The First Period  Warming up and Reading

 

●从容说课

This is the first period of this unit.This unit is about travel，so the teacher can first brainstorm the words or phrases about travel.Since there are some new words for the names of the countries and cities in Southeast Asia，the teacher can first deal with them with the help of a map.Then Ss are supposed to find out the one-way fare to get to the destination for different kinds of transportation.This task gives Ss a chance to practise getting information through the Internet.Later Ss are required to talk in pairs about the following six questions：（1）When are you leaving？（2）How are you going to...？（3）When are you arriving in/at...？（4）Where are you staying？（5）How long are you staying in...？（6）When are you coming back？This part is designs to smooth away Ss’ difficulty in understanding the present continuous for future use.

To lead in the text，the teacher can ask Ss to discuss why a river is great or what a river can be used for.Then tell Ss the Mekong is a great river like the Changjiang River，and it is the birthplace of old civilization and lifeblood of the Southeast Asia.

Reading skills are very important for senior students.For the first reading，we intend to cultivate Ss’ skimming ability.They are required to list the words referring to different to pographical features in the text.Then they are required to match these words with the English explanations.Through this part we can develop Ss’ ability of guessing the meanings of new words according to the contexts.To stimulate Ss to take part in the class activity more actively，the teacher can organize a group competition，to see which group can finish the task fastest and best.To show Ss the different topography，the teacher can present some pictures.Later on，the teacher will teach some other new words in the text and ask Ss to pronounce these words correctly.For the second reading，the teacher will present five statements for the students to judge.This part is designed to get Ss into the habit of reading a passage as a whole，that is，to get the general idea.Another purpose of this part is to ask Ss to pay attention to the details.

The teacher asks Ss to read the title and subtitle in order to make them think about the organization of the whole passage，and this method can help them not only in their understanding but also in writing a passage.To develop Ss’ scanning ability，the teacher designs five questions，some of which are very difficult.So the teacher will help them to read between the lines，thus Ss can gradually get the ability to understand the writer’s implied meanings.

To consolidate the new words in the passage，the teacher asks Ss to finish Part 1 and Part 3 on Page 20 after class.At the same time，they are required to find out what they should pay attention to when going traveling.This part is designed to help Ss to get the sense of protecting themselves and nature.

●三维目标

1.Knowledge：

（1）Learn the following new words and their pronunciation：

journal，fare，transport，Vientiane，Laos，Phnom Penh，Cambodia，Ho Chi Minh，Vietnam，Mekong，finally，cycle，persuade，stubborn，insist，source，proper（ly），detail，determine，determined，altitude，atlas，glacier，Tibetan，rapids，valley，waterfall，plain，delta.

（2）Get to know that the present continuous tense can be used for future use.

（3）Get to know what a river can be used for.

2.Ability：

（1）Learn to get information through the Internet.

（2）Grasp some reading skills.

3.Emotion：

Stimulate Ss’ love for nature by getting them to know the greatness of a river.

●教学重点

Get Ss to learn different reading skills，especially the abilities of understanding the implied meanings.

●教学难点

（1）Know the meanings and pronunciation of the new words.

（2）Learn different reading skills for different reading purposes.

●教具准备

Multi-media classroom and other normal teaching tools.

●教学过程

Step 1 Greetings

Teacher：Hello，my friends.

Students：Hello，Miss Xu.

Step 2 Warming-up

T：We have known each other for 2 weeks and I think we have become friends.Can you tell me what your hobbies are？

S：I like singing and dancing/football/surfing on the Internet/skiing/traveling...

T：Good.Then when you come across the word “traveling”，what will you think of？

S：Travel cost/means/destination/plan...

T：Yes.Before we set off，we should first make travel plan，I mean we should first decide the destination，the means of transport and its fare.（Write the three words on the blackboard.）

Here “destination” means “a place to which sb.is going”.

We can go to our destination by different means of transport，for example，by bus，by train，by plane and so on.

“Transport fare” refers to how much you pay for the plane/train ticket.

Now，look at the screen，read after me the three words.

Suppose you and your friend are going to Southeast Asia，which country or city do you suggest visiting？Here is a map to help you.

S：Thailand，Philippines，Singapore，越南，柬埔寨，老挝...

T：Good，I can see you are good at geography.But you’d better say these names in English and pronounce them correctly.Please read after me：

Vientiane，Laos，Phnom Penh，Cambodia，Ho Chi Minh，Vietnam.

T：Now I give you several minutes to complete the chart.

T：Please tell me what you have got.

S：...

T：Then，I’ll ask you and your partner to ask and answer the following six questions：

（1）When are you leaving？

（2）How are you going to...？

（3）When are you arriving in/at...？

（4）Where are you staying？

（5）How long are you staying in...？

（6）When are you coming back？

T：Tell me what tense is used in each sentence？

S：The present continuous tense.

T：Do you think it describes what is happening now or at present？

S：...

T：No，it describes what will happen in the future.

Question 1  means “When are you going to leave/When will you leave？”Can you say the rest five questions in another two ways？

S：...

Step 3 Pre-reading

T：Now look at the map again and we can see a great river flows through the countries mentioned above.Do you know its name？

S：眉公河。

T：Yes，the Mekong.By the way，what can a river bring us？Or what do we use a river for？

S₁：A river can provides us with drinking water.

