Unit 4 Astronomy: the science of the stars
本单元的主要内容是边缘科学、地球生命的起源，万有引力、黑洞和太空旅行等天文学知识。通过本单元的学习，培养学生对科学的兴趣，激发学生探究科学的热情。
1. Warming Up部分共有三组问题，第一组问题引导学生讨论边缘科学(Frontier Science)，即以两种或多种学科为基础而发展起来的科学。例如，生物化学是以生物学和化学为基础的边缘科学。第二组问题探讨科学研究的方法。第三组问题让学生思考要成为真正的科学家所必须掌握的技能。
2. Pre-reading部分主要让学生弄清楚什么是科学思想，什么是宗教信仰或文化传统。学生总喜欢听故事或讲故事，在探讨生命的起源的科学道理之前，让学生交流一下有关宇宙的起源的种种传说，既有趣味性，又能调动学生的相关知识，激活学生的思维。
3. Reading部分讲述了地球上生命的起源。水的形成使得地球有别与其他星球，它使得地球上生命的诞生成为可能。科学家认为，地球上的生命首先诞生于水中，上百万年后，陆地上才长出绿色植物，随后出现了陆栖动物和水陆两栖动物。最初的动物靠孵化繁衍后代，后来出现了哺乳动物，人类也随之诞生了。文章最后讲述的现象发人深省：The earth may become too hot for the lives on it.它关系到地球上生命的未来。
4. Comprehending部分通过四个选择填空题检测学生对本文核心问题的理解：地球上生命的起源和延续需要哪些条件?随后通过排序的方式帮助学生弄清本文的行文线索，也就是地球上生命的起源和发展历程。最后提出两个问题，考查学生的深层理解和推断能力。
5. Learning about Language部分首先通过英文解释帮助理解课文中的生词，然后，通过短文填空、词语分类等形式将这些词语用于一个相关的情境中。语法部分也是采用先发现后应用的学习方法。先通过到课文中找句子，让学生认识主语从句，然后，设置一个用手机发短信息的情境，让学生进行简单句与主语从句之间的转换练习。最后设置情境来复习第三单元出现的表语从句。
6. Using Language部分综合训练听说读写的能力。听力部分的内容介绍三位科学巨匠，不仅通过听力填表的形式训练学生捕捉细节的能力，还通过四选一的形式帮助学生找主题思想。在解释对与错的过程中，教师可以适当地介绍一下概括主题的方法。阅读部分是一个科幻小故事，通过“我”和“我的朋友”乘宇宙飞船登月球的经历，介绍了重量、失重和地球引力等科学道理。说和写部分以Visiting the moon为话题，要求学生讨论登月球需要携带的物品和在月球上可能遇到的困难，并要求学生找出克服这些困难的方法。教师可以根据课本上的提示，向学生介绍“先分述后总结”的写作方法。提出问题的解决方案时，要求学生选用适当的“指示”用语。
1. Language skills
(1).To be able to get the main idea from the text.
(2).To be able to use the different learning strategies for different reading purposes.
Emotion attitude
To have the correct attitude of environment.
Learning strategies
(1). To be able to solve the problem by analyses.
(2). To communicate ideas with their classmates in groups.
1. Teaching important points
(1).To be able to get the main idea from the text.
(2).To be able to solve the problem by analyses.
2. Teaching difficult point
(1). To be able to use the different learning strategies for different reading purposes.
(2). To be able to write explanation passages in accordance with some explanation methods.
Key sentences：
(1) It was not immediately obvious that water was to be fundamental to the development of life.
(2) What many scientists believe is that the continued presence of water allowed the earth to dissolve harmful gases and acids into the oceans and seas.
(3) So whether life will continue on the earth for millions of years to come will depend on whether this problem can be solved.
Analysis, brainstorm
reading and discussion
A recorder, a computer, a multimedia classroom
Step 1 Warming up
Leading-in
Play a video “Human and universe”. After that, ask students to think about the relationship between human and relationship for 1 minute.
Warming up
Can you name these heavenly bodies? (show a picture)
A survey
1. What interests you in astronomy?
2. Do you know any questions that astronomers are interested in?
3. How many books or news do you know about astronomy? Make a list of them and share them with your classmates.
Free talk
How the universe began? How life began?
Is there life on other planets?
Are there other life forms in the universe?
How are galaxies formed?
What happened to all the matter after the “Big Bang”?
Step 2 Reading
Let’s get to reading
HOW LIFE BEGAN ON THE EARTH?
Pre-reading
The origin of life on earth is a question that interests astronomers.
What do you know about it?
Each religion and culture has its own ideas about how life began on earth. What do you know?
Read the title and look at the pictures.
Predict what the reading will be about.
Then read it quickly to check if you are right.
While-reading
Scanning
Scan the passage quickly to answer the following questions.
1.What is the original earth’s atmosphere made up of?
2. why did scientists believe water is fundamental to the development of life?
3. How did water come into being on the earth?
4. Which kind of life-being first appeared on the earth, plants or animals? Why?
5. Why were mammals different from all life forms in the past?
Skimming:
Read the passage carefully and analyze its structure:
Main body
Para 1: A widely accepted theory about the formation of the universe.
Para 2: The formation of the earth.
Para 3: The importance of water for life.
Para 4: The development of plants and animals on the earth.
Para 5: The arrival of humans and their impact on the earth.
Careful –reading
Read the passage carefully and analyze its structure:
Para 1: A widely accepted theory about the formation of the universe.
Para 2: The formation of the earth.
