The Ghost of Christmas Present

Objective & content

A listening sheet built on chapter 4 of our audiobook A Christmas Carol, "The Ghost of Christmas Present". The ghost, in a green robe with leaves on his head, takes Scrooge to Bob Cratchit's house, where the family has a small Christmas dinner with Tiny Tim. The recording (MP3, 2 min 43 s) comes with this resource: download it from this page. Pupils predict from a picture and the title, answer ten questions while they listen, then choose a speaking or a writing task.

Pedagogical guide

The chapter is short and warm, with clear details pupils can catch: the time, the ghost's robe, the pudding. The ten questions follow the order of the recording: most are A, B or C, one is a gap and one is true or false. The prediction step matters. It explains that "present" here means "now", and pupils match three words they will hear (robe, crutch, weak). Pupils listen twice: the first time for what they can, the second time to check. After listening, they talk in pairs about what Scrooge can learn from the Cratchit family, or they write what is happening at the table, with the present continuous. The vocabulary list printed after the chapter in the book is not read in the recording.

Suggested procedure

1. (3 min) Before you listen: pupils look at the picture and the title, answer questions 1 and 2 in pairs, and match the three words.
2. (8 min) Play the recording once; pupils answer what they can. Play it again; they check and complete. Correct together with the answer key on page 3.
3. (4 min) After you listen: pupils choose the speaking task (in pairs) or the writing task (5 or 6 sentences).

Adaptations

[S] Read the ten questions with the class before the first listening. Pause the recording once or twice during the second listening.

[A] Pupils do both tasks: the speaking task in class, the writing task as homework.

Materials & prerequisites

Pages 1 and 2, one copy per pupil; page 3 (the answer key) for you. The MP3 file from this page and speakers. For the writing task, pupils need the present continuous.