I. Brief Statements Based on the Unit
The topic of the unit is about the British Isles.
The whole unit is arranged to be taught in six periods. In the first period, we will deal with Warming up and Listening. In warming up, by talking about English cities, food, sports, places of interest, school education, geography, famous people ,etc. the students' desire to know more about Britain can be raised. The listening material provides detailed information about Dublin University for the students to catch. While listening, the students' ability to listen will be improved. Speaking will be dealt with I the second period. It includes three topics: Is English easy or difficult to learn? How can we learn geography well? What's your opinion about the development of a country?, and the students can express various opinions freely. Each topic can be discussed from different sides. The students can reach an agreement on the points. Meanwhile, their ability to speak English can be greatly improved. The whole text, including Pre-reading, Reading and Post-reading, is dealt with in the third and fourth periods. The students will learn some useful information which may perhaps be unknown to them before. The students are required to read the text and do different kinds of exercises, in the course of which their reading ability will be improved. In the fifth period, Word Study and Grammar Noun Clauses ( 1 ), are arranged for the students. They can practise using some useful words and get a good command of the noun clauses, among which Appositive Clauses should be paid more attention to . If more exercises can be given in addition, the result will be much better. Integrating skills, including Reading and Writing, are arranged in the sixth period. Reading is about Daniel Defoe's visit to Salisbury in southern England. At last, students are required to imitate the passage and describe his hometown, introducing the landscape, cultural relics, people's life, trade etc. They can use what they've learned from the text to describe what they want to say so as to improve their writing ability. Besides, the students will learn plenty of useful words and expressions from the unit.
Besides, the materials provided by Workbook enable the students to know more about Wales ,Ireland ,Oxford and Cambridge University.
II. Teaching Goals
1. Talk about the UK and Ireland.
2. Practise expressing agreement and disagreement.
3. Learn about Noun Clauses (1).
4. Write a description of a town and the countryside.
5. Improve students’ ability in listening, speaking, reading and writing
III. Teaching Key and difficult points:
1. Master the expressions for agreement and disagreement.
2.Learn and master the following words and expressions:
words: form, influence, basis, inland, mountainous, narrow, diversity, republic, Wales, mild, union, strength, Welsh, Scofish
phrases: stand for, be made up of, be unknown to, make the most of, hold together, lie off, be separated from, at one point, in general, as much as, run over, end up with
3. Learn and master noun clauses as the subject, the object, the predicative and the appositive introduced by “that”.
4. Master the differences between the appositive clause and the attributive clause.
IV Teaching Approach: Task-base; student-centered; equipment-aided
Learning Approach: Exploration Study; Co-operation
V Teaching Aids: a computer, a courseware , a projector, a tape recorder
VI Teaching Procedures:
Pre-Unit Task:
Task 1: Exploring The British Isles
Before class, present students the following subjects about Britain :geography (including important cities/rivers/names of countries),history, language, culture, sports and arts , architecture, literature, film food, famous people and life .Divide them into several groups and each choose one to do some exploring study. Ask them to do as follows: First , surf the internet to find out as much information as you can and then sort out the information collected. Finally, make CAIS and get a leader to report the results.
Task 2: Investigate Your Hometown
Get the same groups to investigate their hometown, by interviewing experts, going to visit some places of interest and government offices related (eg. The weather station), and colleting information. Then fill in the chart:
Name of my hometown Location Weather Places of interest The life of residents Population or history
The First Period
Teaching Aims:
1. Refresh the students’ memory about ‘New Zealnd’which they learned last term.
2. Remind them useful ways of expressing direction
3. Develop the ability at doing exploration study .
Teaching Procedures:
Step1 Lead-In
Show the class the maps of China and New Zealand. Have them talk about these two countries. Teacher says ‘ As a Chinese, there’s no doubt that everyone here knows China very well. Besides, in last term, we have learnt a lot about Newzealand. Can you tell me something about them’.
Step 2. Warming Up
After talking about China and New Zealand, shows them the national flag of the UK while playing the national anthem‘God save the Queen’
T: You have really known much about China and New Zealand .Listen !what’s the song? Look! Which country’ national flag is it? Do you also know a lot about The UK and Ireland? Today we'll learn a new unit--the British Isles. In the last period, I told you to search for as much information as possible about the UK and Ireland through the Internet. I'm sure you've got a lot. Now can the leaders report your exploring study?
Get the leaders to report and add extra information
References for teachers:
Food and dishes: roasted beef, steak kidney pie, English fish chip, chicken ala king, sandwich and so on.
