译林版英语八年级上册精品教案Reading I

Unit 6 Birdwatching

Reading I

I. Teaching aims and learning objectives

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

1. develop the ability of getting the general meaning of the text from the title and its context;

2. get a good understanding of the text through thinking and answering some questions about it;

3. retell the passage with the help of key words and phrases;

4. understand the importance of wetlands as well as wildlife, and learn to love and protect them.

II. Teaching contents

1. New words and phrases: nature, wetland, provide, cover, wildlife, perfect, round,

all year round, while, stay, easily, cent, per cent, in order

to, space, lead, lead to, less and less, moreover, fisherman,

fish, government, prevent, society, record, change, tourist,

count, describe, understand, importance

2. New structure: It’s one of the world’s most important wetlands.

Many birds live in Zhalong all year round, while some go there only

for a short stay.

Some people want to make the wetlands smaller in order to have more

space for farms and buildings.

Moreover, fishermen keep fishing there.

As a result, the birds do not have enough food to eat.

We hope this will help people understand the importance of the wetlands.

III. Focus of the lesson and predicted area of difficulty

1. Understand the text through thinking and answering the questions based on it;

2. Understand and retell the text with the help of key words and phrases;

3. Understand the organization of the text and what each paragraph talks about.

IV. Teaching procedures

Step 1 Lead-in

1. Have a guess

T: Today, I will take you to a special place for birdwatching. There lives a special kind of birds. They are tall. They have long legs and a long thin neck. What’s more, they are rare in the world. What are they?

2. Describe a picture

Show a picture with the words: describe, provide, cover and prevent.

T: Look, this is the special place where we are going. It’s Zhalong Nature Reserve.

Look at the picture and tell me what can you see in it?

T: Let’s describe the picture in details. It is a beautiful picture with flying birds, green plants and clean water. What do we call this kind of land? Yes, it is a wetland. The wetland provides food and cover for the birds. I mean, it gives birds something to eat and some place to stay, play and sleep. The wetland gives protection for birds. It prevents bad things happening to the birds. So special!

3. Predict about the title

T: Now, let’s open our books and go to the special pl ace for birdwatching. First, look at the title. Can you guess what the passage may tell us after reading its title?

Yes, the passage may tell us why Zhalong is a special place. Also, it may tell us what is special in Zhalong, etc. In which paragraph may the writer give us the answer?

T: Good. At the very beginning of the passage we may find the answer.

Step 2 Presentation

1. Read Paragraph 1

(1) Find some adjectives or adjective phrases in this paragraph to describe the

special place

T: In this paragraph, the writer tells us why Zhalong is a special place. Can you find some adjectives or adjective phrases in this paragraph to describe the special place?

(2) Predict

T: It’s a perfect place for some rare birds. Do you want to know what the “rare birds” are? Then, what may the writer tell us in next paragraph?

2. Read Paragraph 2

(1) Read this paragraph quickly and find out what the “rare birds” refer to

T: In this paragraph, the writer tells us why Zhalong is a special place for birds, especially for rare birds. Please read this paragraph quickly and find out what the “rare birds” refer to? Why does the writer call cranes “rare birds”?

Can you find a sentence to make it clear?

(2) Explain the use of numbers

T: In this sentence, the writer uses numbers very well. And sometimes numbers speak louder, and they work even better, especially in pairs. Can you find some more examples relating to numbers in this paragraph?

(3) Think and discuss

T: Do cranes live in Zhalong all year round or just go there for a short stay? Can you guess what time is the good time to watch cranes in Zhalong?

3. Read Paragraph 3

(1) Read and fill in the blank

T: What will paragraph 3 tell us about the special place and rare birds? Can you use only ONE word to fill the blank?

(2) Read and answer

T: In this paragraph, the writer tells us what danger/problems Zhalong—the special place—is facing. What do “all these things” mean in the last

sentence of this paragraph? (Problem 1: Some people want to make the

wetlands smaller in order to have more space for farms and buildings. This

will lead to less and less space for wildlife. Problem 2: Fishermen keep

fishing there. As a result, the birds do not have enough food to eat.)

T: For the first problem, which words describe the serious problem best? For

the second problem, why does the writer use “keep fishing” instead of

“fish”? Which sentence is much better?

T: How do you feel when you hear about “all these things”? And what you will do?

4. Read Paragraph 4

(1) Read and answer: What does the Birdwatching Society members do?

T: Most of you want to do something for the special place and the rare birds, and some of you want to join the Birdwatching Society. Let’s come to paragraph 4, and have a look at what the Birdwatching Society members do.

(2) Think and discuss

T: If you are a member of the Birdwatching Society, what may the results of your study be? For example, you will find the types of the birds are becoming …

T: Thanks for sharing your study of the birds with us. What difficulties may you have and what help will you need in your study?

5. Read Paragraph 5

(1) Read and answer: What does this paragraph want to tell us?

T: In this paragraph, the writer tells us what the Birdwatching Society members need and hope. Read this paragr aph and find out what the “need and hope”

are.

(2) Think and discuss

T: Who do you think “more people” refer to here? Besides “a lot of tourists”, who else are wanted to join in the activity?

T: What is the purpose of this writing?

Step 3 Practice

Retelling

T: Boys and girls, so far, we have learnt a lot about the special place Zhalong and the rare birds living there. I believe most of you can retell the passage very well with the help of the key words and phrases. Let’s do it now.

Useful key words and phrases:

Para 1: a special nature reserve

world’s most important/perfect place/rare birds

Para 2: the birds living in Zhalong

many … all year round/some … a short stay

not many left/40 percent … live in

Para 3: the dangers of Zhalong

some people … smaller … more …/less and less

fishermen keep fishing/not enough food

Para 4: actions of the Birdwatching Society

once a year/record their types and changes in …

government /make laws … prevent

Para 5: need and hope of the Birdwatching Society

invite more people/count and describe

help people know the importance of …

V. Homework

1. Continue to retell the passage with key words after class to understand the passage better;

2. Search for more information about Zhalong, especially the ways to protect the birds

living there.