Our D' and E' Class students (B1+ level) are going to read Charles Dickens' story 'A Christmas Carol' and prepare their own post-reading activities about it in groups in order to take part in the reading competition organized by their French online friends and their teacher, Aniella Lebeau. Our lesson is meant to comprise these particular stages:
1) Students should first watch this video to get a general idea of the story. Can they guess what the end of the story will be?
2) Students can now read about the main characters of the story.
❄ Scrooge is a horrible, nasty and mean man. He loves money more than his life. He always counts his money but he never gives any to the poor people, even for Christmas.
❄ Fred - Scrooge's nephew is a very kind man. He loves Christmas. And he always invites Scrooge to his Christmas but his grumpy uncle never accepts the invitation.
❄ Bob Cratchit - Scrooge’s clerk is a very poor man with a large family. He generally works hard and he does his best to be a good clerk. But he sometimes gets into trouble because Scrooge is very strict.
❄ Tiny Tim - Bob Cratchit's young son is handicapped from birth. He always walks with a crutch. Tiny Tim is always cheerful. He never sits or plays alone because everybody loves him. His father Bob always looks after him after work.
❄ Marley’s ghost is always in chains because Marley is damned for eternity. Marley was horrible and nasty when he was alive. Now he is punished so he is very miserable.
❄ The 1st spirit is the ghost of Christmas past. He takes Scrooge back to his childhood. He always carries a light.
❄ The 2nd spirit is the ghost of Christmas present. He takes Scrooge to Cratchit’s house and to his nephew’s house where everyone is celebrating Christmas. This spirit is often sarcastic and ironical.
❄ The 3rd spirit is the ghost of the future. He takes Scrooge to his own tomb. He never talks or answers a question, he is so scary!
3) Some pictures illustrating the story can be found here.
1) Students should first watch this video to get a general idea of the story. Can they guess what the end of the story will be?
2) Students can now read about the main characters of the story.
❄ Scrooge is a horrible, nasty and mean man. He loves money more than his life. He always counts his money but he never gives any to the poor people, even for Christmas.
❄ Fred - Scrooge's nephew is a very kind man. He loves Christmas. And he always invites Scrooge to his Christmas but his grumpy uncle never accepts the invitation.
❄ Bob Cratchit - Scrooge’s clerk is a very poor man with a large family. He generally works hard and he does his best to be a good clerk. But he sometimes gets into trouble because Scrooge is very strict.
❄ Tiny Tim - Bob Cratchit's young son is handicapped from birth. He always walks with a crutch. Tiny Tim is always cheerful. He never sits or plays alone because everybody loves him. His father Bob always looks after him after work.
❄ Marley’s ghost is always in chains because Marley is damned for eternity. Marley was horrible and nasty when he was alive. Now he is punished so he is very miserable.
❄ The 1st spirit is the ghost of Christmas past. He takes Scrooge back to his childhood. He always carries a light.
❄ The 2nd spirit is the ghost of Christmas present. He takes Scrooge to Cratchit’s house and to his nephew’s house where everyone is celebrating Christmas. This spirit is often sarcastic and ironical.
❄ The 3rd spirit is the ghost of the future. He takes Scrooge to his own tomb. He never talks or answers a question, he is so scary!
3) Some pictures illustrating the story can be found here.
llustrations :
http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/carol/gallery.html
http://charlesdickenspage.com/illustrations-carol.html
http://www.printspast.com/christmas-carol-prints-rackham.htm
http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/carol/gallery.html
http://charlesdickenspage.com/illustrations-carol.html
http://www.printspast.com/christmas-carol-prints-rackham.htm
4) Students can now read the whole story on their handout and simultaneously listen to it by clicking here.
5) The additional activities on the handout can be completed either in the classroom or at home. They will also help the students understand what they have to do in the following stage.
6) Students are divided into groups of three. Each team should have its own name. Having decided on the name, they should start making their own activities which can be of any type (multiple- choice questions, matching or gap-filling activities, etc.).
