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Period 4 Reading and Writing
The General Idea of This Period
This period teaching and studying will center on reading and writing.As usual, the teacher
can begin the teaching with revision the former knowledge, that is to say, the content of First
Impressions.This part can be also regarded as the lead-in, because the passage to be learned is the
continued part of First Impression.It will describe amazing things that Li Qiang has seen in the
future AD 3005.
As to reading training, the purpose of doi ng it is to help the students to form the good habit
of reading with some strategy.The teacher should develop the students’ ability of scanning and
skimming, including the implied meaning beyond lines.So at the beginning, get the students to
prepare knowledge for reading.In order to reach that purpose, the teacher firstly will ask some
questions about what they have learned in the second period, and then let them talk about what
they can see in the picture.
Then let the students scan the passage and find what amazing things are mentioned.Later, the
teacher will ask the students to skim it and find out the main idea for each paragraph.The purpose
of doing these is to help the students to form the good habit of reading.When reading a passage,
we had better first read it as whole, that is, understand the structure of the passage and catch the
main idea with the help of structure and title.
The following step is to read the passage for the details.The teacher can design some teaching
activities to help the students to know about more and more information by taking part in the
reading activities.As a result, the teacher should be careful, cautio us and creative when designing
the reading activities.The reading activities had better be various, which can cause more students’
attention.
At the end of reading, some activities should be designed to lead the students to understand
the implied meaning beyond the passage.At the same time, let the students consider the writing
purpose, which serves the purpose of the author writing it.
Besides reading, the class is also expected to learn and practise writing skill.By studying the
passage, the students should learn the ability of describing the things and what they imagine
imitating the passage.The teacher should give the students some advice on how to succeed in
describing the things and what they imagine.
Teaching Important Points
Master the skill of gist reading.
Develop the students’ ability of understanding the implied meaning.
Improve the students’ writing ability.
Teaching Difficulties
Develop the students’ ability of understanding the implied meaning.
Teaching Aids
Multi-media classroom and other normal teaching tools
Three Dimensional Teaching Aims
Knowledge Aims
Get the students to know about what Li Qiang found in the future in AD 3005.
Learn the knowledge about how to write a passage about description of the things.
Ability Aims
Master the skill of gist reading.
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Develop the students’ ability of understanding the implied meaning.
Improve the students’ writing ability.
Emotional Aims
Reading the passage is to attempt to cultivate students’ spirit of exploring science and future.
Teaching Procedure
Step 1 Greeting
T: Hello, my friends.
Ss: Hello, Miss Wang.
Step 2 Revision
T: Do you still remember what we learned in the second period?
S: First Impressions.
T: How did Li Qiang travel to the earth in AD 3005?
S: With the help of his friend, he traveled by time capsule to the earth but one thousand years
in the future.
T: How did he feel when he found him in a completely strange world?
S: He was confused by the new surroundings.
T: Good.Now let’s make some sentences with“Li Qiang”to describe what he saw and
experienced.
S: Li Qiang suffered from the lack of fresh air on his arrival at the new world in the future .
S: Li Qiang felt much better after putting on a special mask, though the air seemed thin there.
S: Li Qiang got separated from his friend when they reached what looked like a large market.
Ss: ...
Step 3 Pre-reading
T: You did a good job.Most of you reviewed what we learned.Now let us guess what Li
Qiang would go on visiting.
S: He was to visit other planets by time capsule.
S: I guess he would go to visit some interesting places.
S: I think he would pay a visit to a family and a school.
Ss: ...
T: If you were the author of the passage, what would you like to introduce to readers?
S: I might introduce the aliens who he met in the future.
S: I think I would describe the way of future life.
S: If I were the author, I would prefer to write something about future school.
T: Some students seem to have the same opinion as the author, while some might be able to
write a new passage for us to enjoy.I am glad to know you all have used your heads to have
various answers.Now study the picture on Page 21 to tell me what you can see in the picture.
S: I can see a strange thing is working in a special place.
S: The strange thing has six hands and one leg, but its head is similar to ours.
S: There is another creature, which is very small with many hands, compared with the big
one.
Ss: ...
Step 4 Fast Reading
T: Now let us read the title together.
T: Can you predict what the passage may be about?
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S: It may be about what he had seen, especially about the amazing things in the future.
T: You are right.As we all know, the best title is the one which can show the main idea of the
reading passage.As a consequence, we should read the title when we begin to read one, which will
help us to understand a passage.Now, read the passage quickly to find what amazing things are
mentioned in it.
