Unit One School life

Period I Welcome to the unit

I. Teaching aim:

Give the Ss some impression of the school life in the UK and inform the Ss of the differences between schools in China and the UK. Enlarge the Ss’ knowledge and make them know the importance of school life in one’s life.

II. Key point:

Encourage the Ss to talk about their former school life and about their dream school life.

III. Difficult point:

To ensure every student to have a chance to express himself/ herself.

IV. Teaching method:

Individual, pair or group work to make every student work in class.

V. Teaching Procedures:

I. Lead-in:

1. Greetings and self-introduction.

2. It’s the beginning of a new term. You have just finished junior high and are about to enter a new period in your studies. I am very happy to have all of you in my class and I hope we can be friends.

3. Let the Ss introduce themselves and describe their former school and school life.

Ask them some questions:

Q1: What’s your name please?

Q2: Which school did you graduate from? / Which school are you from?

Q3: Do you have any hobbies?

Q4: How do you often spend your spare time?

4. Introduce what studying at senior high will be like and the differences between junior high and senior high.

II. Brainstorming:

1. Ask the Ss to read the instructions and focus on the four pictures.

Today we are going to look at schools in the UK and try and work out if they are the same or different from schools in China.

2. Encourage the Ss to talk about each picture with the following diagram to help them.

Pic In the UK In China

1 Huge campus and low-rise buildings

2 Lockers for every student

3 Fewer students in each class

4 At ease with our teacher

III. Further Discussion:

1. Organize students into pairs or small groups.

2. Discuss the three questions below the pictures in groups.

3. Get small groups to report their conclusions back to the whole class.

4. Conduct a feedback activity.

IV. Summary and Homework:

1. Today we have a good beginning: We have introduced ourselves to each other, and know about the differences between the lives of Chinese and British high school students. We also give a brief description of our dream school life.

2. Find out more differences between the lives of Chinese and British high school students, say more about your dream school life.

3. Make a plan of their studies in the coming years and a list of goals that they want to achieve in the three years.

Period II Reading

School life in the UK

I. Teaching Aims:

Train the Ss’ reading abilities.

Learn some useful words and expressions.

Learn more about school life in the UK and the differences between school life in the UK and in China.

II. Key Points:

1. Help the Ss to understand the passage better.

2. Learn and master some important words and phrases in this period.

III. Difficult Points:

1. How to help the Ss improve their reading ability and understand the passage better.

2. How to master the important language points in this passage.

IV. Teaching Methods:

1. Fast reading to get the general idea of the text.

2. Careful reading to understand the passage better.

3. Discussion to help the Ss understand what they’ve learned better.

4. Explanation to help the Ss master some language points.

V. Teaching Procedures:

I. Lead-in:

1. Greetings.

2. Check the homework.

3. Differences between high schools in our country and the UK and opinions on many factors and reasons for such phenomena.

II. Presentation:

Reading strategies: skimming and scanning.

Skimming: We skim a text when we want to get a general idea of what it is about. We look at the titles and headings, the first and last sentences of paragraphs and the first and last paragraphs as well as pictures and charts to guess what the text is about.

Scanning: When we want to find certain information in a text quickly, we scan the text for key words and phrase, dates, numbers, etc. We do not need to read the whole text word by word.

II. Skimming:

1. Ask the Ss to go through the passage as quickly as possible and try to find answers to the three questions in Part A.

Answers: 1. For one year. 2. Mr Heywood. 3. A small table.

III. Careful reading:

1. Listening while dealing with C2.

Answers: C2: 1.T 2.T 3.T 4.F 5.F 6.T 7.F

2. Read the article carefully and answer the questions in C1.

Answers: C1: 1. School begins at around 9 a.m. and ends at about 3:30 p.m.

2. 29.

3. Because all the homework was in English.

4. She had an extra French class.

5. Lots of desserts.

6. Manchester.

IV. Language Points:

1.(L1) Going to a British high school for one year was a very enjoyable and exciting experience for me.

① Gerund as subject:

Working in these conditions is no easy job.

Meeting you has been a great pleasure.

* It’s no use/good sending him over. It’s too late already.

It’s a waste of time arguing about it.

② exciting / excited

e.g.: The children were excited at the very thought of the journey.

It’s an exciting experience to swim in the sea.

All the students were all excited at the exciting news.

*vt. excite n. excitement adv. excitedly

③ experience

※ 10.(L47) I was very lucky to experience this different way of life.

experience: n. & verb.

[u]n. Do you have any previous experience of this type of work?

My lack of practical experience was a disadvantage.

* learn from experience 從經驗中學得/ in one’s experience據……的經驗看

[c]n. an enjoyable / unforgettable / unusual experience

It was her first experience of living alone.

verb.:

e.g.: Everyone experiences these problems at some time in their lives.(經歷，遭受)

I experienced a moment of panic as I boarded the plane.(感受，體會)

*adj.: experienced

an experienced teacher/doctor

He is experienced in looking after animals.

2.(L2) I was very happy with the school hours in Britain because school starts around 9 a.m. and ends about 3 p.m.

be happy with/ about : be satisfied with 對…...滿意

e.g. : Are you happy with this arrangement?

She was happy enough with her performance.

* 1. We are happy to announce the engagement of our daughter.

2. The story has a happy ending.

3. He will be more than happy to come with us.

4. by a happy coincidence, we arrived at exactly the same time.

5. That wasn’t the happiest choice of words.

3.(L6) On the first day, all students went to attend assembly.

* attend:

△ be present at an event 出席，參加

e.g.: The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders.

~ a meeting / a wedding / a funeral / assembly

△ go regularly to a place 定期去，經常去

e.g.: Our children attend the same school.

How many people attend church every Sunday?

△ pay attention to what sb. is saying or to what you’re doing 注意，專心

e.g.: She hasn’t been attending during the lesson.

*attend to: deal with 處理，對付 take care of 照料，關心

e.g.: I have some urgent business to attend to.

A particular nurse attended to him / his needs while he was in hospital.

Are you being attended to , Sir? 先生，有人接待您嗎？

n. attendance

c.f. join / join in / take part in

(1) Tomorrow I will go to ________ an important meeting.

(2) Would you please _______ our walking.

(3) He likes _______ all kinds of outdoor activities actively.

(4) Every weekend the old woman would go ________ church.

4.(L9) He also told us that the best way to earn respect from the school was to work hard and achieve high grades.

(1) way: 方法 way to do sth. / way of doing sth.

e.g. There are a lot of ways to make money.

Soon I got used to the American ways of doing things.

* in a way / in one’s own way / in no way / in the way / on the way/ on one’s way/ in this way

e.g.: Your answer is in a way correct.

He likes to attend to his affairs in his own way.

He is no help at all; actually he is in the way.

In no way can you tell him the truth.

Work hard! We are on the way to success.

On the way to the school, I found a man lying on the road.

A car was in the way. We couldn’t get through.

You can do it in your own way.

(2) earn: vt. ①get money for work that you do 掙得；賺得

e.g.: He earns about ￡10 000 a year.

She earned a living as a part-time secretary. (=make a living)

earn money / a fortune/

②get something that you deserve, usually because of sth good you have done or because of the good qualities you have. 獲得； 贏得

e.g.: He earned a reputation as an expert on tax law.

As a teacher, she had earned the respect and admiration of her students.

He has worked so hard that he’s earned a holiday.

* earn one’s keep:

e.g.: He worked hard but can’t earn his keep.

*n. earnings

(3) respect: n. ① a feeling of admiration for sb/sth because of their good qualities or achievements 尊重；尊敬；敬意 ~ for sb / sth

e.g.: I have the greatest respect for your brother.

A deep mutual respect and understanding developed between them.

self-respect

② polite behaviour towards or care for sb/sth that you think is important 重視； 尊重

e.g.: He is so conceited that he show a lack of respect for authority.

He has no respect for her wife’s feelings.

* in this respect 在這方面 in respect of / with respect to (=concerning/ regarding / respecting) 關于；就……而言

With respect, sir, I can’t agree. 恕我直言

vt. have a very good opinion of sb/ sth: admire sb/sth 尊敬；尊重；仰慕 ~ sb/sth for sth

e.g.: I respect Jack’s opinion on most subjects.

