Imagine that you have been invited to a Victorian themed holiday party. What would you expect to see, hear, eat, and do? Complete this WebQuest, and make sure you know what to expect, because our class will host just such a party.Celebrating Christmas and its traditions is a recurring setting element in Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Using what we have learned from the book and the play as our starting point, you will use the web to research Victorian Christmas traditions, teach the class what we have learned, and recreate Fred's Christmas party for our class during our Gallary Walk. Click the Task link to get started.
Celebrating Christmas and its traditions is a recurring setting element in Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Near the end of the novel, Ebenezer Scrooge attends his nephew Fred's Christmas party-his change of plans symbolizing his change of character. Your task is to research the Victorian Era, and the Christmas traditions associated with it, and recreate the party.
Using what we have learned from the book and the play as our starting point, you will research Victorian Christmas traditions, teach the class what you have learned, and teach the class during a Victorian Christmas party during our Gallary Walk. A list of web resources to get you started is found on the Resources page.
You will bring a part of the Victorian Christmas tradition alive with a demonstration or presentation of your topic and an audience participation activity.
Click on the links below to read about the task expectations for your group.
Victorian Christmas Traditions & Symbols
Victorian Christmas Foods & Drinks
Victorian Games & Christmas Music
Your project group will research one (or more if you'd like) aspect of the party and teach the rest of the class what they have learned through a presentation or demonstration and an audience participation activity. This activity can be something whole group, or something each person can do as they walk through the Gallary Walk.
Group members will reach a consensus about the mode of presentation and delivery method as well as the division of labor within the group. If each member wants to pick a different aspect of the party to learn and teach, you may.Work together.
You will then set up your activity with your project at the Gallary Walk.
This is not graded. It is a project to enhance our learning of the era and make our party that much more fun!
You will not be graded on this part. This is to enhance your learning of the time period when A Christmas Carol took place.
Congratulations! You know much more about Victorian Christmas traditions than when we started. Not only that, but you have recreated a successful Victorian Christmas party, successfully taught Victorian Christmas traditions to others, and deepened your understanding of the social and cultural setting in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. Excellent work!
Here is a list of thing you can use to research the party.
Possible Search Strings:
Victorian ChristmasVictorian Christmas TraditionsVictorian Christmas DinnerVictorian Christmas PartyVictorian Christmas SongsVictorian GamesVictorian Party GamesVictorian Parlor Games You'll come up with other search strings as you work on the research.
Helpful Web Sites for general information about the Victorian Era:
History in Focus: The Victorian Era
England & the Victorian EraYork Castle Museum Victorian Christmas Collection
Here is a list of thing you can use to research the party.
Possible Search Strings:
Helpful Web Sites for general information about the Victorian Era: