Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 14 (December 10)

 Greetings!

Every Thursday this semester it's been delightful to see the smiling faces of this class.  I love this place in the school year when we've gotten to know one another and have a productive learning community.

We started class with a Quick Write, using these prompts that came from their list of suggestions:

Option 1: What is your favorite restaurant? Why? What do you like to order there? Option 2: What is your least favorite kind of music? Why don’t you like it? Option 3: What is the most generous thing you’ve done? Would you do it again? Why?  

Our Words of the Day were winter-related words:

solstice -- from Latin solstitium, from sol, "sun" and sistere, "stopped, stationary" --  the time or date at which the sun reaches its maximum or minimum declination, marked by the longest (June 21) and shortest (Dec. 22) days.

hibernate -- from Latin hibernare, from hiberna ‘winter quarters’, from hibernus ‘wintry’ -- when a plant or animal spends the winter in a dormant state.

apricity -- from Latin apricus, "having lots of sunshine" or "warmed by the sun" -- the warmth of the sun (We talked about how cats are especially good at finding that one sunny spot in the house.)

subnivean -- from Latin sub, "under" and nives, "snow" -- the area between the surface of the ground and the bottom of the snowpack.

The Rough Drafts of their History Essays were handed back, and I commented on how much I enjoy teaching writing because I get to learn about so many topics from their essays.  I covered some common writing issues/errors, including writing dates and numbers and correcting comma splice sentences.  The Final Drafts are due next week.

We've finished A Christmas Carol and had a very productive and insightful conversation comparing Animal Farm and A Christmas Carol.  The focus of the conversation was how satisfying or unsatisfying the endings of the books were; this led us to talk about the author's intent.  This is a smart bunch!  We ended our class with mini-book project activities.  The class divided into 4 groups for the following activities:  comic strip panel creation, found poetry writing, scene creating, and dialogue writing.  We'll continue that work in class next week as part of our Christmas "party" fun.

Speaking of next week, I like to spend that last week before Christmas doing fun stuff.  We can't have food in the classroom, but we can set up a table in the hallway for treats and eat out there.  Students are invited to bring goodies.  

Since we're almost at the end of the semester, students should finish up any work they have not done.  In the assignments list, I've included a couple past assignments in case students have forgotten to do them.  All assignments are on Google Classroom in case students no longer have the paper version.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week:

History Final Draft

Top 10 Movies Question  (Extra Credit)

Parts of Speech Post Test

Presentation Self-Evaluation

This Week's Links

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 14 (December 10) 

Writing 1B Class Nores -- Week 15 (December 12)

Greetings!

We began our final class with a short Quick Write to reflect on the class and on the past semester.  Research shows that reflecting on what and how you have learned enhanced meaning and encourages insight and complex understanding.  (Here's a good article on learning through reflection.)  For that reason, I have students take time to think back on the semester.  I asked them to briefly write about something they learned academically and something they learned about themselves.

We celebrated our final class with a Christmas party that included an "Ugly Christmas Sweater Design" contest and a Jeopardy game.  They were pretty intent on their designing and coloring.  The Jeopardy game included the following topics:  Characters, Ghosts, Vocabulary, Scrooge, and Jokes.  By the way, research also indicates that using game-based learning strategies increases recall, retention, and cognitive growth.  So while we were having fun, we were still intellectually engaged in our topics.  The students numbered off and competed in teams.

Students handed in their final drafts of their History Essays.  I will go over the essays and any other homework that was handed in yesterday; my goal is to have final grades out by the end of next week.  If students are missing any work, I will take it until next Thursday.  In class we cleared up some questions about missing work and My GradeBook.  If parents or students have any more questions, feel free to contact me.

This has been a good class, and the students worked hard on their reading assignments and their essays.  A small class has advantages and disadvantages.  This means students have plenty opportunities to be involved in discussions, and I've used literature circles more often with this class because of the smaller size.  On the other hand, small classes means that there's nowhere to hide if you come to class unprepared or just not up to engaging in conversation.  All of the students have been good sports during class discussions.  

