Unit 3 Art and architecture
I. Brief Statements Based on the Unit
In this unit, Ss will read about art and architecture, learn to express preferences, learn about the Past Participle used as Object Complement, and learn to write a review of a painting. In the first period, Ss will learn to express preferences by making dialogues with the help of the given expressions. Also they
will do some listening practice to improve their listening ability. In the second period, Ss will read a passage about modern architecture. They will learn about some famous architects and their works as well as some famous buildings in the world. In this period, Ss will learn some useful words and expressions, too. In the third period of this unit, the useful words are revised first and also Ss will learn to use a new sentence pattern：A is to B what C is to D. Ss can master it after finishing the practice provided in this part. The grammar item is the Past Participle used as Object Complement. This is an important item. Teacher should give some explanations to help Ss understand it and then after Ss finish the exercises they will master it better. Teacher may provide more practice if necessary. In the fourth period, Ss will do some reading and writing practice to improve their integrating skills. After the study of this unit, Ss may know more about art and architecture and they will also make progress in their listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities.
II .Teaching Goals
1. Talk about art and architecture.
2. Learn to express preferences.
3. Learn about the Past Participle(2) : used as Object Complement.
4. Write a review of a painting.
III. Teaching Time: Four periods
IV. Background Information
1. The Great Wall of China
In 221 B.C. the First Emperor started to build a great wall right across the north of his empire. He wanted to keep the tribes of Huns and Tartars outside his country. There were earlier walls built in some places by different kings of China, but the First Emperor, now that he ruled all China, decided to complete the wall. He decided to make it run right across from Tibet to the sea, a distance of over 1 500 miles. It took seven years to build.
The Great Wall ran across wild, steep, mountainous country, over the mountains and down the valleys. North and west of it there were only wild mountains and deserts, and south and east there were the rich Yellow River plains. It was built higher than a double-decker bus. In most places it was wide enough for eight men to march side by side along the top. It was built of stones and clay. There were huge blocks of stones on the sides, and on the top there were more stones. Cars could travel along the top.
About every two hundred yards there were tall, strong towers where soldiers could keep watch for the enemy, and where they could light fires to signal to each other. There were always soldiers inside these towers, winter and summer, keeping guard against attacks from the Huns. There were a few well-guarded gateways with huge wooden gates, strengthened with iron nails. These connected the main roads of China to other roads through the mountains and across the desert.
The Great Wall has often been rebuilt through the centuries, and much of it is still standing today. Visitors can still see it running like a snake across the country and can still walk along the top. Much of the traffic which passes through the ancient gateways has not changed much. But today, as well as horses and carts there are motor cars and trucks.
To build such an enormous wall across such wild and mountainous country without any modern tractors or other heavy machines was very difficult. All the Emperor's builders were thousands of men, often prisoners of war. They lifted the earth in buckets and dragged the stones in teams with ropes over their shoulders. They worked in such wild and distant places that it was difficult to supply them with enough food or to make proper shelters in which they could sleep. Thousands of workers died and were buried in the clay inside the wall. The people hated the Emperor for his cruelty but he made them finish the wall. Many people were seized and forced to work on the wall far away from their homes. Many of them never came back.
Superstitious people who believed in magic used to say that the Emperor had ridden across the mountains on magic horses. The wall appeared under him as he went along. Wherever the horse stamped its foot, a watch-tower appeared. But the wall was not made by magic. It was made by the work and lives of thousands of men.
2. The Yellow Crane Tower
On May 20, 1985 the newly-rebuilt Yellow Crane Tower(Huanghe Tower) was completed and opened to the public.
The rebuilding of the tower took four years and cost 15 million yuan.
This five-storeyed building stands on the top of the Snake Hill(Mount She) by the Changjiang River in Hubei Province. It is 51.4 metres high. In the halls of the first four storeys there are many pictures, portraits and wall-paintings. They are about fairy tales, Chinese history and the history of the tower.
Do you know when the tower was first built? And why do we call it “The Yellow Crane Tower”?
