Teacher: Kang Ming Class: Class 11 Junior 3 Date: March, 10
Teaching aims: 1. to understand James Herriot’s love for animals
2. to understand James Herriot’s spirits / character
3. to develop the students’ logic thinking and speaking ability
4. to get familiar with some techniques of writing about a person
Teaching tools: a tape-recorder, pictures, slides show
Teaching plans:
Step One warm-up have a brief discussion about James Herriot
Step Two learn the text
1. read the text quickly
Question: “How many books did James Herriot write about animals?”
2. listen to the tape
3. read the text carefully and complete the form
General information about James Herriot
Name James Herriot Nationality British /English
Birth place Glasgow, Scotland Birth date 1915
Occupation
(职业) animal doctor/writer Death date 1995
Early life
Childhood ● He grew up with a pet dog named Don.
● They would often hike into the mountains
Education After high
school He made up his mind to be a vet, especially for dogs.
In college ● He found out to be a vet just for dogs was impossible.
●As he loved animals, he continued his education.
Life in Yorkshire ● He worked as a vet in Yorkshire, England.
● He loved the beautiful countryside.
● He treated / healed sick animals, including cats and dogs.
● He kept two dogs, Hector and Dan.
Later in
his life ● He wrote a lot about his experience as a country vet and animals.
● He even wrote a book just about dogs.
4. divide the text into three parts and talk about each part’s main idea
Part One James Herriot’s early life
(from the beginning to “he continued his education”)
Part Two James Herriot’s life in Yorkshire
(from “After he graduated” to the end of Para One)
Part Three James Herriot’s later life
(the second paragraph)
5. retell each part with the help of the key words
Part One born→grew up→hike into→after high school→college→impossible→continued
Part Two graduated→found a job→loved→hard work→noticed→laughed at→however→
regard as→knew exactly→kept →in his car
Part Three later→wrote…experience→ten….all about→even→no matter how….
6. read the text more carefully for detailed information
Detailed information about James Herriot
Why did James love dogs the best?
● He grew up with a pet dog named Don.
How can we tell from the text that James loved dogs?
(Find as many examples as you can from the text)
● Wherever he went, Don went with him. He would often hike with Don into the mountains.
● He wanted to be a vet, especially for dogs after high school.
● He continued his education even though he found to be a vet for dogs was impossible during that time.
● In Yorkshire he started treating dogs even though other vets laughed at him.
● He knew exactly how the owners felt when they saw their sick dogs become well again.
● He himself kept two dogs, Hector and Dan.
● He would take the dogs in his car every day as he went to the farms to heal sick animals.
● He wrote a book just about dogs, James Herriot’s Dog Stories.
What difficulties did James have to be a vet?
● He went to college, but soon found out that to be a vet for dogs was impossible during that time. Mostly, vets helped heal horses, cows, sheep and pigs.
*● Treating large animals was hard work in Yorkshire.
(need to explain “…whose kicks could send a grown man flying.” 见补充材料)
*● People laughed at him when he started treating dogs.
(need to explain “unmanly” 见补充材料)
7. have a further discussion about the text
What do you think made James Herriot a famous / successful vet?
● His love for animals (He put his heart and soul into his work.)
● His spirits of hard-working and never giving up
● His books about animals and his experience as a vet are popular with readers.
Would you like to be a vet like James Herriot? Why or why not? (Students’ own opinions)
8. show Sarah’s comments on James Herriot
(background information: Sarah Cowan is a vet as well as a famous writer)
ANIMAL HERO: JAMES HERRIOT
by Sarah Cowan
My hero is James Herriot. He has inspired me to want to be a vet. He is amazing and wonderful because he has taken time to help animals and write about his experiences with them. All of his adventures have amazed me and made me either want to laugh, cry, get angry, or all three together at one time. When I grow up, I want to live, work and write like him.
Step Three Homework
1. retell the text
2. review the new words and phrases
(以下内容是本课的拓展阅读材料，课前先发给学生预读)
Supplementary Material补充阅读材料
ANIMAL HERO: JAMES HERRIOT
by Sarah Cowan
Many people begin careers so that they can receive praise and recognition for the good work they do, so that people will stand up and say "Good job!" or "Nice going." But there are a few unsung heroes out there who spend their lives helping those who can never say "Thank you"! for all the good work they have done. These are the Animal Heroes, dedicated to helping all the creatures (动物) of the world, great and small. The most famous of this fur-covered, barn-hopping group is James Herriot.
James Herriot grew up in Glasgow, a fairly large city in Scotland. Like most boys his age, he went to high school and then on to college. But at a certain point in his studies, he made a decision that would forever change the course of his life. He decided he wanted to become a veterinary surgeon, specializing in the treatment of dogs.
Well, things didn't quite work out as planned. Mr. Herriot did become Dr. Herriot, but when he received his first veterinary assignment in the Yorkshire countryside, he found himself not working with lovable collies (大牧羊犬) and Chihuahuas (奇瓦瓦狗), but rather big and brutal horses and oxen, whose kicks could send a grown man flying. In those days it was considered "unmanly (非男子汉的)" to work with dogs and cats. So Dr. Herriot spent the early part of his career mucking around barns and stables, dreaming of drawing-room visits to pampered poodles and furry felines.
Eventually word got around that there was a country vet who was willing to help out a person's beloved Fido or Fifi, and Dr. Herriot found himself able to realize his original dream of treating dogs and cats. Luckily for the rest of us, he recorded (记录) his veterinary adventures in a hilarious series of books beginning with the famous volume, All Creatures Great and Small. Filled with wonderful stories, both funny and tragic, Dr. Herriot's books have been an inspiration to animal lovers and future veterinarians for years.