Links for this week:

Class Notes (with pictures & videos)

Learning and Reflection article

Jeopardy Game for Writing 1

Game-Based Learning

My GradeBook

My GradeBook instructions

I've enjoyed this group of students.  Each one is uniquely gifted for the plans that God has for him/her.  Feel free to keep in touch.

Blessings, 

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 1B Class Notes -- Week 9 (Oct. 24)

Greetings!

As with every week, I have a full agenda for our class period.  We started with a Quick Write, which was inspired by the fact that Oct. 24 is the 158th anniversary of the 1st transcontinental telegraph from Justice Stephen Field in California to President Lincoln in Washington, D. C.  I asked the students to list as many ways of communicating that they could think of, and we filled the board with our responses. (I'll include a picture of the board on the blog.)

Our Words of the Day were again unusual words.  Some could be decoded because they had familiar word stems, but for the others the students came up with creative definitions:

biblioklept -- fr. Greek, biblio, book; kleptes, thief -- someone who steals books

acnestis -- fr. Greek, knestis, spine -- the part of an animal's skin between the shoulder blades that it usually cannot reach.

octothorpe -- the symbol (#).  Note:  The origin of the word is disputed.  Some say it was a practical joke, and others say that it was named by Bell Laboratories to be used in telephone computing language and was named for the 8 legs of the symbol and for James Thorpe whom the originator admired.  

augend & addend -- fr. Latin augendum. to augment; addendus, to be added -- these numbers refer to numbers in an addition equation.  The first is the augend, and the second is the addend.

Students received their final drafts of the Personal Essays and handed in their pre-writes and rough drafts of their Biography Essays.  I will go over these and hand them back next week for them to revise.

We are starting a new book:  Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.  This is a lovely little book and a good introduction to the writings of Charles Dickens.  While not everyone has read or is even familiar with the story, most had heard of Scrooge and his "bah humbug!"  In my opinion, this book has one of the best opening lines in all of literature:  "Marley was dead, to begin with."  The students already had their books, and this week I gave them a paper copy of the introduction, study guide questions, and vocabulary words.  Unlike our reading of the Animal Farm, I do not have ala carte reader responses, and I have chosen a list of words from the book from which they can choose their vocabulary words.  We also discussed Dickens's use of the words Stave instead of chapter.  Stave is a musical term, and since he uses "carol" in the title, it makes sense.  (See here for more information.)

We closed out the class with the Conjunctions presentation from Brooke S.  She had a School House Rock video and an online game for us to play.  Most students finished the homework in class.  Next week -- Adverbs from Brad.

Assignments for Next Week

-- Read Stave One of A Christmas Carol

-- Answer 3 Study Guide Questions

-- Define and give the word origins for 4 Vocabulary Words

-- Conjunctions Homework

Links for This Week

Class Notes

Week 9 Student Notes

A Christmas Carol Study Guide

A Christmas Carol Vocabulary Words

A Christmas Carol -- audio version on Librivox

A Christmas Carol -- audio book on YouTube

Staves in A Christmas Carol

Conjunctions Video

Have a great weekend!  Enjoy the outdoors before the snow flies!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 1A Class Notes -- Week 9 (Oct. 24)

Greetings!

As with every week, we fill every minute of our class period.  We started with a Quick Write, which was inspired by the fact that Oct. 24 is the 158th anniversary of the 1st transcontinental telegraph from Justice Stephen Field in California to President Lincoln in Washington, D. C.  I asked the students to list as many ways of communicating that they could think of, and we filled the board with our responses.

Our Words of the Day were again unusual words.  Some could be decoded because they had familiar word stems, but for the others the students came up with creative definitions:

biblioklept -- fr. Greek, biblio, book; kleptes, thief -- someone who steals books

acnestis -- fr. Greek, knestis, spine -- the part of an animal's skin between the shoulder blades that it usually cannot reach.

octothorpe -- the symbol (#).  Note:  The origin of the word is disputed.  Some say it was a practical joke, and others say that it was named by Bell Laboratories to be used in telephone computing language and was named for the 8 legs of the symbol and for James Thorpe whom the originator admired.  

augend & addend -- fr. Latin augendum. to augment; addendus, to be added -- these numbers refer to numbers in an addition equation.  The first is the augend, and the second is the addend.

