Unit 4 Astronomy: the science of the stars
Period 5 Using language: Extensive reading
整体设计
教材分析
This is the fifth teaching period of this unit. As usual, the teacher should check students’ homework and offer chances for them to go over what they learned in the last period at the beginning of the class. Then lead in the new lesson.
In this period, the teaching emphasis will be put on developing students’ reading ability by reading extensively. We will deal with two parts: A VISIT TO THE MOON in Using language on Pages 30-31 and CAUGHT BY A BLACK HOLE in Reading Task on Page 66. While reading, get students learning to use some reading strategies such as skimming, scanning, and so on. As to new words and phrases, the teacher can first find those students feel most difficult and help them to understand. That’s enough here. The reading passage A VISIT TO THE MOON is a science fiction story which imagines what it might be like if an astronaut visited the moon. The purpose of science fiction writing is to combine facts with a story to make students interested and excited about travel in space. It is also to stimulate awe and wonder into the vastness of space. As this reading uses the information students have gained from the listening, the teacher can first ask some students to retell the listening text to lead in the topic and then ask students to read the passage and do some comprehending exercises. While checking their answers with the whole class, deal with language problems students can’t work out by themselves. This is an extensive reading lesson, so the teaching steps should be simple. As to the passage CAUGHT BY A BLACK HOLE, it is to continue the above story. The astronomers in the story visit a place in space, which seems impossible for people to reach, the “black hole”. It is to help students imagine what it is like near a “black hole”. Ask students to read through the passage and try to know more about astronomy and gravity.
At the end of the class, ask students to retell the two passages.
In order to arouse students’ interest, the teacher can hold a competition among them.
教学重点
1. Develop students’ reading skills by extensive reading.
2. Let students read and understand the two passages.
教学难点
1. Enable students to learn to use reading strategies such as skimming, scanning, and so on.
2. Get students to understand the science fiction stories in this unit.
三维目标
知识目标
1. Get students to learn some useful new words and expressions in this part: spaceship, pull, float, mass, cheer up, now that, break out
2. Get students to read the science fiction stories.
能力目标
1. Develop students’ reading skills by extensive reading and enable them to learn how to use different reading skills to read different reading materials.
2. Have students learn to use the useful new words and expressions correctly.
3. Enable students to understand the passages and know more about astronomy and gravity.
情感目标
1. Stimulate students’ interest in astronomy and space travel.
2. Develop students’ sense of group cooperation and teamwork.
教学过程
→Step 1 Revision
1. Check the homework exercises.
2. Ask some pairs of students to come to the front and act out their dialogue to review the expressions of giving instructions.
3. Have some students talk about Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking as well as their ideas on gravity.
→Step 2 Warming up
Let students to brainstorm the following questions:
What country first sent people into space?
How many countries have succeeded in sending people into space so far?
Who first landed on the moon?
Who is the first Chinese astronaut to go into space?
Do you want to visit the moon?
→Step 3 Reading
1. Ask students to read the passage and then describe the three ways in which gravity changed for Li Yanping and how his weight changed.
1) Write down the three ways in which gravity changed for Li Yanping.
The way gravity changed
Left the earth
In space
On the moon
Suggested answers:
The way gravity changed
Left the earth The gravity became very strong.
In space The gravity disappeared.
On the moon The gravity became very light.
2) His weight changed three times, too. Now write them down.
How his weight changed
Left the earth
In space
On the moon
Suggested answers:
How his weight changed
Left the earth He became very heavy.
In space He had no weight and could float around like a feather.
On the moon He was about one-sixth of his weight on the earth.
2. Ask students to read the passage aloud to the tape and underline all the useful expressions or collocations in the passage. Let students read them aloud and copy them down in their exercise book after class as homework. Try to keep them in mind.
Collocations: be lucky enough to do, have a chance, make a trip into space, explain sth. to sb. , the force of gravity, be off, the pull of the earth’s gravity, fall back to the earth, fall to the ground, too far from the earth, as if, at all, get close to, cheer up, come on, less than, down the steps, step forward, twice as far as, fall over, a bit of, now that, after a while, get the hang of, break out, on the outside of, be pushed into
→Step 4 Important language points
1. Before we left, Li Yanping explained to me that the force of gravity would change three times on our journey and that the first change would be the most powerful.
在启程以前, 李彦平向我解释说, 在我们的航行中会有三次引力的改变, 而第一次的改变将是最强的。
句子中that the force of gravity would change three times on our journey and that the first change would be the most powerful是两个并列的that引导的宾语从句, 作动词explain的宾语。一个动词若带两个宾语从句, 第二个引导词that一般不省略。例如:
The girls told him (that) they were on a train trip across Canada and that they had only one day in Montreal.
姑娘们告诉他, 她们乘火车来旅游, 要横穿加拿大, 在蒙特利尔待一天。
I understand not only (that) you have studied Chinese but also that you have written Chinese poetry.
