A Christmas Carol: Allegory!

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make insightful and developed interpretations of Dickens’ use of allegory throughout ‘A Christmas Carol.’ In particular, they explore how Dickens utilises various characters and events to reveal hidden meanings about selfishness, greed, and hidden ugliness in Victorian society.

The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through:
- Defining the key term ‘allegory’ and establishing the key message of Dickens’ allegory;
- Reading and understanding the selected extracts to determine how Dickens’ characters are allegorical;
- Demonstrating an understanding of the allegorical meanings of individual events and scenes in the novel, through a fun interactive game!
- Analysing the extent to which the allegory is effective in presenting Dickens hidden message;
- Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts.

Included is:
- Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive;
- Selected extracts demonstrating Dickens’ allegory;
- Features of Dickens’ Allegory Worksheet (and completed answer sheet for teachers);
- Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses;
- Comprehensive lesson plan.

There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. This was originally taught to mixed ability year 10 groups, but can easily be differentiated for groups of different ages and abilities.

All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.