Para 3: The importance of water for life.
Para 4: The development of plants and animals on the earth.
Para 5: The arrival of humans and their impact on the earth.
Detailed reading
Put the order of development of life into a time line.
（ ）1 Insects and amphibians appeared.
（ ）2 Dinosaurs appeared.
（ ）3 The earth became a solid ball.
（ ）4 Small plants grew on the water.
（ ）5 Reptiles appeared.
（ ）6 Plants began to grow on dry land.
（ ）7 The earth was a cloud of dust.
（ ）8 Water appeared on the earth.
（ ）9 Shellfish and other fish appeared.
（ ）10 The universe began with a “Big Bang”.
（ ）11 Clever animals with hands and feet appeared.
（ ）12 Mammals appeared.
Post reading
After reading the passage, discuss the following questions.
1. Why was the earth different from the other planets?
2. Why did the plants grow before the animals came?
3. Why is it wrong to show films with dinosaurs and people together?
4. There used to be nine planets in the solar system. Recently scientists have decided that one of them can no longer be considered a planet. Do you know the name of it? Do you know why they removed it?
5. What problem is caused by human beings?
Read the passage again and underline all the discourse markers and sentence connectors.
Discourse markers: however, next, after that, ... Later, finally, thus, as a result of this
Sentence connectors: and, but, ...because, or
Step 3 Discussion
Discuss in groups and give a report to the class.
How life began on earth is one of the biggest puzzles that scientists found hard to solve.
What other puzzles are hidden in the passage? Find them out and do some research.
Other puzzles are hidden in the passage:
How did the earth’s atmosphere develop?
Why did water stay on the earth but not on the other planets?
How did life forms develops？
What did some life forms disappear?
Let’s review the evolution of life on the earth.
After the “Big Bang”, the earth was full of water.
Original cells appeared in the ocean.
The cells in the water began to separate. Marine animals came into being.
Reptile appeared
dinosaurs
mammals
Man had evolved from apes.
They developed new methods of growing food, hunting and moving around. As time went by they covered the earth and have become the most important animals on the planet.
Discussion 1
We are making the world better.
We are making the world worse.
Brainstorm
(1) What humans developed?
developed new methods of growing food
developed new methods of hunting
developed new methods of moving around
(Greenhouse effect)
(2) But they are not taking care of the earth very well. What problem are humans causing?
putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere →the earth may become too hot →
Discussion 2
As a student, what little things can we do for the earth?
Whether life will continue on the earth depends on human beings.
Only if we care will we help, only if we help shall all be saved!
Step 4 Language points
1.（课文句子）However, according to a widely accepted theory, the universe began with a “Big Bang” that threw matter in all directions.
“然而，根据一种普遍为人们所接受的理论，宇宙起源于一次大爆炸，这次大爆炸将物质投射到四面八方。”
begin with … 以… …开始
to begin with 首先，第一点
The party that was held last Sunday __________ a song.
_____________, we must realize the serious situation. Then we must take action to deal with it.
2.（课文句子）It exploded loudly with fire and rock. They were in time to produce carbon, nitrogen, water vapour and other gases, which were to make the earth’s atmosphere. “它（地球）猛烈的爆炸喷出了烈火与岩石，最终产生了碳、氮气、水蒸气和其他多种气体，从而形成了地球的大气层。”
be to do sth. 常表示将要发生的事
翻译下列句子：
(1)She is to be married next month. _______________________________________
(2) The Queen is to visit America in a week’s time.
_______________________________________
in time 意为“及时”时相当于early enough, soon enough；意为“最终；迟早”时相当于sooner or later。
The doctor came in time to save her life. 医生及时赶来救了她的命。
You’ll succeed in time if you keep on working hard. 假若坚持努力下去，你迟早会成功的。
【短语归纳】time短语：
in time for sth./ to do sth. 及时；不迟
in no time 立刻；马上
at no time永不……
at one time 有个时期；曾经；一度
at a time 一次；每次
at times = sometimes 有时
all the time 一直；始终；老是
on time 按时；准时
from time to time 不时地，间或
at the same time 同时；尽管如此
ahead of time 提前，提早
【经典考题】
—I was disappointed in time when I didn’t pass the examinations.
—Don’t be so discouraged. You’ll be successful in time. (2009·12河南平顶山检测)
A./; / B. a; a C./; a D. a; /
解析：D。句意为：——我没通过考试那段时间我很失望。——别灰心。你迟早会成功的。第一个空考查的是when 引导的定语从句，表示在某段时间里，故应用in a time。而第二个空表示“迟早”，故用in time。
用time短语填空。
1). We got to the station just_____ _____to catch the bus.
2). William arrived at the theatre just _____ _____ for the play was to be on.
3). Hurry up! The concert will begin _____ _____ _____.
4). _____ _____ _____ will I give up.
5). The boy laughed and cried ______ _____ ____ ______.
6). _____ _____ _____ he was addicted to playing web games, but now he devotes himself to writing, which delights his parents.
7). Don’t try to do everything at once; take it a bit _____ _____ _____.
3. （课文句子）What many scientists believe is that the continued presence of water allowed the earth to dissolve harmful gases and acids into the oceans and seas. “很多科学家相信，由于地球上长期有水存在，使地球得以把有害气体和酸性物质溶解在海洋里。”
allow sb. to do sth. 允许某人做某事
sb. be allowed to do sth. 某人被允许做某事
allow doing 准许做某事
翻译下列句子：
(1) 她的父母不允许她晚上10点之后外出。
Her parents don’t allow her to go out after 10 o’clock in the evening.
