Why Teach A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens?

It’s never too late to change! The story is set in the mid-1800s in London.  Ebenezer Scrooge is a stingy old man who hates Christmas, referring to it as “Bah!  Humbug!” He grudgingly agrees to give his clerk Bob Cratchit Christmas Day off. Scrooge is startled by the ghost of his deceased business partner Marley who tells him he will be visited by three more spirits. 

Scrooge is enlightened by the Spirit of Christmas Past who allows him to view scenes from his childhood when he was loved by his family. He also sees his fiancée Belle who breaks up with Scrooge because he loves money more than he loves her. The Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge scenes of happy people celebrating Christmas, including Bob Cratchit’s family and Cratchit’s son Tiny Tim who is seriously ill. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge his funeral and tombstone and nobody to mourn his death. Scrooge promises to change his ways. He wakes up on Christmas Day a new man.  He visits his nephew and sends a turkey to the Cratchit family. Scrooge becomes kind and generous. He gives Cratchit a raise and becomes like a grandfather to Tiny Tim. The story ends with Tiny Tim’s “God bless us, everyone!”

The Grammardog Guide to A Christmas Carol features sentences from the novel in 16 grammar, style and proofreading quizzes that reinforce plot, characters and themes. Quizzes are chock full of familiar quotes (“Dead as a door-nail, as good as gold, light as a feather”). Excellent alliteration (“No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him), and a fun mix of allusions that include ghosts, goblins, Hamlet, Cain and Abel, Ali Baba and Robinson Crusoe.

By Mary Jane McKinney

Teachers can purchase The Grammardog Guide to A Christmas Carol and companion study guide A Christmas Carol: Movie Version here to get ready-to-use quizzes and book vs. movie activities for their students.