人教版 (新课标)必修3&4Unit 3 A taste of English humour教案及反思

Unit 3　The Million Pound Bank Note

单元规划

Period 1　Warming up and reading

整体设计

教材分析

This is the first teaching period of this unit. At the beginning of the class, the teacher can lead in the topic of the unit by having a free talk with students about the background knowledge, talking about Mark Twain and his play.

Mark Twain is probably one of the few American writers with whom students are already familiar. The Warming Up is intended to discover just how much students know about this 19th century writer and let those who don’t know about him know about him before they read the play. The teacher can use this part to introduce information that Chinese students should have.

Exercise 1 in the Pre-reading provides students with an important choice. For some, knowing what they would do with the money is easy to decide. For others, it may pose a real dilemma, especially if they feel obligated to help others with the money. Whatever choice students make here, they should be ready to offer their classmates a good reason for it. Exercise 2 is to check whether students have read the story or have seen the film and for students to be ready for the next part Reading.

The reading passage is a play which is adapted from Mark Twain’s short story by the same title. It briefly describes that Henry, a San Francisco businessman, is rescued at sea by a British ship that takes him to London where he finds himself without money, friends, or the prospect of a good job. Hungry and alone, he walks along the streets of the city when unexpectedly he is summoned to a mansion. Two rich brothers, Roderick and Oliver, have made a secret bet. Roderick believes that a man cannot survive in the city for a month with only a million pound bank note in his possession but Oliver believes he can. The play takes us along on Henry’s misadventures with humor and surprise to discover who will win the bet.

Students are encouraged to preview the text and find out the new words and structures themselves. They should try to work out the meaning of the new words through the context. Then if necessary, they can look them up in the dictionary or turn to the teacher for help.

Plays will enable students to read and hear natural language in a dramatic context. Just as importantly, reading and acting plays aloud will increase students’ self-confidence in using English, which in turn will increase their overall motivation to learn English. Through their active participation in reading characters’ parts in a play, students relive what others have said. When reading a play aloud, students not only speak to the teacher but directly to their classmates. This oral interaction can contribute to greater class cooperation, especially if reading the play results in trying to act it out. In doing so, students can learn how to interpret language through the tone of voice and body language, gaining a greater appreciation of the various verbal and non-verbal ways in which language works. Therefore, provide students with the opportunity to interpret language by acting out a few scenes of the play.

To consolidate the contents of the reading passage, students should be required to give a brief introduction to the story The Million Pound Bank Note in their own words and act out Scene 3 of this play with their group members at the end of the class. In order to arouse students’ interest, the teacher can hold a competition between groups.

教学重点

1. Let students learn more about Mark Twain and his play.

2. Get students to learn different reading skills.

3. Have students learn how to act out this play.

教学难点

1. Develop students’ reading ability.

2. Enable students to act out this play.

三维目标

知识目标

1. Get students to learn the useful new words and expressions in this part: birthplace, novel, adventure, phrase, author, scene, wander, pavement, businessman, permit, ahead, bay, stare, fault, spot, passage, account, embassy, seek, patience, contrary, envelope, bring up, go ahead, by accident, stare at, account for, on the contrary

2. Let students learn about Mark Twain and his play.

能力目标

1. Develop students’ reading ability and let them learn different reading skills.

2. Enable students to talk about Mark Twain and his play.

3. Enable students to act out this play.

情感目标

1. Stimulate students’ interests of learning English by reading and acting this play.

2. Develop students’ sense of cooperative learning.

教学过程

设计方案(一)

→Step 1 Warming up

Talk about background knowledge about Mark Twain and his play.

1. Getting to know a great literary giant: Mark Twain

Let students read the following information about Mark Twain and his works.

2. Getting to know the story The Million Pound Bank Note.

Two rich gentlemen in London made a bet on what would happen to a person if he was given a million pound bank note. An American young man who sailed too far was carried out to sea, but was saved by a British ship for London. So he was now in London, tired, hungry and penniless. . . .

→Step 2 Pre-reading

Discuss with students: Have you read the story The Million Pound Bank Note?  Have you ever seen the film?  If ever, what do you think of it?

→Step 3 While-reading

Try to gain as much information as possible from the story through reading and train reading skills.

1. Scanning

Reading strategy: Go through the play for specific information. Don’t read sentence by sentence.

Fill in the blanks.

1)Time: ________________

2)Characters:

Henry Adams:_________________

Roderick and Oliver:_________________

3)Events

Suggested answers:

1)the summer of 1903

2)Henry Adams: a lost American businessman in London

Roderick and Oliver: two brothers and rich Englishmen

3)

2. Skimming

Reading strategy: Go through the play for the gist.

1)Answer the following questions:

(1)Where does Henry Adams come from?  Does he know much about London?

(2)What did he do in America?

(3)Why did he land in Britain?

Suggested answers:

(1)Henry comes from San Francisco.

No, he doesn’t know London at all.

(2)He worked for a mining company.

(3)He was sailing out the bay when he was carried out to sea by a strong wind and was rescued by a ship for London.

2)Put the following events in a correct order to form a short passage:

Henry wandered in London streets.

About a month ago Henry Adams was sailing out of the bay.

The next morning he was spotted by a ship.

Towards nightfall he found himself carried out to sea by a strong wind.

On the ship he earned his passage by working as an unpaid hand.