S₂：We can use a river to wash different things like clothes，vegetables.

S₃：We can get fish from a river.

S₄：Our crops and plants need to be watered.（We can use a river for irrigation.）

S₅：A river was and now still is one of the great means of transport.

S₆：Water can be used to make electricity.

T：Great，so we always say a river is the birthplace of civilization and lifeblood of a certain place.And the Mekong is one such river.Today our text will show us around the great river.

Step 4 First reading

T：Along the Mekong，we can see different topographical features.Go through the passage quickly and find out 7 such words.

Have you finished the job？Here are the seven words：waterfall，rapids，valley，delta，glacier，plain，canyon.

Now I’ll divide our class into four groups.Each group chooses one student to take part in the competition.We will see who can match the new words with the English explanations correctly，and use the least time.

（1）waterfall

（2）rapids

（3）valley

（4）delta

（5）glacier

（6）plain

（7）canyon

a.the low place where a river enters the sea[来源:Zxxk.Com]

b.a large flat place

c.a large body of ice moving slowly down a high valley

d.a deep，very wide valley，usually with a river.

e.a long low wide place between hills[来源:Zxxk.Com]

f.a fast-moving part of a river

g.a high place from which a river suddenly goes down

S₁：...

S₂：...

S₃：...

S₄：...

T：waterfall：a high place from which a river suddenly goes down

rapids：a fast-moving part of a river

valley：a long low wide place between hills

delta：the low place where a river enters the sea

glacier：a large body of ice moving slowly down a high valley

plain：a large flat place

canyon：a deep，very wide valley，usually with a river

To make you better understand what different topographical features are like，I will show you some pictures.

Tell me what they are.

Picture 1

 

It is a glacier.What about Picture 2？

 

It is a canyon.（the Lancang River）

Picture 3

 

It’s the Mekong Delta.The Mekong Delta is the bottom half of Vietnam’s two rice baskets.

（The other is the Red River Delta in the North.）

Of course，Picture 4 shows us a wonderful scene of waterfalls.

 

Picture 5

 

The picture shows us a man is rafting on rapids.

There are some other new words in the passage：

Please read after me.（with Chinese meaning after each word）

finally，

cycle，

persuade，

stubborn，

insist，

source，

proper（ly），

detail，

determine，determined，

altitude，

atlas，

Tibetan，

Step 5 Second reading

Now I think there should be little difficulty in your understanding the text.

Please read the passage and judge whether the following statements are true or false.

1.Wang Kung first had the idea to cycle along the Mekong.

2.Wang Kung and Wang Wei have had the dream to cycle along the Mekong since middle school.

3.They decided to begin their trip from the source of the Mekong.

4.Wang Wei didn’t think much about the difficulty of the trip.

5.The Mekong flows through five countries.

S₁/S₂/S₃/S₄/S₅：...

T：Statement 1 is false.Not Wang Kung but Wang Wei first had the idea.[来源:学,科,网Z,X,X,K]

Statement 2 is false.They have had their dream to take a great bike trip since middle school.

Statement 3 is true.

Statement 4 is true.

Statement 5 is false.The Mekong actually flows through six countries：China，Burma，Thailand，Cambodia，Laos and Vietnam.

Step 6 Reading aloud

T：Please look at the subtitle：The Dream And The Plan.How many parts can the passage be divided into？

S：From the subtitle，we know the passage can be divided into two parts.Part 1 talks about their dream，while Part 2 talks about their plan.

T：You are clever.Part 1 is Paragraph One.Part 2 consists of Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3.Now please read the second part aloud.Pay attention to their plan.

Now，please discuss with your partners about the answers to the questions：

（1）Who are Dao Wei and Yu Hang？

（2）Where is the source of the Mekong River？

（3）Which sea does the Mekong enter？

（4）Is it a difficult journey along the Mekong River？Why？

（5）Is Wang Kung very eager for the trip？

S₁：Dao Wei and Yu Hang are their cousins.

S₂：The source of the Mekong River is in Qinghai Province.

S₃：The Mekong enters the South China Sea.

S₄：Yes.Because the Mekong begins at a glacier on a Tibetan mountain，then it becomes rapids when it passes through deep valleys，sometimes enters wide valleys and becomes a waterfall.

T：Yes，in short，we may say the trip is difficult because the topography along the river is very complicated.

S₅：...

T：Still look at the second paragraph，“I know the proper way is always her way.” That means Wang Kung doesn’t completely agree with his sister and is not very pleased with her；meanwhile，from the sentence “I told her the air would be hard to breathe and it would be very cold.”，we can see that Wang Kung is afraid of the difficulty that might meet with，so he is very eager for the trip.

Step 7 Homework

Finish Part 1 and Part 3 on Page 20.

●板书设计

Unit 3  Travel journal The First Period New words Discussion 1.fear 9.Phnom Penh What can a  river be used for？ 2.stubborn 10.Cambodia transport 3.delta 11.Ho Chi Minh drinking water 4.glacier 12.Vietnam washing 5.Transport ... irrigation 7.Vientiane   fish 8.Laos

●活动与探究

Form your own traveling group，discuss what you should do and what you should never do when traveling.

Don’ts	Dos
no littering	protect animals
no feeding animals

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