1、Unit 5 The British lsles I. Brief Statements Based on the Unit How much do you know about the UK? Do you want to know more about the British Isles? After you have learnt Unit 5, youve sure to find that youre learned more about this topic. The whole unit is arranged to be taught in four periods. In t
2、he first period, we will deal with Warming up, Listening and Speaking. In warming up, by talking about English cities, food, sports, places of interest, school education, geography, etc. , the students desire to know more about Britain can be raised. The listening material provides detailed informat
3、ion for the students to catch. While listening, the students ability to listen will be improved. Speaking includes three topics, and the students can express various opinions freely. Each topic can be discussed from different sides. Is English easy or difficult to learn? How can we learn geography w
4、ell? Whats your opinion about the development of a country? The students can reach an agreement on the points. Meanwhile, their ability to speak English can be greatly improved. The whole text, including Pre-reading, Reading and Post-reading, is dealt with in the second period. The students will lea
5、rn some useful information which may perhaps be unknown to them before. The students are required to read the text and do different kinds of exercises, in the course of which their reading ability will be improved. In the third period, Word Study and Grammar Noun Clauses ( 1 ), are arranged for the
6、students. They can practise using some useful words and get a good command of the noun clauses. If the teacher can give more exercises in addition, the result will be much better. Integra- ting skills, including Reading and Writing, are arranged in the fourth period. Reading is a passage about Danie
7、l Defoes visit to Salisbury in southern England, where he saw rural scenery as well as a large and fine city. The sheep in the field, beautiful rivers, high hills, old relics, high towers and local products gave him a deep impression. At last, students are required to read the passage and write a pa
8、ssage about his hometown, introducing the landscape, cultural relics, peoples life, trade etc. They can use what theyve learned from the text to describe what they want to say so as to improve their writing ability. Besides, the students will learn plenty of useful words and expressions from the uni
9、t.II. Teaching Goals1. Talk about the UK and Ireland.2. Practise expressing agreement and disagreement.3. Learn about Noun Clauses (1).4. Write a description of a town and the countryside.III. Teaching Time: Four periods IV. Background Information 1. Britain Britain lies off the north-west coast of
10、mainland Europe. Its full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain comprising England, Scotland and Wales. Although Britain is a unitary state, the constituent countries have separate national identities, variations in culture and tradition, and different physi
11、cal characteristics. With an area of some 242 000 sq. km(93 000 sq. mil. ) ,Britain is just under 1 000 km(about 600 miles)from the south coast to the extreme north of Scotland and just under500 km(300 miles)across in the widest part.England is predominantly a lowland country, with upland regions in
12、 the north (such as the Pennine Chain. tile Cambrian mountains and the Yorkshire moorlands) and the downs in central southern England, which are low chalk hill ranges. Wales is a country of hills and mountains, the highest being Snowdon at 1 085 m(3 560 ft). Britains highest mountain, Ben Nevis(1 34
13、3 m, 4 406 ft), is in the central highlands of Scotland, which contains large areas of wild, unspoilt landscape. Northern Ireland is at its nearest point only 21 kin(13 miles)from Scotland. It has a 488 km(303 mile)border in the south and west with the Irish Republic. At its centre lies Lough Neagh,
14、 Britains largest fresh- water lake (396 sq. km 153 sq. miles).Britain has frequent weather changes through the seasonal cycle of winter, spring, summer and autumn, although temperatures rarely exceed 32 or fall below -10 . Rainfall is fairly well distributed throughout the year. 2. Where Do They Co
15、me from?People in the four lands of Britain derive from a host of ancestral sources, notably:the prehistoric cultures which produced such impressive monuments as the stone circles of Avebury and Stonehenge; the ancient Celtic peoples who inhabited western and central Europe; the Romans who occupied
16、Britain for over 300 years from the invasion in AD 43; the Angles, Saxons and Jutes-Germanic peoples who began raiding and settling in Britain from the third century; Scots from Ireland, who began to settle in what became known as Scotland in the sixth century (merging with the indigenous Pacts to f
17、orm one kingdom under Kenneth Macalpin in the ninth century) the Vikings from Scandinavia, who pillaged and settled areas of Britain and Ireland from the end of the eighth century; and the Normans from France, who invaded England in 1066. The last thousand years have witnessed the assimilation of al