Sports. walking, swimming, playing football, playing tennis, bicycling, skating, hiking and so on.
Way of life: DIY. They often fix up a house, plant their gardens, and make furniture by themselves. Even they build their houses themselves.
Important cities are: London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Dublin, Cardiff, Belfast and so on. London is the biggest city and the capital of England. It lies on the River Thames. London is also a cultural and political center. In it there are many world-famous places of interest.
Places of Interest: St. James Park, Hyde Park, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace. National westminster and so on.
Geography : four parts. They are England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There are many kinds of natural resources, such as coal, iron, oil and natural gas.
Languages: English is the official language in the UK. It is also widely used in the world.
Rreligion & beliefs : People in the UK mostly believe in Christ. Some of them believe in Islam, and Buddhism.
Schools :Two kinds. One is private school and the other is public school. Schooling is free of charge in public schools while it costs much in private ones. There are many world-famous universities in the UK, like, Cambridge University, Oxford University, London University and so on.
Famous people Shakespear / Franscis Bacon
Step 3.Listening
1. Presentation: So far, we have known so much about the UK and Ireland . Imagine this, today you have a chance to go to study in a famous university in Ireland-Dublin University, experiencing the school life. (Shows a picture of Dublin University )The teacher is telling us the course schedule, including the time, courses and teachers.
2. Play the tape for the first time for general ideas.
3. Play the tape many times for them to tick the sentences which are true ,answer the questions in Ex.3 and fill in the timetable on P 34.
Extensions: Ask to talk about their own school activities.
Step 4. Summary and Homework
T: Today we learned so much about the UK and Ireland. We’ve also get to know Dublin University. Most of you have done good jobs . After class, please exchange information you have collected.. Besides , carry out the task of listening in Workbook.
The Second Period Speaking
Step 1.Lead-in
T：As far as we know, today people in the world are paying more attention to the spirit of team work. We almost need to discuss together when we do everything. And more and more views and points are tolerated . By the way, if we agree or disagree to do something, what can we use to express ourselves?
(Teacher writes students’ answers and some other expressions on the screen.)
Useful expressions：
Don't you think that…?
I don't think that's right…
I don't think so.
You must be mistaken…
No, you are wrong thinking that…
I'm afraid you are wrong…
I believe that you've got it right. I'm not so sure about that…
Surely it must be…
Yes, you are right, but…
Aren't you confusing… ?
Yes. I agree with you.
Step 2. Make up dialogues
Ask the Ss to use these expressions to make up a dialogue in pairs in the following situation:
In October, the school meeting will be held. Some students who will take part in 3000-meter-race think that they need sports shoes to run faster and that our class should pay the bill instead of themselves because they can make contributions to our class. What do you think about it?
Step 3 .Debate
T: Now open your books at Page 34.
Go through the three statements together , while dealing with some words and phrase (consist of /statements/power/advantage/have advantage over)at the same time. Ask them to summarize these statements into three topics. Then divide the class into three groups and each group will discuss one topic and debate which point of view is reasonable.
Group Topics Why?
1 Is English easy or difficult to learn for Chinese people?
2 Can we learn the geography more easily by going there?
3 Which countries have more chances to become rich, small , big or island countries?
(Then teacher asks three pairs to present their dialogues.)
Sample dialogues:
1. A: How are you getting on with your English?
B: Very badly. I find it difficult to learn.
A: Why do you think so?
B: As you know, we have to learn a lot of words and phrases by heart every day. And there are many grammar rules we have to follow.
A: But I can't completely agree with you. In my opinion, it's easy to learn. As long as we master the basic grammar and speak it as often as possible, we can learn it well.
B: I don't think you are right. Personally, I think we have fewer chances to speak English. What's more, English and Chinese have little in common.
A: But I think we should find more chances to speak, just as we learn Chinese. If you speak, read and listen as much as possible, you can find it easy to learn. B: That's a good idea. Thanks for your advice. I'll do my best to study it wall.
A: I'm sure that you will.
2. A: What are you doing?
B: I'm reading the geography book.
A: I think it is difficult to learn if you can't go to that country.
B: I don't think so. You often look at maps carefully and remember all the names of cities and provinces.
A: I'm afraid I don't agree with you. I think those names are very confused and we can learn it easily by going there.
B: Certainly visiting some places is better in learning geography. But we can't go to all places of the world. That's too expensive and we don't have enough time, too.
