1、Unit 10American literature .Brief Statements Based on the UnitMost of us have heard of some world-famous writers such as Mark Twain,Jack London,Ernest Hemingway.Some of their works are well-known in the world.The topic of this unit is about American literature.Warming up gets students to know what a
2、 poem describes and what it means.In speaking,students are asked to talk about some American writers and their works Pre-reading and Post-reading get students to practise how to predict a story and how to describe a story.Reading tells us a love story written by American writer O.Henry.As for integr
3、ating skills,teacher should not only train the students reading ability,but also help them learn to write a book review.In the aspect of Language Study,teacher trains Students ability to use some key words and phrases.Teacher also helps students to review all the verb tenses.Listening helps students
4、 learn to grasp the detailed information of the club activities that some students organise.Teaching Goals1.Talk about American literature.2.Practise predicting and describing what a story might be about.3.Review all the verb tenses.4.Write a book review.Background Information1.Alex HaleyAlex Haley
5、was born in the northeast of New York in 1921,but he spent most of his early life with his mothers family in southern Tennessee.His grandmother told him stories about their family.Their history,she said,began with Toby.He was a slave from Africa and his name was Kunta.Alex Haley went to school and t
6、hen to college.In 1939,he joined the US coastguard.As he was a Black,his job was to wait on tables and washed dishes.In his spare time,he learned to write stories.He served in the coastguard for 20 years.After he retired he put all his time into writing.Alex Haley remembered the stories his grandmot
7、her had told him.He began to study his family story:After a lot of research,Haley decided that Toby probably was Kunta Kinte for the West African Mandingo people.Kunta Kinte was caught near the village of Juffure on the Gambia River.He was sold as a slave in Annapolis,Maryland in 1707.Then Haley mad
8、e a trip to Gambia and talked with a history expert in Juffure.The Africa historian made his conclusion stronger.Alex Haley wanted to tell experiences of the Black people in 18th-and-19th century America.He spent 10 years researching and writing his family story for the book Roots.It was published i
9、n 1976.It was a special “Pulitzer Prize”.A few years later,a film series based on Haleys book was shown on American television.2.Mark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens (pen name Mark Twain) was born on November 30,1835 in Florida,Missouri.Twain is considered the greatest humorist of the 19th century Ame
10、rican literature.His novels and stories about the Mississippi River:The Adventures of Tom Sawyer(汤姆索亚历险记)（1876） and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(哈克贝利费恩历险记)(1894) are still popular with modern readers.In 1839 the Clemens family moved to Hannibal,Missouri,on the Mississippi River where young Sam
11、 experienced the excitement and colorful sights of the waterfront.Like many authors of his day he had little formal education.His education came from the print shops and newspaper offices where he worked as a youth.In 1853 Clemens left Hannibal with a yearning(渴望) to travel.On a trip to New Orleans
12、he persuaded a riverboat pilot to teach him his skill.By the spring of 1859 Clemens was a licensed riverboat pilot.At the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861) Clemens chose not to get involved and moved to Carson City,Nevada.After an unsuccessful attempt at gold and silver mining he joined the
13、staff of a newspaper in Virginia City,Nevada.He first wrote under the pen name “Mark Twain” (meaning “two fathoms(英寻)”in riverboat-talk) in 1836.“Twain” wrote his first popular story,The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County(卡拉维拉县有名的跳蛙)in 1865.He continued to travel as a correspondent for vari
14、ous newspapers,and in 1869 his travel letters from Europe were collected into the popular book,The Innocents Abroad（傻子国外旅行记）.Encouraged by his success Twain married Olivia Langdon and settled down in Hartford,Connecticut to his most productive years as a writer.Between 1873 and 1889 he wrote seven n
15、ovels including his Mississippi River books as well as The Prince and the Pauper （王子和贫儿）（1882）.As Twains life and career progressed he became increasingly pessimistic(悲观的)，losing much of the humorous,cocky(趾高气扬的) tone of his earlier years.More and more of his works experssed the gloomy(忧伤的；沮丧的) view
16、 that all human motives(动机) are ultimately selfish.Even so Twain is best remembered as a humorist who used his sharp wit and comic exaggeration to attack the false pride and self-importance he saw in humanity.Teaching Time:Five periodsThe First PeriodTeaching Aims:1.Learn and master the following wo
17、rds:garbage,maid,prince,outcome2.Do some listening.3.Do some speaking to talk about American literature.Teaching Important Points:1.Improve the students listening ability.2.Improve the students speaking ability by discussion,talks and so on.Teaching Difficult Points:1.How to improve the students lis
