Charles Dickens

1st November 2016
Year 11 are currently looking at Charles Dickens. We have decided to study, 'A Christmas Carol' but we are linking this to other texts written by Dickens. As well as studying, 'A Christmas Carol', the original unabridged text we are looking at other variations of the text (see attached image) and comparing and contrasting those to see which the learners like the best and what, they think, modern society would prefer.
 
As well as looking at Dickens, the man, the class are looking at the bigger picture; i.e. what was life like in Victorian Britain, they all are agree life was extremely harsh and especially so for the poorest in society. The learners have also written their own biography of Dickens. Many learners had not heard of Dickens before undertaking the topic but are now fully aware of who he, what his parents were called, his siblings, employment history, gaol and so forth, which is great to see!
 
Dickens is incredibly hard going for most academics so it is wonderful to see the pupils fully engaging in the topic, and enjoying the text, as well as learning about the socio-economic circumstances of the time.
 
We plan to watch various movie versions of, 'A Christmas Carol', and, as above, compare and contrast those. It is lovely to see the learners outside of their comfort zones, learning about something completely new to them, and although they struggle a lot with the language and social context of the text, they are working really hard in lessons and enjoying it!