Unit2 The curse of the mummy 教案-2022-2023学年高中英语牛津译林版（2020）必修第三册

M3U2 The curse of the mummy

Step 1: Lead-in

1. Show some pictures of the novel and movies about tomb robbing and invite students to describe the stories.

“Good afternoon, boys and girls. Let’s begin our class. First I want to ask you a question. Have you ever read or watched any novels or movies about tomb robbing? Just like these.”

“So what did these people come across and discover after they entered the tomb?”

“Right, they came across many dangerous creatures and weird things during the adventure. Some of them even died. And they also discovered a large fortune inside the tomb. Because you know in ancient China, after the emperor dies, they would be buried into a large and magnificent tomb with all kinds of goods like paintings, gold, jewels and so on.”

2. Show some pictures of the pyramid in Egypt and have a free talk with students about some basic information about mummy to introduce the topic.

“But China is not the only county that owns this culture, we know there is another country which is famous for its ancient civilization like this, what is it?”

“Yes, Egypt. A country famous for the pyramid, one of the seven wonders in the world. So have you ever read or thought about what is inside the pyramid?”

“What do people nowadays call those dead bodies buried in the pyramid? Yes, mummy, because Egyptians used some special methods to keep the body from decaying. This mysterious civilization has attracted many people.”

Step 2: Predicting:

3. Have students read the title and encourage students to make connections between the title and the explorer.

“So today we are going to learn about a famous explorer Howard Carter who worked in Egypt. But before reading the passage, please look at the title. What does ‘curse’ mean? It means words or phrases that have a magic power to make sth bad happen.”

“Can you guess what might be the connections between “The curse of the mummy” and the famous explorer? Why did the author use this title?”

“Maybe Carter got the curse. It’s quite possible. So let’s travel back to the 1922 with Carte and see what happened during his exploration.”

Step 3: Fast reading:

4. Have students skim the passage and grasp the main idea.

Now read the passage quickly to find out what the curse is, and then the main idea of each part.         

The curse: those who enter the tomb will lose their lives.

Step 4: Detailed reading

Part 1: Know about Howard Carter

5. Have students read paragraph 1-3 and finish the profile of Carter.

“Now before we figure out this strange curse, let’s first know something about this great explorer Howard Carter. Reread part one, and please create a profile for Carter, that is a brief introduction of him.

6. Provide supplementary background information of Carter. Have students discuss about the personalities of Carter based on the given materials.

“To make you feel closer to this great explorer, I will give you more information about Carter’s life experience.”

“Okay, so based on your textbook and this background information, can you find out what makes Carter a great explorer? What personality or good qualities does Carter have? Why?”

Adventurous, brave, curious, devoted, enthusiastic, bright, innovative, stubborn, persevering, positive, confident, meticulous…

“Do you think Carter just found the tomb by accident? Was it just because of his good luck?”  No.

Many years’ experience: Carter spent many years exploring kings’ tombs before and got many experience.

Scientific methods: he did all the necessary background work, and used scientific methods to find the tomb.

Long-term exploration: the searching for the tomb actually started in 1908 so it took Carter 14 years to find the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

“So we can see that but for those personalities of Carter and his hard work, he would never have made such amazing discovery. But there is another reason, the man behind Carter, the rich guy, Lord Carnarvon.”

“Here is a fun fact about him. Maybe you haven’t heard of Lord Carnarvon, but I believe some of you have seen his house before! He was the previous owner of the Highclere Castle, where the popular TV drama Downtown Abbey was shot.”

Part 2: know about the discovery

7. Show the map of the Valley of the Kings and Luxor to help students understand the location of the tomb.

“Where did Carter find the tomb of King Tutankhamun? Here is the map.”

“The Valley is called the Valley of the Kings because more than 60 kings of ancient Egypt were buried here, including King Tutankhamun.”

8. Then play a short video about the tomb of Tutankhamun and ask students to take down notes while watching.

“Now let’s watch a video about the tomb of King Tut and treasures in it. While you are watching please find the answer to the two questions.”