18、tening ability.2.How to finish the task of speaking.Teaching Methods:1.Listening-and-answering activty to help the students go through with the listening material.2.Individual work and group work to make every student work in class.Teaching Aids:1.a tape recorder2.a computer for multimedia useTeachi
19、ng Procedures:Step GreetingsGreet the whole class as usual.Step Warming up and Lead-inT:Do you like reading stories and novels?Ss:Yes.T:I think most of you are fond of literature.I think you must be familiar with Chinese literature.But are you interested in American literature?Perhaps some of you ha
20、ve a hobby of reading novels or other works written by foreign writers.Now lets read the text written by Rudley Randall.(Bb:Rudley Randall) After you read it,Ill ask you to answer some questions.(Teacher gives students a few minutes to read the text,then teacher shows the questions on the screen.)1.
21、What kind of text is the one you have just read?2.What is it about and what does it mean?3.Can you tell something about the writer?4.Why does this have to be American literature?Could it be written by a poet from another country?5.Think about the history and life in the United States.What special th
22、emes and sort of stories would you expect for American literature?T:Whod like to answer the first question?S1:I think its a poem.T:Quite right.Now the second one,please.S2:Its about American blacks,I think.In the poem,the author expresses his deep feelings for his ancestor,though he is a slave.The p
23、oem reminds us not to forget where we come from.T:Your answer sounds reasonable.Who is the volunteer to answer the third question?S3:Ive learnt something about him.He was an American poet.He was born in Washington D.C.in 1914.He was the founder and chief editor of a publishing house in Detroit.He wa
24、s the major publisher for the poetry of American blacks.The Burning City was one of his poetry selections.(Bb:The Burning City)T:Very good.Now the fourth question.Whod like to answer it?S4:The poem talks about “Slave traders”.That has something to do with American Blacks.As we know,American blacks a
25、re mostly slaves taken from Africa by slave traders.In the text,the author is in praise of their ancestors,who were slaves.From the content of the text,we can guess it must be American literature and it cant be written by a poet from another country.T:You did very well.Now how about the last questio
26、n?S5:We all know that America is a country which contains people from different parts of the world.So American literature has a wide variety of styles.But from the history of America,we can guess the important themes in its literature are Native Americans,Pioneers,Slavery and the Civil War,etc.T:You
27、r answer sounds reasonable.Step ListeningT:Next,lets do some listening.Before listening to the tape,Id like you to answer some questions.Please look at the screen.1.Are you a member of any club or taking part in activities that help you practise your English?2.Did you ever go to a Speaking Corner?Wh
28、at were your experiences?3.What other clubs or activities could you think of to practise English in a way that makes fun?(Teacher gives students a while to prepare.)T:Wang Lin,would you please answer the first question?S6:Yes.Im a member of English Corner,which is a club for us to practise English.I
29、 often take part in the activities in it.I think it is very helpful for my spoken English.T:No wonder your spoken English is so good.Now,Li Xiang,did you ever go to a Speaking Corner?What were your experiences?S7:Im sorry.I seldom go there.I only went there several times last week because I couldnt
30、understand others when they speak everything in English.T:I advise you to go to Speaking Corner more often.There is a famous saying,“Practice makes perfect.” If you often go there,Im sure you can improve your listening ability and you can also speak fluent English.Do you think so?S7:I see.Ill try to
31、 go there more often this term.T:Now,the third question.Any volunteers to answer it?S8:I think we can practise English in other activities such as English Summer Camp,English Speech Contest,English Short Play Contest,English Debate Contest.T:Your ideas sound very good.Now Ill play the tape for you.A
32、fter listening to the tape,you are asked to answer the questions on the screen.Youd better read them first.(Show the questions on the screen.)1.What activity are Ben,Ann and Lily organising?2.Why is this activity successful,while a Speaking Corner was not?Give two reasons.3.What are the advantages o
33、f their club activities according to Ann,Ben and Lily?(Teacher plays the tape for the first time for students to get the general idea.Then teacher plays the tape again so that students can get the detailed information.For some details,teacher may pause and play the tape more times until students can
34、 understand them well.After that,teacher asks some students to give their answers.Meanwhile,teacher may correct the mistakes if there are any.)Step SpeakingT:Have you ever heard of a famous American writer named Mark Twain?(Show a picture of Mark Twain on the screen.)Can you say something about him?
