The Life of Charles Dickens - Lesson 5 - Changing Style Worksheet

In the fifth lesson focused on the life of Charles Dickens, students are challenged to transform a concise summary of Dickens' early years into a narrative that echoes the distinctive tone of the Horrible Histories series. The task requires a shift from a straightforward recounting of facts to a more engaging and humorous style, characteristic of the popular children's books that present historical events with a quirky and entertaining twist.

The original passage briefly notes that Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth on February 7, 1812, and mentions his father, John Dickens, who worked in the Navy Payroll Office but struggled with persistent debt. This financial trouble led to John Dickens' imprisonment in a debtor's prison in 1824. Students must now take this information and creatively rework it, infusing the text with the lively and irreverent flair that would make it right at home in a Horrible Histories book. The exercise encourages students to explore a different writing style while maintaining the historical accuracy of the events described.