(Fourth Reader, page 39)
The pupils have read Scrooge's Christmas, in the Fourth Reader. They have also read the synopsis of A Christmas Carol at the beginning of the lesson. If they have read the first four staves of the carol in a general way, they will be in a better position to study intensively the last stave, or chapter, which is the lesson in the Reader. They will understand the causes that have changed this "covetous old sinner" to the man "who knew how to keep Christmas Day well". This lesson should be taken up near Christmas. The pupils will discuss Stave I, after having read it at home.
Stave I
What is the title of this work? A Christmas Carol.
Why is it called a carol? In England, it is the custom for bands of singers, called "waits", to go from house to house on Christmas Eve. The author calls this ghost story of Christmas a carol in prose, for it pictures the joys and sorrows of this season.
What does a stave mean? It keeps up the idea of a carol. Each chapter is called a stave, or stanza of the carol.
What is the title of the first stave? "Marley's Ghost."
Who was Marley? He had been Scrooge's partner, but was now dead. He had been as miserly as Scrooge himself.
Where is the scene laid? In London.
When? On Christmas Eve.