(After one minute.)
S: a pace station, some alien creatures, mu-mu, dimpods
T: Yes.Please look through it again and find out main idea for each paragraph.You’d better
finish it in two minutes.
(Two minutes later, ask the students to show their opinion to the whole class.Then discuss
it and decide the best answer.The teacher should tell them the answer in the end.)
Suggested answers:
Para.1 a space station considered the most modern in this part of space
Pare.2 the friendliest creatures, mu-mu
Para.3 the most interesting creatures, dimpods
Para.4 the differences and similarities between them
Step 5 Careful Reading
T: Please read Para.one and answer the questions: Where did he first visit?Describe the place.
(After one minute.)
S: His first visit was to a space station considered the most modern in this part of space.It is
an enormous round plate, and it spins slowly in space to imitate the pull of the earth’s
gravity.Inside of it, it is divided into zones with extraordinarily differ atmospheres and gravities.
T: Right.What other strange things can be found?
S: There live the alien creatures while they work with human space scientists searching for
new worlds.
T: Now please read the next two paragraphs to tell the following sentences true or false.
1.The friendliest creatures are the tiny dimpods, while the most interesting creatures are the
mu-mu.
2.The mu-mu must wear red nightlights on the helmets so that they can see in the dark.
3.The World Space Agency will send a spaceship to examine the fourth star in the Pleiades
system next year.
4.The mu-mu can skip around the pipes and between the wooden walls of the space station.
5.The tiny dimpods are great engineers, which require the same the same atmospheres as
humans.
6.The tiny dimpods van produce a liquid from their bodies, which melts metal and very
useful for the outside for spaceships.
(Give students four minutes to read and consider the statements.)
T: Let’s check the answers.If it is wrong, please correct it.
S: 1.I think the first sentence is wrong.The two objects should be exchanged.That is to say,
the friendliest creatures are the mu-mu, while the most interesting creatures are the tiny dimpods.
T: Right.What about the next?
S: 2.It is false.Human beings must wear red nightlights on the helmets so that they can see in
the dark.But the mu-mus don’t need it because they can see in the dark.
T: Good.Is the third one wrong?
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S: 3.I think it is right.
T: Right.What about the next one?
S: 4.It is wrong.The tiny dimpods can skip round the pipes and between the wooden walls of
the space station.
T: I agree with you.
S: 5.The fifth and the sixth are right.
T: Excellent.Now, let’s read the last paragraph and combine what we just read to finish the
following chart.
Name of creature Mu-mu Dimpods
Size Big Tiny
Appearance They are tall and thin with
shell-covered“leg”.
They are small, just the size of a little
cat.
Color They have black and white faces. They are purple or blue and the color
changes depending on their mood.
Personality 1.They see in the dark so they live
in an area without light of any
kind.
2.The y are clever so that they have
assisted in the scientific
discovery .
3.They are not easy to talk to so
that you have to use a
language-changer to help.The
mu-mus only speak in whispers.
4.They eat food that contains
carbon and drink a strange mixture
of carrot juice and cocoa.
1.They require the same atmosphere
as humans.
2.They are great engineers and very
clever.
3.They are able to travel many light
years away from the earth, which can
produce a strange liquid from their
bodies.
4.They are difficult to talk to so that
you have to use a language-changer
to help.The dimpods shout loudly in
your ear.
5.They eat food that contains carbon,
which drink lemonade mixed with
herbs.
Number of arms Six arms Many arms
Number of legs A shell-covered leg Many legs
How it moves They move forward by slowly
shaking from side to side on a
shell-covered leg.
They skip around the pipes and
between the wooden walls of the
space station.
Step 6 Post-reading
T: What’s the main idea?
S: The passage mainly tells us the strange things that he saw in the future.
T: Right.What is the purpose of writing the passage?
S: Writing the passage is to let us know what will happen in advance.
S: I think the author attempted to encourage us to be brave enough to search for the future
to speed up the development of science.
T: What a clever head!We should have a creative spirit to explore the development of the
future to build up our society.We should work hard to make contributions to our country, trying to
make our homeland highly developed.
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T: Now let’s imagine to add two extra characteristics of the creatures.Discuss what an alien
creature of your own might be like with your partners.
(About three minutes, ask some students to describe what an alien creature might be like in
their minds.)
Step 7 Writing
T: Just now you discuss what an alien creature of your own might be like.Now please draw a
picture of your alien.Then write a description based on your drawing and the notes in the
chart.Show your drawing to your classmates and read your description to them.
