美国部分概况3

课题Chapter 5 EducationChapter 6 Culture and Religion需2 课时教学目的要求Let the students get a general idea about American education, including elementary and secondary education, higher education; Culture and Religion of the United States, including its residence features, entertainment, sports, and religion教学重点The Education of the United States教学难点American Culture 教案编写日期10月2日教学内容与教学过程提示与补充I. Revision A. Explanations: Affirmative Action, Individualism, The interestgroupsB. Say something about the four stages in American presidentialelectionII. New lessoni. A Presentation of the main contents learned in this period:Chapter 5 Education1. Administration of Education(1) the Functions of the federal Department of Education(2) the Functions of the Board of Education2. Elementary and Secondary Education(1) Public Schools(2) Private Schools(3) American standardized tests3. Higher Education(1) Universities(2) Independent colleges(3) Community Colleges(4) the categories of degrees4. Problems Facing American EducationChapter 6 Culture and Religion1.Residence2.Entertainment3.Sports4.Holidays5.Religionii An explanation of the main contents in detail:Words StudyElementary and secondary education,中小学教育，public schools 国办学校，liberal arts college 文理学院，national tests 全国性考试，school violence 校园暴力，compulsory school attendance laws 义务教育法，fixed terms 固定的任期，local property taxes 地方财政税收，the Scholastic Assessment Tests 学术评估考试，Graduate Record Examination 研究生入学考试1.Administration of EducationPublic education in the United States is the responsibility of the states and is run by local government Though the federal Department of Education has been established since 1979, its functions are still limited.(1) the Functions of the federal Department of EducationToday, the major functions of the federal Department of Education are to ensure equal educational opportunity for all people and to improve the quality of education by providing federal financial aid programs, funding research projects, facilitating information sharing, and enforcing civil rights laws. The federal government does not have a national educational system and does not contribute much to educational expenditure either. Of the roughly $650 billion spent nationwide on education each year, only 9% comes from the federal government.(2) the Functions of the Board of EducationIn the United States, each of the 50 states has its own educational system and compulsory school attendance laws. Educational policy in the state is generally made by the Board of Education, whose members are prominent citizens appointed by the state legislature or governor for fixed terms . The Board of Education oversees statewide educational policies, determines budget priorities, and approves new guidelines for schools. In most states, the Board of Education concentrates on education at the elementary and secondary levels, but in some states, the board is responsible for all levels of education.2. Elementary and Secondary EducationAlmost all 50 states have laws that require 12 years of compulsory attendance at school for children. Classes of students are divided into 12 academic level called grades. Generally speaking, one academic year is required to complete each grade. The 12 grades are divided into several stages. In some school systems, the 12 grades are divided into two stages, the first6grades for elementary schools and the next 6 grades for secondary schools. Some school districts have the first 8 grades for elementary schools and the next 4 grades for high schools. In other school systems, there are three subdivisions: elementary school, junior high school and senior high school. When this is the case, the 12 years may be divided as follows: 6-2-4, 6-3-3, 4-4-4, and 5-3-4.(1)Public SchoolsIn the United States, most elementary schools and secondary schools are public. Today, public schools educate about 88% of all American children. Public schools are locally controlled, and have some commonalities. Firstly, public schools are supported by taxes paid by all people whether or not they have children attending schools. All American citizens and legal residents can send their children to public schools free of charge. The government also provides free lunch for children from low income families. Secondly, they are free from religious influence, and this means that no religious doctrine can be taught in public schools.(2) Private SchoolsPrivate schools are not financed by public money, so they charge tuitions. Private schools may be either religious or secular, but four out of five of them are related to religious groups. In these schools, religious instruction is part of the curriculum besides such traditional courses like reading, writing, mathematics, history, geography and science. Today, about 12% of all American children go to private schools for their elementary and secondary education.(3) American standardized testsIn the last year of high school. Students who want to go on to receive higher education have to take some kind of standardized tests. The most popular tests are the Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT) and the American College Testing (ACT) administered by the American College Testing Program.·SATThe Scholastic Assessment Tests administered by the Educational Testing Service. The SAT consists of SAT I: Reasoning Test and SAT II: Subject Test. The SAT I is a three-hour test, primarily multiple-choice, that measures verbal and mathematical reasoning abilities.The SAT II tests are one-hour, primarily multiple-choice tests in specific subjects. The Subject Tests measure the examinee's knowledge of particular subjects and his/her ability to apply that knowledge. Many colleges require orrecommend one or more of these tests for admission or placement purposes. SAT是英文Scholastic Assessment Test的缩写，中文名称为学术能力评估考试,是由总部位于美国新泽西州普林斯顿市的美国教育考试服务中心（Educational Testing Service，简称ETS)举办的。