She had always been honest with me, and I respect her for that.

* a much loved and highly respected teacher 備受愛戴和尊敬的老師

adj. respectful 表示敬意的；尊敬的 respectable 值得尊敬的；體面的

(4) achieve: vt.

e.g.: He had finally achieved great success in the experiment.

No one can achieve anything without effort. ( succeed in reaching a particular goal or standard)

Their background gives them little chance of achieving at school.(be successful)

adj. achievable 可以達到的 n. achievement 成績；成就；功績

5.(L16) This is about the average size for British schools.

* average: adj.

an average rate / cost / earnings 平均的

above / below average intelligence 正常的；一般的

n.

The average of 4,5 and 9 is 6. 平均數

Parents spend an average of $220 a year on toys for their children.

(well) above / below /up to (the) average 平均線；平均水平

on average 平均

e.g.: After he became famous, he receives 50 letters a day on average.

6.(L20) I found the homework was not as heavy as what I used to get in my old school, but it was a bit difficult for me at first because all the homework was in English.

(1) as … as: → as + adj./ adv. as as + adj.+a/an + n. + as as+many/much…+n. +as

e.g.: He doesn’t speak as fluently as I do.

Our neighbour has as big a house as ours.

We’ve produced twice as much cotton as we did ten years ago.

* as long as / so long as / as well as / as far as / so far as / as good as / as early as / as … as possible / as … as sb. can

(2) what+noun-clause:

e.g.: What he does doesn’t agree with what he says.

No one told me what was happening on the night of last Sunday.

(3) used to:

e.g.: There used to be a river in front of our school gate, usen’t / usedn’t / didn’t there?

→Used there to be …? Or: Did there use to be …?

I used to smoke, but I gave up several years ago.

c.f.: be used to do 被用來 be / get used to sth./doing sth. 習慣于;適應

e.g.: Wood can be used to make tables.

He isn’t used to the life / living in the big city.

Don’t worry--- you’ll soon get used to his sense of humour.

(4) a bit:

△ = a little I am a bit / a little tired.

Work a bit/a little harder and you’ll earn higher grades.

△c.f.: a little This will give us a bit of / a little time.

△ not a little : very much / not a bit: not at all

e.g.: He doesn’t work hard usually, so each time he is not a little worried about the exams.

He has been well prepared for the exam, so he is not a bit worried.

* bit by bit逐漸地 / a bit of 稍微，頗有幾分/ every bit完全 / do one’s bit盡一己之力

7.(L26) My English improved as I used English every day and spent an hour each day reading English books in the library.

(1) as: conj.

e.g.: As he grew older, he lost interest in drawing.

Leave the papers as they are.

As she has been ill, perhaps she will need some help.

Young as he is, he knows a lot.

(2) spend: vt. (spent, spent)

* spend sth. on sth. spend sth. (in) doing sth.

e.g.: He spent ￥1000 on a new suit / updating his computer.

She spent too much effort on things that doesn’t matter.

c.f.: spend take pay cost worth

e.g.: How much does the book _______? How much is the book __________?

It ______ her twenty minutes to go to school on foot.

While studying in London, she _______ a lot of money on books.

He only _______ the owner half the price for the dictionary.

8.(L28) I joined the computer club at lunch time, so I could e-mail my family and friends back home for free.

free: adj. vt. & adv.

adj.: I have no ambitious other than to have a happy life and be free.(be free to do…)

“Can I use the phone?” “Please, feel free.”

He walked out of jail a free man.

We are offering a free gift so long as you come to our store.(for free)

Ensure there is a free flow of air around the machine.

He held out his free hand and I caught it.

If you are free for lunch, I will take you out.

This food is absolutely free from artificial colour and flavourings.

l free from…不受……影響的， 沒有……的

l free of…. 無……的， 擺脫了……的 （free of charge）

l set free 釋放

IDM: free and easy 隨變，無拘束 get / have a free hand 可以全權處理，有自主權

There is no such thing as a free lunch.沒有免費的誤餐。

vt.: free sb./sth. from / of sth.

e.g.: The hijackers agreed to free a further ten hostages.

These exercises help free the body of tension.

adv.: Children under five travel free.

