas Carol': charity
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can analyse how Dickens presents ideas about charity in 'A Christmas Carol’.
Key learning points
- 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.
Teacher tip
Task B in learning cycle 2 could be done as a class discussion, with pupils linking their ideas back to the text.
Equipment
You will need a copy of Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following might be considered an act of charity?
Q2.Who comes and asks Scrooge for a charitable donation in Stave 1 of 'A Christmas Carol'?
Q3.How does Scrooge respond to the portly gentlemen in Stave 1 of 'A Christmas Carol'?
Q4.Complete the quotation from 'A Christmas Carol': "If they would rather die...they had better do it, and decrease the population."
Q5.What does Scrooge learn from watching Fezziwig's Christmas party in Stave 2 of 'A Christmas Carol'?
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?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What was the predominant religion in 19th century England?
Q2.Which values does Christianity champion?
Q3.In Stave 5 of 'A Christmas Carol', how do we know that Scrooge understands his responsibility as an employer?
Q4.Match the vocabulary up to its definition.
relating to organised establishments
a person’s health, happiness and fortune
being generous with resources - using them to help others
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?
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 .
To help you plan your 11 English lesson on: 'A Christmas Carol': charity, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 English lesson on: 'A Christmas Carol': charity, 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 4 English lessons from the A Christmas Carol: a Christian parable unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.