Reading and vocabulary教案2

Module 2 Fantasy Literature—Philip Pullman The First Period

Reading 四川省苍溪县城郊中学

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Teaching goals教学目标

1. Target language目标语言

a. 重点词汇和短语

hero, heroine, creature, witch, take place, approach, behave, bush, comfortable, cottage, definitely, exactly, exist, guide, hesitate, nearby, vanish

b. 重点句子

Will was so tired that... When it had gone past...

Feeling that he was dreaming but... 2. Ability goals能力目标

Enable the students to understand text organization. 3. Learning ability goals

学能目标

Enable the students to learn how to write a fantasy story; learn to retell a story. Teaching important & difficult points

教学重难点

Learn how to understand narrative organization of the passage. Teaching methods

教学方法

Skimming and task-based method.

Teaching aids

教具准备

A recorder and a projector. Teaching procedures & ways教学过程与方式

Step I Lead-in

Show the following picture.

T: Do you know the characters in the picture? S: Yes. The one in the middle is Harry Potter.

T: Have you read a Harry Potter novel or seen one of the films?

S: Yes, of course. T: It is a fantasy story. Did you enjoy it? Why? Sa: I enjoy reading Harry Potter novels very much. They are all exciting and mysterious. Once you start to read, you can’t help finish reading as soon as possible. Sb: I like reading fantasy stories, and Harry Potter novels are the best among them.

T: Very good. Can you tell me what a fantasy story is? Sb: I’m not sure what a fantasy story is. But I know it’s about events in one’s imagination, and the writer makes it believable. T: Correct. Who knows something else that also belongs to fantasy stories? Sc: The Lord of the Rings. Sd: The Journey to the West.

Se: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Sf: Gulliver’s Travels. ... T: Today we’ll learn a new fantasy story “The Cat That Vanished”

and something more about fantasy stories. Now let’s begin with the book where “The Cat That Vanished”

is taken from. The name of the book is “His Dark Materials”. And its author is Philip Pullman. Now read the passage and underline the words and phrases that show it is a fantasy story.

Sample answers:

fantasy novels, different worlds, other worlds, extraordinary adventures, witches, talking bears, strange creatures T: Now we will try defining what a fantasy story is. Who would like to try? S: According to what I have read in Harry Potter novels, I think, fantasy stories include make-believe or magical characters and events, and they could not really happen.

Then ask the students to do Activity 2. Check the answers with the students.

Step Ⅱ

Reading

Task 1: Warming up

Ask the students to discuss the questions. Sample discussion dialogues: 1. Sa: Have you ever read a fantasy story?

Sb: No, never.

Sa: Why not?

Sb: Because I don’t think it interesting. Everything in it is unbelievable.

2. Sa: Have you ever read His Dark Materials?

Sb: No.

Sa: Would you like to read it?

Sb: Yes. I have never read any fantasy novels. Maybe after reading it, I will

feel interested in it. How about you?

Sa: No. I wouldn’t. Because the story is too long. 3. Sa: Have you ever read a Harry Potter novel or seen one of the films?

Sb: Yes, I’ve read the English version and seen all the films.

Sa: Did you enjoy them?

Sb: Yes. It’s a great novel I’ve ever read. I really felt the films are more

interesting. How about you?

Sa: No. I don’t like such stories. I like to read some-thing true to life.

Task 2: Pre-reading T: Who has ever read Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? And who knows the character in it, which could slowly turn its body invisible, until all that remained was its enormous grin?

S: The Cheshire Cat. T: Now we have another cat in the passage. It also vanished. You may wonder where it would go, what it would do and what would happen to the other characters in the story. Now you will read the passage as quickly as possible and try to get all the answers to these questions.

Task 3: Skimming T: Now please skim the passage fast to obtain a general understanding of the whole passage. And number the sentences in the correct order. Then check the answers.

T: Who can tell us the main idea of this passage or tell the story briefly? S: Let me try. The passage is about Will and a cat. The cat is a strange creature, who acts as Will’s guide. She goes to another world through the patch in the air. And Will follows her without hesitation.

Task 4: Comprehension 1. Tell the students to read the passage carefully, and then finish Activity 4.

Then check the answers.

2. Ask the students to look through the passage once again and finish the chart below. Will Trying to decide what to do

Came up to Will, then turned away and went across the road towards the bushes just past the trees, and there she stopped. Still watching Watch more carefully

Behave strangely: _____

After another few seconds, the cat stepped forward, and vanished. Then he stood still, keeping

his eyes on the place where the cat vanished. Sample answers: Will Trying to decide what to do Held out his hand came out of a garden Came up to Will, then turned away and went across Cat Cat

the road towards the bushes just past the trees, and there she stopped. Still watching Behave strangely: put out a paw to pat something in the air in front of her; then leapt back, with her tail help up

Watch more carefully Approached the place again; patted the air once again; again she leapt back Will blinked. After another few seconds, the cat stepped forward, and vanished. Then he stood still, keeping ... his eyes on the place where the cat vanished. 3. Ask the students to try to draw a picture according to the story. Sample answers: Will

the patch in the air see the cat, watch, stand still, climb through the hole look around, turn away, stand up, look around for the cat

Cat — guide appear,

behave strangely, vanish disappear

Task 5: Discussion T: Now let’s try to understand why Will decides not return to his world. Let’s have a discussion: What’s the meaning of “Although he knew nothing at all about this world, it had to be better than the life he had just left.”?

A sample discussion dialogue:

Sa: From the beginning of the passage, we know that Will had to work so hard that he was too tired to think clearly. Therefore, he would like to live a better life. Sb: Because the cat behaved strangely, and it acted as his guide, he was determined to find out more about this new world. Sc: Perhaps Will was not really thinking clearly, so he came to the new world without knowing what will happen here.

Task 6: Practice

T: Now we will do Activities 12-13.

Then check the answers.

Task 7: Post-reading

Ask the students to discuss the following questions. 1. What are the characteristics of a fantasy story? 2. How can you tell the difference between real and make-believe? 3. Why is it important to know the difference between realism and fantasy?

Sample answers:

Sa: There are usually plots that are inexplicable, highly imaginative, or magical; and it’s full of make-believe characters.

Sb: Sometimes there are special characters, e.g., animals that talk, humans who fly in modern fantasy. These are not found in realism. Sc: Knowing the difference between reality and fantasy can help us to better understand and enjoy what we hear, see, and read. Step Ⅲ

Homework 1. Retell the story in your own words. 2. Imagine what will happen after Will comes to the new world.