18、l these strands-and many new ones besides, following on from global exploration, the expansion of trade and international rivalry, and the growth of the Empire.At the same time political, social, economic and religious trends, pressures and crises have all evolved to create the beliefs, lifestyle an
19、d expectations that are prevalent among the people today. 3. The Royal FamilyMany members of the Royal Family undertake official duties in Britain and abroad. Their various responsibilities reflect tradition, their own personal interests and Britains former imperial status. For example, among her ma
20、ny titles the Princess Royal(Princess Anne)is Chancellor of the University of London, Colonel-in-Chief of eleven Army regiments, including the 8th Canadian Hussars and the Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps, and President of the Save the Children Fund, for whom she has traveled widely.The Royal Familys
21、 money comes from two sources: government funds and their own personal wealth, which is considerable. On the one hand the Queen is certainly one of the richest women in the world, while on the other her power is limited by the fact that so many of her expenses are paid for by government money. Parli
22、ament has had effective control of the monarchs finances since the seventeenth century.A survey in 1989 found that 71 per cent of people in Britain thought that the Royal Family offered value for money-this was fewer than in previous surveys. As many as 74 per cent thought the younger Royals should
23、“get proper jobs”.The First PeriodTeaching Aims:1. Do some listening and train the students listening ability.2. Talk about the UK and Ireland.3. Practise expressing agreement and disagreementTeaching Important Points:1. Improve the students listening ability.2. Master the expressions for agreement
24、and disagreement.Teaching Difficult Points:1. Improve the students listening ability.2. How to express agreement and disagreement.Teaching Methods:1. Free-talk method to get the students to talk about the UK and Ireland.2. Listening activity to have the students go through the listening material.3.
25、Speaking activity to make the students go through the speaking task and improve the students speaking ability.Teaching Aids: 1. a computer and a courseware2. a projector3. a tape recorderTeaching Procedures:Step I GreetingsGreet the whole class as usual. Step II Free-talkT: Today well learn a new un
26、it-the British Isles. In the last period, I told you to search for as much information as possible about the UK and Ireland through the Internet. Im sure youve got a lot. Now Ill ask some of you to report your findings. Any volunteers?S1: In England there are many different kinds of food and dishes,
27、 such as roasted beef, steak kidney pie, English fish chip, chicken ala king, tartine sandwich and so on.S2: Englishmen are fond of sports. Their favourite sports are walking, swimming, playing football, playing tennis, bicycling, skating, hiking and so on.S3: Englishmen like working. They often fix
28、 up a house, plant their gardens, and make furniture by themselves. Even they build their houses themselves.T: Very good. Do you know some important cities in the UK?S4: Yes. The important cities are: London, Liverpool, Manchester, Berminham, Edinburgh, Dublin, Cardiff, Belfast and so on. London is
29、the biggest city and the capital of England. It lies on the River Thames.T: OK. London is also a cultural and political center. In it there are many world-famous places of interest. What do you know?S5: St. James Park, Hyde Park, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace. Na
30、tional westminster and so on.T:I want to know more about the UK.Can you tell me something about its geograph, languages, religion, beliefs and schools?S6: The UK is made up of four parts. They are England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There are many kinds of natural resources, such as coal,
31、 iron, oil and natural gas.S7: English is the official language in the UK. It is also widely used in the world. People in the UK mostly believe in Christ. Some of them believe in Islam, and Buddhism.S8 : There are two kinds of schools there. One is private school and the other is public school. Scho
32、oling is free of charge in public schools while it costs much in private ones. There are many world-famous universities in the UK, like, Cambridge University, Oxford University, London University and so on.Step III Warming-UpT: Yes. You have done a really great job in searching through the Internet.
33、 I also get some information about England.T: Can you describe the cities and countries in England?Sa: Ill try. In the cities, we can see many tall buildings, many cars and many big supermarkets. The streets are wide and clean. People drive cars to go to work. Sb: In the countries, sheep can be seen
34、 everywhere. There are large farms, clean rivers and rich fields. Also we can see many hills. In a word, people in the countryside live a rich and peaceful life.Step IV ListeningT: Weve talked a lot about England, its places of interest, its people and their life, its geography, education and so on.
