Teaching aims:

1. Goals:

Talk about American Literature

Practise predicting and describing what a story might be about

Review all the verb tenses

Write a book review

2. Special focus:

Improve reading skills and Enlarge vocabulary.

a. Direct Ss to read the 3 passages on the text book;

b. Guide Ss to learn to use the following words and expressions:

Contribute to, adapt to, get accustomed to, garment, shabby, take pride in, attend to, etc.

Period 1 Reading

A Sacrifice for Love (1)

Step 1. Warming up

Task 1. guide the students to get to know some famous American writers and their works by the forms of a competition:

The Adventure of Tom Sawyer ---- Mark Twain

The Beast in the Jungle ----Henry James

A Farewell to Arms ----- Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man and the Sea ----- Ernest Hemingway

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ----Mark Twain

The Gift of the Magi ---- O. Henry

The Call of the Wild ----Jack London

The Scarlet Letter ---- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Step 2. Scanning

Task 2. Read the passage and try to answer the questions:

Whatˇs the story about?

What are Jimˇs wages?

What price does Della pay to buy her present?

What are the coupleˇs two most precious possessions?

Step 3. While-reading:

Ask students to fill in the chart to see if they have got a general understanding of the whole passage.

Main Idea

Paragraph 1 Della wept because she had little money to buy Jim a present this Christmas.

Paragraph 2 Della and Jimˇs living conditions.

Paragraph 3 Della wanted to buy Jim a Christmas present, which was worthy of being own by Jim.

Paragraph 4 The young couple owned two precious things, one was Jimˇs gold watch, and the other was Dellaˇs hair.

Paragraph 5 Dellaˇs beautiful hair.

Paragraph 6 Della decided to sell her hair in order to buy a present for her beloved.

Paragraph 7 Della got twenty dollars and then she began to buy Jim a Christmas present.

Paragraph 8 She spent 21 dollars on a gold watch chain.

Paragraph 9 Della did her hair and looked like a little school girl.

The main idea of the passage: The story tells that a woman called Della sold her beautiful hair to buy her husband a Christmas present ---- a gold watch chain.

Step 4. Post-reading

Task 3: Answering the questions on P85.

Step 5 Homework

Finish all the exercises on Word Study and Grammar on p86-87.

Period 2. Integrating Reading Skills

A Sacrifice for Love (P89)

Step 1. Revision

1. Check the Ss how further they understand the American literature.

2. Check the homework. If necessary, give some examples to review the different tenses of verb.

Exercise 1 &2 on p220-221 is specially designed to check the Ss if they are familiar with the Grammar.

Step 2. Scan the passage and find the main idea, then analyze the passage if possible.

Task: Read the passage in three minutes, and sum up every paragraph with one sentence:

P1: Della was anxious to wait for Jim and was afraid that Jimˇs love would go without her beautiful long hair.

P2: Jim was burdened with the family and had no money to buy even e new overcoat or gloves.

P3: Jim stared at Della with a strange expression on his face.

P4: Della explained why she had her hair cut off.

P5: Jim was still confused.

P6: Jim was awake and expressed nothing could make him love Della any less.

P7: Della was so happy when she sea a set of beautiful and expensive combs Jim bought her.

P8: Della showed him her gift---- a gold watch chain that was worthy of his gold watch.

P9: Jim told Della he sold his watch for her combs.

Step 3. Read the passage again and appreciate the ¨love〃 again, and then finish the exercises attached to the passage.

Step 4.Extensive reading:

Ask the students to find more short stories by American writers to read after class.

Period 3. Integrating Reading and Writing Skills

Regret (p221-222)

Step 1. Warmming-up

Task 1 :

Do the oral pratice on p218, and enable the students to practise predicting and describing what a story might be about

Step 2. Reading

Task 2: Read the passage and finish the exercises. If possible, guide the students to analyze some long and complex sentences.

Task 3: Guided Writing

Give Ss 20 minutes to finish the writing assignment on p224,

Then ask Ss to score their work according to the following chart.

3 pluses & 1 wish

Name _______ Title _____________________ Date _______________

+ _________________________________________________________

+ _________________________________________________________

+ _________________________________________________________

? _________________________________________________________

Note: How to use this chart effectively?

Ask the student to read his/her deskmateˇs writing carefully, and then find 3 valuable things (structure, passage arrangement, sentence, diction, etc) and give 1 suggestion. And then feed the message back. Next, ask the Ss to correct their work according to the chart.

Period 4:

Deal with some language points and difficult points if necessary. If possible, guide the students to analyze some long and complex sentences. The following sentences in this unit are very important:

Expenses had been greater than she had calculated.

She hesitated for a minute and stood still while a tear or two fell on the worn red carpet.

There was no other like it in any of the stores, and she had turned all of them inside out.

It was worthy of the watch.

Itˇll grow again--- you wonˇt mind, will you?

Iˇm me without my hair, arenˇt I ?