Students received their final drafts of the Personal Essays and handed in their pre-writes and rough drafts of their Biography Essays.  I will go over these and hand them back next week for them to revise.

We are starting a new book:  Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.  This is a lovely little book and a good introduction to the writings of Charles Dickens.  While not everyone has read or is even familiar with the story, most had heard of Scrooge and his "bah humbug!"  In my opinion, this book has one of the best opening lines in all of literature:  "Marley was dead, to begin with."  The students already had their books, and this week I gave them a paper copy of the introduction, study guide questions, and vocabulary words.  Unlike our reading of the Animal Farm, I do not have ala carte reader responses, and I have chosen a list of words from the book from which they can choose their vocabulary words.  We also discussed Dickens's use of the words Stave instead of chapter.  Stave is a musical term, and since he uses "carol" in the title, it makes sense.  (See here for more information.)

We closed out the class with the Conjunctions presentation from Gabi, Alison, and Maria.  They had made a video with explanations that included a cartoon video.  They had a game for the students (that included candy!) and homework.  Next week -- Adverbs from Maddy, Ashley, and Faith.

Assignments for Next Week

-- Read Stave One of A Christmas Carol

-- Answer 3 Study Guide Questions

-- Define and give the word origins for 4 Vocabulary Words

-- Conjunctions Homework

Links for This Week

Class Notes

Week 9 Student Notes

A Christmas Carol Study Guide

A Christmas Carol Vocabulary Words

A Christmas Carol -- audio version on Librivox

A Christmas Carol -- audio book on YouTube

Staves in A Christmas Carol
Conjunctions Video

Have a great weekend!  Enjoy the outdoors before the snow flies!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

A Christmas Carol Vocabulary Words

Choose 4 words from each Stave to define (and find any Latin or Greek roots, naturally!) 

Note:  You may choose up to 5 extra words to do for extra credit.

Stave 1	Stave 2	Stave 3	Stave 4	Stave 5
Unhallowed Entreaty Impropriety Multitude Executor Trifle Resolute Tremulous Legatee Implore Lunatic Rapture Garret Covetous Replenish Credentials Congeal Misanthropic Solitary Intimation Ominous Caustic	Plaque Reclamation Expend Tumult Recumbent Jocund Transition Capacious Tunic Instantaneous Loath Deftly Brigands Lustrous Latent Condescension Corroborate Pillaged Conducive Laden Decanter Aspiration	Consolation Glee Subsequently Withered Seething Demurely Prematurely Goblets Demeanor Conspicuous Shabby Exulted Grog Compulsion Swarthy Ubiquitous Blithe Abyss Intricate Bilious Ensued Dismal	Repute Flaunting Beseech Inexorable Disgorge Repent Relents Replete Reek Scanty Faltered Foreshadow Repulse Slipshod Revered Essence Intercede Dwindle Beetling Avarice Tarry Strive	Gruel Recompense Jiffy Hearty Peals Portly Feign Sealingwax Jovial Pang Waistcoat Illustrious Extravagance Loitered Sidled Endeavor Amends Giddy Poulterer Array Borough Dispelled

A Christmas Carol Study Guide Questions

Stave One Questions ~

1. What is the simile in the second paragraph?

2. Why does the narrator make such a point of Marley’s being dead?

3. Why doesn’t the weather affect Scrooge?

4. How is Scrooge’s nephew different from Scrooge?

5. What do the “portly gentlemen” who come in after Scrooge’s nephew leave want?

6. How does the knocker change?

7. Why does Scrooge like the darkness?

8. What has Marley’s ghost been doing since his death?

9. What is the warning that Marley gives Scrooge?

10. Why are the phantoms upset?

Stave Two Questions ~

1. What was the strangest thing about the way the spirit looked?

2. What is Scrooge’s initial attitude toward the spirit?

3. What is different about Scrooge when he says “Remember it? I could walk it with a blindfold?”

4. Who is Scrooge talking about when he says “Poor boy!”

5. What does it tell us about Scrooge when Dickens observes“a rapidity of transition very foreign to his usual character.”?

