A Christmas Carol: a flipped lesson.

Every year at Christmas time I talk about A Christmas Carol in my classes for many different reasons. It is a wonderful Christmas tale and it allows to study some aspects of British literature, as well. We usually watch the last Disney movie and we read some excerpts from the book.
This year I thought of a flipped lesson. Students have to gather information and do some research about the tale before watching the movie or reading the book. Then, they will discuss the topics concerning the novella, the author and the Victorian Era in their classroom. As a teacher, I will just provide the learning material, suggest the websites to surf outside the classroom and guide my students to apply their knowledge during class activities.
As usual, I prepared a lesson with the help of some digital tools. I created a mindmap with Cacoo and I made it interactive with Thinglink.
If you move the cursor over the image below, some icons will appear. Click on them to open the links. You will find some information about Charles Dickens, the main characters of his novella and some fun activities.

The following is a deepening on the Victorian Era for more advanced students. I prepared this mindmap with Popplet. You will find some videos, links and a PowerPoint presentation. 

Click on the following symbol on the image to enlarge:

Inside the classroom the students will discuss what they have learned outside the classroom. They will actively and interactively apply their knowledge.

Some ideas for class discussion:

• What are the moral lessons in this story?
• Describe how Scrooge changes during the night of Christmas Eve.
• Would a visit from the three spirits of the tale impact your life? How?
• How would you describe the Victorian Era?
• Can we see any typical aspects of the Victorian Age in the novella? 
• What is Dickens' position towards the social problems of his era?

The Victorian Era

The Victorian Age takes its name from Queen Victoria who ruled from 1837 to 1901. Victorian era was caracterised by stability, progress, social reforms, a rapid extention of colonialism but, at the same time, by great problems such as poverty and social injustice.

Surf the great BBC history site.

Victorians:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/

British History Timeline:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/timelines/british/index_embed.shtml

Then take a look at my interactive Popplet mindmap about some aspects of the Victorian age. Click on the image to open it, then scroll around, zoom, click on the links and watch the videos.

STUDENTS' TASKS

          Reading and Writing

1) Choose an aspect of the Victorian age that has particularly affected you. Surf the sites I suggested in my mindmap and write a report.

2) Imagine you are a Victorian child belonging to a poor family, forced to work in a factory. Describe your working day.

3) Which novel (of the two I talk about in my presentation) do you like the most? Why? 

                Listening

Watch and listen to the video "Life in Victorian Britain" from the mindmap. Take note of the main points of discussion and create your own mindmap.

                               Speaking

Work in pairs or small groups. Read the information about the Victorian etiquette and choose a social situation. Would you know how to conduct yourselves if you were Victorians? You can practice taking the  McCord Museum test. Then prepare a sketch.