Life is a by Jack London

The schedule of my plan: What to teach : 2.Why to teach: 3.How to teach: I. analyze the material II. type of the lesson III. analyze the ss I. language objectives II. ability objectives III. emotion objectives I. learning strategies II. teaching methods III. teaching design

I. Analyze the material This is a short poem written by Jack London. The poem compares life to a journey full of choices. One has to make choices continuously during the journey. Once you made a choice, no matter what happens, stick to it.

II. Type of Lesson: an integrated lesson Input Reading Listening Speaking Writing Output

III Analyze the students The students of this lesson are in senior 3. They have learned a few simple forms of English poems in M6U2. They are interested in appreciating English poems and try their best to write some simple poems. But some of them are not good at English and lack of confidence. So it is very important to arouse their interest and build up their confidence.

Teaching key points 1. to understand the rhyme of the poem 2. to get the key words by reading and listening. Teaching difficulties a. to find what kind of rhyme of the poem is. b. to use the target language efficiently. c. to write a poem to express their feelings.

Why to teach 1. Knowledge objectives: a. able to understand the key words: journey, despair, byname, destination, make up one’s mind, try one’s best b. able to find what rhyme of the poem are and grasp the main idea. c. able to know more about Jack London 2. Ability objectives: a. able to get information from the poem by listening and reading the poem b. able to express their feelings by writing poems according to the writing steps. c. able to present enough reasons to support their opinions. 3. Emotion objective learn to make a good choice when necessary

Whole design Writing practice Reading/Listening Speaking Experience; Explore; Express material practice Writing Whole design

Teaching methods task-based language teaching approach communicative language teaching method Teaching aids multi-media computer and a tape recorder Learning strategy Reading, Listening, speaking and writing

Teaching design Step1. Lead- in: talking Q1: What did you have for your breakfast? How about lunch? Q2: What would you like to do this weekend? Q3: What will you do after graduation, to work or for further study? T: Life is full of choice. Some life choices are easier to make than others. What to have for breakfast is an easier decision than choosing what to do after graduation. And yet, the difficult choices are the most character-defining. As language is learnt gradually, this step tries to find out the link between the old and the new to lead ss into this new lesson.

Step 2 Pre-reading About the author Listening Discussion

1.A short passage about Jack London Jack London was a famous American writer, He was born on January 12, 1876 in California. His family was very poor, and Jack had to leave school to make money. He worked hard in many different jobs. Later, Jack returned to school. But he didn’t stay long. In the year 1897, he went to Alaska to find gold. Instead of getting much gold, he found ideas for his books and stories. He went back home and began to write. His writing were warmly welcomed and he became rich and famous when he was under thirty . But Jack London was not a happy man. In poor health. He took his own life in 1916. He was then only forty years old. More background information will help ss understand the poem better.

Have a revision of rhyme Ss have learned rhyme in M6U2 2.Listening 1) Pre-listening Have a revision of rhyme Ss have learned rhyme in M6U2 2) Listen to the poem and try to answer: Does the poem have rhyming words? After listening to the poem, the students have some minutes to speak and share their opinions. 3)Post-listening When you were listening to the poem, did it make you feel something or think about something? What did it make you feel or think about? This question has no standard answers, the students can discuss and express what they think freely.

Step 3 While-reading Skimming Scanning

Skimming Read the text after the tape in pairs and circle the key words or phrases in each paragraph. Suggested answers: no straight way; choices; make up one’s mind ;try one’s best As the saying goes “Tell me, I forget; show me, I remember; let me try, I understand.” This task aims to let ss try to make it by themselves.

2.Scanning read the poem part by part In each part: teacher asks students to find and circle the rhyming words and list them on the blackboard to share. Part 1 Hell-heaven; up-down; hope-despair Antithesis Part 2 Guess the meaning of byname Part3 Add some more material about Jack London’s life, to make ss understand better. Part4 Critical thinking: What should Jack London agree with? (multiple choice )

Step 4 Post-reading 1. Appreciation Which sentence do you like best and give your reasons? 2. Writing and Sharing What’s your opinion about life? Try antithesis and rhyme Life is…. Life is a journey which… Life is a journey, ….

Step 5 Homework 1. Read aloud and recite the poem. 2. Polish your poem As homework is the extension of the classroom teaching. I assigned this homework to extend students’ ability of using English.