A Christmas Carol: Belle and Scrooge - Visuals, Word Bank and Essay Scaffold

These resources provide a comprehensive approach for GCSE, English Literature teachers to help students - especially those with additional needs - analyse A Christmas Carol in-depth, enhancing their understanding of the theme of loss, character relationships, and literary techniques while refining their writing skills for the exam.

The extract booklet delves into the critical moment of Scrooge and Belle’s breakup in A Christmas Carol. It provides a structured reading response task, encouraging students to explore the theme of loss, focusing on Scrooge’s obsession with wealth and its impact on his relationships. The resource includes multiple-choice questions designed to help students deepen their understanding of Dickens’ language choices and their effect. It also offers a detailed writing frame to guide students through an analysis of how loss is developed throughout the novella, with opportunities to apply thematic vocabulary such as “regret,” “materialism,” and “isolation.” The activity is ideal for exploring character development, themes of sacrifice and materialism, and the consequences of misplaced values.

The word bank provides vocabulary needed to analyse the relationship and is accompanied by a visual resource that supports students in understanding key moments of A Christmas Carol, specifically the engagement and breakup of Scrooge and Belle. By using a storyboard, students can break down the events leading to Belle’s decision to end the relationship, enhancing their descriptive writing skills and using the target vocabulary.