Before You Meet Scrooge: A Free Prediction Activity to Build Background Knowledge for A Christmas Carol (Middle School ELA)
If you’re preparing to teach A Christmas Carol and you want your students to actually understand the story before they read it, this free activity is the perfect way to start. Instead of jumping straight into the play or the movie, students first explore what life was like in Victorian England and make predictions about the story’s message — which gives them context, curiosity, and a meaningful reason to read.
This lesson works whether you're teaching the full text, the play version, or showing a film adaptation, and it fits easily into a single class period. It’s also ideal for those days when you need something meaningful, low-prep, and student-centered.
Why Background Knowledge Matters When Teaching A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is more than a ghost story — it’s social commentary. Dickens wrote it to make people care about the poor, challenge the way Victorians viewed poverty, and inspire generosity.
But middle schoolers don’t automatically know that.
Without context, Scrooge just seems mean. The ghosts seem random. The ending feels abrupt. But when students learn why Dickens wrote the story, they’re suddenly able to think deeper:
- Why was Scrooge written this way?
- What does Dickens want the audience to learn?
- What problem in society needed to be fixed?
That’s where this free lesson comes in.
A Christmas Carol Activities That Actually Build Understanding Before Reading
This free activity uses a short, 5-minute video about Charles Dickens and Victorian England so students can see:
- What poverty looked like in Dickens’ time
- Why children had to work
- How the wealthy and poor were treated
- What motivated Dickens to write the story
Instead of just watching passively, students take structured notes and use that information to predict the theme of A Christmas Carol before ever meeting Scrooge.
That means when they do read the text or watch the movie, they already understand the big idea — and can track how Scrooge changes in response to it.
What’s Included in the Free Lesson
✅ Teacher directions page with video link (no prep needed)
✅ Student note-taking organizer
✅ Theme prediction prompt with sentence starters and paragraph frame
✅ Expanded answer key (notes + sample paragraph in Claim → Evidence → Commentary format)
Click here to get the free activity!
Ready for the Full A Christmas Carol Unit?
If you want the rest of the unit to feel just as smooth, I have a complete 3-week A Christmas Carol lesson plan bundle designed for middle school ELA. It includes:
✔️ Links to the pdf play version by Frederick Gaines + audio
✔️ Pre-, during-, and post-reading activities
✔️ Theme, character, and media literacy lessons
✔️ Printable AND digital versions
✔️ Discussion questions, 2 assessments, writing tasks, editable lesson plans, and more
👉 You can take a closer look by clicking here!
If the freebie helps your students engage more deeply with the story, this bundle will take you the rest of the way — planned, scaffolded, and ready to teach.
Thanks for stopping by!
FAQs About Teaching A Christmas Carol in Middle School
Q: Do students need to read the full text before watching the movie?
A: No — many teachers use the play version first, then show the movie as a comparison activity. This freebie works before either format.
Q: Is A Christmas Carol too difficult for 6th–8th graders?
A: Not when it’s scaffolded. Background knowledge + structured theme work dramatically increases comprehension.
Q: Can this activity work with special education or below-grade-level readers?
A: Yes. The video + graphic organizer combo gives students access to complex themes without needing the full text yet.
Q: Does this work with any movie version?
A: Yes — Disney, Jim Carrey, George C. Scott, even Muppets. The theme remains the same.
Q: Where does this free activity fit in the full unit?
A: It’s meant to be used before reading — as the hook and schema builder.
Pin This Post for Later:
Don’t spend hours searching for that great idea you found. Just pin this to your favorite classroom Pinterest board so you can quickly and easily come back when you are ready. You’ll be glad you did!