A: Of course you are right. Now computers are used in many fields. You can get as much information as possible about the countries you want to know through the Internet.
B: That's a good idea. I'll try it.
3. A: Hello. Can you tell me which are the countries that make up the Group of Eight?
B: Yes. It consists of eight richest countries in the world. They are Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan, America and Russia. Five of them are quite small and two of them are island countries.
A: Do you think small countries have better chances than big ones to become rich?
B: I don't think so.
A: Why?
B: First small countries have few natural resources. They're very important for a country. Second, their labour force is limited. As a result, that prevents their economy developing fast.
A: I can't quite agree with you. In fact many small countries are very rich.
B: Yes. Though some countries are small, people of these countries can get good education and make their countries become powerful by developing science and technology. For example, Japan has few natural resources, but it can develop its education and use other countries resources as many as possible to develop its economy.
A: It may be true. Do island nations have more advantages than other countries?
B: Certainly. Island countries have more convenient traffic and they also have more sea resources.
A: I agree with what you said.
Step VI Summary and Homework
T: Today we've practiced speaking English a lot. We've also learnt many useful
expressions to express our own opinions. (Pointing to the blackboard and the screen. )After class, write a short paragraph about what you have debated in class and carry out the task in Talking Part on P109 .
The Third & Fourth Period
Teaching Aims:
1. Learn and master the following words and expressions:
words: form, influence, basis, inland, mountainous, narrow, diversity, republic, Wales, mild, union, strength, Welsh, Scofish
phrases: stand for, be made up of, be unknown to, make the most of, hold together, lie off, be separated from, at one point, in general, as much as, run over, end up with
2. Further develop the students' reading ability and reading skills.
3. Get the students to know more about the British Isles.
Teaching Procedures:
Step 1. Lead-in
T: In the first period, we talked much about the UK and you know a lot about it. (Teacher shows pictures of Big Ben, The Speaker’s Corner in Hide Park, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, Stonehenge, Shakespear, national flags of Scotland, Ireland ,Wales and England on the screen for them to enjoy and describe.)
Step 2.Pre-reading
T: Now open your books at Page 35. Look at the questions in Pre-reading(Shows these questions on the screen) and have a discussion about what you know about these questions.
(A few minutes later, teacher asks three students to answer them.)
Step 3. Reading
1. Listening Practice:
Play the tape for the students to listen to get the general idea.
2. True or False Statements:
1) The tower of London is very famous in Britain.
2) The UK is made up of Britain Island and Ireland Island
3) Scotland is warmer throughout the year.
4) The European mainland has had a great effect on the culture of the people in the British Isles.
5) French was considered a noble language in the 12th century in Britain
6) Ireland has been an independent republic since the ancient time.
7) The Welsh have the language of their own besides English.
3. Choose the best choices :
1).According to the passage, what do you know about the Isle Man?
A. It lies between Britain and Ireland.
B. It’s run over by the king of Uk.
C. The king of England is in charge of it.
D. Both A and C
2).How many spoken languages are considered as native language in the British Isles?
A. 2 B. 8 C. 1 D. 6
3).What’s the main idea of the text?
A. Britain was once in the charge of the Frenchmen
B. The UK is made up of 3 countries.
C. The author delivers some more information about the British Isle.
D. It’s about the history of the country.
4).What can you conclude from the passage?
A. The UK is made up of 4 countries
B. The British Isles lies of the west coast of Europe
C. The culture of the UK is a mixture of different countries in the world.
D. The climate of the British Isles is mild with a lot of rain.
Answers: DBCA
4. Skimming
Get the Ss to skim the text to find out the topic sentence of each paragraph.
Paragraph Main idea
Para1 General idea about England
Para2 Position of the British Isles
Para3 climate
Para4 culture
Para5 The influence of French
Para6 history
Para7 Languages
5.Questions in details:
(Teacher shows the questions on the screen.)
Answer the questions:
1. What is the UK?
2. What's the weather in the British Isles like? What about in Scotland?
3. Has the culture of the people in the British Isles received many influences? From here?
4. Why do so many English words end u with the French words
5. How many countries are here in Britain ?Which are the first two countries that joined in the United Kingdom? Does the Ireland Island belong to the UK?
6. What do people throughout the British Isles speak now?
6. Language points:
While dealing with the above activities, it’s good time to explain some important language points.
