A Christmas Carol - Scrooge and Fred - teaching resource

A Christmas Carol – Scrooge and Fred in Stave One

(15-slide editable PowerPoint with 4 worksheets)

This GCSE English Literature lesson explores Dickens’ presentation of Fred, Scrooge’s cheerful and generous nephew, and examines how Fred functions as a foil character for Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. The 15-slide fully editable PowerPoint and four accompanying worksheets guide learners through close analysis, comparison, and critical interpretation, supporting key exam skills.

The lesson begins with a differentiated Do Now starter activity, where learners work in pairs to complete a series of retrieval questions to revise what they have learned about Scrooge so far.

Learners then read from “Once upon a time…” down to “…for he returned them cordially”, focusing on:

• What the passage reveals about Fred’s personality and values

• Scrooge’s attitude towards his nephew

• Why Dickens deliberately chooses not to reveal Fred’s first name at this stage in the novella

The main activity uses a Venn diagram and a bank of quotations to compare and contrast Fred and Scrooge. Learners identify key similarities and differences between the two characters, and at higher levels, they categorise quotations into thematic groups and write a comparative analytical paragraph using linked evidence.

The lesson concludes with a task on foil characters, where learners consider three reasons why Fred could be seen as Scrooge’s opposite. An extension challenge invites students to debate a thought-provoking statement about Scrooge and Fred, encouraging deeper critical engagement.

This resource assumes some prior knowledge of the opening pages of A Christmas Carol in which Scrooge’s character is introduced. Perfect for classroom teaching, revision, or intervention, it develops learners’ comparative analysis skills and supports success in the GCSE English Literature exam.

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