9A  Unit 1 Star Signs

第一课时   Welcome to the unit    主备：

Objectives

1. To identify the symbols that represent the star signs

2. To learn the names of the symbols that represent the star signs

Teaching procedures

1. Ask students what animals they are in the Chinese horoscope. Ask them to describe the characteristics of that animal. For weaker classes, you can write the English names of the Chinese star signs on the board.

2. Explain that western countries use a different system of star signs. Explain that the western star sign system is based on the month you were born in, rather than the year you were born in.

3. Explain to students that each picture in Part A represents a star sign. Ask them to complete Part A, then discuss the answers as a class. Students who have made mistakes in this section will benefit form correcting their answers before proceeding to the Reading section.

4. Ask students to complete Part B. explain that there are 12 star signs in total---- those in Part A and those in Part B. Each star sign represents a period of time in a year.

5. Ask students whether they know what their star sign is. Encourage them to day the name of their star sign aloud.

6. Homework:  《课时练》P1-2hHjhj

9A  Unit 1 Star Signs

第二、三课时    Reading   主备：

Objectives

1. To understand what star signs are and what they represent

2. To recognize and understand vocabulary about characteristics

3. To use adjectives to describe someone’s characteristics

teaching procedures:

1. Brainstorm the vocabulary that is used to describe people’s characteristics. Encourage students to explain each word to their classmates.

2. Read the passage aloud to students. Ask them to listen carefully to you and follow the text on page 4 and 5.

3. Ask one student at a time to read a paragraph. After each paragraph, ask students to say which parts of the text they do not understand. Less able students may find some of the names of the star signs difficult. If so, do not force them to learn them by heart because they are only used here to arouse students’ interest. It is more important for them to learn the adjectives that describe people’s characteristics. This will enable them to complete the Main Task at the end of the unit.

4. Ask some questions to check understanding.

Part B

Teaching procedures

1. Before doing Part B, review adjectives used to describe characteristics. Ask students to describe their classmates.

2. Ask less able students to work in pairs. Tell them to skip the ones they are not sure about and do the easier ones first. Check answers as a class.

Part C

Teaching procedures

1. Tell students to work in pairs to complete Part C1. When students have completed all the answers, ask them to raise their hands. The first pair to complete the exercise correctly is the winner.

2. After students have finished, give the correct answer to each question. Highlight where students can find the answers in the passage. This will help them when correcting their own mistakes and provide them with a better understanding of where they went wrong.

3. For stronger classes, ask students to correct the incorrect sentences.

4. Review key vocabulary learnt in the reading passage. Ask more able students to describe their partners using these adjectives.

5. Ask students to do Part C2 on their own and check their answers with their partners. Ask students to refer to the reading passage on page 4 and 5. If students have different answers, ask them to discuss the answers.

Part D

Teaching procedures

1. For weaker classes, write a list of characteristics on the board for students’ reference

2. Ask less able students to pick five characteristics that describe themselves and write them in the blanks in part D1. Tell more able students that they can also use characteristics that are not listed on the board. Tell less able students to refer to the reading passage on pages 4 and 5 if they need help with ideas.

3. Now, ask students to read the description of their star sign on pages 4 and 5. Ask them to write whether the characteristics listed under their star sign match the characteristics they have listed.

4. Ask all those who think their characteristics match their star sign to raise their hands. Then ask all those whose characteristics do not match to raise their hands.

5. Do a class survey. Ask students whether they believe in star signs. Count how many say ‘yes’ and how many say ‘no’. Write the numbers on the board. For more able students, ask them to say why they believe or do not believe in star signs.

6. Divide the class into pairs. Ask students to write down five words that describe their partner’s characteristics in Part D2.

7. Ask students to exchange books and compare what they have written.

8. Homework:  《课时练》P3-6hHjhj

9A  Unit 1 Star Signs

第四课时   Vocabulary  主备：

Objectives

1. To use adjectives to describe characteristics

2. To recognize whether an adjectives is positive or negative

teaching procedures

1. Divide the class into groups of four. Each group works together to complete Part A. One student in each group writes down the answers on a piece of paper. Groups raise their hands when they have finished.