Step 4. Post-reading Activity
Task1: Locate the places in the map
(Teacher shows a blank map of England on the screen. Ask them to locate the position of some places . Ex.1 on P 36)
Task 2:Discussion
T: Now you've known much information about England. It's known to all of you that England is separated from European mainland by the English Channel. Is it possible to swim across the channel? Where is the best place to do so? How far is it? Please have a discussion in groups of four.
(Suggested answers: It's possible to swim across the English channel though it is very difficult. Now there are many people in the world who have swum across the channel. Last July, Zhang Jian in our country was also successful in doing so. The best place where they swim across the channel is from Dover in England to Gallet in France. It is 33.8 kilometers. …)
Step 5. Summary and Homework
T: Today we've read a passage and learnt more about the United Kingdom and Ireland, especially about the British Isles. Now we all know that the climate there is mild with a lot of rain. There are all kinds of flowers all year round and many trees everywhere. Also there are many cultural relice, places of interest and natural parks. Do you want to travel to England if you have a chance? Where are you going?
Today's homework: Imagine yourself to be an experienced guide in Britain. You have been asked to arrange a four-week tour of Britain for a group of tourists. You introduce your travel plan ,beginning with ‘Hello everyone, I’d like to tell you about…’and ending up with ‘I hope that everyone can enjoy staying here and have an unforgettable travel experience. Thank you for listening.’
The Fifth Period
Teaching Aims:
1. Improve the ability of defining words in English
2. Learn and master noun clauses as the subject, the object, the predicative and the appositive introduced by “that”.
3. Master the differences between the appositive clause and the attributive clause.
Teaching Procedures
Step 1. Word Study
T: In this unit, we've learnt many important words. Now look at the words on the screen. Try to think of their meanings. Then finish the exercise on the screen to check if you can use them correctly. After finishing it, you can check your answers with your partner.
(Teacher shows the following on the screen.)
Complete each sentence with the words in the box.
View, narrow, kingdom, consist, mild, influence, basis, upper, union, republic
1. A group of trade_______ leaders met to discuss questions about job safety.
2. The official name of our country is the People's________ of China.
3. More and more young people go abroad to study when they graduate from high school. What's your________ on it?
4. Generally speaking, the_______ classes don't have a clear idea of the common people's lives.
5. Our class________ of twenty-five boys and thirty-two girls.
6. The weather is________ today; it is neither hot nor cold.
7. The street is too________. It doesn't allow two cars to pass each other.
8. Because of her teacher's_________, she chose to study English at college.
9. Don't judge a person only on the_________ of appearance.
(After three minutes, teacher may ask some students to say their answers .Teacher corrects the mistakes if any and gives some explanations. )
Step 2. Grammar: Noun Clauses
1. Lead-in
Show a picture of Pierce Brosnan, the current 007and have a free –talk about him together by asking and answering ‘Who is this man? What does he do? What’s his first film? What else do you know about him?’ etc. Then present the description on the screen:
Pierce Brosnan was born on May 16, 1953. Few people know that he is in his fifties,(OC) because he looks much younger than his age. And also that he is Irish is unknown to many people(SC). His wife died of cancer in 1991. It’s reported that he met his present wife in 1994 and married again(SC). The fact that he was offered the job as 007 in Golden Eye (1995) is not new to everyone(Appositive Clause). His second film is “Tomorrow Never dies”. Besides his career in films, he has a production company with a long-time friend . Another important fact for which we should show him respect is that he has raised a lot of money to help research into breast cancer(PC).
2. Get the students to pay more attention to the underlined sentences and with their help explain the functions of Noun Clauses respectively.(To make sure every student can be clear about this grammar points, Chinese can be used instead while explaining.
3. Drill: To help the students to have a further understanding of the functions of the Noun Clause.
(Teacher shows the screen.) T: Now look at some other sentences on the screen and decide which part the clauses act as. (On P 39-40)
.
Choose the correct part from the box to match with the sentences.
A. subject B. object C. predicative D. appositive
1. The idea that England stands for Fish & Chips, the Speaker's Corner and the Tower of London is past.
2. The fact that the mainland of Great Britain is made up of three Kingdoms is still unknown to many people.
3. The result of so much French influence was that the English language ended up with many French words such as table, animal and age.
4. Some people feel that Wales is an ancient fairy land.
5. That most of these are now threatened and many disappear is a serious matter to the people in Britain.
6. They realise that it is of great value to record and teach them to the younger generation.
Answers:
1. D 2. D 3. C 4. B 5. A 6. B
4. Comparison between the Appositive Clause and the Attributive Clause
(1) Presentation:
Present three groups of sentences for the students to compare fi