A Halloween Carol in the Classroom

How Teachers Can Use A Halloween Carol in the Classroom The holiday season is an excellent time to introduce students to The Legend of Decimus Croome: A Halloween Carol. It's the perfect classroom book for numerous reasons: Students will love it!! It's wonderful for numerous grade levels. In addition to the humor & spookiness, students will enjoy the word-play found throughout. It makes a great comparison novel along with A Christmas Carol. It's filled with exquisite, context-rich vocabulary. It's perfect for classroom reading/learning/literature activities. Comparative Literature: A Halloween Carol & A Christmas Carol Everyone knows the classic Christmas tale by Charles Dickens. Now, there's a contemporary Halloween version of the book that makes for wonderful comparisons that will allow students to utilize critical thinking skills as well as providing an opportunity for rich classroom discussions.  As you can see by the chart that is located to the right of this blog-post, the comparisons between these two books are plentiful. The contrasts are delightful also. Vocabulary Enrichment Through Reading All reading teachers know the importance of developing vocabulary skills in students. A Halloween Carol is filled with new vocabulary words surrounded by helpful context clues. It provides a great opportunity for teachers to present vocabulary acquisition lessons using a fun & memorable Halloween novel. Is A Halloween Carol Right for Your Classroom? Obviously The Legend of Decimus Croome: A Halloween Carol is a great read for students of all ages. It is currently ranked highly on Goodreads & Listopia for 5th & 6th graders. In fact it is near the top of the list for Books to Read to 5th Graders. But depending on how you plan to use the book, it could be just as good a book throughout middle school and well into high school. If Charles Dickens is part of your high school literature curriculum,…

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Comparing A Christmas Carol with A Halloween Carol

BHB Compares A Christmas Carol w/ A Halloween CarolWith the holiday season just around the corner, it's time to compare two of the best holiday books:A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and A Halloween Carol (The Legend of Decimus Croome) by Kevin PurdyWe'll take a look at everything from the authors, to the holidays, to the timeline to the characters in the novel/novella. For quick reference, take a look at the infographic on the right-hand side of this column or view it in a larger size by clicking on the infographic or viewing the Halloween infographic on PinterestSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave Novel A Christmas Carol A Halloween Carol Author Charles Dickens Kevin Purdy Holiday Christmas Halloween Words Fewer than 30,000 More than 48,000 Published 1843 2017 Main character Ebenezer Scrooge Decimus Croome Main character sidekick Bob Cratchit &/or Mr. Fezziwig Black Magic Sick child Tiny Tim Tommy Bobbich First Ghost Jacob Marley – dead business partner Patricia Croome – deceased wife Country Setting England America Town setting London Timberton Time setting Late 18th – mid 19th Century Mid 20th to early 21st Century Moral/theme Don’t be a Christmas humbug. Don’t be a Halloween humbug. Best line “Marley was dead, to begin with…” Remember the part in our wedding vows about until death do we part? Consider this a bonus round. Main character catch phrase “Bah, humbug.” “Pish posh & poppycock!!” Genre Holiday novella Holiday novel Cameo appearance Ignorance & Want Apathy & Greed Divided into… Staves Chapters

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