(2) 学生不能吸烟。
Students are not allowed to smoke.
(3) 我们不允许在这里停车。
We don’t allow parking here.
4. （课文句子）This produced a chain reaction, which made it possible for life to develop. “这就产生了一系列的反应，使得生命有可能开始发展。”
make it possible for sb. to do sth.
使某人做某事成为可能
it 做形式宾语，to develop 是真正的宾语
(1) His hard working made it possible for him ___________(pass) the exam.
(2) Jim found it difficult ___________(persuade) his father to stop smoking.
5. （课文句子）They produced young generally by laying eggs.
“它们一般是通过孵蛋而繁衍后代。”
by doing sth. 用于说明做某事的手段、方式
lay - laid - laid laying lays 放置; 产卵
lie – lay – lain lying lies 躺; 位于
lie – lied – lied lying lies 说谎
【常见短语】
lay eggs 下蛋
lay sth. aside 把某物放在一边；积蓄（钱）
lay sth. down 把某物放下
lay the table 摆桌子
lay emphasis / stress on sth. 把重点放在某事上
(1)Mary靠画画为生。 Mary earns her living by painting.
(2) Jim _____(lie) to his parents about the test result, which made them angry.
(3) The novel is _______(lie) on the table.
(4) The hen ______(lay) two eggs yesterday.
6. （ 课文句子）Thus they have, in their turn, become the most important animals on the planet. “于是，他们接着成为了这个行星上最重要的动物。”
in one’s turn 轮到某人，接着
Now that I have finished buying, Tom, in his turn, should cook. 既然我已经买来了菜，就该由Tom来做菜了。
【拓展归纳】
in turn依次；轮流；转而；反过来 by turns轮流；交替 take one’s turn轮到某人做……了 take turns依次；轮班，轮流
take turns to do sth. 轮流做某事
(1) We ___________ do the housework.
(2) The children called out their names ______.
【经典考题】
People try to avoid public transportation delays by using their own cars，and this _____ creates further problems.
A．in short B．in case C．in doubt D．in turn (2007年湖北卷)
解析: D。in short “总之，简言之”；in case “假使，免得，以防万一”；in doubt “感到怀疑，被怀疑的”；in turn “反过来，依次，轮流”。
7. （课文句子）They are putting too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which prevents heat from escaping from the earth into space. “他们把过多的二氧化碳释放到大气层中，这使得地球上的热不能释放到太空中去。”
prevent … (from) doing sth. 阻止某人做某事
from后面可跟 doing sth，from可以省略。
His back injury may prevent him from playing in tomorrow’s game. 他背部的伤可能使他参加不了明天的比赛。
【拓展归纳】
prevent, stop, keep与protect四者的常见结构为：
prevent ...(from) doing sth.；
stop ...(from) doing sth.；
keep ...from doing sth.; 均表示“阻止……做某事”。
protect sb. from...保护某人不受……侵袭，挡住，防御
注意：上述前三个结构中，在主动语态中stop 与prevent后可省去from，但在被动语态中不可省略;
而keep ...from ...中的from在任何情况下都不能省略。
另外，protect ...from ...表示“保护……不受……侵袭；阻挡；防御”。from后接能带来伤害或损害的事物。
【例如】
The boss kept the workers from having a rest. 老板不让工人们休息。
The boss kept the workers working day and night. 老板让工人们夜以继日地工作。
The heavy rain prevented us from going there. 这场大雨使我们没能到那里去。
This plan will be kept from being carried out.这个计划将被阻止实施。
【练习】根据句子的意思完成句子或翻译。
1). Doctors took action to _______ ___ ____ _______ _______
(防止这种疾病的蔓延).
prevent/stop/keep the disease from spreading
2).Of course I can’t _____________ your going abroad.
prevent / stop
3). 警察阻止他们携带武器。
______________________________
The police prevented/stopped/kept them from carrying weapons.
= They were prevented/stopped/kept from carrying weapons.
句子改错：
(1) Nothing could prevent him to going camping this Saturday.
(2) The rain prevents us from play basketball on the playground.
8. （课文句子） Whether life will continue on the earth for millions of years to come will depend on whether this problem can be solved. 在几百万年之后，在地球上是否存在生命将取决于这个问题是否得到解决。
depend on意为“依靠；信赖；”，on可以换成upon，可构成depend on / upon sb for sth，意为“依靠某人供给某物”，或depend on sb to do sth意为“依靠某人做某事”。
The country depends heavily on its tourist trade.这个国家主要依靠旅游业。
The poor man depends his son to earn money.这个穷人依靠他的儿子去赚钱。
【拓展归纳】
1) rely on / upon; trust; count on等，三个动词(组)皆表“依靠”。 如：
Can you rely on Tom to bring the food here? 你能依靠Tom把食物带回来吗？
2) It all depends和That depends意思为“看情况而定”，二者都用于口语中。如：
Depend on it, he’ll turn up.请放心，他一定会来的。?
It depends how you tackle the problem.那取决于你如何解决这个问题。
【立竿见影】
1)—Is your father coming tomorrow?
— _______ _______ (那要看情况).He may not have the time.
2)—We don’t know if we can offer help.
—_______ _______ _______ (一切看情况而定).
3)—What is your attitude?
—_______ _______ _______ (请放心).We won’t give up.?
Step 5 Grammar
Subject clause
主语从句
【情景感悟】
What part does the underlined part serve as in each sentence?
1. You are a student.
2. Smoking is bad for you
3. To find your way can be a problem.
4. “How do you do?” is a greeting.
