Period 1 Welcome to the unit
Teaching Objectives:
1) Get students to conduct a free discussion about ancient civilizations.
2) Encourage the students to share their ideas with each other.
Important points and difficult points:
1) Students are expected to describe what they have known about the ancient civilizations.
2) Encourage the students to communicate with classmates.
Teaching procedures:
Step1 Lead in
Quiz: How much do you know about the ancient civilization?
1) What are the four ancient civilized nations?
2) What are the seven wonders of the world?
Step2 Talking about the pictures
The Statue of Zeus:
Who is Zeus? (A god of Greek mythology, Cronus and Rheaˇs youngest son, the supreme ruler of both Mount Olympus and the Pantheon of gods residing there)
What does the name Zeus mean? (It is said to be related to the Greek word ˉdiosˇ, with ˉbrightˇ as its meaning.)
Where was the Statue of Zeus once located? (On the western coast of Greece)
The Taj Mahal:
Who built it? (Shah Jehan, the fifth Mughal Emperor.)
For whom and why was it built? (It was built by Shah Jehan for his beloved wife as a monument of eternal love.)
When was it built? (From 1631 to 1648)
Where is it? (On the banks of Indiaˇs most sacred river, the river Yamuna in Agra)
The Hanging Gardens:
Who built it? (King Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled ancient Babylon for dozens of years)
Why did it appear to be ˉhangingˇ in the sky? (It looked so because it was constructed entirely on the roofs of a building, with a lot of trees surrounding it.)
Why was it built? (To cheer up Nebuchadnezzarˇs wife who was said to be very homesick)
The Potala Palace:
Where is it located? (On the Red Hill in the Lhasa Valley of Tibet, China)
When was it rebuilt? (In the 17th century)
What was it used as? (The residence of the Dalai Lamas since the 7th century, as well as the religious and political centre of old Tibet)
Step3 Group discussion
1 What do you think of the structures you saw just now?
2 Do you think it is important to protect cultural heritage? Why or why not? Do you have any suggestions on how to protect it?
Step 4 Homework : Preview reading.
Period 2 Reading Lost Civilizations (1)
Teaching aims:
1) To talk about lost civilizations
2) To help the students develop the ability of reading diary entries.
Important and difficult points:
The way of reading diary entries.
Teaching procedures:
Step1 Lead-in
1. Ask students to name some building that could represent ancient civilization in China.
2. Show students some pictures of Pompeii and Loulan and ask them to answer the following questions:
冘 Where are the places in the pictures?
冘 What have you known about them?
冘 What else do you want to know about them?
Step2 Reading comprehension.
1. Ask students to read the passage quickly and try to find answers to the questions in Part A.
2. Ask students to read again and complete Part C1.
3. Let students complete Part C2.
Step 3 Reading strategy
1. Discuss in pairs about what features are usually included in diary entries.
2. Let students read the Reading strategy.
3. Find out the facts and historical information about the two cities.
Pompeii time event
in the 8th century
in 89 BC
on 24th Aug. AD 79
in 1860
Loulan 2000 years ago
from AD 200 to AD 500
100 years ago
Step 4 Discussion
1. Is it useful for people to study things from the past? Why or why not?
2. Since as long ago as 1553 people have said, ˉHistory repeats itself.ˇ What do you think this saying means? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?
Step 5 Homework.
1. Read the passage carefully and review the new words and phrases.
2. Make a summary of the text.
Period 3 Reading (2)
Teaching Objectives:
1^ To understand the text better
2^ To master some useful words and expressions
Important and difficult points:
Some useful words and expressions
Teaching procedures:
Step 1 Check the homework.
Step 2 Complete the summary with proper words.
Both Pompeii in ________and Loulan in China became ____ ________ about 2000 years ago. Pompeii was ________ in the 8th century BC and was _____ _______ by the Romans in 89BC. On 24th Aug.AD79, Mount Vesuvius _________ and the city were _______ __________. Loulan was a _________ _________ on the Silk Road. It disappeared under the ________. There are just a few _________ left. Some _________, such as coins and painted pots, was found.
Step 3 Exercises on the new words.
Step 4 Word study
Step 5 Homework:
1. Review the new words.
2. Finish the exercises in the workbook.