• research print and non-print sources of information, taking notes and recording bibliographic information using MLA format.
• work collaboratively to learn more about the Victorian period and prepare for individual presentations.
• write a character sketch and prepare for a presentation based on that character.
• deliver a convincing first-person account assuming the persona of the character.

• Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol, from the University of Virginia Electronic Text Center, or another version of the story. The following versions are possibilities:
  
  
  • A Christmas Carol (1984) starring George C. Scott, David Warner, Susannah York, Frank Finlay, Edward Woodward and Nigel Davenport. 100 min., or another video version of the story.
  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens adapted by Frederick Gaines from Five Plays from the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis, published by the University of Minnesota Press.
  • A Christmas Carol adapted by Frederick Gaines, performed by Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis. McDougal Littell Audio Library 2002.
  
  
  
• A Dickens of a Party WebQuest
• Group Investigative Role Cards
• Party Planning Worksheet
• Character Sketch Assignment
• Stage One: Rubric for Group Investigative Roles
• Stage Two: Rubric for Individual Characterizations
• Stage Three: Rubric for Presentations
• Internet access
• (optional) Books, reference material, and other nonfiction resources available for further research, as students' interest dictates.

1. Read, listen to, and/or watch a version of Charles Dickens' novella A Christmas Carol with students.
2. Discuss the story and Victorian period with students.
3. Check the Internet resources to ensure that all Web sites are appropriate for your students.
4. Make copies of handouts and rubrics, as necessary. Students can also access this information online, if you prefer.
5. Bookmark Web sites and make print resources available for student access.
6. Collaborate with the school library media specialist to identify available resources within your school.
7. Make arrangements for the Presentation segment of the lesson plan, including, if you desire, Victorian refreshment, games, music, and so forth.

1. As you complete your discussion of A Christmas Carol with students, introduce the project that students will work on to explore the story and the Victorian period in more detail.
2. Explain to students that Ebenezer Scrooge's nephew Fred is hosting a New Year’s Day party to celebrate Scrooge’s new outlook on life. The revelations of his miserly, miserable past have left Scrooge eager to learn more about those who have helped him to change. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to understand the values and customs each character represents in Victorian society.
3. Explain that this task will be divided into three stages – Group Investigative Roles, Individual Characterizations, and Presentations.
4. Grades will be determined by the performance rubrics for each stage.
5. Demonstrate how to access all the information for the WebQuest online and provide students with the URL for the resources (http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson238/dickens_WebQuest.html).
6. Ask students to come to the next session prepared to begin the first stage of the WebQuest.

1. Explain that students will work on Stage 1 of the WebQuest, Group Investigative Roles.
2. Explain that in order to connect with the people and places of Dickens’ time, students will investigate four aspects of Victorian life: History, Fashion, Etiquette, and Entertainment.
3. Divide students into groups of four members each.
4. Each group will have four investigative roles. Each student will read and discuss the essential question, take notes from at least two of the provided Web sites, and share the information with the group. Pictures may be printed to help the explanation; but notes should be paraphrased, and bibliographic citations recorded on note cards.
5. Provide students with the URL for the Group Investigative Role Cards (http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson238/role_cards.html).
6. Display on an overhead or pass out copies of Stage One: Rubric for Group Investigative Roles and discuss the rubric with students.
7. Depending on student reading levels and Internet skills, allow three class periods for individual research and one for group sharing.
8. As they work, circulate among students, offering them feedback and answering questions as appropriate.

1. Once groups have completed their research, explain Stage 2 of the WebQuest, Individual Characterizations.
2. Explain that students will incorporate information researched in Stage 1 with details previously viewed and discussed in class.
3. Display or pass out the Character Sketch Assignment and go over the details with students. Explain to students, in addition to writing an essay, they will role play the character and make a presentation to the class. The presentation can include costumes and props, but must be realistic and believable.
4. Pass out copies of the Party Planning Worksheet, which students will complete as a prewriting activity.
5. Remind students to cite sources using the MLA format at the Landmarks Citation Machine or in your handbook.
6. Display on an overhead or pass out copies of Stage Two: Rubric for Individual Characterizations and Stage Three: Rubric for Presentations. Discuss the rubric with students.
7. As students work on their characterizations, allow them to return to the links on the Group Investigative Role Cards as they need.
8. Encourage students to share their drafts with groups as they continue this project. As they work, circulate among students, offering them feedback and answering questions as appropriate.
9. If students need more support as they explore character traits, the lesson plan Action Is Character: Exploring Character Traits with Adjectives provides a nice mini-lesson for this project.

1. Allow students a few minutes at the beginning of the class where they will present their characters to organize their props and costumes.
2. Invite students to volunteer to share their character sketches, and remember to ask them to submit a copy of the text to you for Scrooge's scrapbook (this will the the copy that you'll use to provide students with feedback).
3. If desired, to accompany the presentations, provide hot spiced cider and cookies, lending wonderful aromas to the festivities.
4. At the conclusion of the presentations, students may play Victorian parlor games.
   

Dickens Museum Web Site
http://www.dickensmuseum.com/

An interactive tour complete with pictures of Dickens home. This page leads to many rooms and levels.

Map of Dickens' London
http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/dickens_london_map.html

An interactive page with dictionary definitions and descriptions of various locations in London.

Charles Dickens Page
http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/index.html

Brief biographical information about Dickens with links to the blackening factory and debtors prison.

The Ashton Home
http://www.logicmgmt.com/1876/house_tour/ourhouse.htm

An interactive tour of the Ashton home. Good information about family life, fashion, customs, and careers.

Victorian Britain, Learning Curve
http://learningcurve.pro.gov.uk/victorianbritain/default.htm

Interactive pages dealing with social issues and conditions of the times. Students can interact with games and investigate primary scource documents. Teachers should bookmark individual pages, as students may get lost if left on their own.

Dickens for Dummies
http://dickensfordummies.homestead.com/carol.html

A simple explanation of characterization, symbolism, and themes found in A Christmas Carol.

• Monitor student interaction and progress during group work to assess collaborative work skills and research skills and assist any students having problems with the project. Review student notes in journals and logs. Use the Stage One: Rubric for Group Investigative Roles to give students feedback on their progress.
  
  
• As students work on their character sketches, look for indications that they are able to connect the information from their collaborative research to the writing task. In particular, are students consulting their notes? Do they return to the Web sites on the Group Investigative Role Cards if they need more information. Encourage any students who are stuck to look to their notes and group members for help. Use the Stage Two: Rubric for Individual Characterizations to provide feedback and assessment of students' written character sketches.
  
  
• Use the Stage Three: Rubric for Presentations to provide feedback on student's role play of the character that they've chosen. Student reaction to presentations will also provide useful feedback to students.
  
  

NCTE/IRA Standards

1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

5 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

7 - Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

8 - Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).