Unit 6 Bird watching
Reading (I)
I. Teaching aims and learning objectives
By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:
1. develop the ability of getting the general meaning of the text from the title and its context;
2. get a good understanding of the text through thinking and answering some questions based on it;
3. retell the passage with the help of key words and phrases;
4. to understand the importance of the wetlands as well as the wildlife, and learn to love and protect them.
II. Teaching contents
1. New words and phrases: nature, wetland, provide, cover, wildlife, perfect, round, all year round, while, stay, easily, cent, per cent, in order to, space, lead, lead to, less and less, moreover, fisherman, fish, government, prevent, society, record, change, tourist, count, describe, understand, importance
2. New structure: It’s one of the world’s most important wetlands.
Many birds live in Zhalong all year round, while some go there only for a short stay.
Some people want to make the wetlands smaller in order to have more space for farms and buildings.
Moreover, fishermen keep fishing there.
As a result, the birds do not have enough food to eat.
We hope this will help people understand the importance of the wetlands.
III. Focus of the lesson and predicted area of difficulty
Understand the text through thinking and answering the questions based on it.
Understand and retell the text with the help of key words and phrases.
Understand the organization of the text and what each paragraph tells about.
IV. Teaching procedures
Step 1 Lead-in
1. Have a guess
T: Today, I will take you to a special place for birdwatching. There lives a special kind of birds. They are tall. They have long legs and long thin neck. What’s more, there are rare in the world. What are they?
2. Describe a picture
Show a picture with the words: describe, provide, cover and prevent.
T: Look, this is the special place where we are going. It’s Zhalong Nature Reserve. Look at the picture and tell me what can you see in it?
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T: Let’s describe the picture in details. It is a beautiful picture with flying birds, green plants and clean water. What do we call this kind of land ? Yes, it is a wetland. The wetland provides food and cover for the birds. I mean, it gives birds something to eat and somewhere to stay, play and sleep. The wetland gives protection for birds. It prevents bad things happening to the birds. So special!
3. Predict about the title
T: Now, let’s open our books and go to the special place for birdwatching. First, look at the title. Can you guess what the passage may tell us after reading the title. Yes, the passage may tell us why Zhalong is a special place. Also, it may tell us what is special in Zhalong, etc. In which paragraph may the writer give us the answer?
T: Good. At the very beginning of the passage we may find the answer.
【设计意图】通过图片及师生互动不仅教授了本课的核心词汇，而且有助于学生对扎龙自然保护区形成初步的感性认识，有效激发学生的阅读兴趣。通过标题对课文内容进行预测，既有利于培养学生形成良好的阅读策略，也能有效地调动学生的读前欲望。
Step 2 Presentation
1. Read Paragraph 1
(1) Find some adjectives or adjective phrases in this paragraph to describe the special place
T: In this paragraph, the writer tells us why Zhalong is a special place. Can you find some adjectives or adjective phrases in this paragraph to describe the special place?
(2) Predict
T: It’s a perfect place for some rare birds. Do you want to know what the “rare birds” are? Then, what may the writer tell us in next paragraph?
2. Read Paragraph 2
(1) Read this paragraph quickly and find out what the “rare birds” refer to
T: In this paragraph, the writer tells us why Zhalong is a special place for birds, especially
for rare birds. Please read this paragraph quickly and find out what the “rare birds” refer to? Why does the writer call cranes “rare birds”? Can you find a sentence to make it clear?
(2) Explain the use of numbers
T: In this sentence, the writer uses numbers very well. And sometimes numbers speak louder, and they work even better, especially in pairs. Can you find some more examples relating to numbers in this paragraph?
(3) Think and discuss
T: Do cranes live in Zhalong all year round or just go there for a short stay? Can you guess when is a good time to watch cranes in Zhalong?
3. Read Paragraph 3
(1) Read and fill in the blank
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T: What will paragraph 3 tell us about the special place and rare birds? Can you use only ONE word to fill the blank?
(2) Read and answer
T: In this paragraph, the writer tells us what danger/problems Zhalong—the special place—is facing. What do “all these things” mean in the last sentence of this paragraph? (Problem 1: Some people want to make the wetlands smaller in order to have more space for farms and buildings. This will lead to less and less space for wildlife. Problem 2: Fishermen keep fishing there. As a result, the birds do not have enough food to eat.)
T: For the first problem, which words describe the serious problem best? For the second
problem, why does the writer use “keep fishing” instead of “fish”? Which sentence is much better?
T: How do you feel when you hear about “all these things”? And what you will do?
4. Read Paragraph 4
(1) Read and answer: What does the Birdwatching Society members do?
T: Most of you want to do something for the special place and the rare birds, and some of you want to join the Birdwatching Society. Let’s come to paragraph 4, and have a look what the Birdwatching Society members do.
(2) Think and discuss
T: If you are a member of the Birdwatching Society, what may the results of your study be? For example, you will find the types of the birds are becoming ...
T: Thanks for sharing your study of the birds with us. What difficulties may you have and what help will you need in your study?
5. Read Paragraph 5
(1) Read and answer: What does this paragraph want to tell us?
T: In this paragraph, the writer tells us what the Birdwatching Society members need and hope. Read this paragraph and find out what the “need and hope” are.
(2) Think and discuss
T: Who do you think “more people” refer to here? Besides “a lot of tourists”, who else are wanted to join in the activity?
T: What is the purpose of this writing?
【设计意图】五个自然段分别讲授，步步为营。第一自然段通过抓几个关键形容词，培养学生理解文章标题的能力。同时通过对下一自然段主要内容的预测，促使学生在阅读时要能站在语篇的高度，推测行文走向。第二自然段通过抓几个关键数词及其对比，培养学生分析句际关系的能力。同时通过基于文本的相关推测，丰富了学生的课外知识，也有助于学生加深文本的深层理解。第三自然段通过抓几个比较级及动词鉴别，培养学生赏析并准确用词的能力。同时巧妙地激发了学生的情感，在“润物细无声”中为下文的讲解做好情感上的铺垫。第四自然段重点培养学生在阅读中基于文本发挥合理想象的能力。学生假设自己是观鸟俱乐部中的一员，无论是发布研究结果还是表达研究困惑或呼吁帮助，都是建立在对上文全面理解的基础上，旨在培养学生用英语做事情的能力。
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第五自然段重点培养学生理解文章写作目的的能力。同时通过对“more people”的深入挖掘，号召更多的志愿者加入the Birdwatching Society的队伍中来，情感得到升华。
Step 3 Practice
Retelling
T: Boys and girls, so far, we have learnt a lot about the special place Zhalong and the rare birds living there. I believe most of you can retell the passage very well with the help of the key words and phrases. Let’s do it now.
Useful key words and phrases:
Para 1: A special nature reserve
world's most important / perfect place / rare birds
Para 2: The birds living in Zhalong
many ... all year round / some ... a short stay
not many left / 40 per cent ...live in
Para 3: The dangers of Zhalong
some people ... smaller ... more... / less and less
fishermen keep fishing / not enough food
Para 4: Actions of the Birdwatching Society
once a year / record their types and changes in...
government / make laws ...prevent
Para 5: Need and hope of the Birdwatching Society
invite more people / count and describe
help people know / the importance of ...
【设计意图】通过提供文章大意和核心词汇，有效地为学生复述文章搭建脚手架。
V. Homework
1. Continue to retell the passage with key words after class to understand the passage better.
2. Search for more information about Zhalong, especailly the ways to protect the birds living there.
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