2. When all the groups have finished, each group must give their answers to another group to mark. Remind students to put the name of their group at the top of the paper.

3. Read out the correct to the class. Each group marks another group’s answers. The group with the most correct answers wins.

4. Ask students to work on their own to do Part B. Remind them to look at the pictures and the words provided.

5. Ask students to compare their answers with their neighbours and discuss the differences.

6. When the discussion is finished, ask a student for the answer to No.1. Ask all students who agree to raise their hands. If a student gives an incorrect answer, ask other students what the correct answer should be.

7. Homework:  《课时练》P7-8hHjhj

9A  Unit 1 Star Signs

第五、六课时   Grammar  主备：

Objectives

1. To use ‘it is’+ adjective + ‘of’… + ‘(not) to’-infinitive to express opinions about a person’s actions.

2. To use the verb ‘to be’ + adjective + ‘enough’ + ‘to’-infinitive to describe a person’s characteristics and abilities.

3. To use the basic sentence elements to make up a sentence

part A

teaching procedures

1. Tell students that we use the ‘it is’+ adjective + ‘of’… + ‘(not) to’-infinitive structure to talk about our feelings towards people and what they do.

2. Ask three students to read the three sentences in the grammar table at the top of page 9. Encourage students to ask questions if they are unsure of the meaning.

3. Ask students to complete the exercise on their own. Students have to write the correct words form the box in the blanks without making any changes.

4. Ask a pair of students to read out what they have written. Check for incorrect answers and mispronunciation.

Part B

Teaching procedures:

1. Tell students that we can also use the verb ‘to be’ + adjective + ‘enough’ + ‘to’-infinitive structure to talk about a person’s personality and abilities.

2. Explain the difference between the structure in Part A and the structure in Part B. In part A, students learn to express what they think about someone else’s actions. In Part B, students learn to express what they think about a person’s personality and abilities.

3. Ask three different students to read the sentences in the grammar table at the top of page 10. Encourage students to ask questions if they are unsure of the meaning.

4. For stronger classes, tell students to cover the adjectives on the right and work on their own to write the sentences for Part B. Remind them that they need to rearrange the order of the words, and choose a proper adjective for each sentence. For weaker classes, students can use the adjectives on the right to form sentences. Encourage more able students to write the sentences with their own adjectives. Accept any sensible answers.

5. Ask students to read out their sentences. Check for mistakes and mispronunciation.

Part C

Teaching procedures

1. Write a sentence on the board. Ask students to shorten the above sentence to give the main idea of it. Explain to students that a sentence can be divided into different parts. We can add or remove the different parts of a sentence to clarify the meaning of it.

2. Tell students that each sentence part has its own name. Ask seven students each to read one definition and the sample sentences that follow. Encourage them to ask questions if they are not sure of the meaning.

3. Explain to students that the basic parts of a sentence are the subject and the predicate. To make a sentence richer in meaning, we can add predicative, objects, attributives and adverbials to the sentence with additional information.

4. Ask students to complete Part C1 on page 12 using the table on page 11 as a guide.

5. Ask eight students to each read out one sentence and the answer they choose. Check for mistakes and mispronunciation.

6. Ask each student to find a sentence from any English book, magazine or newspaper. Then ask them to identify the different parts of the sentence.

7. Ask students to complete the sentences in Part C2 on page 13 and choose the correct sentence element in brackets. For stronger classes, ask students to add more elements to each of the sentences. For weaker classes, allow students to work in pair.

8. Ask students to volunteer to read out their answers. Ask them to read the whole sentence, not just the words they have written.

9. Homework:  《课时练》P9-12hHjhj

9A  Unit 1 Star Signs

第七课时   Integrated skills  主备：

Part A

Objectives

1. To understand the context of a horoscope, in both its written and spoken forms

2. To consolidate the information gained from reading and listening, then determine the facts

teaching procedures

1. Tell students that we read horoscopes just for fun.

2. Ask students where they might read a horoscope like that in Part A1 on page 14, e.g., newspaper, magazine, newsletter, website or e-mail.

