2019新人教高中英语选择性必修四
Unit3 Sea Exploration
Reading and Thinking公开课教案
Teaching aims:
By the end of this period, students will be able to:
1.learn about the history of China’s sea exploration.
2.identify the pattern of the text and its narrative technique.
3.gain a better understanding of the significance of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Teaching key and difficult points:
1.Help students to learn about the history of China’s sea exploration.
2.Instruct students to understand the significance of the Belt and Road Initiative.
3.Enable students to gain a better understanding of the significance of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Teaching procedures:
StepⅠLead-in
Let students share stories of great explorers.
  Magellan
Columbus
Suggested answer:
Magellan was a Portuguese explorer.He persuaded the king of Spain to support his plan to travel around the world by sea. He and his crew overcame many difficulties to sail west from Spain across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Unfortunately, Magellan was killed in a conflict with the local people in the Philippines. His fellow men continued to sail and about
one year later, the survivors came back to Spain. This was the first voyage around the world. It was significant in human’s history of sea exploration.
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer. When he was young, inspired by Marco Polo’s tales, he decided to take adventures on the sea. In 1492, the Spanish king sponsored him to discover a new way to get to the east of the world by sea. They suffered a lot during the voyage and finally reached America which Columbus took for India.
StepⅡ While-reading
Activity1 Prediction
Ask students to read the title of the text “Reaching out Across the Sea” and skim the text. Then decide what type of essay it is.
Identify essay types
There are four major types of essay:narrative, descriptive, expository, and argumentative. A narrative essay is a story with a beginning, middle, and end. A descriptive essay describes a subject and lists interesting details. An expository essay is factual, giving information on a subject. Finally, an argumentative essay aims to convince the reader.
Suggested answer：
An expository essay.
Activity2Reading for the main idea
Read the text quickly and write down the main idea of each paragraph.
Suggested answers:
Activity3Reading for details
What is introduced in each exploration?
Time
Event
in ancient times
in the 8th century
in the Ming Dynasty
today
in the future
Suggested answers:
portuguese
Time
Event
in ancient times
Merchants from China and many other places met on a trading route across the sea to negotiate trade deals.
in the 8th
century
Further trading allowed more exploration to the west of China.
in the Ming Dynasty
Zheng He led seven large fleets to sail west on voyages of trade and exploration. These routes still remain active today.
today
The ancient routes across the sea are being revisited. The Belt and Road Initiative is put forward.
in the future
The need to trade and the desire to enhance relationships will drive China to reach out across the sea far into the future.
Activity4Exploring the theme further
Discuss the following questions.
1.Which countries reached out across the sea in the past and why?
2.What benefits and problems did those countries get from doing this?
3.What effects did reaching out across the sea in the past have on the world?
4.What do you think is the significance of the Belt and Road Initiative?
Suggested answers:
1.European explorers and China. They reached out across the sea for trade.
2.They got new products from many different countries and became more aware of other cultures. In some cases, this led to invasion and conquest.
3.The land and sea routes remained active channels between different cultures for centurie
s. Generally speaking, the result was positive, as it advanced the spread of knowledge, technology and goods and made the world a smaller place.
4.The aim of this initiative is to encourage cooperation and trade across the historic Silk Road areas, and strengthen the bonds between China and the rest of the world.
StepⅢ Post-reading
Show students a video about Zheng He’s voyages on the sea and conduct an interview. Suppose you are a reporter and your partner is Zheng He.
Suggested answers:
Reporter: Welcome to our studio and share with us your stories.
Zheng He: It’s my pleasure.
Reporter: When did you begin your first voyage?
Zheng He: In 1405.
Reporter: Which countries did you go to?
Zheng He: We went to India and many African countries.
Reporter: How many voyages did you make in all?
Zheng He: Seven.
Reporter: How many people joined the voyage at its largest scale?
Zheng He: More than 20,000.
Reporter: Wow, it must be a sight to behold.
Zheng He: Absolutely.
Reporter: What is your purpose to make the voyage?
Zheng He: To build bonds with other countries and show the glory of the Ming Dynasty.
Reporter: You made great contributions in developing relationships with other countries.