A Christmas Carol - Ignorance and Want - GCSE teaching resource

A Christmas Carol – Ignorance and Want

(30-slide editable PowerPoint with 6 worksheets)

This engaging double lesson explores Dickens’ presentation of Ignorance and Want in A Christmas Carol. The 30-slide fully editable PowerPoint and six accompanying worksheets guide learners through a close analysis of the final section of Stave Three, helping them understand Dickens’ themes, social commentary, and narrative techniques.

The lesson begins with a choice of differentiated retrieval starters to consolidate understanding of key ideas and quotations from Staves One to Three. Learners then read from “Much they saw and far they went” down to the end of Stave Three, reflecting on:

• What we learn about Ignorance and Want and Scrooge’s reaction to them

• What Ignorance and Want represent in the context of Victorian society

• The function these symbolic characters serve within the novella

Learners then complete a worksheet exploring the background to Dickens’ creation of Ignorance and Want, focusing on his personal experiences in 1843 and their influence on A Christmas Carol.

Part Two includes:

• A retrieval-based Do Now task recapping key learning from Part One

• A close analysis worksheet prompting deeper evaluation of Dickens’ presentation of Ignorance and Want

• Suggested answers for all tasks to support teacher-led feedback and independent study

• A plenary reflection activity, where learners identify what they already knew, what they have learnt, and what they would like to know about these symbolic characters

Ideal for classroom teaching, revision sessions, intervention lessons, or exam preparation, this resource deepens students’ understanding of Dickens’ themes, characterisation, and social critique, supporting success in the GCSE English Literature exam.

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A Christmas Carol

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