5. What she said is not yet known.
6. That we shall be late is certain.
7. It is certain that we shall be late.
A sentence serving as subject is called Subject Clause.
用横线画出下列句子的主语从句。(课文句子)
1. What it was to become was uncertain until between 4.5 and 3.8 billion years ago when the dust settled into a solid globe.
2. What is even more important is that as the earth cooled down, water began to appear on its surface.
3. It was not immediately obvious that water was to be fundamental to the development of life.
4. What many scientists believe is that the continued presence of water allowed the earth to dissolve harmful gases and acids into the oceans and seas.
5. Why they suddenly disappeared still remains a mystery.
6. So whether life will continue on the earth for millions of years to come will depend on whether this problem can be solved.
【要点精析】
主语从句是在复合句中充当主语的从句，通常放在主句谓语动词之前或由形式主语it代替，而本身放在句子末尾。
How the book will sell depends on its author.
That he is the best student in the class is obvious.
= It is obvious that he is the best student in the class.
引导主语从句的关联词有三类： (1)从属连词that 如：
That they were true sisters was clear from the facial resemblance between them. 很明显，她们确是亲姐妹，她们的脸型很相似。
(2)从属连词whether 如：
Whether he’ll come here isn’t clear.??他是否会来这里还不清楚(3)连接代词who, whom, whose, what, which, whoever, whatever, whichever 连接副词 where, when, how, why.如：
What she did is not yet known.??她干了什么尚不清楚。
How this happened is not clear to anyone. 这事怎样发生的，谁也不清楚。
Whoever comes is welcome.??不论谁来都欢迎。
主语从句三要素
How he became a great scientist is known to us all.
Is what you told me really true?
从句用陈述语序
谓语动词用单数
不能省略关联词
【语法拓展】
1.在主语从句中，谓语一般用单数。
Whatever he says is of no importance 无论他说什么都不重要。
无论谁说这话都不对。 Whoever says this is wrong．
但谓语动词用单数还是复数，不可一概而论，而要视句子的意义而定
What I need is money.
What I need are books.
2.what 与that 在引导主语从句时的区别
what 引导主语从句时在句时在从句中充当句子成分，如主语、宾语、表语，而that 则不然。
1) What you said yesterday is right.
2) That she is still alive is a consolation.
3. Whatever and whoever
Whatever＝anything that
Whoever＝anyone who
不管是谁犯了法，他都应该受到惩罚。
Whoever breaks the law should be punished。
＝Anyone who breaks the law should be punished.
4.whether 与 if
在下列情况下，whether 不能被 if 所取代：
1).whether 引导主语从句 如：
Whether it is true remains a problem.
2). 引导表语从句用whether， 如：
The question is whether you should accept it.
3). whether可以引导从句作介词的宾语， 如：
I’m not interested in whether they’ll go or not.
It depends on whether we have got enough money.
4). whether可以直接跟动词不定式连用， 如：
I didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.
She hasn’t decided whether to go or not.
If Mary really heard him was doubtful.
Whether Mary really heard him was doubtful.
It was doubtful if Mary really heard him
主语从句置于句首时, 不能用if 引导
如果用it 作形式主语, 就可以用if 引导
5. 不可省略的连词：
1).引导主语，同位语，表语从句的连词不可省略。
2).it作形式宾语的宾语从句
3).并列宾语从句中，后面的从句引导词。
That she was chosen made us very happy.(主语)
We heard the news that our team had won.(同位语)
The reason is that he is too careless.(表语)
I think it necessary that you should read aloud.
He told (that) his father had died and that he had to make a living by himself.
6. it 作形式主语的结构
(1) It is ＋ 名词 ＋ 从句
It is a fact that … 事实是…
It is an honor that …非常荣幸
It is common knowledge that …是常识
(2) It is ＋ 形容词 ＋ 从句
It is natural that… 很自然…
It is strange that… 奇怪的是…
(3) It is ＋ 不及物动词 ＋ 从句
It seems that… 似乎…
It happened that… 碰巧…
It appears that… 似乎…
(4) It ＋ 过去分词 ＋ 从句
It is reported that… 据报道…
It has been proved that… 已证实…
It is said that… 据说…
1. It is pretty well understood ___ controls the flow of carbon dioxide in and out the atmosphere today. (2003上海) A. that B. when C. what D. how
【试析】主语从句中缺少做主语的成分，故选C.
2. _____ made the school proud was______ more than 90％ of the students had been admitted to key universities. （2003上海春季）
A. What; because B. What ; that
C. That ; what D. That ; because
【试析】what 在此作连接代词，引导主语从句，并在从句中作主语。that引导主语从句时，只起引导作用，不作任何成分.
用法总结
类别
词义
在从句中的作用
连词 that
无任何词义
仅起连接作用，
不做成分
连词 whether, if
“是否”
起连接作用，
不做成分
连接代词 what, which, who, whom, whose, whatever, whoever, whomever whichever
有各自含义
连接从句，并在
从句中充当
主语、表语、
宾语、定语
连接副词how,
when, why, where,
however, whenever,
wherever
有各自含义
连接从句，
在从句中作状语。
意义
例句
what
……的话
What he said was familiar to us.
……的东西 （事情）
What they did has done great harm to us.
……的状况 （样子）
My hometown isn’t what it used to be.
……的地方
In some countries, what are called “public schools” are not owned by the state.