6. When Fan comes to pick Scrooge up, we learn a reason why Scrooge may have turned out the way he did. What is this reason?

7. What kind of people are the Fezziwigs?

8. Who is Belle and why was she important to Scrooge?

10. How does Scrooge try to "extinguish the light"? Does he succeed? What is the light a symbol of?

Stave Three Questions

1. How is what Scrooge is thinking as he lies in bed waiting to see if the spirit appears different from the previous chapter?

2. What does the spirit look like?

3. What is this ghost’s personality like?

4. How has Scrooge’s attitude toward his being

6. What are three significant things we learn about the Cratchit’s?

7. How is Scrooge affected by seeing the family?

Stave Four Questions ~

1. What does the spirit of Christmas future look like?

2. What is this spirit’s personality like?

3. How does Scrooge feel about this spirit?

5. What are some of the words Dickens uses to create the mood of the paragraphs that follow?  What is this mood?

6. When Scrooge asks the phantom to let him "see some tenderness connected with a death,” What does the ghost show him?

7. What is the lesson Scrooge learns in this stave that he had not learned before? Why is this stave needed when Scrooge’s attitude had already changed so much.

Stave Five Questions ~

1.        Describe Scrooge when he first awoke on Christmas morning.

2.       Whom does Scrooge encounter?  How does he act?

3.       Compare Scrooge’s interactions from Stave 1 and his interactions in Stave 2.

4.       Explain the role of empathy in Scrooge’s conversion.

5.       How were the three spirits similar?  How are they different?

Writing 1B Class Notes -- Week 8 (Oct. 10)

Greetings!

Even though we were on the edge of Fall Break this week, students engage well with the material and our discussions.  For the Quick Write, I gave them these three National Days as options:  National Bring your Teddy Bear to Work Day (10/9), National Cake Decorating Day (10/10), and National Free Thought Day (10/11).  We had some great comments on favorite childhood toys, fancy birthday cakes, and conversations we have in our heads.

I used the Words of the Day part of the class for a different kind of activity.  I gave them three unusual words  (Gluggavedur, tidsoptimist, and dysania) and asked them to come  up with definitions for at least 2 of them.  We had a wide range of silly options and some that came pretty close to the real meanings.  (You can follow the links to find the definitions.)

Students are in the process of writing a Biography Essay.  I briefly covered a few topics:  how long should a paragraph be; where should the thesis statement go; how to divide the essay into paragraphs.  When we meet again, students should hand in both their pre-writes and their rough drafts.

We are now officially done with Animal Farm.  I gave them their next books, and their assignments include reading this online introduction about Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol and watching this short video.

This week we learned about Adjectives from Maggie and Nouns from Stephan.  Both of them had homework ready for the students to practice their knowledge of these parts of speech.  When we get back from break, we will hear about Conjunctions from Brooke S.  

Assignments for Oct. 24

-- Read the Intro to A Christmas Carol

-- Watch the introductory video for A Christmas Carol

-- Write the Pre-Write and Rough Draft for the Biography Essay

-- Complete the Nouns Homework

This Week's Links

Class Notes

Schoolhouse Rock Adjectives Video

Schoolhouse Rock Nouns Video

Gluggavedur, tidsoptimist, and dysania 

Introduction to Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol

Video Introduction to A Christmas Carol

Writing 1A Class Notes -- Week 8 (Oct. 10)

Greetings!

Even though we were on the edge of Fall Break this week, students engage well with the material and our discussions.  For the Quick Write, I gave them these three National Days as options:  National Bring your Teddy Bear to Work Day (10/9), National Cake Decorating Day (10/10), and National Free Thought Day (10/11).  We had some great comments on favorite childhood toys, fancy birthday cakes, and conversations we have in our heads.

I used the Words of the Day part of the class for a different kind of activity.  I gave them three unusual words  (Gluggavedur, tidsoptimist, and dysania) and asked them to come  up with definitions for at least 2 of them.  We had a wide range of silly options and some that came pretty close to the real meanings.  (You can follow the links to find the definitions.)

Students are in the process of writing a Biography Essay.  I briefly covered a few topics:  how long should a paragraph be; where should the thesis statement go; how to divide the essay into paragraphs.  When we meet again, students should hand in both their pre-writes and their rough drafts.

