The Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens is said to be one of the greatest authors of the Victorian Era. Before we read A Christmas Carol, you must spend some time learning about Charles Dickens and what the world was like as he knew it.

Answer in complete sentences (written on a separate sheet of the paper) the questions on the "Process" tab. Turn in to box when complete.

Section I

Please begin by clicking on the following link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/olivertwist/dickens_timeline_text.html

1. Where and when was Charles Dickens born?

2. How old was Dickens when the family moved to London, England?

3. In addition to A Christmas Carol identify three works of literature written by Charles Dickens. 

Section II

Go to:  http://charlesdickenspage.com/dickens_london_map.html

You will find a map of London-as it was during Dickens’ lifetime.  Please locate and click on Camden Town. 

 4. Which family from A Christmas Carol lived in Camden Town?

Section III

 5. Keep scrolling down the page until you see “MONEY.”  List the three types of money used in England during this time.

 6. Scroll a little further down and you’ll notice “DISEASES.”  Please list and define one major disease present during this time period. 

Section IV

Go to:  http://www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/dietwh.html

7.   Workhouses were built to house poor Victorians, who worked for a small amount of food and money. Click on workhouses and read about the original workhouse in Rotherham, then identify three foods that poor Victorians were given here. 

8.      When Scrooge is asked to donate money to the poor, he refuses and asks, “Are there no prisons? And Union workhouses?” What is a Union Workhouse? Check out the information below to get information about workhouses

WHAT WAS A WORKHOUSE?

If you were poverty-stricken, or an unwanted orphan, or an impoverished widow, if you were too old to work, or if you were on the tramp, or you were sick or deranged, you could end up in the dreaded union workhouse. The workhouse, sometimes referred to as the Bastille, was a ruthless attempt in 19th century England to solve the problem of poverty.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE IN THE WORKHOUSE?

Life was meant to be much tougher inside the workhouse than outside, and the buildings themselves were deliberately grim & intimidating - they were designed to look like prisons. They were full of illness & disease brought about by over-crowding & the starvation diet.

 When you were admitted to the workhouse, you were stripped, searched, washed & had your hair cropped. You were made to wear a prison-style uniform.

 Women were at all times kept separate from the men, including their husbands. Children were kept separately from adults - even from their own parents.

 A well known story tells how a labourer gave notice to leave the workhouse with his wife & children - only to be told: "You cannot take your wife out. We buried her three weeks ago".

In one instance, a girl aged 15 years died in the workhouse.

Section V

Go to: http://www.logicmgmt.com/1876/schoolday.htm

9.    Write down the list of 10 rules, (yes you must write all 10), which were found in a typical Victorian classroom.  In your opinion, which rule should still be used in schools today?  Explain why.

Section VI

Go to:  http://charlesdickenspage.com/reading_dickens.html

10.   Who read Charles Dickens' works in the nineteenth century?

11.   Why, as we read Dickens today, is it challenging?

12. Plum Pudding is a treat mentioned in A Christmas Carol. What are their main ingredients? What did they make it in? 

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/superb-english-plum-pudding-20010

13. Back in the Victorian era, their coins were called: pound, shilling, and pence. Scrooge paid his worker “fifteen shilling a week.” What could you buy with that? Is that a lot of money?

http://www.logicmgmt.com/1876/living/money.htm

14. In the book, Scrooge is afraid to move the “bed curtains” for fear he will see another spirit. What are “bed curtains”?

http://victoriandecorating.blogspot.com/2007/02/victorian-bedroom.html

*If you are finished the questions and there is still class time left, you may visit: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/victorians/flash/start_flash.shtml 

This is a great website about Victorian children.  Click on “learning” under one of these categories: work, school, play.  After you watch a short video, you may play the game. 

 Please make sure your papers are turned in for a grade!

You have completed the webquest on Charles Dickens and the setting of Christmas Carol!