Unit 1 Writing and Presenting ideas
Learning Objectives 1 To get the main idea of the journal, summarise the content and structure of it, then write a journal entry about your first-week experiences 2 To make suggestions to the head teacher to improve your school
Learning activities
目标一：To get the main idea of the journal, summarise the content and structure of it, then write a journal entry about your first-week experiences Activity 1: Read the journal entry for the first time, and find out what it is about. Finally, it’s Friday! I can’t believe the first week is coming to an end. Things are going well, but there is always something new just around the corner. At junior high, I took lots of notes during class. So in physics class on Monday, I did the same, but the teacher spoke so fast that I couldn’t take everything down. The teacher found I was struggling with note-taking and told me to stop and just listen. “Thinking is a more important ability than note-taking and memorising,” he said. After class on Wednesday, I hurried to the school skateboarding club. I was running out of the classroom when I bumped into a girl literally. I said sorry to her and she smiled at me. At the club, I had my first try at skateboarding and fell off the board a lot. Suddenly, a girl bumped into me -the same girl from the corridor! This time, both of us laughed. Her name is Sarah. We started to practise together and soon became friends. I’m going to watch a film with Sarah tomorrow evening. I'm looking forward to it! Answer: It’s about the author’s experiences during the first week at senior high. Activity 2: Read the journal entry and answer the questions. 1 What happened in her physics class 2 What did she do after class Answers: 1 She couldn’t take notes of everything the physics teacher said, but the teacher told her to stop taking notes and just listen. He said that thinking was more important than note-taking and memorising. 2 She hurried to the school skateboarding club, and bumped into a girl on the way. Then she tried skateboarding at the club and made friends with the girl she bumped into earlier. Activity 3: Read the journal entry again, summarise the content and structure of the journal entry. Para.1 The author’s impression of the first week Para.2 A physics class Para 3 After-school activities and how the author made a new friend Para.4 A plan together with Sarah Activity 4: Think of your own experiences of the first week at senior high and complete the notes. My impression of the first week ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ An enjoyable class ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ After-school activities ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How I made a new friend ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Now write a journal entry about your first-week experiences at senior high.Use the expressions in the box to help you. Useful expressions1.Things are going well… 2.At junior high,… 3.After class,… 4.I’m going to…
Activity 5: Share your journal entry with the class. Sample: Friday 8 September How time flies! I can’t believe the first week is coming to an end. Things are going quite well, and there are one or two things in particular that have left a deep impression on me. The English class on Thursday was unforgettable. During the class, we were asked to give a short speech about the first day at senior high. All my classmates were excited but I buried my head in my book. I had never delivered a speech in English before, and worse still, I didn’t feel quite at ease speaking in public. I was secretly hoping that nobody would notice me, when suddenly I heard my name called. I stood up, blushing, with nothing coming out of my mouth. “Don’t be shy! Just think of your first day at senior high and say whatever comes to mind. Imagine we are all pumpkins if it helps.” The teacher’s words made me relax a bit, and I finally began to say something. Despite my trembling voice, I gave my first ever public speech in English. It was hard, but it didn’t feel bad. After school that day, I decided to go to the English club to further practice my English. I believe that by practising more I can improve a lot. As the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.” While I was trying to pick up the courage to talk to someone, I heard a kind voice behind me. “Hello, I’m Tom. Nice to meet you.” Sitting side-by-side, he shared with me some tips on how to improve my English.We had a lovely chat and soon became friends. The first week of senior high has been quite exciting, and I am looking forward to making the most of senior high!
目标二： To make suggestions to the head teacher to improve your school Activity 1: Imagine you are a member of your class committee. Think about the changes you would suggest to the head teacher to improve your school. Give your reasons. Activity 2: Work in groups. Talk about your suggestions and prepare a short presentation. Use the expressions in the box to help you. Useful expressions1.The first thing I would suggest is... 2.I think it would be a good idea to... 3.Another thing I would suggest is...
Activity 3: Present your suggestions to the class. Sample: Dear head teacher, I am Lee, a freshman at senior high. It is a great honor to have this opportunity to give my suggestions in order to improve our school. The first thing I would suggest is lunch break, which should be extended. The reason is that students almost have no enough time to take a rest and we possibly feel dizzy in the afternoon, which does harm to learning efficiency and effectiveness. Also, I think it would be a good idea to strengthen our bodies by promoting sports activities since physical and mental health is the precondition of study. Another thing I would suggest is the school uniform. There is no doubt that school uniform is necessary for equality. Yet it would be great for us to show our personalities just every Friday. Thanks for your patience and attention. Looking forward to your early reply. Yours, Lee
Summary: 1 Can you retell the content of a journal entry of the first week at senior high 2 Can you make other suggestions to your head teacher Unit 1 Writing and Presenting ideas
Learning Objectives 1 To get the main idea of the journal, summarise the content and structure of it, then write a journal entry about your first-week experiences 2 To make suggestions to the head teacher to improve your school
Learning activities
目标一：To get the main idea of the journal, summarise the content and structure of it, then write a journal entry about your first-week experiences Activity 1: Read the journal entry for the first time, and find out what it is about. Finally, it’s Friday! I can’t believe the first week is coming to an end. Things are going well, but there is always something new just around the corner. At junior high, I took lots of notes during class. So in physics class on Monday, I did the same, but the teacher spoke so fast that I couldn’t take everything down. The teacher found I was struggling with note-taking and told me to stop and just listen. “Thinking is a more important ability than note-taking and memorising,” he said. After class on Wednesday, I hurried to the school skateboarding club. I was running out of the classroom when I bumped into a girl literally. I said sorry to her and she smiled at me. At the club, I had my first try at skateboarding and fell off the board a lot. Suddenly, a girl bumped into me -the same girl from the corridor! This time, both of us laughed. Her name is Sarah. We started to practise together and soon became friends. I’m going to watch a film with Sarah tomorrow evening. I'm looking forward to it! Answer: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Activity 2: Read the journal entry and answer the questions. 1 What happened in her physics class 2 What did she do after class Answers: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Activity 3: Read the journal entry again, summarise the content and structure of the journal entry. Para.1 _________________________________________________________________________ Para.2 _________________________________________________________________________ Para 3 _________________________________________________________________________ Para.4 _________________________________________________________________________ Activity 4: Think of your own experiences of the first week at senior high and complete the notes. My impression of the first week ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ An enjoyable class ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ After-school activities ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How I made a new friend ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Now write a journal entry about your first-week experiences at senior high.Use the expressions in the box to help you. Useful expressions1.Things are going well… 2.At junior high,… 3.After class,… 4.I’m going to…
Activity 5: Share your journal entry with the class. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
目标二： To make suggestions to the head teacher to improve your school Activity 1: Imagine you are a member of your class committee. Think about the changes you would suggest to the head teacher to improve your school. Give your reasons. Activity 2: Work in groups. Talk about your suggestions and prepare a short presentation. Use the expressions in the box to help you. Useful expressions1.The first thing I would suggest is... 2.I think it would be a good idea to... 3.Another thing I would suggest is...
Activity 3: Present your suggestions to the class. Sample: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Summary: 1 Can you retell the content of a journal entry of the first week at senior high 2 Can you make other suggestions to your head teacher