(Give them ten minutes to do it.First, let them do it by themselves.Later get them to exchange
with their deskmates.Finally ask some students to show their work to the whole class.During
doing it, the teacher can design a competition to arouse their interest.If possible, get some
excellent works shown to the whole school to encourage students to have a creative spirit.)
Step 8 Consolidation
T: In this period, we mainly focus on reading the passage: I Have Seen Amazing
Things.Would you please make a sentence with“What I have seen...”?
(In order to get more students to take part in this activity, the teacher can let them have a
competition between groups.)
Step 9 Homework
T: After class write a passage titled An Alien in My Mind, imitating the passage.In your
description there will be name of creature, size, appearance, color, how to move, personality
and so on.
The Design of the Writing on the Blackboard
Unit 3 Life in the future
Period 4 Reading and Writing
Structure Comparison
Para 1 a space station considered the most
modern in this part of space
Pare 2 the friendliest creatures, mu-mu
Para 3 the most interesting creatures,
dimpods
Para 4 the differences and similarities
between them
Mu-mu Dimpods
Size
Appearance
Color
Personality
Number of arms
Number of legs
How it moves
Research and Activities
Get the students to participate in a competition about designing the future.The theme of the
competition is robots in the future home.The students are asked to work in groups of four to
design the robots in their minds.They will draw the pictures of the robots and also describe the
size, appearance, personality and how to work.In order to attract more attention, the designers
should give a vivid description about its outstanding advantages and function.In addition to
beautiful appearance and extraordinary function, the designing should also be full of imagination.
The group whose description is wonderful, together with imaginative, beautiful and functional
design, will be the winner.
Reference for Teaching
Space program in the future
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The risk takers and visionaries of this agency have expanded human knowledge, have
revolutionized our understanding of the universe, and produced technological advances that have
benefited all of humanity.
Inspired by all that has come before, and guided by clear objectives, today they set a new
course for America’ s space program.They will give NASA a new focus and vision for future
exploration.They will build new ships to carry man forward into the universe, to gain a new
foothold on the moon, and to prepare for new journeys to worlds beyond their own.
Their current programs and vehicles for exploring space have brought them far.The Space
Shuttle has flown more than a hundred missions.It has been used to conduct important research
and to increase the sum of human knowledge.Shuttle crews, and the scientists and engineers who
support them, have helped to build the International Space Station.
Telescopes—including those in space—have revealed more than 100 planets in the last
decade alone.Probes have shown them stunning images of the rings of Saturn and the outer planets
of our solar system.Robotic explorers have found evidence of water—a key ingredient for life—on
Mars and on the moons of Jupiter.At this very hour, the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is
searching for evidence of life beyond the Earth.
It is time for America to take the next steps.Their first goal is to complete the International
Space Station by 2010.They will focus their future research aboard the station on the long-term
effects of space travel on human biology.The environment of space is hostile to human
beings.Radiation and weightlessness pose dangers to human health, and we have much to learn
about their long-term effects before human crews can venture through the vast voids of space for
months at a time.Research on board the station and here on Earth will help us better understand
and overcome the obstacles that limit exploration.Through these efforts we will develop the skills
and techniques necessary to sustain further space exploration.
The second goal is to develop and test a new spacecraft, the Crew Exploration Vehicle, by
2008, and to conduct the first manned mission no later than 2014.The Crew Exploration Vehicle
will be capable of ferrying astronauts and scientists to the Space Station after the shuttle is
retired.But the main purpose of this spacecraft will be to carry astronauts beyond our orbit to other
worlds.This will be the first spacecraft of its kind since the Apollo Command Module.
The third goal is to return to the moon by 2020, as the launching point for missions beyond.
Beginning no later than 2008, they will send a series of robotic missions to the lunar surface to
research and prepare for future human exploration.Using the Crew Exploration Vehicle, they will
undertake extended human missions to the moon as early as 2015, with the goal of living and
working there for increasingly extended periods.
With the experience and knowledge gained on the moon, man will then be ready to take the
next steps of space exploration: human missions to Mars and to worlds beyond.Yet the human
thirst for knowledge ultimately cannot be satisfied by even the most vivid pictures, or the most
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detailed measurements. And only human beings are capable of adapting to the inevitable
uncertainties posed by space travel.
Galaxy
Any of the systems of stars and interstellar matter makes up the Cosmos.Many such
assemblages are so enormous that they contain hundreds of billions of stars.
