A Christmas Carol: Weaker Learner Support Pack for GCSE
Aim 1 – Engage weaker learners with the text
Characters speak directly to students to summarise the plot before and after reading the play.
Aim 2 – Support their understanding of key literary
aspects
Worksheets include stimulating and well-pitched activities to engage students with main events, all key characters, major themes, form and structural features, and language. Also includes a supporting PowerPoint presentation!
- AQA
- Edexcel
- Eduqas
Aim 3 – Consolidate their knowledge ready for the exam
Essay-writing advice, a whole-text quiz and a key terms glossary ensure students are fully prepared for the exam.
- Full answers included
- Original illustrations
What do teachers say about this resource? (10365)
This resource will benefit teachers that are taking a class of weaker learners.
There is a mix of activities that would engage the students as they tackle the text as well as some specific activities to help improve essay writing.
The creative tasks are helpful in expanding understanding of themes and character. There is a variety of engaging activities and good advice and guidance for teachers.
I particularly liked the PEEL related essay work, the use of an extensive and helpful glossary.
Each activity begins with a clear explanation of what the aim of it is, with a mix of group/pair/individual work which will help the learners to progress with their understanding of the text and the ability to answer questions on the text and its context.
The Glossary is comprehensive, and the essay preparation activities would allow the learners to develop their skills suitable to achieve a 4/5 at GCSE level.
The information given for teachers will be reassuring to them and thereby help them to impart good educational value when using this resource.
A fantastic resource which is scaffolded very well to suit weaker ability students.
Really clear reminder of the weightings of the AOs for the ACC question for each exam board – makes it a very versatile resource as it is suitable for all specs.
Very concise outline of each stave which shows only the key information necessary for those of a lower ability.
Staged questioning in individual tasks helps students to build confidence.
Small examples given help to model good practice without intimidating students and give them an idea of what they are trying to achieve in independent tasks.
Lovely use of pair and group work to build confidence in developing own ideas and also to enhance speaking and listening skills. This also helps to incorporate some variety in the tasks which this resource does so well.
Really useful revision quizzes to help with knowledge retention and retrieval practice.
Excellent scaffolding in independent tasks – this means that what can appear to be a challenging question for weaker students is broken down in manageable and achievable chunks which ultimately achieves the same result if done correctly. Not much input from a teacher would be necessary as scaffolding is already in place through the process of getting to an end result.
I liked the resource particularly the advice about plot summary and how to answer essay questions. The essay writing practice is excellent. Sections on structure and Language are very helpful and the examples will help weaker learners to understand how to answer questions. The plot summaries and characters and language glossary all help with gaining knowledge of the text. Picking out similarities and differences of the characters is very good and I loved the effects of character analysis and language use with key events. The charts and examples of responses are excellent. This resource definitely matches [the spec] and helps students to format answers by making a point and backing up their opinion. I loved the quiz as this helps to consolidate knowledge of the text. The modern day examples help students to understand context and Dickens` social commentary. I love the PEEL section and glossary. The POINT and Explanation charts and analysis of responses are very good… I found the idea of the resource very useful as breaking up information clearly helps weaker learners.
Overall, I think this resource is great.
A good resource that contains a range of activities for before, during and after reading. The layout of the tasks is easy to follow for students, and everything is explained.
The continuous references and tasks to link in the context of the book are good. The bold comments on sheets to remind the students of the terminology needed are also a welcome sight as they often get overlooked by students.
This resource builds up both the events of the text and the context in a way that can be be broken down and understood more easily. I particularly liked the references/comparisons to modern day London/life to place things into perspective for students.