【实战演练】
一、用适当的连词填空
1. It is decided __________ the meeting will be put off till next Monday.
2. I am not sure __________ he will come here or not.
3. My advice is __________ we should start tomorrow.
4. __________ he said was true.
二、 单句改错
1. It didn’t matter that I would win the match or not.
2. That he is looking for is a dictionary.
3. If you can pass the test is up to you.
4. That is what he likes the place so much.
5. Whether she comes or not don’t concern me.
6. That he said is quite reasonable.
Step 6 Writing
采访类英语写作指导
【写作指导 】
采访类的文章通常是针对某件事或某种现象而提出相应的措施和解决方法。
写作时，第一句开门见山地交待采访的基本情况，即阐述采访的时间、对象、主题等，接着便阐述采访情况或被访人所述的相关信息等。最后陈述被访人提出的个人观点或对解决该问题的建议。
【常用套语】
1. 交待采访的时间、对象和主题。
(1) Last weekend, I had an interview with Professor Wang, an eye-doctor, concerning about the issue of short-sightedness of school children in China. 上周末， 我就中国学生的近
视问题采访了眼科医生王教授。（广东高考书面表达）
2. 罗列采访对象所述相关信息。
(1) According to Professor Wang, slightly more than half of the school children in our
country are shortsighted, ranking the first in the world. 据王教授所说， 我国略多于一半的
学生都是近视， 居世界第一位。（广东高考书面表达）
(2) He also pointed out that the causes for short-sightedness are so complicated that no
medicine can cure short-sightedness. 他还指出说， 导致近视的原因很复杂， 没有药物能治愈近视。（广东高考书面表达）
3.陈述专家的个人观点或建议。
He suggested that school children avoid overuse of their eyes and do more outdoor activities.
他建议学生避免过度使用眼睛， 多做户外活动。（广东高考书面表达）
He particularly reminded us that how to hold a pen is also related to short-sightedness.
他特别地提醒我们如何握笔也和近视有关。（广东高考书面表达）
【实战演练 】
你是校报小记者， 最近进行了一次采访。以下是这次采访的情况。
时间： 上周星期三
对象： 王老师
主题： 中学生英语单词拼写的问题
基本信息：
(1) 约54%高中同学英语书法很差；
(2) 约45%的英语词汇只会说而不会写。
老师解读：
原因： 考试未设拼写题型； 平时训练不够； 学生懒于记忆。
建议：提高认识，引起重视；加强训练，掌握方法。
[写作内容]
根据以上情况用英语写一篇采访报道， 包括如下内容：
1. 采访的时间、对象和主题；
2. 中学生英语单词拼写的现状；
3. 老师解读。
[写作要求]
只能使用5 个句子表达全部内容。
【解题指导】
首先， 用一句话介绍该访问的时间、主题以及对象， 并以这句话作为文章的开头句， 达到开门见山，点明主题的作用。
Last Wednesday, I had an interview with Mr. Wang, an English teacher, concerning the issue of English word spelling among middle school students.
其次， 用三句话分别谈谈采访中几个信息点的内容以及信息中所反映的问题。
According to Mr. Wang, the English handwriting of slightly more than half of the senior middle school student is very poor, and about 45% of them can not spell words correctly although they are able to speak. He also pointed out that the causes of spelling problems are that there are no specific word spelling checks in exams, and there is no enough training. The students are too lazy to memorize words.
最后， 用一句话简单介绍专家给我们提出的希望和建议。
He suggested that we should raise the awareness and place great emphasis on that, and above all, that we should master skills while we are training ourselves.
【参考范文】
Last Wednesday, I had an interview with Mr. Wang, an English teacher, concerning the issue of English word spelling among middle school students.
According to Mr. Wang, slightly more than half of the senior middle school students’ English handwriting is very poor and about 45% of them can not spell words correctly although they are able to speak. He also pointed out that the causes for spelling problems are that there are no specific word spelling checks in exams, and there is no enough training. Worse still, the students are too lazy to memorize words. He suggested that we should raise the awareness and place great emphasis on that, and above all, that we should master skills while we are training ourselves.
【原创练习】
你是当地报社小记者， 上周进行了一次采访， 以下是这次采访的情况：
对象： 杨教授
主题： 中学生网络成瘾问题
基本内容：
(1)据统计，我国网民已经上升到3.38 亿，其中学生的比例占到25%，大部分的上网学生都在玩游戏。
(2) 网络成瘾造成缺少睡眠， 直接地影响学生的身体健康和学习。
专家建议： 减轻负担， 减少压力， 丰富活动， 营造温馨家庭气氛。
【写作内容】
根据以上情况写一篇采访报道，包括如下内容：
1. 采访时间， 对象和主题；
2. 中学生上网成瘾的现状；
3. 专家的建议。
【写作要求】
只能使用5个句子表达全部内容。
【评分标准】
句子结构完整， 信息内容准确， 篇章结构连贯。
【参考范文】(One possible version)
Last week, I had an interview with Professor Yang about the Middle School Students’ addiction to the Internet.
According to the statistics, the Internet-users in our country has increased to 338 million, and 25% of them are middle school students, most of whom are playing computer games while surfing the Internet. Internet addiction will certainly cause them lack of sleep and will have a bad influence on their health and studies. He suggested that schools should try not only to reduce students’ heavy burden and relieve their stress, but also enrich their after -class activities. He also pointed out that it is useful to improve the relationship between teachers and students and create a warm and harmonious atmosphere in schools and families.