9.(L30) Cooking was really fun as I learned how to buy, prepare and cook food.

(1)fun: [u]n. enjoyment, pleasure; a thing that gives enjoyment or pleasure快樂，樂趣，快樂的事

e.g.: We had a lot of fun at the Sarah’s birthday party.

What fun it is to jump into the river on a hot day!

* have fun / for fun /in fun / make fun of /

(2) prepare: vt.&vi. preparation: n.

prepare to do / prepare sth./ prepare for sth. / be prepared for sth. / prepare sb. to do /

make preparations for sth. / in preparation for

e.g.: I’m preparing to write a speech for the meeting.

Mother is preparing lunch in the kitchen.

They are busy preparing for their lessons.

Mother is preparing Father to go on a trip.

What will be done in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing?

V. Consolidation:

Page 5 Ex E ( 2 minutes’ preparation, then do it in chorus)

Answers: experiences / literature / desserts / headmaster / different / life / preparing

VI. Discussion:

Now you’ve known much about Wei Hua’s school life in the UK. From the text we know that they have a variety of subjects to choose from. You may be quite puzzled whether it is necessary for senior students to learn some of them, such as so many languages and woodwork. Here let’s have a discussion:

1. Should students learn more language? Why or why not?

2. What subjects would you like to take if you could choose? Why?

Example:

A: What subjects do you like best and least?

B: I really enjoy ……, because I ……. But I am not good at …….

A: I like ……. Do you think we should learn more foreign language?

B: Perhaps we should ……

After several minutes, ask the act out their discussion in pairs.

VII. Summary and Homework:

Today we’ve learned a text about Wei Hua’s experience in the UK. First we learned some reading strategies: skimming and scanning. Master these and put them into use in future while reading. Through reading we know there are many differences both in the timetable and in the curriculum.

Read the passage after class and get familiar with these language points.

Have a further discussion with your partner about the topics in Part F.

Further exploration: Organize the Ss’ ideas to form a report on “ Interest is the best teacher in learning” and share it with others the next day.

Period III Word Power

I. Teaching Aims:

1. Learn to read a map.

2. Enlarge our vocabulary by learning about school facilities.

II. Key Points:

1. Review expressions of asking and answering the way.

2. Some common techniques to enlarge our vocabulary.

III. Difficult Points:

1. How to express themselves in English when finding the way.

2. Master some techniques to enlarge vocabulary.

IV. Teaching Methods:

1. Competition to stimulate them to act quickly and actively.

2. Association to increase their interest and enlarge vocabulary.

V. Teaching Procedures:

I. Greetings:

II. Lead-in:

1. Ask the Ss to recall the first day they came to this school. Ask them if they had any difficulty in finding their way to their classroom or any other buildings that day.

2. Encourage the Ss to think of the patterns they learned in junior high.

* Excuse me, can you tell me the way to ….?

Excuse me, which is the nearest way to ….?

Excuse me, how can I get to / arrive at / reach ….?

*Turn right/ left, and walk straight on. At the end of the first / second crossing, you will find it on your right/ left. You can’t it.

*Walk towards / past…, and then walk between … and …. You will find … at the end of the road.

III. Reading the map:

1. When we go the a place for the first time, a map is very helpful. It can help us to get familiar with the place soon and find our destinations quickly. Do you often take a map when you go to somewhere?

Show the map on Page 6 on the screen.

Questions: Where is Wei Hua now and where she wants to go? …

There is another route here on the map. Who’d like to explain it?

2. Hide-and-seek:

Ask each of the Ss to write a route and he or she asks another one to tell where you are at last.

IV. Notice Completion:

Part C

V. Vocabulary extension:

1. Ask the Ss where the gym is in the map. ( opposite the canteen)

2. Ask the Ss what kinds of equipment are usually provided in a gym and why gyms are popular nowadays.

3. Write the number of each piece in the correct box.

4. Stimulate the Ss to list related vocabulary.

VI. Summary and Homework:

1. Today we have covered word power. In this class we learned to express ourselves in finding ways. We have also learned some words for equipment in a gym.

2. After class do Part B in word power by yourselves and we’ll check it tomorrow.