1、Unit 4 Life on MarsReading (I)I. Teaching aims and learning objectivesBy the end of the lesson, students should be able to:1. learn about what life would be like on another planet in the future;2. tell the differences between the life on Mars and that on Earth, talk about the advantages and disadvan
2、tages of living on Mars, and have a debate called “Life on Mars will be better than that on Earth”;3. develop their abilities of reading, like guessing the word meanings from the context; 4. be engaged in class activities actively and improve their ability of critical thinking.II. Teaching contents1
3、. New words and phrases: planet, crowded, polluted, rapid, increase, passenger, uncomfortable, oxygen, tasty, specially, float, compare, interplanetary, network, challenging, rapidly, all over again, at a/the speed of, in the form of, compare to/with2. New structures: Food would most probably in the
4、 form of pills and would not be so tasty.The gravity on Mars is only about three-eighths of that on the Earth.Compared with life on the Earth, people would have more space.III. Focus of the lesson and predicted area of difficulty1. Learn about what life would be like on another planet in the future.
5、2. Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of living on Mars and Earth.IV. Teaching proceduresStep 1 Pre-reading1. Free talkT: Do you know anything about Mars?S: T: Mars is the nearest to Earth. The surface of Mars is a little like the surface of Earth.We can build a better world on Mars in the
6、future. Do you want to live on Mars?Maybe you will be the first settlers on Mars if youre lucky enough.【设计意图：激活学生的背景知识，为导入火星上的生活做好铺垫。 】2. Predicting Brainstorming：Imagine what life will be like on Mars.T: What will life be like on Mars?S: Food clothesTransport Life on Mars home schoolT: You have won
7、derful imagination. Daniel wants to find out more about life in space in the future too. Look, he has found an article by a famous scientist who thinks humans could live on Mars by the next century. Do you want to read it?【设计意图：在阅读文本前，充分发挥学生的想象，激发学生的阅读兴趣，引导学生对文本内容进行预测和思考，读前有效的预测能使学生成为积极的阅读者。 】Step 2
8、 While-reading 1. Task One: Skim the text and get the main idea of the textDivide the text into four parts and get the main idea of each part.Part 1 Para 1 Problems on EarthPart 2 Paras 2-4 Life on Mars in some waysPart 3 Paras 5-6 Advantages of life on MarsPart 4 Para 7 Conclusion【设计意图：引导学生快速浏览课文，划
9、分段落，小组讨论，概括段落大意，从而把握文本的脉络，为理解火星上的生活做好铺垫。 】2. Task Two: Scan the article and answer some questions(1) How long does it take to fly to Mars at present?A. Hours. B. Months. C. Years.(2) How are we going to breathe on Mars? A. We will carry air tanks.B. Plants will produce oxygen.C. We will live in dome
10、s. (3) Will gravity be a big problem?A. No, we will tie ourselves to the planet. B. Yes, many people will get lost.C. No, we will wear special boots.(4) How will we study, do our homework and take exams?A. We will not need to learn anything.B. In online schools.C. In normal schools.(5) Will the jour
11、ney to Mars be enjoyable?A. Yes, it will be very comfortable.B. No, it will be very uncomfortable.C. No, it will be terrible. 3. Task Three: Detailed readingRead Para 1 and answer two questions.(1) When can we live on the planet Mars?(2) Why do we need to move to Mars?Read Para 2 and fill in the bla
12、nks.at present by the year 2100At present, spacecraft are _ and it takes _ to fly to Mars. By the year 2100, they would travel at _ and it might take _.Read Paras 3 & 4 and do some T or F exercises.( ) (1) Humans need food, water and air to survive.( ) (2) Plants can produce oxygen and water that hu
13、mans need. ( ) (3) Mars has threes times the gravity of Earth.( ) (4) People would have to wear special boots to prevent themselves floating off into space.Read Paras 3 & 4 and fill in the blanks. Disadvantages of life on Mars(1) Meals will probably be in the form of _ and will not be as _ as they a
14、re today. (2) Space travel makes people feel _ and very _.Read Paras 5 & 6 and fill in the blanks. Advantages of life on Mars(1) People will have _ space.(2) _ will do most of our work.(3) Well have more time for _.(4) Students will study in _ schools.【设计意图：教者希望能由问题导出文本，并引导学生结合上下文去理解生词和词组的含义，努力培养学生在
15、真正的阅读中猜词悟义的能力。 】4. Task 4: Further thinkingT: What does the writer think of the life on Mars?S: He thinks it would be interesting as well as challenging.T: Do you agree with him? Why or why not?【设计意图：为了培养学生的思维能力，教者设计了深层次思考的问题，引导学生立足文本、深入阅读，从而理解句子之间的逻辑关系，让学生成为阅读的积极思考者。 】Step 3 Post-reading1. Retell t
16、he articleT: Say something about life on Mars with the help of key words【设计意图：让学生根据关键词复述未来火星上的生活，从而进一步帮助学生抓住课文的核心内容。 】2. Group discussionT: Work in groups and talk about advantages and disadvantages of life on Mars and Earth.Life on MarsAdvantages1. Not crowded or polluted2. No heavy traffic3. Have
17、more space4. Robots will do our work.5. More time for hobbiesDisadvantages1. Low gravity is dangerous.2. Food is not fresh or tasty.3. Travel will make people sick.4. Too cold to go outside5. Far away from friends.Life on EarthAdvantages 1. Food is tasty and fresh.2. Travel is comfortable.3. We can
18、breathe the air.4. We can go to theatres, concerts, etc.Disadvantages1. crowded and polluted2. not much space3. noisy4. not very exciting or unusual【设计意图：通过小组合作，引导学生收集信息，在组内谈论地球生活和未来火星生活的利与弊，培养学生辩证思维的能力，为接下来的辩论活动做好铺垫。 】3. Have a debate!(for) VSLife on Mars is betterbecause 1. no pollution 2. more sp
19、ace3. less homework4. more time for hobbies(against)Life on Earth is betterbecause 1. gravity, not a problem2. many types of clothes and shoes3. many kinds of tasty food4. be close to friends【设计意图：英语辩论不仅能帮助学生活用所学语言知识，而且能激发学生思维，为他们今后成为“善于哲思的智者”打好基础。英语辩论既体现了英语学习的工具性，也体现了其人文性，既有利于学生发展语言运用能力，又有利于学生发展思维能力，从而全面提高学生的综合人文素养。 】V. Homework1. Read the article aloud.2. Search the Internet for more information about life on Mars.3. Finish the exercises in the workbooks.