Teaching plan for unit 4 Earthquakes

Teaching aims and demands:

1. Topic:
Basic knowledge of earthquakes; how to protect oneself and help the others in disasters
2. Useful words and expressions:
shake, well (n.), rise, smelly, pond, pipe, burst, canal, steam, dirt, ruin, injure, destroy, brick, dam, useless, steel, shock, quake, rescue, electricity, disaster, army, organize, bury, coal, shelter, fresh, percent, speech, judge, honour, prepare;
right away, (be) at an end, dig out, bring in, a (great )number of
3. Functions:
Talking about past experiences:
I will never forget the day when the earthquake took place. The time was 5:15 in the afternoon and I was driving along the road.
Sequence
4. Grammar:
The attributive clause (I)
由that, which, who, whose引导的定语从句
The number of people who were killed or injured reached more than 400,000.
It was heard in Beijing which is one hundred kilometers away.
Workers built shelters for survivors whose homes had been destroyed.

Teaching procedures:

Period 1.

Step 1. Warming up
Ss discuss and answer some questions:
1. Which of the following may cause people the greatest damage?
A. earthquake B. typhoon C. flood D. drought
2. Imagine your home begins to shake and you must leave it right away. You have time to take only one thing. What will you take? Why?
Step 2. Pre-reading
Ss discuss and answer:
1. Do you know what would happen before an earthquake?
2. What can we do to keep ourselves safe from an earthquake?
3. Do you know anything about Tangshan Earthquake in 1976?
Step 3. Reading
1. Skimming and find the answers to the following questions:
a. What happened?
b. When and where did it happen?
2. Ss read again and fill in the following form:
Time What happened
Before the earthquake Wells:Animals:Lights and sound:Water pipes:
While the earthquake Houses, roads and canals:Hard hills of rock:The large city:The people:
After the earthquake Hospitals, factories and buildings:The ground:Dams:Railway tracks:Animals:Wells:

3. Ss read the whole passage again and get the main ideas of each part:
Part 1. The natural signs of a coming earthquake
Part 2. The damage of the city after the earthquake
Part 3. The help to the survivors
Step 4. Comprehending
Ss finish Ex 1 and 2 on page 27.
Step 5. Assignment
1. Surf the internet and get more information about the earthquake.
2. Retell the text.

Period 2.

Step 1. Warming up
1. Ss share more information about the earthquake.
2. Ask some Ss to retell the text by using their own words.
Step 2. Language points
1. lie –lay-lain (v.) : to be, remain or be kept in a certain state 处于某种状态
The village lay in ruins after the war.
These machines have lain idle since the factory closed.
2. in ruins: severely damaged or destroyed 毁坏
an earthquake left the whole town in ruins.
His career is in ruins.
3. number (n.): a quantity of people or things 数目；数量
The number of people applying has increased this year.
We were fifteen in number.
a number of: a lot of
I have a number of letters to write.
A large number of people have applied.
4. injure (v.): to hurt oneself/sb./ sth. physically 受伤
He fell off the bicycle and injured his arm.
5. reach (v.): to achieve or obtain sth. 达成；达到；获得
You’ll understand it when you reach my age.
At last we reached a decision.
6. rescue (n.): an act of rescuing or being rescued 搭救；解救
A rescue team is trying to reach the trapped mines.
Rescue (v.): to save or set free from harm, in danger, or loss 解救；救出
The rescued the man from drowning.
7. trap(v.): in a place from which one wants to escape but cannot 困住；陷于绝境
They were trapped in the burning hotel.
8. all …not… = not all…: some but not all 一些；但不是全部
Not all the girls left.
=Only some of them left early.
Not all the children are noisy.
=Some of the children are not noisy.
全部否定应用: none of…
None of us were allowed to go there.
None of these reports is very helpful.
Step 3. learning about language
1. Ss finish Ex 1,2 and 3 on page 27 and 28.
2. Teacher checks the answer and give the Ss some help if they have some difficulty.
Step 4. assignment
1. Finish Wb.Ex.1 on page 63.
2. Ss try to remember the useful words and expressions by hearts.

