INTRODUCTION: Charles Dickens is said to be one of the greatest writers that has ever lived.  Before we read one of his works in class, I would like you to spend some time getting to know this man and learning what the world was like as he knew it.You will be directed to various links to answer the following questions.

(There are NINE PARTS and 17 total questions.) Be sure to take out a piece of paper to record your answers and WORK TOGETHER with your webquest partner.  NOTE: ALL ANSWERS NEED TO BE WRITTEN USING COMPLETE SENTENCES!  Whatever doesn’t get completed today with your webquest partner becomes individual homework.  This assignment is due on Thursday, December 3rd.

PART ONE: Please begin by clicking on the following link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/olivertwist/dickens_timeline_text.html 

1. What was the date of Charles Dickens’ birth?
2. How old was Dickens when the family moved to London, England?
3. What was Dickens doing right before he died?
4. What famous story did Dickens write in 1843?

 
PART TWO: Go to:  http://charlesdickenspage.com/dickens_london_map.html
Here, you’ll find a map of London-as it was during Dickens’ lifetime.  Please locate and click on Camden Town.

5.    Which family from A Christmas Carol lived in Camden Town?
 
PART THREE: Go to:  http://www.english.uwosh.edu/roth/VictorianEngland.htm
Dickens lived during the Victorian era.  Read the first five paragraphs on this website.
6. Summarize this time period in one paragraph (5 sentences).

7.  What made Victorians “Victorian” more than anything?  In other words, what attitude did Victorians have which made them different from people before them? 
  

PART FOUR: Keep scrolling down the page until you see “MONEY.” 
http://www.english.uwosh.edu/roth/VictorianEngland.htm

8. List the three types of money used in England during this time.

9. A little further down, you’ll notice “DISEASES.”  Please list and define three major diseases during Dicken’s time.
A.     ______________________:

B.      ______________________:

C.     ______________________:

PART Five: Go to:  http://www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/dietwh.html

10.   Workhouses were built to house poor Victorians, who worked for a small amount of food and money.  Name five foods that poor Victorians were given here.

PART SIX: Go to: http://www.logicmgmt.com/1876/schoolday.html

11.    Please read the list of 10 rules, which were found in a typical Victorian classroom.  In your opinion, which rules should still be used in schools today?  Explain why.

PART SEVEN: Go to:  http://charlesdickenspage.com/reading_dickens.html

12.   In the nineteenth century, who read Dickens?

13.   Why, as we read Dickens today, is it challenging?

PART EIGHT: Go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens

14. Dickens married Catherine Thompson Hogarth in 1836.  How many children did they have?
 
15. Dickens wrote 20 major novels during his lifetime.  Please write down four of them; they should match up with the dates I’ve listed.
1837-39:
1849-50:
1859:
1860-61:

PART NINE: Go to:  http://www.mytimemachine.co.uk/dickens.htm

16. What major event happened in 1865?

17. Exactly five years later, what major event happened, and what was the date?