This Subscriber Christmas Special is a supplement to the following post:
From Digital Dependence to Analog Dickens
Two days ago our home was cast into utter darkness. The lights flickered ominously and then succumbed to the freezing rain that had been raging since the early afternoon. All was black and disorienting, so much so that the first question that popped into mind was “Where am I?” While just a moment ago, everyone in our …
When I started learning English as a teenager, I dreamt of one day being able to read one of Charles Dickens’s classic novels and actually understand it. My fascination with the English language continued to grow and my love of classic vocabulary finally culminated in a ‘Classic Learner’s Edition’ of A Christmas Carol. I pored over every page of the tale, carefully taking note of vocabulary that might trip up young readers and make them stumble, words like: ubiquitous, covetous, apoplectic, facetious, inexorable, or prodigious. I then created a complete, varied, and entertaining vocabulary study section, which enriches readers’ experience following the unabridged original text.
The activities in the Classic Learner’s Edition were created together with students of the Classical Homeschool Program. We spent the weeks leading up to Christmas reading the tale, created vocabulary trivia, rewrote instructions for Victorian era parlour games (and play-tested them!), and much more. The best of these have been collected in this edition and can be used by families at home, as part of a homeschool study unit, or within a larger classroom setting.
Focusing on Dickens’s rich, profoundly true, and often uproariously humorous use of language, this Classic Learner’s Edition is bound to open doors to a great variety of classic literary treasures.
The Classic Learner’s Edition includes:
Unabridged original text
A Christmas Carol – For children to read out loud
Classical vocabulary copy work with over 120 words
Truth or malarkey
Vocabulary definition match
Humorous selections
Victorian parlour games
Glossary
I have included all the content of the Classic Learner’s Edition below for paying subscribers. Please feel free to download and use the worksheets for your family. However, these resources took a lot of time and effort to create, and I would thus ask that you do not forward these pdf downloads via e-mail to others (feel free to direct them to School of the Unconformed for access:). Thank you :)
If you would like to order a paperback version you can do so here. Please note that Amazon has a great variety of books called A Christmas Carol, and some other versions are included in the reviews (this book does not have pop-ups for example). Be sure to select the paperback (not hardcover or kindle) 8.5” by 11” version with ISBN 978-1988604145.
Marley’s face. It was not in impenetrable shadow as the other objects in the yard were, but had a dismal light about it, like a bad lobster in a dark cellar.
Charles Dickens
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - Unabridged
A Christmas Carol for Children to Read out Loud
This abridged version (containing Dickens’ original words only) is perfect for families to read out loud together. It takes about 40 min
A Christmas Carol: Classic Vocabulary Study and Copy Work
Truth or Malarkey