35、s9:OK.Mark Twain was born in the early 19th century.His real name was Samuel Clemens.“Mark Twain” was his pen name.He is well-known in the world as a humorist,a frontier and a philosopher.His famous works include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,Life on the Mississippi,Jumping Frog and so on.(Bb:Mark Tw
36、ain,The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,Life on the Mississippi,Jumping Frog)T:Perhaps youve heard about other American writers and their works.Now look at the screen and match the writers with their works.(Teacher writes the following on the blackboard and then asks a student to come to the blackboard.)Wr
37、iters1.Alex Haley2.Thomas Jefferson3.Harriet Beecher Stowe4.Henry Wordsworth Longfellow5.Ernest Hemingway6.Jack LondonWorksa.The Slaves Dreamb.Sea Wolfc.Uncle Toms Cabind.The Declaration of Independencee.Rootsf:The Old Man and the SeaSuggested answers:1.e2.d3.c4.a5.f6.bT:The major themes in the lite
38、rature of a country reflect important events or periods in the history of that country.Therefore,important themes in American literature are Native Americans,Pioneers and the Civil War,and the relations between America and Europe.Now choose one theme and discuss what type of story you would like to
39、read.You can use the questions on the screen to help you.(Teacher shows the following on the screen.)1.What would be an interesting story?2.What would be an exciting plot?3.What characters would likely appear in it?4.What would the characters be like?5.Where would the story take place?6.When would t
40、he story take place?7.Would you like to read a story or a novel?8.Do you want to read for pleasure or for school?(Teacher asks students to work in pairs and lets them have discussions.A few minutes later,teacher asks students to present the outcome of their discussion to the class.)T:Are you ready?S
41、s:Yes.T:OK.Ill ask some students to present the outcome of your discussion to the class.Wang Bin,will you please try?S10:Im glad to.I like to read both stories and novels.I read stories for school and novels for pleasure.I think an interesting story should have an exciting plot.As we know,a plot is
42、a plan or outline of the events in the story of a play or novel.Only when a story has an exciting plot can it attract readers.For example,Ive read some works of Mark Twain.“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is one of them.It describes a boy named Tom Sawyer,who lives with his younger brother aid and Aun
43、t Polly in a remote town on the banks of the Mississippi River.Sid is a “model” boy.He is obedient,demure and sneaky.But Tom is quite the opposite of his brother.He disobeyes the cruel and unjust teacher,Mr Dobbins and is busy with outside matters at the lessons.One night Tom Sawyer,together with hi
44、s friend Huck Finn,has an adventure and finally becomes rich.T:Well done!Now,Zhang Li,you,please.S11:Id like to.Step Summary and HomeworkT:In this period weve talked about something about American literature.We have known more about American writers and their works.Weve also done some listening.Afte
45、r class,remember all the new words we learnt in this class and preview the next three parts:Pre-reading Reading and Post-reading.OK.So much for today.Class is over.Step The Design of the Writing on theBlackboardUnit 10American literatureThe First PeriodDudley RandallThe Burning CityMark TwainWorksStep Record after Teaching_
