A Christmas Carol - The Penitent Spirits - teaching resource

A Christmas Carol – The Penitent Spirits

(15-slide editable PowerPoint with 19 worksheets)

This GCSE English Literature lesson explores Dickens’ presentation of the penitent spirits at the end of Stave One in A Christmas Carol. Designed for KS4 learners, the 15-slide fully editable PowerPoint and 19 accompanying worksheets guide students through close reading, visual analysis, and thematic interpretation, deepening their understanding of Dickens’ symbolism and moral purpose.

At this point in the novella, Scrooge glimpses the purgatorial realm he is currently destined to enter. Learners analyse how Dickens presents the penitent spirits and what their suffering implies about Scrooge’s choices, values, and potential redemption.

The resource includes:

• A differentiated Do Now quiz to revise key ideas and quotations from Stave One

• A close reading of the passage from “It held its chain up at arm’s length…” down to the end of the stave, focusing on:

  • How Dickens describes the scene outside Scrooge’s window

  • The symbolism of the spirits and their chains

  • The implications of this vision for Scrooge’s fate

• An illustration analysis task, where learners evaluate an artist’s depiction of the scene and compare it with Dickens’ description

• A reflective plenary where learners produce a short list of predictions about what Scrooge might learn during his visits from the three spirits in Staves Two to Four

Suggested answers are included for all activities, making this resource ideal for classroom teaching, intervention, revision, or exam preparation.

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