4 Resources for Teaching Dickens

Studying Charles Dickens in December is a highlight for Language Arts teachers. Here are 4 sites to help with your classroom study.

Charles Dickens Info

This website features three sections:

  • The Life of Dickens
  • The Work of Dickens
  • A Christmas Carol

Included in the website you will find a quiz, interactive resources, book and short story lists, quotations, and trivia.

Click here to check out this website.

Dickens Museum Interactive Tour

Going to London to visit the Dickens Museum may not be practical, but students can get a taste of the experience by visiting the virtual website. This website allows students to navigate the museum and click on places which show close ups of the dining room, morning room, preparation room kitchen, cafe, garden, dining room, study, and bedroom. There are descriptions of artifacts as students explore and learn about the artifacts virtualy.

Click here to check out this website

How to Teach A Christmas Carol

Check out the website by Prestwick House for background information, a summary, objectives, literary elements, theme, and film suggestions.

A more detailed guide with summaries by scene, characters, quizzes, and quotes may be found in Sparknotes.

A Dickens Movie

Click here for a full length, 46 minute video on the life and works of Charles Dickens from A&E and biography.com. Students will begin to understand how his life and the historical time period influenced his work.

The Victorian Web

At first glance, I missed all the features and information possible from The Victorian Web. For some reason I kept coming back to it. As I clicked multiple times, I found an abundance of resources. Further investigation brought me to the article What is the Victorian Web. When I found there were over 100,000 items, I was intrigued. As I continued to investigate, I discovered sound files, VR images, photos, maps, and even links to full copies of public domain books. You can link to Christmas Carol on Gutenberg through their website or by clicking here. If you are a Dickens enthusiast or interested in the Victorian Era, this website provides a plethora of information. Be sure to click links and delve into all the possibilities!

Looking for more resources?

Check out this differentiated passage from Reading Specialty at TPT.

Click here to see this differentiated passage and comprehension questions. The passage is written at three levels. The first passage has a reading level of grades 9-10. Passage two has a grade level of grade 8. Passage three has a grade level of grades 6-7. Following each passage there is a main idea, vocabulary, organizational pattern, inference and summary questions.