Teaching Aims:
1. Learn and master the following words and expressions:
words: form, influence, basis, inland, mountainous, narrow, diversity, republic, Wales, mild, union, strength, Welsh, Scottish
phrases: be made up of, make the most of, hold together, lie off, at one point, the Atlantic Ocean, run over
2. Further develop the students' reading ability and reading skills.
3. Get the students to know more about the British Isles.
Teaching Important Points:
1. Train the students' reading ability and develop their reading skills.
2. Enable the students to understand the text better.
3. Master the following phrases:
stand for, be made up of, be unknown to, make the most of, hold together, lie off, be separated from, at one point, in general, as much as, run over, end up with
Teaching Difficult Points:
1. Master the following sentence patterns:
(1)A is in/on/to the north/east/…of B
(2) be of great value
2. Understand the following sentences:
(1) The idea that England stands for Fish and Chips, the Speakers' Corner and the Tower of London is past.
(2) The fact that the mainland of Great Britain is made up of three kingdoms is still unknown to many.
Teaching Methods：
1. Fast reading to get a general idea of the text.
2. Question-and-answer activity to get the detailed information in the text.
3. Explanation for students to master some language points.
Teaching Aids:
1. a computer
2. a tape recorder
3. a projector
Teaching Procedures:
Step 1 lead in
T: Please enjoy some beautiful pictures. Where were the photos taken?
What is the name of the country?
S: The British Isles
The United Kingdom
The Great Britain
The UK
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Step 2 Pre-reading
T: Now open your books at Page 35. Look at the questions in Pre-reading and have a discussion about what you know about these questions.
1. Can you tell me something about the United Kingdom?
2. How many countries make up the British Isles?
3. Please offer me some information about Ireland.
(A few minutes later, teacher asks three students to answer them.)
S1: The United Kingdom (UK) is short for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom is made up of four parts. They are Scotland, Wales, and England, and Northern Ireland.
S2: The British Isles is a group of islands that lies off the west of Europe. The British Isles consists of two islands: one is called Ireland and the other Britain. Britain (Great Britain) is the larger of these two islands. And it is divided into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England.
S3: Ireland is a large island in Europe. It is divided into two parts. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and the other makes up the Republic of Ireland. Its capital is Dublin. They speak Irish. English is a second Language.
Step 3 While-reading
Fast reading
T: Now please read the passage as fast as you can and match the paragraphs and their topics:
Para 1 history
Para 2 languages
Para 3 climate
Para 4 the French influence
Para 5 culture
Para 6 people’s idea of British isles
Para 7 location
(Teacher gives students enough time to read the passage, and then asks some students to give the answers.)
Detailed reading:
(Teacher plays the tape for students to listen. Meanwhile, teacher asks students to try to remember some details. )
T：Scan the text and decide the following sentences are true or false.
( F ) 1.Many people around the world study English, and they know a lot about British culture.
( F )2.Great Britain is made up of four countries.
( T ) 3.The island of Britain is separated from France by the English Channel.
( F ) 4.Scotland is colder throughout the year, but receives less rain.
( T ) 5.People from different parts of northern Europe settled in England, so the culture of the people of the British Isles was influenced by them.
( T ) 6.The southern part of Ireland is now an independent republic.
( F ) 7. In modern time, people throughout the British Isles only speak English.
T：Read the text again and choose the correct answer.
1. The main idea of the first paragraph is that __C__
A. English is widely used in the world.
B. Great Britain consists of England. Scotland and wales.
C. Great Britain is a nation of various countries sharing a common language and culture.
D. England is famous for Fish & Chips, Speakers’ Corner, Big Ben and the Tower of London.
2. In January and February, ____A____ will probably be the coldest part of the British Isles.
A. Scotland B. England
C. Wales D. London
3. Which following sentence is true according to the passage? C
A: The people who were from southern Europe brought their own culture and language.
B. The upper classes in Britain spoke French while the common people spoke English now.
C. languages spoken by people from northern Europe formed the basis for English.
D. In 1066 England conquered the French.
4. ____ C _____ England, Scotland and Wales joined together and formed the Union.
A. In 1536
B. in 1283
C. In 1707
D. 250 years ago
5. According to the passage, what do you know about the Isle of Man? D__
A. It lies between Britain and Ireland.
B. It is run over by the king of UK.
C. The king of England is in charge of it.
D. Both A and C.
Intensive reading:
Read the first paragraph : brief introduction
T: There are two difficult sentences in the passage. Please look at the screen.
The idea that England stands for Fish & Chips the Speakers' Corner and the Tower of London is past.
The fact that the mainland of Great Britain is made up of three kingdoms is still unknown to many.
In the sentences, the clauses are the appositive clauses, which explain the concrete contents of the nouns: the idea and the fact. The appositive clause is often put behind the nouns, like belief, fact, hope, idea, news, problem, possibility and so on. It's usually introduced by “ that”.“That” can't be omitted.
Read the second paragraph : location
Fill in the chart about the location of The British lsles
Position of the British Isles: off the west coast of Europe
Position of Britain: separated from France by English channel
England: in the east
Scotland: in the north
Wales: in the west
Position of Ireland: west of Britain
Position of the Isle of Man: in the Irish sea between British and Ireland
Surrounding areas: Atlantic Ocean to the west North Sea to the east
Read the third paragraph : climate
Fill in the blanks.
The British Isles: ___mild with a lot of rain__________
Scotland: _________colder ____________
England and Wales: _____rains a lot__________
coldest months: _____January to February__________________
warmest months: ____July to August___________________
Read the fourth and fifth paragraphs: Culture
Fill in the blanks about the culture of the UK.
The British culture:
Influenced by: the European mainland
Northern Europeans brought: culture and language
The basis for English: their languages
The reason why many English words end up with French words:
ruled by the French in 1066
Read the sixth paragraph: History
Fill in the blanks about the history of the UK.
England and Wales formed the Union in:_____1536______
Scotland joined the Union in:___1707____
Ireland used to be: part of the UK and now is:______ an independent republic
Northern Ireland is:_ _ Part of the UK____
The isle of Man and channel Islands are ruled by:_ the King of England
Read the seventh paragraph: Language
Fill in the blanks about the language of the UK.
Language in modern times: English
Older European languages: Welsh and Irish
What is happening to the spoken languages?
Most of these languages are threatened and may disappear.
Step 4 Post reading
T: When we want to describe a country, what do we talk about?
S: We often talk about location, climate, culture, history, language and so on.
T: Please retell the text according to the pictures.(show some pictures and key words)
(If the students have difficulty, please do the following exercises.)
T: Fill in the blanks with proper words
It is not right to think that the British Isles means the United Kingdom. The British Isles is a group of islands that lies off the ________coast of Europe. The largest island is called _________, which consists of ________kingdoms: ___________ in the north, _______in the west and England in the ________. The island just west of Britain is called _________. Ireland Island is made up of ______countries. The Republic of Ireland is an _____________country, while the Northern Ireland ________ to the UK. Between Britain and Ireland, in the Irish Sea, lies the small ______of Man.
The climate of the British Isles is ____with a lot of ______. The culture of the people in the British Isles has received many influences from the ___________mainland.
Let is have a discussion
T: Today we've read a passage and learnt something about the United Kingdom and Ireland, especially about the British Isles. Do you want to travel to England if you have a chance? Please make a four-week travel plan for going on a trip through the UK. At the same time, give your reasons and list the things and clothes you'll take.
Homework
1. Feng tai exercise book P 47-48
2. Make a travel plan in which you describe where you will go, how long you will stay and why, and what clothes and things you will take.
云崗中學 李知紅