Last week I had assigned a brief Character Sketch for one of the primary characters from Animal Farm.  I told them that I had a secret plan for how we would use these.  This week, I grouped the students according to the animals they chose, and they were to use what they knew about their characters to come up with a "campaign speech" for that character.  I didn't give them a lot of time, so they had to think quickly as groups.  They did a great job and were pretty creative.  We are now officially done with Animal Farm.  I gave them their next books, and their assignments include reading this online introduction about Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol and watching this short video.

The remainder of the class was spent learning from the Nouns group (Michael, Carson, James, and Ethan).  They presentation included a video, a slide presentation, a Bingo activity, donuts, and homework.  They did a great job, and we are looking forward the Conjunctions group on 10/24 (Maria, Gabi, Alison).

Assignments for Oct. 24

-- Read the Intro to A Christmas Carol

-- Watch the introductory video for A Christmas Carol

-- Write the Pre-Write and Rough Draft for the Biography Essay

-- Complete the Nouns Homework

This Week's Links

Class Notes

Schoolhouse Rock Nouns Video

Nouns Google Slides Presentation

Gluggavedur, tidsoptimist, and dysania 

Introduction to Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol

Video Introduction to A Christmas Carol

Introduction to A Christmas Carol

             A Christmas Carol is a fairly straightforward allegory built on an episodic narrative structure in which each of the main passages has a fixed, obvious symbolic meaning. The book is divided into five sections (Dickens labels them Staves in reference to the musical notation staff--a Christmas carol, after all, is a song), with each of the middle three Staves revolving around a visitation by one of the three famous spirits. The three spirit-guides, along with each of their tales, carry out a thematic function--the Ghost of Christmas Past, with his glowing head, represents memory; the Ghost of Christmas Present represents charity, empathy, and the Christmas spirit; and the reaper-like Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come represents the fear of death. Scrooge, with his Bah! Humbug! attitude, embodies all that dampens Christmas spirit--greed, selfishness, indifference, and a lack of consideration for one's fellow man.

from Victorian Age

http://www.guidanceassociates.com/victorianage.html

            The Victorian Age is a very elastic term used to denote an extremely dynamic period. Although the Victorian Age roughly spans most of the 19th century (from 1832 to 1900), it is not totally confined within these dates. The rumblings of change to come were felt for some time before 1832, and changes did not stop occurring as soon as Queen Victoria died in 1901. However, lifestyles did change more dramatically during this period than ever before in English history. England was suddenly pulled together by the railways, the penny post, and the rest of the newly constructed apparatus of fast, cheap communication. The country became unified in a way never before possible.

            Prior to the middle of the 19th century, education had been reserved for the nobility and those who could afford to send their children to exclusive private schools. Even if the poor had been able to enter their children in these schools, they would not have done so. A child of six was expected to start bringing home money to help support his entire family; he would be put to work as soon as possible. In those days work meant twelve to sixteen hours a day of grueling, hard labor in conditions that would today be considered totally unacceptable. There was no time spare for education. However, with the appearance of the modern public school system it became fashionable and necessary for the children of the lower classes to at least learn the rudiments of the 3 R’s. With these assets, they could go on to vocational apprenticeships in one of the trades.

            Great nationalistic spirit developed during the Victorian Age, and England struggled to place herself at the top of the international scene. At the time of the Great Exhibition of 1851, England was influential in many countries. By the end of the Victorian Age, the British Empire had reached the high point of its development.

            During this period the extreme poverty of the lower working classes was pointed up by the increasingly congested living conditions of city life. While the nobility still hung onto its money and its social barriers, and an individual’s birthright tended to be the deciding factor of his future, the rapidly expanding middle classes made steady inroads. The middle-class novelist, Charles Dickens, did more than any writer before or since to expose the sufferings of the working class. His books found their way into the drawing rooms of the titled and wealthy, and social consciousness began to rise. Emancipation of women and the rights of children became popular cases for the previously sheltered nobility. They brought their money and influence to bear in demanding better working conditions and broader education for the working class. A kind of feverish sentimentality of guilt gripped everyone.  The debt owed to Charles Dickens for the many reforms of the Victorian Age is certainly not a small one.

