Please Do Now  Welcome back!!  Take out the following papers:  Scrooge’s personality traits organizer  Theme organizer  Make sure you have a writing utensil.  We will start at the bell.

Today’s Learning Target:  I can analyze the character of Scrooge from A Christmas Carol and choose strong, supportive text evidence to back up my opinion.

So far…  You should have at least two developed body paragraphs about Scrooge’s personality traits at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the play/novel. This should have been shared with me on 365.  Each body paragraph has:  Topic sentence: As the play begins / reaches its midpoint / ends, Scrooge can be described as…  Three supporting details: 1. The moment when the quote you found takes place + a quote that is INTEGRATED into your own words. 2. Another time Scrooge exhibits this trait 3. Yet another time Scrooge exhibits this trait o Concluding sentence: Charles Dickens portrays Scrooge as _________________ in order to teach readers…

What now? The introduction. HOOK MAIN POINTS THESIS / CLAIM STATEMENT

Let’s work backwards…  Flip your theme handout to the back and try writing a claim statement.  Example: Ebenezer Scrooge changes from ___________________, to ___________________, to finally ________________, teaching readers ______________________________________.

This will be the last sentence in your introduction.

Next, the hook. Sometimes you will need a hook that is more than one sentence, because your fact or question will need a second sentence that connects it to your main topic.  An interesting fact  A quote from A Christmas Carol  A thought-provoking question

Example: Question What would the world be like if each and every human being was selfish and only looked out for his or herself? A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, gives readers a glimpse of an answer to this question by showing the dismal future of one man, Ebenezer Scrooge, who refuses to show charity and kindness to others.

This will be the first part of your introduction.

Finally, let’s write the main points of your essay.  Summarize the story in such as way that you could understand the essay having never read the story. Be sure to include the title of the story and the author’s name.  Who is Scrooge?  Who is Scrooge (age, job, family friends, personal history)  Ghosts that visit Scrooge  How does he change? (1-2 sentences)

The written explanation of main points goes in the middle.

Put the ingredients together to create a 4-6 sentence introduction. HOOK MAIN POINTS THESIS / CLAIM STATEMENT

An example… “I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all year..I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me that I may sponge away the writing that is upon this stone!” In Charles Dickens’s timeless story, A Christmas Carol, for the protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge, the idea that he should change his life came just in time -- Christmas Eve, seven years after his business partner, Jacob Marley, met his end. Scrooge, a miserly money-lender, had little family left and even fewer friends. His misanthropic attitude towards life caused others to fear, hate, and avoid him. Without change, he would die alone and unfulfilled. With the help of three visiting spirits, Ebenezer Scrooge changes from cruel, to regretful, to finally generous, teaching readers that it is never too late to make a powerful change in one’s life for the better.

On your Exit Ticket sheet….  Please integrate this quote into some of your own words describing Miss O’Connor as happy: “Free cheese in the cafeteria? I am thrilled!” (3) Put your ticket in the box after I say, “Goodbye!”