The First Period   Reading

Teaching goals教學目標

1. Target language 目標語言

a. 重點詞匯和短語

attend, control, severe, pub, immediately, handle, instructor, pump, contribute, conclude, steam engine, virus, put forward, make a conclusion, expose to

b. 重點句式

To prevent this from happening again, John Snow suggested that ... P3

2. Ability goals 能力目標

Enable the students to talk about science and scientists.

3. Learning ability goals學能目標 

Enable the students to learn about some famous scientists and their contributions and how to organize a scientific research.

Teaching important & difficult points教學重難點 

Talk about science and scientists.

Teaching methods 教學方法

Task-based activities.

Teaching aids 教具準備

A computer and a projector.

Teaching procedures & ways 教學過程與方式

StepⅠ Lead-in

Ask the students to think of some great inventions and inventors in history.

T: Welcome back to school, everyone. I guess most of you have enjoyed your holiday. Maybe I should say everyone has enjoyed a scientific life. Why? Because you have enjoyed the results of the science and scientists. Now can you tell me the scientists who invented the lights, the gramophone and the computer?

S1: Edison invented the lights and the gramophone.

S2: The first computer was invented by a group of American scientists.

StepⅡ Warming up

First, ask some questions about great scientists. Second, ask all the students to try the quiz and find out who knows the most.

T: You know our life is closely related to science and scientists. We benefit a lot from them. Can you name out as many scientists as possible?

S1: Newton.

S2: Watt.

S3: Franklin.

Sample answers:

1. Archimedes, Ancient Greek (287-212 BC), a mathematician.

2. Charles Darwin, Britain (1808-1882). The name of the book is Origin of Species.

3. Thomas Newcomen, British (1663-1729), an inventor of steam engine.

4. Gregor Mendel, Czech, a botanist and geneticist.

5. Marie Curie, Polish and French, a chemist and physicist.

6. Thomas Edison, American, an inventor.

7. Leonardo da Vinci, Italian, an artist.

8. Sir Humphry Davy, British, an inventor and chemist.

9. Zhang Heng, ancient China, an inventor.

10. Stepper Hawking, British, a physicist.

Step Ⅲ Pre-reading

Get the students to discuss the questions on page 1 with their partners. Then ask the students to report their work. Encourage the students to express their different opinions.

T: Now, class, please look at the slide. Discuss these questions with your partners. Then I’ll ask some students to report their work.

Show the following on the screen.

What do you know about infectious diseases?

What do you know about cholera?

Do you know how to prove a new idea in scientific research?

What order would you put the seven in? Just guess.

Sample answer 1:

S1: Let me try. Infectious diseases can be spread easily. They have an unknown cause and may do great harm to people.

S2: People could be exposed to infectious diseases, so may animals, such as bird flu.

S3: AIDS, SARS are infectious diseases.

S4: Infectious diseases are difficult to cure.

Sample answer 2:

S1: Cholera is caused by a bacterium called Varian cholera.

S2: It infects people’s intestines, causing diarrhea, vomiting and leg cramps.

S3: The most common cause of cholera is people eat food or drink water that has been contaminated by the bacteria.

S4: Cholera can be mild or even without symptoms, but a severe case can lead to death without immediate treatment.

Sample answer 3:

S1: I know sth. about it. First we should find the problem. Then, think of a solution.

S2: We should collect as much information as possible.

S3: Analyzing results is the most important stage.

S4: Before we make a conclusion, it is necessary for us to repeat some stages or processes.

Sample answer 4:

S1: I think “Find a problem” should be the first stage.

S2: “Make up a question” should follow the first stage.

S3: “Think of a method”, “Collect results” and “Analyze results” are after that.

S4: Of course, before “Make a conclusion”, we should “Repeat if necessary”.

T: Well done! When we want to solve some problems, first we should find out the problem, do some research on it, prove your findings, and then make a conclusion. This is a scientific and objective way of researching. Now let’s see how doctor John Snow did his research.

Step Ⅳ Reading

Let the students skim the whole passage and try to work out the meanings of the new words and structures using context.