Nature has provided an immensely varied array of galaxies, ranging from faint, diffuse dwarf
objects to brilliant, spiral-shaped giants.Virtually all galaxies appear to have been formed soon
after the universe began, and they pervade space, even into the depths of the farthest reaches
penetrated by powerful modern telescopes.Galaxies usually exist in clusters, some of which in
turn are grouped into larger clusters measuring hundreds of millions of light-years across.(A
light-year is the distance traversed by light in one year, traveling at a velocity of 300 000
kilometers per second, or 650 000 000 miles per hour.) These so-called super clusters are
separated by nearly empty voids, causing the gross structure of the universe to look somewhat like
a network of sheets and chains of galaxies.
Galaxies differ from one another in shape, with variations resulting from the way in which
the systems were formed.Depending on the initial conditions in the pregalactic gas some 15 000
000 000 years ago, galaxies formed either as slowly turning, smoothly structured, round systems
of stars and gas or as rapidly rotating pinwheels of such entities.Other differences between
galaxies have been observed and are tho ught to reflect evolutionary changes.Some galaxies are
rife with activity: they are the sites of star formation with its attendant glowing gas and clouds of
dust and m olecular complexes.Others, by contrast, are quiescent, having long ago ceased to form
new stars.Perhaps the most conspicuous evolutionary changes in galaxies occur in their nuclei,
where evidence suggests that in many cases super massive objects—probably black
holes—formed when the galaxies were young.Such phenomena occurred several billion years ago
and are now observed as brilliant objects called quasars.
The existence of galaxies was not recognized until the early 20th century.Since then, however,
galaxies have become one of the focal points of astronomical investigation.The notable
developments and achievements in the study of galaxies are surveyed here.Included in the
discussion are the external galaxies (i.e., those lying outside the Milky Way Galaxy, the local
galaxy to which the Sun and Earth belong), their distribution in clusters and super clusters, and the
evolution of galaxies and quasars.For further details on the Milky Way Galaxy, see Milky Way
Galaxy.For specifics about the components of galaxies, see star, nebula, and Cosmos.
A future vehicle
While many technological advances occur in an evolutionary manner, occasionally a
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revolutionary technological appears on the horizon that creates startling new conditions and
profound changes.Such is the case with the privately developed Moller Skycar, which is named
after its inventor.
The LAMV is a vertical take-off and landing aircraft that can fly in a quick, quiet, and agile
manner.It is a new type of vehicle that combines the speed of an airplane and the vertical take-off
capability of a helicopter with some characteristics of a ground vehicle, but without the limitations
of any of those existing modes of transportation.
The LAMV is not operated like traditional fixed—or rotary-wing aircraft.It has only two
hand-operator uses to direct the redundant computer control twists to select the desired operating
altitude and moves fore and aft to select the rate of climb.The right-hand control twists to select
the vehicle’s direction and moves side-to-side to provide transverse (crosswise) movement during
the hover and early-transition-to-flight phases of operation; it also moves fore and aft to control
speed and braking.Simply put, the LAMV is user friendly.
The LAMV of the future will be 18 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 6 feet high and weight 2200
pounds.It will hold four passengers and a payload of 875 pounds (including fuel).The vehicle will
have a maximum rate of climb of 6400 feet per minute and an operational ceiling of 30 000 feet.It
will attain a top speed of 390 miles per hour at an altitude of 6000 feet and a cruising speed of 350
miles per hour at 25 000 feet, and it will have a maximum range of 900 miles at 80 passenger
miles per gallon.T he LAMV also will be quiet enough to function as an acoustic“stealth”plane at
500 feet.It will have a vertical take-off and landing capability and emergency airframe parachutes,
and it will be capable of using various fuels.
The potential economic advantages of the LAMV are worth mentioning.Its fuel-efficient
engines and ability to operate on various fuels will low fuel costs.The LAMV uses one-fourth of
the fuel per passenger mile used by the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey or high performance helicopters.The
LAMV’s potential military uses will be numerous.
However, once the LAMV technology matures, its military possibilities are sta rtling.We in
the Army combat service support“futures”arena are encouraged by the developments so far and
hope that the LAMV will be ready for Army fielding around 2010.The LAMV can become a
reality in our Army and possibility in the other armed services as well.Without any doubt, this
technological innovation will succeed internationally inn the private, commercial, and military
sectors.I hope that the US Army will be the first army in the world to embrace and exploit this
technology.But sooner rather than later, this aerial vehicle technology will affect all of our lives.It
is just over the horizon.