A Christmas Carol Vocabulary

Choose 4 words from each Stave to define (and find any Latin or Greek roots, naturally!) 

Note:  You may choose up to 5 extra words to do for extra credit.

Stave 1	Stave 2	Stave 3	Stave 4	Stave 5
Unhallowed Entreaty Impropriety Multitude Executor Trifle Resolute Tremulous Legatee Implore Lunatic Rapture Garret Covetous Replenish Credentials Congeal Misanthropic Solitary Intimation Ominous Caustic	Plaque Reclamation Expend Tumult Recumbent Jocund Transition Capacious Tunic Instantaneous Loath Deftly Brigands Lustrous Latent Condescension Corroborate Pillaged Conducive Laden Decanter Aspiration	Consolation Glee Subsequently Withered Seething Demurely Prematurely Goblets Demeanor Conspicuous Shabby Exulted Grog Compulsion Swarthy Ubiquitous Blithe Abyss Intricate Bilious Ensued Dismal	Repute Flaunting Beseech Inexorable Disgorge Repent Relents Replete Reek Scanty Faltered Foreshadow Repulse Slipshod Revered Essence Intercede Dwindle Beetling Avarice Tarry Strive	Gruel Recompense Jiffy Hearty Peals Portly Feign Sealingwax Jovial Pang Waistcoat Illustrious Extravagance Loitered Sidled Endeavor Amends Giddy Poulterer Array Borough Dispelled

A Christmas Carol Study Guide Questions

Stave One Questions ~

1. What is the simile in the second paragraph?

2. Why does the narrator make such a point of Marley’s being dead?

3. Why doesn’t the weather affect Scrooge?

4. How is Scrooge’s nephew different from Scrooge?

5. What do the “portly gentlemen” who come in after Scrooge’s nephew leave want?

6. How does the knocker change?

7. Why does Scrooge like the darkness?

8. What has Marley’s ghost been doing since his death?

9. What is the warning that Marley gives Scrooge?

10. Why are the phantoms upset?

Stave Two Questions ~

1. What was the strangest thing about the way the spirit looked?

2. What is Scrooge’s initial attitude toward the spirit?

3. What is different about Scrooge when he says “Remember it? I could walk it with a blindfold?”

4. Who is Scrooge talking about when he says “Poor boy!”

5. What does it tell us about Scrooge when Dickens observes“a rapidity of transition very foreign to his usual character.”?

6. When Fan comes to pick Scrooge up, we learn a reason why Scrooge may have turned out the way he did. What is this reason?

7. What kind of people are the Fezziwigs?

8. Who is Belle and why was she important to Scrooge?

10. How does Scrooge try to "extinguish the light"? Does he succeed? What is the light a symbol of?

Stave Three Questions

1. How is what Scrooge is thinking as he lies in bed waiting to see if the spirit appears different from the previous chapter?

2. What does the spirit look like?

3. What is this ghost’s personality like?

4. How has Scrooge’s attitude toward his being

6. What are three significant things we learn about the Cratchit’s?

7. How is Scrooge affected by seeing the family?

Stave Four Questions ~

1. What does the spirit of Christmas future look like?

2. What is this spirit’s personality like?

3. How does Scrooge feel about this spirit?

5. What are some of the words Dickens uses to create the mood of the paragraphs that follow?  What is this mood?

6. When Scrooge asks the phantom to let him "see some tenderness connected with a death,” What does the ghost show him?

7. What is the lesson Scrooge learns in this stave that he had not learned before? Why is this stave needed when Scrooge’s attitude had already changed so much.