Step 7 Homework
1. Retell the passage according to the key words.
2. Read the passage carefully and make marks where you have any questions.
3. Read the key sentences in the text and do the exercises on Page 27-28.
略
Unit 4
Astronomy: the science of the stars
教学模式介绍
探究式教学模式是指在教学过程中，要求学生在教师指导下，通过以“自主、探究、合作”为特征的学习方式对当前教学内容中的主要知识点进行自主学习、深入探究并进行小组合作交流，从而较好地达到课程标准中关于认知目标与情感目标要求的一种教学模式。其中认知目标涉及与学科相关知识、概念、原理与能力的掌握；情感目标则涉及思想感情与道德品质的培养。
探究式课堂教学模式的教学环节：
创设情境——启发思考——自主（或小组）探究——协作交流——总结提高
设计思路说明
1. 总体思路
以英语探究式教学为指导思想，将教学内容和学生实际及热点话题相结合，按照新课标对教学的要求来设计本节课的教学。教学中以智慧教学手段为辅助教学手段，以任务型教学法为主要教学方法进行教学。
所设计的任务主要有三个：
一是基本课文阅读任务——运用有效阅读技巧，充分理解课文，输入信息、整合信息；
二是语言交际任务——运用所学语言进行现实交际，选择信息，输出信息；
三是创造性任务——对文学作品中人物性格的理解。
另外，通过课堂上的头脑风暴、个人阅读活动、双人活动和小组讨论等活动，激发学生学习兴趣和求知欲，开启学生思维之门，培养学生相互合作精神。让学生在真实的活动中，亲身体验、相互合作。所有活动的展开力求环环相扣，整节课生动流畅，从而实现本节课的各个教学目标。
本节课所用到的教学方法有：
1．自主探究法：从探究中发现问题，分析问题，从而提高学生解决问题的能力。
2．合作学习法：让学生在讨论交流中取长补短，培养学生的合作竞争意识。
3．自主学习法：对于一些内容，同学们通过思考老师提出的问题、观看微课视频自主学习。使学生由“学会”变为“会学”，通过这些方法，孩子们提高了自主学习和独立思考的能力，学会了总结。
2. 各环节教学思路
【创设情境】
通过Brainstorm方式，让同学们了解the black hole，the big bang，Solar System，eight planets等天文学知识。引导学生对课文内容进行预刚，调动学生已有的背景知识，使其产生阅读的兴趣，快速进入阅读状态;然后让学生通过快速阅读来验证自己的预测，使学生处于一种主动认知状态。
【启发思考】
从中外宗教传说中人类的起源说起，通过一系列问题让学生思考地球上生命的起源，引出对地球生命起源发展的话题。
教师可以通过各种方式启发学生不要拘泥现成答案，从多个角度思考问题，充分发挥思维的新颖性、创造性，只要合理、新鲜、有趣，或有其他任何独到见解，都给予鼓励。
【自主或小组探究】
这个环节是对整篇文章信息的归纳与梳理，进一步巩固学生对文章内容的把握，同时培养学生处理信息的能力，并为下一步讨论打下坚实的语言基础。
（1）培养学生运用skimming, scanning阅读技巧的能力；
（2）通过Discuss，Conlusion等激发学生深入理解课文的欲望，我们不应低估学生的能力。
（3）通过Pre-reading，detailed questions，Careful Reading部分虽然也是对文章细节的把握，但着眼于整个篇章的阅读。
(4) 讨论文章的语言特点有助于学生熟悉科普类文章的特点，掌握该类文章的阅读技巧。
【协作交流】
学生只有经过了认真的自主探究，积极思考后，才可能进入高质量的协作交流阶段。经过前几个环节，学生已经对文章有了深刻的理解，完成了信息的输入与理解。这个环节设计了好几个任务型活动，如：讨论我们能为地球的保护做点什么？再用所给短语，设计一个地球日活动，讨论生命进化的过程和保护环境的措施，锻炼思维能力和口头表达能力, 培养学生的批判性思维能力和创造性思维能力,培养学生合作意识。
【总结提高】
通过总结和复述，提升对全文信息和大意的理解。
【课外作业】
课外作业是课堂学习的深化、补充、和延伸。近一步理解课文内容。
教材分析
本单元以astronomy: the science of the stars, the development of life, space travel and gravity为话题，通过本单元的几篇阅读材料使学生对以上问题有所了解，并通过文章中的一些探讨性的问题，比如，The earth may become too hot for the lives on it. Then what will our future be? 使学生更好地了解我们的地球和我们的生活环境，并引发对“地球的将来如何”的热烈讨论，通过这些讨论激发学生对天文学了解和探究的强烈兴趣。通过讨论登月球需要的物品和可能遇到的困难学会提出问题和解决问题的表达方法，并能就此写出一篇表达合理思路清晰的短文。
1. Warming up以讨论的形式通过三组问题引导学生讨论边缘科学，讨论科学的方法以及要成为真正的科学家所必须掌握的技能。
2. Pre-reading主要让学生弄清楚什么是科学思想，什么是宗教信仰或文化传统。在探讨生命起源的科学道理之前，让学生以听故事或讲故事的方式，交流有关宇宙的起源的种种传说，既有趣味性，又能调动学生的相关知识，激活学生的思维。
3. Reading讲述了地球上生命的起源。水的形成使得地球有别于其他星球，它使得地球上生命的诞生成为可能。科学家认为，地球上的生命首先诞生于水中，上百万年后，陆地上才长出绿色植物，随后出现了陆栖动物和水陆两栖动物。最初的动物靠孵化繁衍后代，后来出现了哺乳动物，人类也随之诞生了。文章最后讲了令人深省的问题：The earth may become too hot for the lives on it.
