Center Activities for A Christmas Carol

Directions: Choose 5 of the activities to complete on the play. This project will count three times. Each center is worth twenty points. A center must be completed correctly and by you in order to receive the points. You may complete a sixth center and receive extra credit.

1. Select a scene from Act I or Act II that you thinks lends itself well to illustration. Create a drawing or collage to illustrate the scene. Give your artwork a caption from the text. The illustration must be filled with at least five details that would be in the scene. The illustration should be original, creative, finished, colored, detailed, and drawn by you.

2. Draw a stickman of Ebenezer Scrooge, Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit, or one of the spirits. There are nine items for the stick figure. You must include three details for each of the nine items.

3. Complete a word search from the play. Get a copy of this from me.4. Write a one-two page letter that tells Scrooge what he is missing by being

cranky and mean to everyone. There is a handout and two questions that must be completed. You can get these from me.

5. Write an original poem, song, or rap of at least ten lines about the play or a character in the play. Write a rough draft of the poem, have someone proof it for you, and then type it or write neatly in black ink. I have a sample form for a poem, or you can create your own. You must also include a caption and picture to go with your creation.

6. Create a movie poster or playbill. It should look like a poster you see at the movie theater advertising a movie that is playing. It should be bright,

colorful, with an image or picture, include a list of actors and actresses, the name of the play, and a list of showing times and cost. Don’t forget to use British currency. Poster must be done on posterboard. You may get posterboard from me.

7. Pretend to be Bob or Emily (his wife) Cratchit or Tiny Tim. Write two one page journal entries describing your family’s life before Scrooge changes when there was little money, and one about how life has changed for your family since Scrooge has been visited by the three specters.

8. Create a six slide comic strip that gives the main points of the play. Decide what six points to focus on, draw the six slides, and then provide words in bubbles and color it. You may get the paper for this from me. (2 centers)

9. Using Powerpoint, create two slides about the play. One slide should be about Act I and the second slide should be about Act II. You must put the rough draft of your slides on computer paper and turn in to me. Both slides must include three pictures, and complete the following sentences: I noticed….,I wonder……, One interesting vocabulary word I learned is ____ and it means …, Use the vocabulary word in an original sentence, This act reminds me of…., I learned…..

10. Write a sample script based on the play set the next year or in 2008. Include the same characters and make sure you emphasize Scrooge. Is he different or the same as he was in the play? Script should be at least one act with five scenes. Don’t forget to include the stage directions, props, and any motions you want the characters to do. (3 centers)

11.Create a children’s book based on the play that youngsters would be able to understand. It should include 10-15 pages of the story written in your own words and not copied from the text. There must be at least 5-7 illustrations. Don’t forget to create a colorful cover which includes the title, author, and illustrator information. Include a page about the author Charles Dickens, and a page about you, the illustrator and reteller.

Center Activities for A Christmas Carol

Directions: To culminate our study of the novel you are going to choose 5 of the activities to complete. This assignment is a project which will count three times. Each center is worth twenty points. A center must be completed correctly and by you in order to receive the points. You may complete a sixth center and receive extra credit. Most centers must have a plan.

1. Select a scene from the book that you think lends itself well to illustration. Create a drawing or collage to illustrate the scene. Give your artwork a caption from the text. The illustration must be filled with at least five details that would be in the scene. The illustration should be original, creative, finished, colored, detailed, and drawn by you.

2. Draw a stickman of Ebenezer Scrooge, Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit, or one of the spirits. There are nine items for the stick figure. You must include three details for each of the nine items.

3. Create a word search using 25 words from the book. Switch word searches with another student and solve each other’s.

4. Using the Internet or library resources, explore what London was like in 1843. What were some of the landmarks of the city? How did people get around and do their shopping? What was the cost of common necessities? In what sort of houses did they live, and how did they dress? What were typical jobs? Write up your results in a one-two page report. You may type it. It must be in your own words. If you use Internet resources, you must cite the address where you found your information. All information must be stapled to the report.

5. Write an original poem, song, or rap of at least ten lines about the book or a character in the book. Write a rough draft of the poem, have someone proof it for you, and then type it or write neatly in black ink. You must also include a caption and picture to go with your creation.

6. Create a movie poster or playbill. It should look like a poster you see at the movie theater advertising a movie that is playing. It should be bright, colorful, with an image or picture, include a list of actors and actresses, the name of the play, and a list of showing times and cost. Don’t forget to use British currency. Poster must be done on posterboard. You may get posterboard from me.

7. Look at obituaries from the newspaper and write contrasting obituaries for Scrooge and Marley. One obituary before they changed, and a different one after they changed. Be sure to include the details that all obituaries have in them. See #2 on page 683 in purple literature book. This means you will write four different obituaries.

8. Create a six slide comic strip that gives the main points of the book. Decide what six points to focus on, draw the six slides, and then provide words in bubbles and color it. You may get the paper for this from me. (2 centers)

9. Research the life of Charles Dickens. Take 12 of the important dates in his life and create a timeline for them. Focus on the major events in his life, the publishing of his most important literary works, and his travels. The timeline must be turned in on posterboard. Place the events in order. Draw a picture or symbol and use clipart or pictures to illustrate each event. (2 centers)

10. Write a sample script based on the play set the next year or in 2008. Include the same characters and make sure you emphasize Scrooge. Is he different or the same as he was in the play? Script should be at least one act with five scenes. Don’t forget to include the stage directions, cast of characters, list of settings, props, and any motions you want the characters to do. (3 centers)

11. Create a children’s book based on the book that youngsters would be able to understand. It should include 10-15 pages of the story written in your own words and not copied from the text. There must be at least 5-7 illustrations. Don’t forget to create a colorful cover which includes the title, author, and illustrator information. Include a page about the author Charles Dickens, and a page about you, the illustrator and reteller.

12. Write a humorous dialogue in which the three spirits discuss their experiences with Scrooge among themselves. Think of how the ghosts would have felt as they showed Scrooge each incident and watched his reactions. Write a one-two page dialogue of the three specters’ conversation.

13. Take one of the characters in the book, and draw a costume from head to toe appropriate for the character. You must consider the information we know about the character from the book and information about the clothing of the time period. You may use library or Internet resources to help you. Cite sources. I have a handout to help with this center.

14. Using the Internet or library resources, visit Dickens’ home. Compare and contrast his home to yours. Create a poster or drawing that compares life in the mid1800’s to your life in America today. Choose three areas to compare and contrast. You could choose furniture, entertainment, transportation, etc. (2 centers)

15. Complete the case three about children’s lives in the Victorian era. You will have to use the Internet to complete worksheets and print out the certificates. Complete the handouts. You must complete all of the steps on the website. The web address is http://www.mv.com/ipusers/panda/case3.htm (3 centers)