35、 Now well listen to the tape to learn something about the students school life there. First go through the listening exercises on Page 33 and Page 34. (Students begin to read the instructions. Two minutes later, teacher says the following. )T: Do you know what you should do after you listen to the t
36、ape?Ss: Yes.T: Now lets begin. When I play the tape for the first time, just listen to get the general idea. (Teacher plays the tape four times. Teacher may pause for the students to write down some information and repeat some parts of the tape if necessary. If students have anything they dont under
37、stand, teacher may play more. Finally, teacher checks the answers with the whole class.) Step V Speaking T：So much for listening. We often talk about study, sports, TV programmers, films, books and so on, expressing our own views and opinions. If we agree to do something, what can we use to express
38、ourselves? Sa: We can use such expressions as “Certainly/Sure/Of course.” “Yes. Thats true/I think so/Its a good idea. ” “Thats just how I feel. ”T: Right. What about when we dont agree with others? Sb：We can use：“I dont agree with you. ” “Im sorry, but I dont”“Im afraid not.” (Teacher writes them o
39、n the blackboard. ) T：Well done. There are many other expressions we can use to express ourselves. Please look at the screen. (Teacher shows some other expressions on the screen.) Useful expressions： Dont you think that?I dont think thats rightI dont think so. You must be mistakenNo, you are wrong t
40、hinking thatIm afraid you are wrong I believe that youve got it right. Im not so sure about thatSurely it must be Yes, you are right, but Arent you confusing ?Yes. I agree with you. (Teacher asks students to read these expressions and then says the following.) T: Now lets do speaking. In this part t
41、here are a few new words. Lets look at the screen and read them. (Teacher shows the screen.)consist vi.consist of 由组成，由构成state n.国家、政府、州、状态ut.陈述、声明、阐明statement adj. 强大的power n. 力量advantage n. 有利条件、优点disadvantageT: Please pay attention to the usage of the phrase“consist of”. It means “be made up of”.
42、 For example, the United Kingdom consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. OK. Now open your books at Page 34. In the part “speaking” there are three statements. Please read them first. And then have a discussion about them in three groups. For each group, talk about one and make up a dialogue
43、 to express what you want to say. The useful expressions on the screen and on the black board might be helpful to you.(After some time.) T: Have you finished? (Ss：Yes.) Who will give your opinion about the first statement? Sc and Sa : Well try.T: Well done. Which pair will do the second one? Se and
44、Sf : (Then teacher asks another pair to do the third.) Sample dialogues:1. A: How are you getting on with your English? B: Very badly. I find it difficult to learn. A: Why do you think so? B: As you know, we have to learn a lot of words and phrases by heart every day. And there are many grammar rule
45、s we have to follow. A: But I cant completely agree with you. In my opinion, its easy to learn. As long as we master the basic grammar and speak it as often as possible, we can learn it well. B: I dont think you are right. Personalty, I think we have fewer chances to speak English. Whats more, Engli
46、sh and Chinese have little in common. A: But I think we should find more chances to speak, just as we learn Chinese. If you speak, read and listen as much as possible, you can find it easy to learn. B: Thats a good idea. Thanks for your advice. Ill do my best to study it wall. A: Im sure that you wi
47、ll.2. A: What are you doing? B: Im reading the geography book. A: I think it is difficult to learn if you cant go to that country. B: I dont think so. You often look at maps carefully and remember all the names of cities and provinces. A: Im afraid I dont agree with you. I think those names are very
48、 confused and we can learn it easily by going there. B: Certainly visiting some places is better in learning geography. But we cant go to all places of the world. Thats too expensive and we dont have enough time, too. A: Of course you are right. Now computers are used in many fields. You can get as
49、much information as possible about the countries you want to know through the Internet. B: Thats a good idea. Ill try it.3. A: Hello. Can you tell me which are the countries that make up the Group of Eight? B: Yes. It consists of eight richest countries in the world. They are Britain, France, German
50、y, Italy, Australia, Japan, America and Russia. Five of them are quite small and two of them are island countries. A: Do you think small countries have better chances than big ones to become rich? B: I dont think so. A: Why? B: First small countries have few natural resources. Theyre very important
51、for a country. Second, their labour force is limited. As a result, that prevents their economy developing fast. A: I cant quite agree with you. In fact many small countries are very rich. B: Yes. Though some countries are small, people of these countries can get good education and make their countri
52、es become powerful by developing science and technology. For example, Japan has few natural resources, but it can develop its education and use other countries resources as many as possible to develop its economy. A: It may be true. Do island nations have more advantages than other countries? B: Cer
53、tainly. Island countries have more convenient traffic and they also have more sea resources. A: I agree with what you said. Step VI Summary and HomeworkT: Today weve talked about something about England, and known a lot about it. Weve also done some listening. Besides, weve learnt many useful expres
54、sions to express our own opinions. (Pointing to the blackboard and the screen. )After class, make up a dialogue to express your agreement and disagreement. Are you clear about it? So much for today. Step VII The Design of the Writing on the Blackboard Unit 5 The British Isles The First Period Agreement: Certainly/Of course/Sure. Yes. Thats true. I think so. Its a good idea. Thats just how I feel. Disagreement I dont agree with you completely. Im afraid not. Im sorry, but I dontagree with you . Step VIII Record after Teaching_