T: The effect of cholera in the nineteenth century London was devastating. Many people died without knowing the reason. It was doctor John Snow who saved the people. Please look at the screen. Let’s read the whole passage and find answers to the questions.

Show the questions on the screen.

1. What conditions allowed cholera develop?

2. Why do you think people believed that cholera multiplied in the air without reason?

3. What evidence did John Snow gather to convince people that idea 2 was right?

Sample answers:

S1: The dirty water made the cholera develop quickly.

S2: Because people could not understand its cause and could not get it cured. So people imagined that some poisonous gas in the air caused the deaths.

S3: He found that many of the deaths were near the water pump while some areas far away from the water pump had no deaths. So when people were asked not to use the water pump, the disease began to slow down. In this way, John Snow had shown that cholera was spread by germs and not in a cloud of gas.

Step Ⅴ Text analyzing

Ask the students to analyze the text in groups.

T: Please look at the chart on the screen. The chart shows that each paragraph of the text explains John Snow’s stages in his research. Please read the text and find out the general idea of each paragraph and match the stage with each paragraph. Discuss it in groups, and then report your answers.

Sample answers:

S1: My group’s opinion is this: stage one “Find a problem” is expressed in paragraph one. The general idea is like this: John Snow wanted to find the causes of cholera.

S2: Our answer is like this: paragraph two expresses the second stage “Make up a question”. The general idea is like this: John Snow wanted to prove which theory was correct.

S3: “Think of a method” is the third stage. And it is contained in paragraph three. The general idea is like this: John Snow collected data on those who were ill or died and where they got their water.

S4: The fourth stage “Collect results” lies in paragraph four. Its general idea is like this: John Snow plotted information on a map to find out where people died or did not die.

S5: Our group believe paragraph five contains the fifth stage of John Snow’s research. The general idea is like this: John Snow analysed the water to see if that was the cause of the illness. So this stage is to “Analyse the results”.

S6: The sixth stage is “Repeat if necessary”. It is contained in the sixth paragraph. The general idea is like this: John Snow tried to find other evidences to confirm his conclusion.

S7: The last paragraph is about the seventh stage “Make a conclusion”. Its general idea is like this: The polluted dirty source of drinking water was to blame for the cause of the London cholera.

Ask some students to put their answers in the chart.

T: Now class. Can you tell me what style of the passage belongs to?

S1: I think it is a report.

T: Here are three pieces of writing. They belong to different writing styles. Now read and find out what style each piece belongs to.

Show the chart and three pieces of writing on the screen.

Making Way

Once Goethe(歌德), the great German poet，was walking in a park. He was thinking about something when he noticed he came to a very, very narrow road. Just at that time, a young man came towards him from the other end of the road. It was too narrow for both of them to pass through at the same time. They stopped and looked at each other for a while. Then the young man said rudely，“I never make way for a fool.” But Goethe smiled and said, “I always do.” Then he turned back quickly and walked towards the end of the road.

Weather Report

Here’s the weather report for the next 24 hours. Beijing will be fine with the temperature from 4 to 13. Tokyo will be fine too and cloudy later in the day. The lowest temperature is l to 8. London will be rainy and windy later in the day. The highest temperature is 8 and the lowest is 4. New York will be sunny and cloudy later in the day. The temperature is 13 to 19.

Heartbeating

Put your hand to the left side of your chest. Try to feel your heartbeating. The heart takes a little rest after each pump or beat. In boys or girls of your age, heart beats about 90 times a minute. A grown-up’s heart beats about 70 or 80 times a minute. But the heartbeat is different in the same person at different times. For example, the heart beats faster during exercise. It is also faster when a person is angry, scared, or excited. During sleep, the heartbeat slows down.

Sample answers:

S1: I think the first piece “Making A Way” is in a style of creative writing. The second piece belongs to a description style. The third piece belongs to a report style.

T: Very good. Now let’s return to our text. Who can tell me the main idea of this passage?

S2: I can. Clearly it tells us how John Snow defeated the disease cholera by doing scientific research.

StepⅥ Homework

1. Get more information about some infectious diseases and modern scientists.

2. Finish the Exercises 1, 2, 3 on pages 3 and 4.