Unit 3 Sports and Fitness - Reading for Writing教案
Teaching Objectives:
1. Knowledge: Students will be able to learn and use key vocabulary related to wellness (e.g., "fitness", "diet", "stress", "positive") and expressions for comparison and contrast (e.g., "instead of", "rather than", "but", "instead").
2. Skills: Students will be able to analyze the "Past vs. Present" structure of a model text and apply this structure to write their own short paragraph about a personal health change.
3. Affective: To foster students' awareness of their own physical and mental health, and develop a positive attitude towards making healthy changes in their lives.
Important Point and Difficult Point:
1. Important Point: Guide students to understand and analyze the model text's structure (comparing past and present) .
2. Difficult Point: Guide students to correctly and appropriately use the comparison/contrast language in their own writing to describe personal changes.
Teaching Aids:
Textbook, whiteboard, multimedia projector (and the prepared PPT slides).
Teaching Procedures:
Step 1: Lead-in (5 minutes)
The teacher shows contrasting images using the PPT (e.g., "someone on a couch vs. someone jogging," "junk food vs. a healthy salad").
The teacher asks questions like "What is 'wellness' " and "What positive changes can we make for a healthier life " to activate background knowledge and introduce the topic of the class "wellness book".
Step 2: Guided Reading & Discovery (15 minutes) - Activity 1 & 2
Students read the model text "GOING POSITIVE".
They are asked to find answers to the three comprehension questions (What was Kayla's problem What does "go bananas" mean What made her change her thinking ).
The teacher checks the answers and guides students to re-read and analyze the text's structure.
Students (in pairs or individually) fill in a table (based on "Past vs. Present" structure).
Step 3: Language Focus (10 minutes) - Activity 2
Students complete the outline chart in Activity 2.1 (e.g., worried about... / compared myself with...) to review the content.
Students are asked to find and underline the comparison/contrast words in the text (e.g., "even though", "instead of", "rather than", "but", "instead").
The teacher summarizes these "Useful expressions" on the PPT/board.
Step 4: Application (Writing) (15 minutes) - Activity 3
Students work in small groups to brainstorm ideas on one of the four given topics (Exercise, Stress, Self-confidence, Food).
The teacher presents the writing outline (from the teaching suggestions) and guides students to create their own simple plan (Past vs. Present/Future).
Students begin drafting their own short paragraph for the wellness book, trying to use the structure and the new language.
The teacher monitors the pairs, offering assistance.
Step 5: Summary and (5minutes)
The teacher briefly reviews the main points: the "Past vs. Present" structure for comparison and the key contrast words (like "instead of" vs. "instead").The teacher shows the Peer Review checklist (Activity3.4) and explains that they will use it in the next step (or for homework).
Step 6: Homework
Complete or revise your paragraph. Be ready to share or peer-review in the next class.
Teaching Reflection
This lesson follows a "Reading-Analyzing-Writing" model, which effectively scaffolds the writing task for students. The visual lead-in successfully activated students' background knowledge on wellness. The structural analysis provided students with a very clear framework, making the writing task less daunting.
However, areas for improvement were noted. The 15 minutes for drafting (Step 4) was tight, and some students struggled to move from identifying contrast words (Step 3) to using them correctly in their own sentences. The transition from analysis to application was a bit too fast.
In future lessons, I will add a brief, controlled practice (e.g., sentence-making with "instead of" / "rather than") at the end of Step 3 before moving to the free writing in Step 4. Furthermore, the peer review (Step 5) was rushed; it would be more effective to dedicate the first 5-10 minutes of the next lesson to a structured peer-review session, allowing students to give and receive more thoughtful feedback.