Unit 1 Great Scientists
Period 1 Warming up, Pre-reading & Reading
Teaching goals:
The students will be able to learn sth about great scientists and their achievements.
The students will be able to describe John, esp. his work, discoveries and achievements.
The students will be able to get the main idea and comprehend some long sentences better under the guidance of the teacher.
Teaching procedures:
Step one Warming up
Introduce some famous scientists and their achievements, and then do the quiz.
There are some great scientific achievements that have changed the world. Can you name some of them?What kind of role do they play in the field of science? Do these achievements have anything in common? Match the inventions with their inventors below before you answer all these questions.
Alexander Bell electricity
Thomas Edison the First telephone
Laite Brothers the electric Lamp
Madame Curie black holes in Universe
Franklin Theory of Gravity
Steven Hawking the First Plane
Elbert Einstein Radium
Isaac Newton the Theory of Relativity
Step two Reading
Pre-reading:
1). Pair work : What do you know about infectious diseases?
2). Group work: Do you know how to prove a new idea in scientific research? Discuss in small groups the stages in examining a new scientific idea. What order would you put them in?
draw a conclusion think of a method collect results make up a question
find a problem analyse the results find supporting evidence repeat if necessary
2. While-reading:
1).Predicting:
Introduce the title of the passage—John Snow Defeats King Cholera.
What does the title imply?
Predict what the text is about after reading the title and the first paragraph.
Guess what kind of person John Snow was by analyzing the key words in the first paragraph.
2). Skimming:
Get the students to read the passage fast . Ask them to pay attention to the first sentence in each paragraph and try to find several key words to sum up the main idea of the whole passage.
Compare what the students have predicted with the content given by the author.
Read the passage again to get the general idea of each paragraph.
Para.1: The causes of cholera.
Para.2: The correct or possible theory.
Para.3: Collect data on those where people were ill and died and where they got their water. Para.4: Plot information on a map to find out where people died or did not die.
Para.5: Analyse the water to see if that is the cause of the illness.
Para.6: Find other evidences to confirm his conclusion.
Para.7: The polluted dirty source of drinking water was to blame for the cause of the London cholera.
3). Scanning:
Read the passage and try to put the correct stages into the reading about research into a disease.
A. draw a conclusion B. think of a method C. collect results D. make up a question
E. find a problem F. analyse the results G. find supporting evidence H. repeat if necessary
Keys: E→D→B→C→F→G→A
Answer some detailed questions about the passage and learn some language points:
1. What do you know about Dr. John Snow’s being well-known in London?
(He attended Queen Victoria to ease the birth of her babies.).
e.g. I may be late – I have got one or two things to attend to.
Mother had to attend to her sick son .
2. From what disease did Londoners suffer in his age?
(They exposed themselves to cholera.).
e.g. The wolf opened its mouth to expose a row of sharp teeth.
Don’t expose your skin to the sun; your skin will be hurt.
People in many provinces of China exposed themselves to the SARS in 2003.
3. Did people know how to curethe disease?
e.g Aspirin is said to be a wonderful cure for the pain.
Although the boy was beyond cure, his parents tried to cure him of bad habits.
When did Dr. Snow think the disease wouldbe controlled?
(He knew he would never be controlled until its cause was found.)
e.g. The Ministry of Health has set up a program to control the spread of AIDS
The buttons control the temperature in the building
5. What was the second theory explaining how the disease killed people?
(People absorbed this disease into their bodies with their meals.)
be absorbed in = concentrate on
eg. He is absorbed in the research of Chinese history recently.
absorb one’s attention
eg. Chinese history absorbs his attention recently.
How serious was the disease outbreak in London?
(The cholera outbreak was so severe that more than 500 people had died in 10 days.)
e.g. He has such a severe illness that he has been in hospital.
I was caught in a severe storm last night and couldn’t go back home in time.
7. Did the map which Dr. Snow draw help find the cause of the disease?
(The map gave a valuable clue about the cause of the disease.)
e.g. -- What is the value of this 18k white gold diamond necklace?
-- It cost me $2,000 (=It was worth $2,000.),but I valued the necklace at $1,000.
It was a valuable diamond necklace.
We never know the value of water till the well is dry.
8. Where were many of the deaths in Broad Street?
(Many of the deaths were near the water pump in Broad Street.)
e.g. If you have a flat tyre, you will pump air into the tyre.
We had a debate yesterday. The lively debate really pumped us up.
9. Why did some houses have no deaths?
(These families worked in the pub at 7 Cambridge Street. They were given free beer and so had not drunk the water from the Broad street pump.)
10. What did Dr. Snow think was responsible for the disease?
(It seemed the water was to blame.)
e.g. They blamed the secretary for the delay of the plan.
The driver was not to blamefor the traffic accident.
He is ready to take the blame for what had happened.
11. What did Dr. Snow advised the people in Broad Street do?
(He told the people to remove the handle from the water pump so it could not be used.)
12. What else did Dr. Snow find in another part of London that werelinked to the Broad Street outbreak? (In addition, he found 2 other deaths.)
e.g. The new bridge will link the island to the mainland.
Compare: in addition, also, as well as, besides
In addition to apples you asked for, I bought you some oranges.
13. What conclusion did Dr. Snow tell the public?
(He announced that polluted water carried the disease.)
e.g. The captain announced that the plane was going to land.
The army announced a cease-fire.
14. What did Dr. Snow tell the water companies?
(They were instructed not to expose people to polluted water anymore.)
e.g. She instructed me in the use of this telephone.
I've been instructed to wait here until the lecturer arrives.
3. Post-reading:
Work in groups of four and discuss the following questions:
1).What should you do if you're traveling to a country that has a cholera outbreak according to Snow’s theory?
(Drink only water that you have boiled or treated with chlorine or iodine. Other safe drinks include tea or coffee made with boiled water and carbonated, bottled beverages with no ice. Eat only food that's been thoroughly cooked and is still hot, or fruit that you've peeled yourself. Avoid undercooked or raw fish and shellfish. Avoid raw salads and vegetables. Avoid food and drinks from street vendors.)
2.) What spirit can we find in John Snow? As a student, what should we learn from him?
Step three Consolidation
Listen to the tape and get a better comprehension of the passage. While listening, pay special attention to the new words and expressions as well as the sentence structures they have learned.
Step four Homework
Read the passage aloud after class.
Prepare for comprehending and learning about language.
Writing: What I think of John Snow.