There is a legend that long long ago an old man named Wang Zhian rode on the backof a yellow crane, flew away from the tower and later became an immortal being. It is also said that another man named Fei Wenyi returned to the tower to have a rest with the help of a yellow crane.
Another story goes like this: a window by the name of Xin set up a public house by the Snake Hill in Wuchang. A Taoist often came to drink here. Each time he was allowed to drink without payment. Once before leaving, the Taoist drew a yellow crane on the wall with a piece of orange skin. The yellow crane flew down off the wall and danced happily immediately after the people clapped their hands. On hearing the news many, many people came here for a drink. Mrs Xin got richer and richer. So she decided to build a tower in memory of the crane. It was named the Yellow Crane Tower.
In fact, the Yellow Crane Tower was first built more than 1 600 years ago. That is in the early years of the Three-Kingdom Period. It stood on the south bank of the Changjiang River in Wuchang.
In the beginning, the tower was only used by the armies, but after a certain period of time it was open to the public. The tower has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, and it has been a well-known historical building for centuries. Many poets wrote excellent poems in praise of the tower.
However, before liberation, the Yellow Crane Tower was not well protected. When Wuhan was liberated, only a very shabby tower remained.
In October 1981, the government decided to rebuild the Yellow Crane Tower, and now on the top of the Snake Hill stands a new magnificent five-storeyed Yellow Crane Tower, overlooking the beautiful river city of Wuban.
Who says that the Yellow Crane had flown away and would never come back? With the rapid development of our socialist country, the Yellow Crane Tower is reborn! Seeing the great Yellow Crane Tower, everyChinese should certainly have a sense of national pride.
The First Period
Teaching Aims:
1. Improve the students' listening ability.
2. Improve the students' speaking ability.
3. Learn and master some useful words and expressions.
Teaching Important Point:
Train the students' listening and speaking abilities.
Teaching Difficult Points:
1. How to help students to improve their listening ability.
2. How to help students to learn to express preferences.
Teaching Methods:
1. Discussion to make the students talk about art and architecture.
2. Individual or pair work to make the students practise their speaking ability.
3. Listening practice to improve the students' listening ability.
Teaching Aids:
1. a tape recorder
2. a projector
3. the blackboard
Teaching Procedures:
Step I Greetings and Warming-up
Greet the whole class as usual.
T: (Walk to one student)Wang Jing,
where do you live?
S: I live at No. 26 Zhonghua Street.
T: What kind of house do you live in? A traditional house or an apartment?
S: I live in an apartment.
T: Do you like living in an apartment?
S: Yes.
T: Can you tell us why?
S: It's clean and safe, and it's easy to keep warm in winter, since it has the
heating system.
T: What's the disadvantage of living in an apartment?
S: It's not convenient for you to carry things home and it's not easy for you
to get sunlight.
T: OK. Please sit down. (Walk to another student.)Li Xiao, what kind of house
do you live in? Do you live in an apartment, too?
S: No. I live in a traditional house.
T: Do you like living in a traditional house?
S2: Not very much. Because it's not safe when there is nobody at home, and it gives you much trouble to keep warm in winter, but it has some advantages. It’s convenient for you to carry things home, and you can take exercise in the yard. If you like, you can keep some pets, such as a dog, a cat and so on. And you can grow some flowers, too.It's very interesting.
T: Good. I must pay a visit to your house one day. Now, look at the questions on
the screen and have a discussion in pairs.
(Show the following on the screen.)
Questions:
If you were free to design your own dream house, what would your house look like? What materials would you use? Explain why you made certain choices about your dream house.
(After the discussion, collect their answers.)
S3: lf I were free to design my own dream house, I would like it to look modern and comfortable. I would lay a wooden floor in the rooms. I would have a glass tea table placed in the kitchen. I would like some modern steel chairs designed in special styles. I would have a set of leather sofa in the living room.
S4: I have a different opinion. I would like my dream house to look traditional. I like wooden furniture very much. I would have a wooden floor laid first.