Stave Five Questions ~

1.        Describe Scrooge when he first awoke on Christmas morning.

2.       Whom does Scrooge encounter?  How does he act?

3.       Compare Scrooge’s interactions from Stave 1 and his interactions in Stave 2.

4.       Explain the role of empathy in Scrooge’s conversion.

5.       How were the three spirits similar?  How are they different?

Introduction to A Christmas Carol

             A Christmas Carol is a fairly straightforward allegory built on an episodic narrative structure in which each of the main passages has a fixed, obvious symbolic meaning. The book is divided into five sections (Dickens labels them Staves in reference to the musical notation staff--a Christmas carol, after all, is a song), with each of the middle three Staves revolving around a visitation by one of the three famous spirits. The three spirit-guides, along with each of their tales, carry out a thematic function--the Ghost of Christmas Past, with his glowing head, represents memory; the Ghost of Christmas Present represents charity, empathy, and the Christmas spirit; and the reaper-like Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come represents the fear of death. Scrooge, with his Bah! Humbug! attitude, embodies all that dampens Christmas spirit--greed, selfishness, indifference, and a lack of consideration for one's fellow man.

from Victorian Age

http://www.guidanceassociates.com/victorianage.html

            The Victorian Age is a very elastic term used to denote an extremely dynamic period. Although the Victorian Age roughly spans most of the 19th century (from 1832 to 1900), it is not totally confined within these dates. The rumblings of change to come were felt for some time before 1832, and changes did not stop occurring as soon as Queen Victoria died in 1901. However, lifestyles did change more dramatically during this period than ever before in English history. England was suddenly pulled together by the railways, the penny post, and the rest of the newly constructed apparatus of fast, cheap communication. The country became unified in a way never before possible.

            Prior to the middle of the 19th century, education had been reserved for the nobility and those who could afford to send their children to exclusive private schools. Even if the poor had been able to enter their children in these schools, they would not have done so. A child of six was expected to start bringing home money to help support his entire family; he would be put to work as soon as possible. In those days work meant twelve to sixteen hours a day of grueling, hard labor in conditions that would today be considered totally unacceptable. There was no time spare for education. However, with the appearance of the modern public school system it became fashionable and necessary for the children of the lower classes to at least learn the rudiments of the 3 R’s. With these assets, they could go on to vocational apprenticeships in one of the trades.

            Great nationalistic spirit developed during the Victorian Age, and England struggled to place herself at the top of the international scene. At the time of the Great Exhibition of 1851, England was influential in many countries. By the end of the Victorian Age, the British Empire had reached the high point of its development.

            During this period the extreme poverty of the lower working classes was pointed up by the increasingly congested living conditions of city life. While the nobility still hung onto its money and its social barriers, and an individual’s birthright tended to be the deciding factor of his future, the rapidly expanding middle classes made steady inroads. The middle-class novelist, Charles Dickens, did more than any writer before or since to expose the sufferings of the working class. His books found their way into the drawing rooms of the titled and wealthy, and social consciousness began to rise. Emancipation of women and the rights of children became popular cases for the previously sheltered nobility. They brought their money and influence to bear in demanding better working conditions and broader education for the working class. A kind of feverish sentimentality of guilt gripped everyone.  The debt owed to Charles Dickens for the many reforms of the Victorian Age is certainly not a small one.

A Christmas Carol Vocabulary Activity

From the Word Bank at the bottom of the chart, fill in the synonyms that match the 3 words given in the row.

Consolation	Solace	Relief
	Joy	Happiness	Merriment
Subsequently		Then	Consequently
Withered	Emaciated	Thin
Seething		Very angry	Furious
Demurely	Primly		Modestly
	Hastily	Impulsively	Too early
Goblets	Cups		Glasses
Demeanor		Bearing	Manner
Conspicuous	Noticeable	Apparent
Shabby	Tattered		Ragged
Exulted	Delighted	Reveled
	Liquor	Wassail	Punch
Compulsion		Force	Urge
	Dusky	Dark-skinned	Black
	Everywhere	Common place	Ever-present
Blithe		Happy-go-lucky	Carefree
Abyss		Void	Chasm
	Elaborate	Complicated	Complex
Bilious	Surly	Grouchy
	Resulted	Proceeded	Followed
Dismal	Gloomy		Miserable

Word Bank: 

Shyly

Impulse

Ensued

Grog

Lighthearted

Afterward

Conduct

Dreary

Enraged

Glee

Chalices

Comfort

Shrunken

Prematurely

Obvious

Ornery

Intricate

Deep hole

Swarthy

Gloried

Ubiquitous

Untidy