4. Comprehending通过四个选择填空题检测学生对本文核心问题的理解：地球上生命的起源和延续需要哪些条件？随后通过排序的方式帮助学生弄清本文的行文线索，也就是地球上生命的起源和发展历程。最后提出两个问题，考查学生的深层理解和推断能力。
5. Learning about language分词汇和语法两部分。其中，Discovering useful words and expressions通过英文释意，短文填空，词语分类和单项选择等练习让学生在语境中掌握和运用词汇。Grammar采用先发现后应用的学习方法。先通过到课文中找句子，让学生认识主语从句，然后，设置一个用手机发短信息的情景，让学生进行简单句与主语从句之间的转换练习。最后设置情景来复习表语从句。
6. Using language由Listening、Reading和Speaking and Writing三部分交互组合而成。指导学生在听和读的输入性学习之后，完成说和写的输出性应用练习。Listening的内容介绍三位科学巨匠。不仅通过听力填表的形式训练学生捕捉细节的能力，还通过四选一的方式帮助学生找主题思想。在解释对与错的过程中，教师可以适当的介绍一下概括主题的方法。Reading是一个科幻小故事，通过作者和作者的朋友乘宇宙飞船登月球的经历，介绍了重量、失重和地球引力等科学道理。Speaking 以Visiting the moon为话题，要求学生讨论登月球需要携带的物品和在月球上可能遇到的困难。Writing要求学生找出登月球可能遇到的三个困难并找出克服这些困难的方法。在听说读写综合提高的同时，培养了学生的创新意识和实践能力。
教学目标
【语言知识目标】
Master the words and terms on Astronomy，such as system, theory, atmosphere, fundamental, in time, give birth to, one’s turn, prevent…from…etc.
【语言能力目标】
a. Enable students to sum up the main idea of the whole text and each paragraph. .
b. Help the students understand the structure and content of the passage.
c. Enable students to using the reading skills of predicting, skimming, scanning and digesting. Students will be able to get the information they want from the text through skimming and scanning.
d. Foster the students’ ability of thinking and oral expressing by group discussion and presentation.
e. Students will be able to organize information logically they get from the text.
【情感价值观目标】
a. Enable students to be aware of the development of life.
b. Inspire the students to think of what we should do to protect the earth.
c. Cultivate the students’s ability of coorperation and team work by group work and pair work.
d. To encourage Ss to practice, participate, and co-operate in the classroom activities
教学重难点
【教学重点】
Help the students to understand the origin and evolution of the life on the earth.
【教学难点】
Enable students to be aware of the development of life.
课前准备
a projector, a tape recorder, the multimedia, the blackboard
教学过程
一、创设情境
Warming up 1
1. What do you know about astronomy?
Show pictures of the black hole, super moon, the big bang…
2. Do you know anything about the solar system?
Show pictures of Solar System.
3. What are the names of the eight planets that circle the sun?
水星Mercury 金星Venus 地球Earth 火星Mars 木星Jupiter 土星Saturn
天王星Uranus 海王星 Neptune
Warming up 2
1. Ask some questions about astronomy:
(1) So far, life hasn’t been discovered on other planets. Why is the earth different from them?
(2) Do you know why Pluto is no longer considered a planet?
(3) How does the Sun produce energy?
(4) What is the eventual fate of the Sun?
(5) What determines the surface temperature of a planet?
(6) What interests you in astronomy? Do you know any questions that astronomers are interested in?
(7) What do we know about planets around other stars?
(8) Where might we find life in the Solar System?
2. Some facts about astronomy:
(1) We can only detect about 5% of the matter in the universe.
(2) The Sun’s core releases the equivalent of 100 billion nuclear bombs every second.
(3) Light from distant stars and galaxies takes so long to reach us that we are actually seeing these objects as they appeared in the past.
(4) Shooting stars (流星) really aren’t stars. They are usually just tiny dust particles falling through our atmosphere.?
(5) Even though Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, temperatures there can reach-280 degrees F on its surface.
(6) Earth is the only planet not named after a god.
3. A Quiz Game
1. How old is the earth?
A. About 3.5 billion years B. About 4.5 billion years
C. About 5.5 billion years D. About 6.5 billion years
2. ______ of the earth surface is covered by water.
A. 20% B. 30% C. 50% D. 70%
3. How many planets are there in the Solar System?
A. 6 B. 7 C. 8 D. 9
4. What is the total population of humans on the earth?
A. About 3.5 billion B. About 4.5 billion
C. About 5.5 billion D. About 6.5 billion
5. How long does the rotation (自转) of the earth take?
A. 12 hours B. 24 hours C. a month D. 365 days
6. Which continent is the smallest?
A. Africa B. North America C. South America D. Oceania
7. On what day is the Earth day celebrated?
A. April 22 B. May 4 C. August 21 D. November 11
8. Which ocean is the largest?
A. The Pacific Ocean B. The Arctic Ocean
C. The Indian Ocean D. The Atlantic Ocean
9. Which country has the largest area?
A. Canada B. China C. Russia D. U.S.A
二、启发思考
1. Brainstorm头脑风暴 (Pre-reading)
Ask students:
The origin of life on earth is a question that interests astronomers. What do you know about it?
Each religion and culture has its own ideas about how life began on earth. What do you know?
Chinese Version 1
Pangu separates the sky from the earth.
Chinese Version 2
Nvwa made humans.
Western Version 1
The Biblical Account
Day 1: God spoke and separated light from darkness creating Day and Night.
