Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol ~ Lesson Ideas
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A Christmas Carol is one of the most beloved holiday stories of all time — and a perfect way to bring literature to life in December. The transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge, the themes of kindness and redemption, and Dickens’ vivid characters make this a powerful family or classroom read-aloud.
Whether you’re teaching a unit study at home, leading a co-op, or adding some meaningful holiday learning into your school week, these A Christmas Carol lesson ideas will help your kids connect with the story in fun and memorable ways.
 
How to Use This Christmas Classic in Your Lessons
Read the Book (kids’ versions available!)
You can choose the original Dickens text or a beautifully illustrated young reader’s adaptation to make it more accessible for younger students. Pair reading with discussion prompts (below).
- Kindle Version of A Christmas Carol
- Gutenburg is a great site to get free audio book classics. They have a free version.
Character Growth + Theme Discussion Questions
Use a notebook or discussion cards:
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How does Scrooge change from the beginning to the end of the story?
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What does each ghost represent?
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What lessons does Scrooge learn about compassion?
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What would your three ghosts show you?
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What does Dickens suggest about how we treat others?
- How do our choices affect others?
This makes a wonderful reflective writing activity.
Watch the Movie of A Christmas Carol:
 
  
There are tons of different versions of this movie available. Â You can rent or buy different versions through Amazon.
Act Out A Christmas Carol:
There are a few sites that offer free scripts to act out the story. This could be such a fun way to help your kids really get to know the story. They could even perform it for family and friends!
Learn More About Charles Dickens:
Visit the Dickens Museum website.
The Charles Dickens Page has some great info.
Bipography.com has a great bio on Charles Dickens.
Make Some Old English Recipes:
We made some yummy spiced apple cider, also called wassail.
Spiced Apple Cider (Wassail) Recipe
1 gallon of apple cider
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 sliced, peeled & cored apple
1 sliced orange (leave peels on)
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low or high until hot and flavors have cooked together. I cooked mine on high for about 3 hours (It doesn’t need to be exact).
Enjoy! 🙂
More Christmas Learning
Connect with more meaningful holiday activities on my site:
This is a great list of resources Karyn! Thanks for sharing!
Oh, thanks for this great post and sharing it with Afterschool. My favorite movie version of Christmas Carol is Muppet Christmas Carol, and I think this year our seven year old might be ready for it.
Love all these resources! We’re so glad you shared at After School.
I really love your unit studies, Karyn. I love how you get into classic literature and really get to the essence of it.
Thank you for sharing this!
This was so helpful to me as I plan a Victorian Christmas unit for my kiddos this year. Thank you!