Unit3 Learn to Care for Plants Spring is in the air. It’s a good time to grow some plants. Since our school is keen on being green, do you have any plant in your classroom? What is it? In order to grow well, what environment/ condition does it prefer? (如果学生答不出则引导: How often do you water it? How often do you put it under the sun?) It is clear that to grow plants well, we must care for them. Today （点击显示课文标题）we’ll learn to care for some plants.

Lead in Can you identify those plants?

Do you have any plants in your house? How do you care for them? Please open your books at P45. Quickly read the first paragraph, and the first sentences of the rest paragraphs to answer the following questions. One minute for you. What plants are mentioned? [Jasmine, Yulan magnolia, golden ball cactus.] And we an use these plants to [decorate our homes]. By the way, why do we talk about caring for plants at this time? (Something to do with the season?)[Because spring is in the air.] (板书: be in the air) Right, spring is in the air; we can feel spring is happening*. *Cambridge Dictionaries Online

Skimming What plants are mentioned? We can use these plants to ____. What does the number “12” as well as “0” mean in this article? Please open your books at P45. Quickly read the first paragraph, and the first sentences of the rest paragraphs to answer the following questions. One minute for you. What plants are mentioned? [Jasmine, Yulan magnolia, golden ball cactus.] And we an use these plants to [decorate our homes]. By the way, why do we talk about caring for plants at this time? (Something to do with the season?)[Because spring is in the air.] (板书: be in the air) Right, spring is in the air; we can feel spring is happening*. *Cambridge Dictionaries Online

Jasmine What are the differences between jasmine vines and jasmine bushes? What will happen to the path over which jasmine vines are grown on a frame? What can jasmine be used for?

Bush: low; with several branches Vine: climbing

Jasmine These are all jasmines. The picture on your right is a [jasmine vine]. A vine is a kind of plant that need to grow over things*. What is this thing (pointing to the structure)? [a frame.] *柯林斯高阶英汉双解学习词典

Yulan magnolia Next. The second plant is [Yulan magnolia].(点击显示本页标题) (nominate a student) How tall can it be？ [over 12 metres tall] In early spring, [they are covered with white blossoms]; in summer, [green leaves cover the tress all summer]; in autumn, [these leaves change to red and orange before they litter the ground with colour]. (点击出现图片) As you can see here, blossoms are flowers on trees. （板书：blossom） If trees litter the ground with colour, that means colour is everywhere on the ground. (板书: litter…with…) What about the growing condition? [Yulan magnolia is ideal for cool, moist climates]. (板书: be ideal for…) That is to say, cool, moist climates are the best* for Yulan magnolia. 问答中的其它板书： Yulan magnolia -------------------------- > 12 m; early spring: white blossoms; summer: green leaves; autumn: leaves turn red / orange then litter the ground with colour. ---------------------------- cool, moist climate *Longman Dictionary of Contemporary of English

Golden Ball Cactus The last plant is [golden ball cactus].(点击出现标题图片) (Nominate a student) Could you tell us about it? [can grow to be over 60 centimetres tall. Can be kept either indoor or outdoor; prefers the sun; tolerate temperatures of below zero degrees centigrade.] 问答中的板书： Golden ball cactus ---------------------- >60cm. Kept indoor / outdoor; tolerate temperatures <0. “Prefer” and “tolerate” are useful when talking about growing conditions. (板书：prefer, tolerate)“Prefer”is“喜” while “tolerate”is“耐”. We’ve finished the form. Which part of the form can we find information on how to care for plants? [The last row.]（板书: how to care for plants）

How tall can a cactus grow to be? How does it react to the climate?

Finish the Matching exercise on P46

Summary Plant name Features Growing conditions Jasmine bush vine on a frame when raised as a vine Yulan Maglonia size: tree & flower changes: Spring, Summer, Autumn cool and moist climate golden ball cactus 60 meters tall in you house or outside; can tolerate temperatures of below zero degrees centigrade

Think about it… Which of the plants described in this unit are you most interested in growing? Why? Do you think gardening is a good hobby? Decorating our environment Entertain people Benefiting our physical and mental health We are provided with fresher air and full of energy while taking up gardening as a kind of exercise.

Presentation -- school gardening What to grow? Where to grow? What can the plant(s) produce? How to care for the plant(s)? You have 3 minutes. At the end of the group work, make a presentation. You have 3 minutes to prepare in group. You should think about the following question: What to grow? Where to grow? What can the plant(s) produce? How to care for the plant(s)? At the end of the group work, a representative should tell us your group’s decision, and how to correctly care for the plant(s). There is an example in your worksheet; you can follow it to organize your words. There is also a word bank in your worksheet. Try to use those words in your presentation. Remember, each group need a secretary and a representative. Are we ready?

Homework Summary writing of the more reading passage. Finish the exercise on the workbook Finally, our assignment is to put your presentation down in writing exercise book.