Unit10 Connections Reading Club The Merchant of Venice 教学设计（表格式）北师大版（2019）选择性必修 第四册

Unit10 Reading Club: The Merchant of Venice 教学设计
The Merchant of Venice 教学设计
文本分析
The text is an episode from the drama, the Merchant of Venice. It is selected from Act 4: courtroom trial, and the previous plot is summarized and put at the front to help students understand the contents. Theme and Plot In terms of theme, this text shows conflicts and choices in friendship, love, justice, mercy and revenge, exploring the complexity of human nature and the dilemma of morality. The plot centers around Antonio, a merchant of Venice, who borrows money from Shylock to help his friend Bassanio. They agree that if he fails to repay in time, a pound of his flesh will be forfeited. Later, Antonio's merchant ships are wrecked and he can't repay. Shylock insists on getting his pound of flesh for revenge, while the clever Portia skillfully resolves the crisis. Character Analysis Antonio: AVenetian merchant, generous and kind, values friendship highly and is willing to take risks for his friends. For example, he is willing to mortgage a pound of his flesh for Bassanio's loan. Shylock: A Jewish moneylender, greedy and ruthless. He harbors hatred
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because of Antonio's insults and business competition and takes the opportunity for revenge. Bassanio: A young nobleman. He borrows money from Antonio to pursue Portia. He is loyal to friendship and persistent in love. Portia: A rich heiress. She is clever, witty, kind and brave. She disguises herself as a lawyer and appears in court. She skillfully uses the legal provisions to defeat Shylock's plot and saves Antonio. Language Features This text adopts the form of drama language, mostly dialogues. The language is concise, vivid, expressive and infectious, which can well show the characters' personalities and emotions. For example, Shylock's "I'll have my pound of flesh" shows his stubbornness and cold-bloodedness. Cultural Value From a cultural perspective, this play reflects the social landscape, commercial culture, as well as the contradictions and fusions between religions and ethnic groups in Venice at that time. It helps students understand Western cultural traditions and values. The themes of justice, mercy and friendship it embodies have universal values and have a positive significance for cultivating students' moral concepts and humanistic qualities.
学情分析
Although students have learned English for about ten years and they already
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have a certain language foundation and reading ability, they may find this text somewhat difficult to understand because of the lack of plot, language comprehension ability and background knowledge. In terms of knowledge base Before studying "The Merchant of Venice", students already have a certain foundation in English, including basic vocabulary and grammar knowledge. However, they may have difficulty in understanding some expressions and complex sentence patterns in the text, such as "producing them from under his seat" and "the gentleman who recently stole his daughter", and thus need teachers' guidance. In terms of learning ability High-school students have a certain degree of independent learning and analytical abilities. Nevertheless, due to the particularity of the drama text, students may face challenges in grasping character relationships, understanding complex plots and exploring deep-seated themes. They need to improve their comprehension abilities through group discussions, role-playing and other activities. In terms of interest Most students are interested in texts with a strong storyline. The rich plots and vivid characters in "The Merchant of Venice" can attract them. However, for some students with a weak foundation or low interest in Western literature, teachers may need to adopt diversified teaching methods, such as multi - media presentations and showing relevant film clips to increase their motivation.
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In terms of cultural background Students have a certain understanding of Western culture, but they may know very little about the deep-seated cultural background such as the social landscape, commercial culture, religious and ethnic conflicts in Venice at that time reflected in the story, which will affect their understanding of the text theme. Teachers need to appropriately supplement relevant knowledge.
教学目标
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to Language objectives: Master the meanings and usages of “merchant, justice, court, debt, agreement, property, revenge, guarantee, in the hope of, in return for, break the promise/law, weigh the flesh and set out to do sth.” in the text; Improve their reading comprehension and language expression abilities Cultural objectives: Understand Shakespeare's literary achievements and the cultural background of the Renaissance; Enhance their cross-cultural awareness Emotional objectives: Have a deeper understanding of values such as friendship and justice; Cultivate their humanistic qualities and moral concepts
教学重点难点
Key Points Character Analysis: Lead students to thoroughly understand the main
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characters. For example, Antonio is kind-hearted and generous, Shylock is cold - blooded and greedy, and Portia is intelligent and brave. Analyzing the characters' words and actions to understand their personalities is vital for understanding the entire story. Plot Arrangement: Help students clarify the complex plot threads of "The Merchant of Venice", such as Antonio's borrowing of money, his inability to repay, and the court confrontation, enabling students to retell the story completely. Difficult Points Comprehension of Cultural Background: Students need to understand the cultural background behind the story, such as the social features, commercial culture, religious and ethnic conflicts in Venice during that period. These cultural backgrounds are crucial for understanding the characters' behaviors and the theme of the story, yet they may be rather abstract for students. Theme Exploration and Discussion: Guide students to explore the deep - seated themes ofthe text, such as the relationships and manifestations of justice, mercy, vengeance, friendship, and love within the story, and encourage them to conduct in-depth discussions on these themes, cultivating students' critical-thinking skills. Drama Performance and Emotional Appreciation: Organize students to perform the drama and require them to accurately convey the emotions and psychological changes of the characters. This demands that students not only understand the lines but also empathize with the characters' situations and
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emotions, which requires a relatively high level of students' comprehensive abilities.