And then I would buy some wooden furniture, such as a wooden tea table, some wooden chairs, a big wooden bed and one wooden bookcase. I would have two Chinese traditional paintings put up on the wall in my living room. And I would place a pair of cloisonné vases in the living room. 1 think wooden furniture makes people feel friendly and peaceful.
S5:……
T: All your designs are wonderful. You're all good architects. This unit is about
art and architecture. What words and phrases do you think will be useful when you want to talk about them? Who knows?
S6: I think“pattern, style, modern, material, traditional, be made of, be covered
by” are useful.
T: Good. Who can tell us more?
S7: Let me try. High, low, steel, be famous for, look like, and so on.
T: Very good. Now, work in groups of four and find out the history of art and
architecture, names of artists and architects, famous buildings and works of art in the world.
(A moment later, teacher may ask some students to say their answers.)
Step II Speaking
T: Now, please open your books and turn to Page 17. Look at the two pictures.
What do you see?
Ss: Modern buildings and a traditional house.
T: Just now, we talked about their advantages and disadvantages. Now, please
work in pairs to make a short dialogue. Tell each other which you prefer
and try to explain why you prefer one thing to the other.
(Students prepare for a while.)
T: Are you ready?
Ss: Yes.
T: Which pair volunteers to act our your dialogue?
Ss: Let us try....
(The pair acts out their dialogue. Teacher then shows the following on the screen. )
T: Very good. Now, please look at the screen. What beautiful chairs they are!
Do you like them?
Ss: Yes.
T: Which do you like better?
(Ss may have different answers.)
T: OK. Now, please turn to Page 18 and look at the sample dialogue in Speaking and some useful expressions on Page 19. They're useful when you are making your dialogue expressing preferences. Read them carefully and then make a dialogue with your partner.
(A moment later, ask some students to act out their dialogues.)
Sample dialogue:
A: Do you prefer classical chairs or do you like modern chairs better?
B: I'd rather have modern chairs.
A: Can you tell me why?
B: In my opinion, modern chairs are lighter and more colorful. ] don't like the
hard wooden chairs which I think are uncomfortable.
A: I really prefer classical chairs. I like seeing something old and classical and
I like the different designs of the chairs.
Step III Preparation for Listening
T: OK. We've talked much about art and architecture. And we also designed our
own dream houses. Now, imagine that you're moving into your new house, but you need to buy some furniture. What kind of furniture would you like to buy and why do you prefer them? Have a short discussion in pairs, please.
(Allow the students a few minutes to prepare for the dialogue and ask one or
two pairs to act out if time permits. )
Step IV Listening
T: Well done. Now, we'll do some listening practice. You'll listen to a talk
between Amy and Danny. They want to buy some furniture for their new house. They visit a shop and talk with the sales assistant about their taste and preferences. Before we listen to the tape, let’s go through the requirements together.
(Help Ss to know what to do and make them guess the answers. )
T: OK. Now, you've known what to do. Listen carefully and finish the exercises by yourself first and then cheek your answers with your partner.
(Play the tape twice for Ss to listen and finish the exercises and then play
it a third time for students to check their answers. At last cheek the answers with the whole class. )
Step V Summary and Homework
T: Today we've learnt how to express preferences. Who can write the useful expressions on the blackboard?
S: Let me try. (Write some on the blackboard. )
T: Good. Who has anything else to add?
S: I'll try. (Write some other expressions on the blackboard. )
T: Good. After class, you should try to use them more to learn them by heart. They are very useful. In the next period, we’ll read more about architecture. Please remember to preview the reading passage. OK. That's all for today. See you tomorrow!
Ss: See you tomorrow!
Step VI The Design of the Writing on the Blackboard
Unit 3 Art and architecture
The First Period
Useful expressions:
I'd rather…
I don't get excited about…
I'm much more interested…
If you ask me, then…
In my opinion…
I prefer something that…
I really prefer…
I like seeing something…
I wouldn't feel happy if…
What I like is…
I'm not very interested in.…
I can't stand…
Step VII Record after Teaching