英语必修 第一册Unit 2 Let's talk teens教案

《英语》（必修·第一册）

Unit 2 Let’s talk teens

 Project 

江苏省通州高级中学

I. Learning objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. know the elements of a play—setting, character, plot and theme;
2. understand the parts of a play script;
3. grasp how to choose a topic, decide on the elements of their play an write out the play;
4. cooperate with group members, be clear about their assignments in the group work and complete the assignments.

II. Key competence focus

1. Write a play.

2. Cooperate with others.

III. Predicted area of difficulty

1. Develop a plot.

2. Write lines and stage directions in the script.

IV. Teaching procedures 

Step 1 Lead-in

1. Sharing stories

In front of the class, SS tell stories about their parents and themselves.

【设计意图：通过自述与父母的故事，唤起学生与父母关系的回忆，引起学生对本堂课主题的兴趣。】

2. Free talk

T: Do you often quarrel with your parents? Why do you quarrel? You often quarrel because of the generation gap, not because you don’t love each other.

【设计意图：通过提出问题，引发学生对于父母之间的关系的思考，同时为下面选择自己要写的戏剧话题作铺垫。帮助学生找到与父母关系紧张的根本原因——代沟（generation gap）。】

Step 2 Choose a topic

1. Class discussion

(1)  A good topic should carry a conflict.

T: What is parent-child tension? What do parents and children do when they have parent-child tensions? They may hate, misunderstand, disbelieve, and disagree on values with each other.

Conflicts in a play are expected by the audience. If this topic can carry a conflict, it is a good topic.

(2)  A good topic should reflect the change of the parent-child relationship.

T: What should parents and children do when they want to resolve the conflicts and have a good relationship? They should love, understand, respect and help each other. The audiences usually hope to see a happy ending. That is to say, the audience expect to see not only conflicts but also the change for the better. The change is usually the climax of a play. A topic that can reflect a change of parent-child relationships will make your play exciting and attractive.

2. Case study: Is “Dream” a good topic?

T: This topic “Dream” may carry a conflict between a child and the parents. For example, the child wants to be a singer, while the parents want him/her to be a writer. However, this conflict can be solved if they come to an agreement, e.g. be a song composer and singer. How they solve the conflict is the change in a play, and also the climax of the play. “Dream” is a good topic.

3. Ss divide themselves into groups and decide on a topic of their own play in the group.

【设计意图：一个话题决定了一场戏剧的观赏性。让学生从观众视角来看一个“话题”是否有话题性（戏剧冲突），是否符合观众心目中的预期，从而帮助学生为自己的戏剧选择一个好话题。】

Step 3 Decide on the elements of the play

1. T explain the elements of a play: setting, characters, plot and theme.

Setting: when and where the play is set

Character: a person or sometimes even an animal appearing in the play

Plot: the things that happen in the play and the ways in which those incidents are connected

Theme: the controlling idea or central insight that the author of the play is trying to get across

2. Students learn the background of the play and watch the video of a play.

T: This play is adapted from King Lear by William Shakespeare, written in 1605–1606 and published in 1608. In the video, we will have an insight into the relationship between father and daughter. Now let’s watch it.

3. Students learn the elements of the play.

(1)  Learn the setting of the play: in the court of King Lear

(2)  Learn the characters of the play: King Lear, Goneril, Regan, Cordelia, Kent

(3)  Learn the plot of the play

King Lear decided to divide his kingdom according to his daughters’ love.

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Goneril and Regan lied to King Lear and told him they loved him the most.

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Cordelia told her true feelings about King Lear..

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Kent tried to persuade King Lear to forgive Cordelia.

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King Lear got angry and wanted to punish Kent.

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Kent left.

T: Please pay attention to the changes of the feelings of King Lear, Cordelia and Kent. The feelings are the inner story of the play, which match the outer story of the play.

T: Feelings can reveal characters’ personalities. Feelings can be shown through characters’ words and actions.

The change of feelings can promote the development of the plot.

(4) Learn the theme of the play: Cordelia had a deep love for King Lear, and Kent was loyal to King Lear. But King Lear turned a blind eye to all these.

【设计意图：通过看一段节选的戏剧，整体感知戏剧4个要素，背景、人物、故事情节、戏剧主题。学生总结概括故事情节，这有助于学生感知故事线的发展，为自己的戏剧创作寻找灵感。人物的分析可以稍稍展开，主要通过分析人物情感的变化，因为人物的情感体现了其性格特征，推动故事情节的发展，而且人物的情感是通过人物的台词和动作得以展现，学生如果能感知到这一点，会对自己的戏剧创作有很大的帮助。】

3. Students decide on the setting, characters, plot and theme of their own play.

(1) Students decide on the setting and characters of the their play.

(2) Students decide on the plot of the their play.

T: The plot of a play can be divided into four parts: exposition, conflict, climax and ending.

Exposition is the part of the play (normally in the beginning) in which the writer “exposes” the background information that the audience needs to understand the story.

The second part is the conflict. The conflict is a dramatic struggle between two forces in the play. It can be anything from a concept in one person’s head to a battle between characters. In your play, the conflict is most probably between you and your parents.

The climax happens when the conflict is resolved in some way. It is the most exciting part of a play, but the journey toward a climax can be difficult. A play can have a mini-climax, a setback, and then a bigger, final climax. In the play, the climax is when the relationship between you and your parents is improved.

The ending is what becomes of the characters at the end of the play.

(3) Students decide on the theme of their play.

Suppose the topic of the play is “Dream”. Under the instruction of the teacher, students write a theme of the play. And then, students write the theme of their own play in the group.

Step 4 Write a play

1. Students read the example of part C, and learn how to write a play.

(1) Break the plot into acts and scenes 

T: A play is usually made up of several acts and every act is made up of several scenes. Generally, a scene will have a given set of characters. If a new character is introduced, or if the character has move elsewhere, that indicates that you're moving on to another scene.

(2) Include stage directions

T: Stage directions are an important part of a play. Some stage directions are given at the start of a new act/scene to tell the reader when and where the play is set. They are often in italics. Some stage directions are in the dialogue to give instructions on what actions to perform. The directions to the actions should be clear and able to reveal the feelings of the characters. They are italicized and put in brackets. The stage directions in the dialogue can also give information about the emotional of the characters, such as “Anxiously” and “Enthusiastically”.

(4)  Write the dialogues for the characters

T: Dialogue includes characters and lines. Names of characters appear before new lines.

T: Please pay attention to the language style of lines. Lines should be oral and natural. They should be suitable for the characters and be able to reveal how the actors feel.Writing dialogue is a challenging task, but it is your chance to show your artistic creativity.

2. Group work: students write their own play.

【设计意图：要写一部短的戏剧，学生构思完戏剧的背景、人物、故事情节、戏剧主题仍然不够，他们还需要了解剧本中专业的知识，比如dialogue, stage directions等。其中尤其要注意剧本的语言，比如台词是非正式语言，要口语化，描写人物动作的语言要言简意赅。最后在剧本创作中，学生还要注意台词和人物动作要体现人物的情感，这有助于刻画人物性格，推动故事情节。】

Step 5 Stage a play

1. T gives SS some tips while they are practicing.

T: To perform a play well, you should learn how to say your lines. Try to speaking in different ways, e.g. softly, angrily, to see which way works best. You should perform with confidence. Speak loudly so that you can be heard clearly. Also, use body language to show your feelings.

2. SS perform in front of the class as a group.

V. Homework

Watch the other group’s play and write a review about the play.