教学过程
I compare this lesson to a class sailing, which I think is both interesting and meaningful because Venice is a city of water and its main transportation is boats. The specific process is as follows. In the preview list, I ask students to draw a mind-map to show the relationships between the main characters. Also, key words and expressions are listed for students to learn by themselves. Besides, some expressions relevant to court, creative background of "The Merchant of Venice" and an introduction of Venice are provided for students to enrich their background knowledge, with both Chinese and English offered. 1. Prepare supplies(finish the preview list before class) 2. Assemble a crew team(all the students-crew members; Teacher-captain) 3. Determine the purpose and route of sailing(learning objectives) 4. Destination 01 Game Island(preview-check & reading comprehension) 5. Destination 02 Interpret Island(activities in intensive reading) 6. Destination 03 Act Island(role-play) 7. Return and summary(summary and homework) Teaching Procedures in class Step I Assemble a crew team and determine the purpose and route of sailing(2mins) The teacher draws a cruise ship on the blackboard and invite the whole class to sail together.
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Ask one of the students to read the learning objectives for this lesson. (This step is designed to arouse students ’ interest in this lesson, lead in and let students have a clear idea of the content of this lesson.) Step II Destination 01 Game Island(preview-check 8mins) 1. Check the background knowledge(check supplies) The teacher guides students to review and talk about something that is related to the author and the text. (This is not only a kind of check but also a way to warm up, leading students to open their mouth as well as activate their minds.) 2. Check the language points The teacher shows four words and two phrases in the slides to check students ’ self-study situation before class. 3. Solve the possible difficulties Analyze two expressions in the text together to help students understand the text better. 4. Check the understanding of the text By guiding students to discuss three questions about the text, help students recall the plot of the episode, as well as have a deeper comprehension of it. ① What was the main conflict in the story ② Shylock said “No, take my life! Do not leave me with that!” near the end of the court trial. Why did he say such words ③ Why did Shylock call Portia good judge in the court Is Portia really a good judge 5. Sort out the relationships between the main characters and comb through
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the case Let students fill in the main characters ’ identities and roles in the court. Ask one or two students to analyze the relationships among the characters and the development of the case, beginning with a pound of flesh. (This step is designed to check students ’ effect of previewing and help students cope with their understanding barriers, ensuring the smooth progress of the following steps. ) 8. Step III Destination 02 Interpret Island(activities in intensive reading) (12mins) Program 1 At first, students will be divided into three parts and several small groups to work in groups to analyze the main characters ’ personality and find out the evidence in the text. Then the teacher will ask some of the students to speak out their groups ’ answer. Second, students need to do a brief self-introduction supposing they are one of the characters. Students will be encouraged to express the character’s personalities as much as possible through their words and body language. This is also a preparation for the role-play part. Program 2 A stage play will be watched to help students have a further understanding of the text, as well as a reference for the role-play part. Program 3 In this program, the theme of the comedy will be discussed in class by require students to talk about what William Shakespeare wants to tell us through this
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drama if they were William Shakespeare. (This step is designed to lead students have a further understanding of the drama by analyze the main characters and theme, which will help improve students ’ comprehension ability.) Step IV Destination 03 Act Island(role-play)(13mins) Program 4 Students will be given 8 minutes to work in 6-person groups to prepare for their role-play and then act in class. At this time, the teacher will walk around to ensure all the students take part in the group work and the process of group work is reasonable. A further thinking between the drama and the society will be discussed in class after students ’ performance. (This step is designed to practice and improve students ’ comprehension and speaking abilities.) Step V Summary and Homework(5mins) Students will be asked to describe the whole case in the form of a story mountain with the help of the teacher. And then have a further thinking—Do you agree with Portia's judgement (The voyage ends here and the cruise ship returns with the whole class in it.) (This step is designed to guide students recall the whole story, have a further understanding and connect what they learn in class with real life.) Homework for this lesson is composed of a required part and an optional part. 1.Required homework Finish the Homework List on your own.
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2.Optional homework(choose one) Write a short passage to express your attitude for Shylock or Portia and your reasons.(100 words) Write 3 sentences to introduce Shylock or Portia.(no less than 18 words for each sentence)
板书设计
The right of the blackboard Draw a cruise ship on the right of the blackboard and some words will be written throughout the whole lesson to connect the steps in this lesson. The cruise ship is the classroom, the text is the sea and this sailing is students ’ learning process. The left of the blackboard The title will be written on the top. A mind-map which shows the development of the court trial in a type of story mountain will be drawn step by step.
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