Suggested answers:

About a month ago Henry Adams was sailing out of the bay. Towards nightfall he found himself carried out to sea by a strong wind. The next morning he was spotted by a ship. On the ship he earned his passage by working as an unpaid hand. Henry wandered in London streets.

3. Detailed-reading

Reading strategy: Read the play carefully and try to get as much information as possible. Try to keep them in mind.

Fill in the blanks and retell the story.

Henry was an ____________. One day he had an accident in a ______________. Luckily he was rescued by a ship for _____________. He arrived in London by earning his passage without pay. He was _____________ in the street in ______________. To his surprise an ______________ thing happened. Two rich brothers gave him a million pound bank-note because they had made a ______________.

Suggested answers:

American; bay; London; wandering; rags; incredible; bet

4. Reading aloud and underlining

Ask students to read the play aloud to the tape and let them pay attention to the pronunciation and the pauses within each sentence. Tell them to pick out all the useful expressions or collocations from the passage while reading and copy them to the notebook after class as homework.

→Step 4 Post-reading

1. Discussing and talking

What kind of person do you think Henry is?  Why do you think so?  Find some of his words to prove.

1)Is Henry honest?

It is my first trip here.

Well, to be honest, I have none. (no money)

Well, I can’t say that I have any plans. 

2)Is Henry hard-working?

I earned my passage by working as an unpaid hand.

Could you offer me some kind of work here?

I don’t want your charity; I just want an honest job. 

3)Is Henry direct/straightforward?

Well, it may seem luck to you but not to me.

If this is your idea of some kind of joke, I don’t think it’s very funny.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll be on my way. 

2. Acting

1)Listen to the text again.

2)Complete the table.

3)Act out the play in groups of four or five, including the narrator.

4)Invite two or three groups to perform before the class.

3. Discussion

Have a discussion with students.

Suppose you get a large amount of money by buying lottery tickets and become a millionaire.  What will you do with the money?

4. Writing

Rewrite the play into a story.

→Step 5 Homework

1. Learn the useful new words and expressions in this part by heart.

2. Read the play again and again and try to act it out with your classmates.

3. Enjoy the movie The Million Pound Bank Note.

设计方案(二)

→Step 1 Leading in

1. Talk about characters of short stories and dramas.

2. Ask students some questions:

1)Do you like dramas?  Can you list some famous dramas and their writers?

2)Do you know about Mark Twain and his play The Million Pound Bank Note?

→Step 2 Warming up

1. Show the picture of Mark Twain and ask students: What do you know about him?

2. Let students read the short passage and take notes to fill in the chart.

→Step 3 Pre-reading

Let students discuss the following questions with their partners and then ask them to report their work. Encourage them to express their opinions freely.

1. Imagine somebody gives you a large sum of money to spend as you like. What would you do with it?

Students have a discussion on this question. Whatever choice students make, they should be ready to offer their classmates a good reason for it.

2. Have you ever read the story The Million Pound Bank Note?  Have you ever seen the movie?  If ever, what did you think of it?

→Step 4 Reading

1. Give students 3 minutes, and ask them to skim the passage for information to find the answers to the questions.

1)How did Henry come to England?

2)Why did he land in Britain?

3)Where did Henry work before?

4)Why did the two gentlemen give him the envelope?

5)When can he open it?

After students discuss the questions, check the answers with the whole class.

2. Give students 5 minutes to read the passage carefully, and then do the exercises in Comprehending on Page 19.

After most of them finish, check the answers with the whole class.

3. Explanation

Help students analyze some difficult, long and complex sentences and guess the meaning of some new words and expressions. Encourage them to try to deal with the language points in the context.

1)a large amount of: a large quantity of; a great deal of

They bought a large amount of furniture before they moved their new house.

2)make a bet: make an arrangement to risk money, etc. on an event of which the result is doubtful

We made a bet on the result of the match.

3)permit sb. to do something: allow somebody to do something

My mother doesn’t permit me to ride in the street after it rained.

4)by accident: as a result of chance

I only found it by accident.

5)stare at: look at somebody or something with the eyes wide open in a fixed gaze (in astonishment, wonder, fear, etc. )

Do you like being stared at?

6)to be honest: to tell you the truth; to be frank

To be honest, I don’t think we have a chance of winning.

4. Listening and reading aloud

Play the tape of the text for students and let them pay attention to the pronunciation and intonation. Then ask them to take roles to read the text aloud after the tape.

→Step 5 Discussion

After students read the play, let them discuss these questions in groups.

1. Why do you think that the brothers chose Henry for their bet?

2. What kind of person do you think Henry is?  Why do you think so?

→Step 6 Closing down by acting

1. Have students get prepared in 3 minutes or so and then ask them to act out the play.

2. Ask as many groups as possible to perform before the class.

→Step 7 Homework

1. Go over the text and try to learn all the useful words and expressions in this part by heart.

2. Finish the exercises in Comprehending on Page 19.

3. Rewrite the play into a short story in your own words.

板书设计

Unit 3　The Million Pound Bank Note

Warming Up and Reading

1. Time: the summer of 1903

2. Characters:

Henry Adams: a lost American businessman in London

Roderick and Oliver: two brothers and rich Englishmen

3. Events:

活动与探究

Work in groups. Go to the library or surf the Internet to find out more information about Mark Twain. Make a list of his life and his major works. Be ready to give a short report on this to the class.