A Christmas Carol

Objective

Students will identify key character traits of Ebenezer Scrooge by analyzing his words, actions, and how other characters react to him, using textual evidence from the opening of Stave I of A Christmas Carol.

Materials

• Printed or projected copies of the provided excerpt from A Christmas Carol, Stave I: "Marley's Ghost" (from the opening through Scrooge's "And the Union workhouses?")
• Whiteboard or chart paper and markers
• Notebook paper or exit ticket handout
• Pencils

Warm-up (~5 min)

• Write on the board: "Marley was dead: to begin with."
• Ask students to turn to a neighbor and guess: Why might an author start a ghost story by insisting, over and over, that a character is definitely dead?
• Take 2–3 quick verbal answers as a whole class. No wrong answers — this is just to get them thinking about how Dickens builds mood and prepares readers for something "wonderful" (strange) to happen.

Main Activity (~25 min)

1. Read aloud together (10 min): The substitute (or a confident volunteer) reads aloud starting from "Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind-stone, Scrooge!" through the end of the excerpt (the exchange with the two portly gentlemen). Pause briefly after the long paragraph describing Scrooge's coldness to check understanding: ask "What words does Dickens use to describe Scrooge's personality?"

1. Textual evidence hunt (10 min): Students work individually or in pairs with the printed excerpt. They find and underline/copy down three examples from the text that show what kind of person Scrooge is. They should pull from at least two of these three moments:
2. The description of Scrooge as "tight-fisted," "squeezing," "hard and sharp as flint," etc.
3. His conversation with his nephew (his response to "Merry Christmas" and refusing the dinner invitation)
4. His response to the two gentlemen collecting for the poor ("Are there no prisons?")

1. Class discussion (5 min): Ask volunteers to share one piece of evidence they found and what it tells us about Scrooge. Write a running list on the board titled "Scrooge's Traits" (e.g., stingy, cold, unfriendly, dismissive of charity).

Wrap-up / Exit Ticket (~10 min)

On a half-sheet of paper or in their notebooks, students answer in complete sentences:

1. Give one word that describes Scrooge, based on the text.
2. Write one quote or detail from the story that supports your word choice.
3. How does Scrooge's nephew react differently to Christmas than Scrooge does? Give one detail from their conversation.

Collect exit tickets as students finish, or have them place them in a designated bin by the door.

If Time Remains

Have students rewrite one line of Scrooge's dialogue (such as "Bah! Humbug!" or "Are there no prisons?") as if he were saying it in a much kinder, warmer way — as a hint of the change to come later in the story. Ask one or two volunteers to share their rewritten lines aloud.