        When did King Tut reign (统治)/ take his power? How long?

（9 years old; 10 years）

        How many artefacts (手工艺品) were discovered in the tomb? What are they?

More than 5000 artefacts. Statues, boxes, chariots, bows and arrows, shields, two unborn children, throne, wall paintings.

Carter’s excavation journal:

26 Nov, 1922.

"As my eyes got used to the light, details of the room inside appeared slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and gold—everywhere the glint (闪光) of gold. My feelings and amazement are difficult to describe. It was a sight surpassing (超过) all precedent (先例), and one I never dreamed of seeing. When Lord Carnarvon said to me 'Can you see anything', I replied to him ‘Yes, wonderful things!’”

Part 3 know about the curse

9. Have students read part 3 and find out the key information by fill in the chart.

“So far so good. Carter made his most amazing discovery and became famous overnight. They were so immersed in the excitement and happiness while had no idea that what was waiting for them. What happened to them after opening the tomb?.”

“Read paragraph 4 to 5, find out who died because of the curse and how did they die. Fill in the chart.”

“So altogether how many people died? Do you think it is creepy or scary? At that time the strange death also caused great panic in many western countries.”

Part 4 know about the explanations

10. Have students read Para. 6-8 and find out people’s different explanations for the curse and express their own opinion about this topic.

“So what are people’s attitudes towards the curse? Read Para. 6-8 and find out different explanations for the curse.”

“What’s the author’s opinion? Yes, it remains a riddle to this day so it is still unexplained.”

Then which explanation do you agree with? Or what’s your own explanation for their deaths? You may discuss with your partner.

Some possible explanations:

The curse was made up by Carter to scare away those tomb thieves.

Carter survived the curse because his lucky bird died for him.

The death rate at that time was high because of poor medical condition. The death was exaggerated by the newspapers reporters.

Lord Carnarvon got bitten on the cheek by a mosquito. He accidentally made the bite worse while shaving, and died of fever.

Step 5: Post reading

11. Have students reflect on and get a deeper understanding of Carter as a great explorer and his discovery.

“After reading this passage, we know that behind the great success of these amazing people are their hard work day after day; are their countless failures time after time, and sometimes the risk of losing their lives. So here is a question for you.”

“Do you think it is worthwhile for Carter to open the tomb? If you were Carter, would you stop the exploration when your team members died?”

“Maybe for us, for the all human being, Carter made one of the greatest contributions for he uncovered the splendid civilization of ancient Egypt. But for Carter himself, maybe the deaths of his dearest partner and friends remained a lifetime regret.”

12. Create a situation for students to travel back to the Egypt and explore with Carter. Have students retell the key information in this passage and create an ending of their own.

“Okay maybe some of you support Carter’s decision; maybe some not. But now here is a chance for you to rewrite the story. Imagine that now you are accidently sent back to 1922 and became a member of Carter’s team. What will you do after witnessing the deaths of your team members? Here is the structure of your diary, you should first fill in the blanks by using what we learn today and then create your own endings.”

Suddenly, I travelled back to Egypt of 1922.The first person I met was our group leader, Howard Carter, who was                     (adjectives)

Our team was working at the place near the city of Luxor, where we came across the tomb of King Tutankhamun. In the tomb, we discovered             

               .

However, some strange things happened later.                       

Knowing what would happen next, I decided to do something.                  

Step 6: homework

“Today we have taken an adventure in Egypt with Cater together and learned the exploring process of King Tut’s tomb. If you are interested in the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, and want to know more about Carter, King Tut or the strange curse, here are some recommendation. You can read the novel The Curse of Mummy written by Joyee Hannam or watch the BBC documentary: Tutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered. And I strongly recommend you to read the original excavation journal and diaries of Howard Carter. You will know more details about the excavation process and feel the nervousness, excitement that he felt at that time. I believe after reading it you will know why he can become such a successful explorer.