Period 2 Reading
Teaching aims:
1. To activate the Ss in classroom activities.
2. To help the Ss get into a good reading habit, knowing how to skim or scan the to find the general idea or special information quickly.
3. To develop the Ss ‘ ability and skills of guessing words and reading comprehension.
4. To help the Ss know more about science and scientists, especially Professor Stephen Hawking.
Moral Focus: Creative thinking, communication and cooperation
Teaching Aids: A tape recorder, the listening cassette, some pictures
Teaching Procedures:
Step 1 Warming up
1. Greetings.
2. Comment on The Ss’ report about their favorite branch of science.
3. Go over ways of expressing, asking for and making remarks towards one’s opinions.
4. Lead in through pictures of Professor Stephen Hawking
Task 1: Brainstorming
Ss are told to look at pictures of Professor Stephen Hawking. Ask them to answer questions as follows:
1. What are the pictures about?
2. What have you seen?
3. What do you know about Professor Stephen Hawking?
Step 2 Pre-reading
Task 2: Skimming (pair work)
Ss are asked to read the passage quickly and work in pairs to find the answers to the following questions:
1. Why did Stephen Hawking need a PHD?
2. When did Hawking become famous?
3. When did Hawking visit Beijing?
Step 3 While-reading
Task 3: Vocabulary and Discussion (Individual work and group work)
Ss are asked to read the text quickly to find the words or expressions in the passage according to the given meanings. Meanwhile Ss are encouraged to underline the unknown words, phrases or sentences in the text that are hard for them to understand, discussing in pairs or in groups.

Similar meaning to vocabulary Words or expressions from the passage
1. person who has taken a university degree, esp. the first or Bachelor’s degree
2. everything that exists in it; all the stars, planets, their satellites, etc.
3. make unable to do sth.
4. way of doing sth.
5. be equal to ( in quality, colour, design, etc,)
6. book that is sold in very large numbers
7. sth. That is discovered
8. say all in advance
9. prove to be; be in the end
10. that cannot be cured (adj.) 1. graduate
2. (the) universe
3. disable
4. method
5. match
6. best-seller
7. discovery
8. predict
9. turn out (to be)
10. invurable

Task 4: Scanning through questions and answers:
Play the recorder and ask the Ss to listen to the text and try to get the answers to following questions:
1. How would you feel when told that you have got an incurable disease?
2. Did Stephen Hawking give up? If not, what did he do?
3. How does he travel around the world?
4. How does he give speeches?
5. What is his book “ A Brief History of Time” about?
6. How did Stephen Hawking make his book a best-seller?
7. What do people often think of science and what’s the opinion of Hawking?
8. How many steps should a scientific theory generally go through and what are they?
9. Is it difficult for people to understand Hawking’s lectures? Why?
10. What do people think of Hawking’s “voice”?
Task 5: Reading Aloud
Play the tape and ask the Ss to read along in a loud voice.
Step 4 Post-reading
Task 6: Questions and Answers
1. According to Professor Hawking, how do people misunderstand science?
2. What is it that Hawking doesn’t like about his speech computer?
Task 7: Discussion
Divide the class into groups and ask them to think of one question: how would you use the scientific method to solve the following problems?
Problem Suggested scientific method
A How to grow rice where there is little water?
B How to make your bicycle go faster?
C What life was like 5,000 years ago?
D How to improve your English?
E How to make friends?

Step 5 Five Consolidation
Ask the Ss to give a summary of Professor Stephen Hawking in their own words.
Step 6 News Press
Task 8: Role Play
Suppose Professor Stephen Hawking is to visit our school, and he will also attend a news conference. What do you want to know about him? Collect your questions.
Step 7 Creative work
What can we learn from Professor and how can we put what we learn into our every day study and life?
Homework:
Write a short passage about what you can learn from the professor and how you have decided to put what you have learned into your every day study and life.
Blackboard Design:

Similar meaning to vocabulary Words or expressions from the passage
1. person who has taken a university degree, esp. the first or Bachelor’s degree
2. everything that exists in it; all the stars, planets, their satellites, etc.
3. make unable to do sth.
4. way of doing sth.
5. be equal to ( in quality, colour, design, etc,)
6. book that is sold in very large numbers
7. sth. That is discovered
8. say all in advance
9. prove to be; be in the end
10. that cannot be cured (adj.)