我知道, 你不仅学了中文, 而且还写中文诗。
2. I cheered up immediately and floated weightlessly around in our spaceship cabin watching the earth become smaller and the moon larger.
我立刻感到很高兴, 由于失重我在太空舱里飘来飘去, 我望着（身后的）地球越来越小, 而（前方的）月球越来越大。
watching the earth become smaller and the moon larger是现在分词短语, 在句中作状语。
cheer (sb. ) up: (cause sb. to) become happier or more cheerful欢呼; 喝彩; 感到高兴; 使高兴
Try and cheer up a bit; life isn’t that bad!
想办法高兴点, 生活并不是那么糟！
The crowd cheered up when they saw the team arrive.
当看到球队的到来, 人群欢呼起来。
He took her to the concert to cheer her up.
他带她去听音乐会来使她高兴。
watch. . . do/doing观看, 注视
We watched the sun setting behind the trees.
我们看着太阳正在树后面落下。
Every day as they watched the plant grow, their hearts filled with hope.
每一天当他们看到植物生长, 他们的心里都充满了希望。
3. “Oh dear, ” I cried, “walking does need a bit of practice now that gravity has changed. ”
“天哪, ”我大声说, “重力改变了, 看来走路也的确需要练一练了。”
now (that). . . : because of the fact (that). . . 既然……; 由于……
Now (that) everybody is here, we can begin the meeting.
既然每个人都到了, 我们就可以开始会议。
Now (that) you are a big boy you must behave better.
由于你是一个大男孩, 你就必须行为表现得更好。
4. We watched, amazed as fire broke out on the outside of the spaceship as the earth’s gravity increased.
我们惊奇地看着, 随着地球引力的增加, 宇宙飞船的外层燃烧起火。
句子中的as fire broke out on the outside of the spaceship和as the earth’s gravity increased均为as引导的状语从句。
amazed 是过去分词, 在此处作状语。
He came in unnoticed.
他神不知鬼不觉地走了进来。
Many heroes lie buried in the churchyard.
许多英雄埋葬在教堂的墓地里。
break out: (of violent events) start suddenly（指激烈事件, 如战争、火灾、疫情等）突然发生; 爆发
Fire broke out during the night.
夜间突然发生了火灾。
War broke out in 1939.
战争爆发于1939年。
A quarrel broke out suddenly at midnight.
在深夜, 突然有人吵架。
→Step 5 Reading task
Turn to Page 66.
1. Ask students to read the passage and answer the two questions.
1) Can a black hole be seen? How do you know it’ s a black hole?
2) What happened to the spaceship from the beginning to the end?
Suggested answers:
1) No, it can’t be seen. You can see things disappear into what appears to be empty space.
2) At first the lights on the spaceship went out and the computer stopped working. Then the spaceship jumped and began to move around the edge of the outside of the hole.
As the spaceship moved around the hole, it began to go faster and faster.
But then the spaceship jumped again, and it moved sideways from the black hole. It began to increase its speed until it seemed to be going as fast as light.
At last the spaceship slowed down and the computer started working again.
2. Let students read the passage again and do the following:
Suppose you are a scientist reading this passage. Use this checklist to discover the new ideas about “black holes”. Then write them for the other scientists to read about.
Old ideas about “black holes” Was this what we found? New ideas about “black holes”
1. Black holes cannot be seen.
2. Gravity pulls objects towards them.
3. Objects go round outside the edge of the “black hole”.
4. All objects must go into the “black hole” when they are caught by its gravity.
3. Several minutes later, show the answers on the screen and check them with the whole class. At the same time, deal with any difficult language points that students can’t understand.
Suggested answers:
Old ideas about “black holes” Was this what we found? New ideas about “black holes”
1. Black holes cannot be seen. Yes
2. Gravity pulls objects towards them. Yes
3. Objects go round outside the edge of the “black hole”. Yes
4. All objects must go into the “black hole” when they are caught by its gravity. Yes They can be thrown far from the “black hole” by the energy in the “black hole”.
→Step 6 Consolidation
Ask students to go back to the two passages. Give them several minutes to be prepared to retell the whole story in their own words. Then ask as many students as possible to come to the front to tell the story.
→Step 7 Homework
1. Finish off the Workbook exercises.
2. Learn the useful new words and expressions in this part by heart.
3. Tell the story to your friends or family.
板书设计
Unit 4 Astronomy: the science of the stars
Extensive Reading
A VISIT TO THE MOON
1) Write down the three ways in which gravity changed for Li Yanping.
The way gravity changed
Left the earth The gravity became very strong.
In space The gravity disappeared.
On the moon The gravity became very light.
2) His weight changed three times, too. Now write them down.
How his weight changed
Left the earth He became very heavy.
In space He had no weight and could float around like a feather.
On the moon He was about one-sixth of his weight on the earth.
活动与探究
Go to the library and surf the Internet to find as much information as you can about space and the moon. And you are expected to present it to your teacher and classmates in the next class.