AQA teaching sequence for A Christmas Carol

This document is a comprehensive guide for teaching Charles Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol, for GCSE English Literature, covering context, characters, themes, and exam preparation.

Key Reasons to Teach the Novella:

• Timeless Themes: Addresses redemption, social justice, and the Christmas spirit.
• Victorian Context: Engages students with 19th-century social history and Dickens’ narrative techniques.
• Exam Preparation: Suited for AQA and other GCSE specifications with rich material for analytical writing.

Overview of the Teaching Sequence:
The guide outlines a sequence covering Context & Background, Plot and Structure (Five Staves), Key Characters, Major Themes, Important Quotations, Discussion & Activities, and Exam Questions.

Contextual Information:

• Historical Context: Dickens wrote the novella in 1843 during the height of the Industrial Revolution and a Victorian Christmas revival. The backdrop of poverty and social inequality is essential for understanding Scrooge’s transformation and Dickens’ social critique.
• Charles Dickens: His personal experience of childhood poverty profoundly influenced the themes. He was a social reformer who used his novels to campaign for the poor.

Structure and Plot Summary:

• The novella is structured into Five Staves, like a musical carol.
• Stave 1: Introduction to the miserly Scrooge and Marley’s ghost warning.
• Stave 2 (Past): Reveals Scrooge’s lonely childhood, sister Fan, happy apprenticeship under Fezziwig, and lost love with Belle.
• Stave 3 (Present): Shows the Cratchits’ joy despite poverty and reveals the allegorical children Ignorance and Want.
• Stave 4 (Yet to Come): Presents the silent phantom and visions of a neglected death (Scrooge’s) and the Cratchits’ grief over Tiny Tim’s death.
• Stave 5: Scrooge awakens transformed, sends a turkey, donates to charity, attends Fred’s dinner, raises Bob Cratchit’s salary, and becomes a second father to Tiny Tim.

Major Themes:

• Redemption and Transformation: Scrooge’s journey demonstrates that self-reflection and action can lead to genuine transformation.
• Social Injustice and Poverty: Explores the suffering of the Cratchit family and critiques harsh Victorian attitudes through the symbols Ignorance and Want.
• The Spirit of Christmas: Presented as a spiritual state embodying generosity, kindness, and community that should extend all year.