Day 2: God spoke and separated the water creating sky and ocean.
Day 3: God spoke and created dry land.
Day 4: God spoke and created the sun, moon and stars.
Day 5: God spoke and created living creatures in the air and sea.
Day 6: God spoke and created the land animals and man.
Day 7: God rested and blessed this day calling it Holy.
Indian Version
Brahma — the Hindu god of creation
He is the creator of the universe and all living beings are said to have evolved from him.
2. Prediction
Look at the pictures. Do you know the topic of this unit?
The development of human beings
They developed new methods of growing food, hunting and moving around. As time went by they covered the earth and have become the most important animals on the planet.
三、自主或小组探究之活动探究
1. Skimming
(1) Read the text quickly and fill in the blanks.
The text mainly tells us the formation of the ______ and the development of ______ on it.
(2) Answer the questions according to the text.
What is the main idea of the text?
How life began on the earth
3. Which paragraph are the questions mentioned in?
1) How old is the earth?
2) How does the universe begin?
3) Is there any water in the Mars?
4) When did dinosaurs disappear?
5) Which animal is the most important one on the earth?
4. Explanation
(1) Before life appeared
Para.1: a widely accepted theory about the formation of the universe
Para.2: the formation of the earth
Para.3: the importance of water for life
(2) The development of life
Para.4: the development of plants and animals on the earth
Para.5: the arrival of humans and their impact on the earth
2. Scanning
1. Read the passage quickly and answer the questions.
(1) When did the “Big Bang” happen?
It happened several billion years ago.
(2) What form was the earth after the “Big Bang”?
The earth was still just a cloud of dust.
(3) What made up the earth’s atmosphere after the earth exploded?
Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water vapour and other gases.
(4) How did water come into being on the earth?
As the earth cooled down after it exploded, water came into being.
(5) What’s the significance of the presence of water on the earth?
It allowed the earth to dissolve harmful gases and acids into the oceans and seas.
(6) What was important to the development of fish?
Oxygen.
(7) What made possible the rise of mammals on the earth?
The disappearance of dinosaurs made possible the rise of mammals on the earth.
(8) Why are mammals different from all life forms in the past?
They gave birth to young baby animals and produced milk to feed them.
3. Detailed Reading
Read the passage carefully and fill in the blanks.
Time
What happened
Big Bang
______ began to form and combine to create stars and other bodies.
Between 4.5 and 3.8 billion years ago
☆ Dust settled into a solid and ______ globe.
☆ The earth exploded to produce its __________.
☆ The continued ________ of water allowed the earth to dissolve harmful gases and ____ into the oceans and seas.
Many millions of years later
☆ The first small plants on the surface of the water produced _______.
☆ Early ________ and all sorts of fish appeared.
☆ Green plants began to grow on land.
☆ Insects and ___________ appeared.
About 2.6 million years ago
Some small ______ animals with hands and feet appeared and spread all over the earth.
Now
Humans produce too much carbon _______, making the earth too hot.
4. Post-Reading
Ask students: How life began on the earth? Fill on the forms.
5. Discussion
Think about what you have read and discuss these questions in pairs.
(1) Why was the earth different from other planets?
Because the water remained on the earth.
(2) Why did the plants grow before the animals came?
Because plants provide oxygen for animals to breathe.
(3) Why is it wrong to show films with dinosaurs and people together?
Because dinosaurs died out long before human beings developed on the earth.
四、协作交流
Discussion 1
Choose your opinion and tell us why.
A. We are making the world better.
B. We are making the world worse.
(1) What humans developed?
developed new methods of growing food
developed new methods of hunting
developed new methods of moving around
(2) But they are not taking care of the earth very well. What problem are humans causing?
putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere → the earth may become too hot →
Discussion 2
Group Work: As a student, what little things can we do for the earth?
Design an activity on Earth Day
What the activity is about
Why the activity is designed
When and where to do the activity
Who takes part in the activity
What to be done in the activity
…
Let’s take part in the activities to save the earth! Use the following words or phrases to help you:
prevent… from… harmful global warming carbon dioxide
in turn depend on as a result atmosphere
五．总结提高
1. Summary
After the “big bang”, the earth was still just a cloud of _____, it _______loudly with fire and rock, which were _______ to produce the_________, water vapour and other gases. Then ________ began to appeared on the earth.
_____________ in water are considered to be the earliest lives on the earth. The O2 they supplied encouraged the lives of________________. Slowly green plants grew on land, which were followed by __________ like insects & __________. When the plants grew into________, ______ appeared. Then _______ developed but disappeared later, which made the rise of a totally different animal,_______, possible, and finally _______ spread all over the world.
2. Consolidation
Lets review the evolution of life on the earth.
Retell the development of the earth and life on the earth in groups.
(Big Bang → a cloud of dust → a solid globe →water (cool down) → atmosphere → explode)
3. Homework
(1) Search the Internet for the information of the development of life.
(2) Read the text again and find out your difficult points.
教学反思
这堂课经过“创设情境——启发思考——自主（或小组）探究——协作交流——总结提高”的以探究式教学环节，实了语言学习与应用、信息的输入与整合的有机结合，达到了培养学生语言能力，重点培养阅读能力的目的。通过讨论生命进化的过程和保护环境的措施，锻炼思维能力和口头表达能力, 培养学生的批判性思维能力和创造性思维能力,培养学生合作意识。
总之，我认为语言课堂应充分利用话题优势，深入挖掘文章内涵，重视对学生思维的训练，教学要以人为本，以学生为本。