Period 3

Step 1. Warming up
Ss read the passage again and try to find the sentences with attributive clauses.
e.g. Workers built shelters for survivors whose homes had been destroyed.
Step 2. Attributive clause
1. Give Ss more sentences and let the Ss to find the structures of the attributive clause.
2. Ss do some exercises about how to use that, which, who or whose.
3. Ss finish Ex 2 on page 28.
Some materials about attributive clause:
关系代词引导的定语从句
　　关系代词所代替的先行词是人或物的名词或代词，并在句中充当主语、宾语、定语等成分。关系代词在定语从句中作主语时，从句谓语动词的人称和数要和先行词保持一致。
1）who, whom, that
　 这些词代替的先行词是人的名词或代词，在从句中作主语和宾语。例如：
　 Is he the man who/that wants to see you? 他就是你想见的人吗？（who/that在从句中作主语）
　 He is the man whom/ that I saw yesterday. 他就是我昨天见的那个人。（whom/that在从句中作宾语）
2） whose 用来指人或物，（只用作定语, 若指物，它还可以同of which互换）。例如：
　 They rushed over to help the man whose car had broken down.　那人车坏了，大家都跑过去帮忙。
　 Please pass me the book whose （of which） cover is green.　请递给我那本绿皮的书。
3）which, that所代替的先行词是事物的名词或代词，在从句中可作主语、宾语等。例如：
　　A prosperity which / that had never been seen before appears in the countryside.
农村出现了前所未有的繁荣。（which / that在句中作宾语）
　　The package （which / that）you are carrying is about to come unwrapped. 你拿的包快散了。（which / that在句中作宾语）

Step 3. Using structures
1. Ss read the passage on page 64.
2. Ss try to complete the sentences by using who, whom, which, that or whose.
3. Check the answer and explain any questions that the Ss may ask.
Step 4. Assignment
1. Ss learn by heart about how the structures of the attributive clause.
2. Ss do some exercises about the attributive clause.

Period 4. (reading)

Step 1. warming up
Ask the Ss:
Do you know anything about the earthquake in San Francisco?
Step 2. Reading
1. Ss reading the passage and finish Wb. Ex 1 on page 65.
2. Ss read the first paragraph in this passage. Then go back and read again the first paragraph of the passage on page 26. Compare the ways both writers give you details about the earthquakes and finish Ex 2 on page 65.
3. Listen to the tape and read the third paragraph with feeling.
Step 3. listening
1. Ss listen to the tape and finish the exercise 1 on page 62.
2. Ss listen to the tape again and then complete the following form:

Cause of earthquakes
Moving speed of the Pacific plate
In 1906 the Pacific plate suddenly jumped
The Pacific plate pushes on
The Indian plate pushes on
Ways of reducing losses from earthquakes

Period 5. (listening and speaking)

Step 1. pre-listening
Ss have a discuss about the earthquake in San Francisco in 1906 and answer:
1. What happened to the city?
2. What’s the result?
Step 2. listening
1. Ss read the statement of part 1,on page 30.
2. Ss listen to the tape and make their choice.
3. Ss listen again and answer the questions of part 2, on page 30.
Step 3.talking
1. Ss read the short passage on page 62, and in pairs make up a story to explain how an earthquake happens.
2. Share the stories in class.
Step 4. listening task
1. Ss listen to the tape and write down the three “things” that are mentioned in the passage on page 66.
2. Ss listen again and give more detail about each of the “things”.
My earthquake plan
1st thing I must do:
2nd thing I must do:
3rd thing I must do:
Any other advice you think useful:
If you are outside, you:
If you are in the living room, you:
If you are in the house alone, you:

Step 5.talking task
1. Ss in pairs, choose eight things from the list on page 67 to put into their personal earthquake bag.
2. now join with another pair and discuss your choices. Make another list of items and put them into the following list:
my personal earthquake bag will contain:
1).___________ 2). ____________ 3). _______________ 4). ____________
5)._____________ 6).____________ 7). _____________ 8). _____________

Period 6. (writing)

Step 1. Pre-writing
1. Ss read the letter on page 29.
2. Ss make a list about the points that they want to write for the speech.
Step 2. writing
1. Ss write some sentences about their speech.
2. Ss write a speech by using the sentences.
3. Ss read their writings by themselves and correct the mistakes.
4. Peer revising.
5. Show some good writing in class.
Step 3. Practice
Ss finish part 4 on page 30.
Step 4. writing task
1. Four Ss in one group have a discuss. They are going to prepare a poster to be put up around schools or hospital to explain to people what they should collect in a personal earthquake bag and why.
2. Ss design how many parts they will divide the poster.
3. Ss begin to write their poster.
4. Ss in groups show their poster in class.
Step 5. Assignment
Ss in groups finish the project on page 68.

Period 7.

Teachers can use this period freely.
Suggestion: Teachers can use this period to let Ss sum up what they have learned and explain what Ss couldn’t understand very well in this unit. Teachers can also add more practice in this period to consolidate what the Ss have learned. Finally, ask the Ss to finish checking yourself on page 61. It is very important to improve their learning.