Unit 1 Nature in the balance
Integrated skills (II)（教学设计）
I. Learning objectives
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
1. talk about animal protection;
2. write an article calling for the protection of animals;
II. Key competence focus
1. Have a better understanding of the relationship between man and nature.
2. Think critically and creatively.
III. Predicted areas of difficulty
1. Think of ways of protecting animals.
2. Write an article calling for the protection of animals.
IV. Teaching procedures
Step 1 Lead-in
T asks Ss to recall what they have learnt in the last lesson by asking the following questions.
What’s the title of the news report we learnt (Human activities cause increasing harm to animals)
How are human activities harming animals according to the news report (Some human activities, such as hunting and fishing, directly cause populations of many animals to fall. Other human activities have an indirect impact on animals.)
According to the video we watched, why are animals important (They make our world more beautiful and lively; they provide food and medicine for us; they play a role in maintaining the balance of our ecosystem.)
What are the ways mentioned in the video to protect animals (Make hunting endangered animals against the law; protect animal habitats by creating well-planned and well-managed protected areas and taking small actions like using less paper; make people understand the problems facing animals.)
【设计意图：该部分为复习导入环节，通过头脑风暴，激活学生对于“动物保护”这一话题已有的知识和经验，为下一环节做铺垫。】
Step 2 Discussion in pairs
1. T asks Ss to work in pairs to talk about animal protection using the questions and expressions given in part C.
(1) T asks Ss to think about the following questions:
Why should we protect animals
How are animals harmed by human activities
What action should be taken to protect animals
(2) T gives Ss the following expressions about animal protection.
Animals are in danger/at risk when we ...
We can take care of/protect animals with these measures.
Protecting animal habitats is of great importance because ...
We can take measures to/make efforts to ...
We should call on people to ...
2. T asks some pairs to share their dialogues.
3. T asks Ss to read the sample dialogue and remember some useful expressions.
Animals, especially wild ones, are at risk when ...
It’s of great importance because ...
We can take measures to ...
We should call on people to ...
【设计意图：该环节强调生生互动，鼓励大胆表达，训练说的技能。首先在提供丰富的表达的基础上让学生探究给定的三个问题，然后让学生进行对话练习并分享，最后让学生阅读对话范例，学习有用的表达，为写作输出奠定基础。】
Step 3 Pre-writing
1. T asks Ss to work in groups to fill in the following form using information in parts A, B and C.
Animal protection
The importance of protecting animals They make our world more beautiful and lively. They provide food and medicine for us. / They provide us with many things such as food, clothes and happiness. They play a role in maintaining the balance of our ecosystem. / They help maintain the balance of our ecosystem. They have led us to key advances in science and technology. ...
How human activities harm animals Some human activities, such as hunting and fishing, directly cause populations of many animals to fall. Other human activities have an indirect impact on animals. / Some human activities have done much harm to animals, directly and indirectly. When we build farms or factories, we destroy animal habitats. Air, water, noise and light pollution can all have a deep and damaging influence. ...
Ways to protect animals Make hunting endangered animals against the law. Protect animal habitats by creating well-planned and well-managed protected areas and taking small actions like using less paper. Reduce how much beef we eat. Make people understand the importance of animals and their need for protection. ...
2. T asks Ss to fill in a chart to work out the outline of the article.
State the importance of protecting animals. (Animals are very important.)
Explain how human activities harm animals. (Human activities have done much harm to animals.)
Come up with ways to protect animals. (We must try our best to help protect animals and there are a lot of things that can do.)
3. T offers Ss some tips on the language of the article.
Give examples when explaining how human activities harm animals, with expressions like for example, for instance, take the example of, etc.
Example 1:
Human activities have done much harm to animals. For example/For instance, fishing and hunting directly cause populations of many animals to fall. Farming, tourism and industry damage or even destroy animal habitats, leaving them with nowhere to live or no food to eat.
Example 2:
Human activities have done much harm to animals. Let me take the example of the Amazon rainforest, which is the “lungs of the planet”. Over the past 50 years, about 17 per cent of the rainforest has disappeared due to human activities such as agriculture and cattle farming. As human activities continue to grow, the list of species in danger of extinction becomes longer.
Use powerful and emotive words and phrases to make a strong impact on the reader.
【设计意图：该环节中生生互动范围扩大，合作形式由说到写，并引导学生感知该写作文章的结构，体会语言风格，为下一环节写作提供铺垫。】
Step 4 Writing
T asks Ss to follow the three steps and write the article for school newspaper calling for everyone to protect animals.
Come up with a short and impressive title.
Draft a topic sentence for each part. Remember to make it clear and straightforward.
Support the topic sentence with explanation, examples, quotes, statistics, etc.
Step 5 Post-writing
1. T asks Ss to check their writing after they finish and exchange drafts between partners, focusing on the following aspects:
Punctuation
Spelling
Grammar
Choice of words
Style (formal/informal)
Structure
2. T leads Ss to work in groups, choose the best writing and present it to the whole class.
【设计意图：引导学生通过自评和互评，不断反思，取长补短，共同进步。】
V. Homework
1. Review what’s been learnt in class.
2. Polish up the article according to the suggestions given by others.
