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Jan. Quest of the Month: Dickens and Victorian lesson plan

Corrinna PoleJanuary 15, 2021

QotM 2021 01 (Carey Juillerat)

British shows are getting a lot of play on Netflix these days. Between Bridgerton’s Georgian era and the Edwardian period that triggered events for The Crown, the dramas played out in Victorian England created one of it’s greatest novelists, Charles Dickens.

If your English Language Arts students are exploring the social consciousness, needs, and problems of ordinary people in the Victorian era, a captivating Dickens lesson plan is just the thing to get them abuzz (a word credited to Dickens, by the way) with excitement.

Each month at Classcraft, we choose one awesome teacher-created quest — personalized, self-paced, choose-your-own-adventure lessons for students — to share with educators everywhere. Our first Quest of the Month for 2021 is Carey Juillerat’s (IG: careyjuillerat) “The Island of the Victorians”.

This lesson will help your teenage students (grades 6 to 12) understand the writer and social critic. As they make their way through 10 objectives, they’ll learn how bleak 19th-century realities were.

Guided by a creative story and illustrations, they’ll practice literacy skills and gain insights into the situations, struggles, and challenges real people faced during the time period of the industrial revolution. 

This quest will help blast boredom (another word coined by the wordsmith)! It’s also a great way to help students become familiar with the famous author’s mindset and motive before cracking into one of his stories.

Click this link to import this teacher-made lesson into your game. You’ll have the option to link the quest objectives to your existing Google Classroom assignments or use as is.

This quest is part of a huge library of lessons created by teachers around the world for K-12 students. If you’re new to Classcraft, check out how quests can supercharge your lesson plans. Whether you’re a Classcraft newbie or pro, everyone can level-up their quests with our free plug-and-play narrative experience, Story Mode

Already teaching with Classcraft? Submit your quests for the next Quest of the Month here. Our goal is to spotlight the amazing educators who inspire us and share creative, teacher-made content with our global community of forward-thinking educators.

Now, meet the Gamemaster behind this spectacularly (another Dickens word) crafted quest. Take it away, Carey!

Gamemaster and teacher Carey Juillerat's custom avatar
Gamemaster and teacher Carey Juillerat’s custom avatar

What are your teaching stats?

Carey: I have been teaching 7th grade English Language Arts for four years at Hillsboro Middle School in Ohio.

What inspires you?

Carey: Kindness, seeing creativity and passion from others, and authenticity.

What made you decide to use Classcraft? 

Carey: I LOVED the idea of combining classwork with a virtual gameplay experience. It seemed like a fun way to teach my classes, and my students can attest to that!

Your favorite things about Classcraft are …

Carey: Seeing how it gets the kids excited about their classwork. They’re engaged with their work while having fun, and that’s one of the most important things to me as their teacher. I also love getting to create quests for my students. I’m a big medieval era/RPG game nerd so Classcraft is as fun for me as it is for them!

Quest: The Island of the Victorians
Quest: The Island of the Victorians

Why do you love the quest you created? 

Carey: I love that “The Island of the Victorians” allows students to explore a variety of topics in Victorian era England. It’s such an interesting time in history, and it really gives students an idea ofwhat life was like before diving into an anchor text, such as “A Christmas Carol”. 

Since this quest hits quite a bit about Charles Dickens, it’s a great lead into reading something by him. 

What did your students think of your quest? How did they react? 

Carey: My students love the background stories of the quests I make for them. They also love the media I put with it, such as a picture, gif, or video. They particularly liked the parts about Charles Dickens and learning about him and his family. 

What is one of your hidden talents?

Carey: I’m a bit of a Jack of trades, but my favorite hidden talent is archery! I LARP (Live action role-playing game) as a Viking ranger and use a recurve bow to “slay” my opponents! I can shoot lights out!

What’s the best thing about being a teacher?

Carey: The best thing about being a teacher is being someone for my students to rely on, to look up to, and to trust. 

I love that I can make a difference in all my students’ lives, but more specifically that there are opportunities when I can help them discover a new passion or find something they’re really good at.

How do you think students will remember you and your class?

Carey: I think, or at least hope, my students will remember me as the teacher who cared, the teacher who also put kindness first, and the teacher who tried to make every day fun.

Is there a quote or saying that you live your life by?

Carey: “Never let anyone dull your sparkle, and if they don’t shine as bright as you, lend them your light.” (A quote from my Momma.)

Quest of the Month