3. For weaker classes, read the horoscope in Part A1 to the class. for stronger classes, ask a student to read the horoscope aloud.

4. Review keywords and phrases with students.

5. Ask students to read the advertisement, then fill in as much information in Millie’s notes as they can. Remind them that they will not be able to complete all the answers. For weaker classes, help students by telling them which answers cannot be found in the advertisement.

6. Ask students to look carefully at what they have written and pay attention to the gaps they have not yet been able to fill.

7. Play the recording once without stopping.

8. If necessary, play the recording again, stopping after each answer or sentence so that students have time to fill in their answers.

9. Tell students to look at their answers. If they still have some gaps, ask them to read the advertisement again at the top of the page in case they have missed something. Play the recording once more without stopping.

10. Ask students to read one answer each. Check for mistakes and mispronunciation. For weaker classed, it is useful to play the recording again once students have completed the exercise. This consolidates what students have learnt and gives them a sense of achievement.

11. Play the recording for Part A3 once. Tell students not to write anything, but to listen to the recording the first time it is played.

12. Now, ask students to read the incomplete notes under “Amy’s predictions’. Explain that they have to complete Amy’s mistakes by listening to the recording.

13. Play the recording again, stopping after each answer for less able students to write the answers if necessary.

14. Tell students that they need to write what Master Zhang says will happen to Millie under the heading ‘Master Zhang’s predictions’. For weaker classes, ask students to use the information on page 14 to complete the column on the right. For stronger classes, play the recording for Part A2 a third time and ask students to complete the column on the right.

15. Ask students to volunteer answers to the questions, checking for mistakes and mispronunciation.

Part B

Objectives

1. To exchange information about others

2. To talk about a person’s characteristics

3. To discuss the positive and negative aspects of a person’s character, relative to a task or position

teaching procedures

1. Review ‘chairperson’, ‘imaginative’, ‘stubborn’, ‘give up’ and ‘outgoing’. For stronger classes, ask students to explain the meanings. For weaker classes, you can give them the meanings.

2. Introduce the topic and language structures to students in a light-hearted way, to build up their confidence.

3. Ask three students to read the profiles of Peter, Suzy and David out loud.

4. Ask two of the more able students to read the conversation between Millie and Kitty.

5. Ask students to work in pairs. Encourage them to discuss Suzy and David. Remind them that they can use the conversation in Part B as a model. For weaker classes, allow students to write down their conversations first.

6. For stronger classes, ask students to talk about a student in their class who would make a good chairperson of the Students’ Union. Remind them to give reasons for their choice.

7. Ask a few pairs to present their conversations to the class.

8. Homework:  《课时练》P13-14hHjhj

9A  Unit 1 Star Signs

第八课时    Study skills  主备

Objectives

1. To recognize and understand different levels of formality in the English language, both when writing and speaking English.

2. To recognize and correct mistakes about inappropriate level of formality in finished work

teaching procedures

1. Review ‘formal or informal language’, ‘endings’ and ‘slang’. For stronger classes, ask students to explain the meanings of the words and/or give Chinese translations. For weaker classes, you can tell them the meanings.

2. Make sure students recognize that the picture of a pencil represents written language while the mouth represents spoken language.

3. Explain the difference between abbreviations and contractions. An abbreviation uses only the first letters of a name or phrase, or leaves out letters to shorten a word. A contraction is a short form of a word or words when an apostrophe replaces a letter or letters.

4. Ask students to work in pairs. First, ask them to underline parts of the letter on page 16 which they believe are inappropriate.

5. Ask students to write down why they believe a part of the letter is inappropriate. Remind them to use the phrases.

6. Ask a different pair in turn to give their answers for each number, noting mistakes and mispronunciation.

9A  Unit 1 Star Signs

第九课时   Main task  主备：

Objectives

1. To organize ideas and build a justification for those ideas

2. To use examples to support ideas

3. To write a formal letter with the correct degree of formality

4. To write about a person’s characteristics and skills

5. To present a recommendation

teaching procedures

1. Tell students that creating a graph or chart can be a good way to help them organize their thoughts and ideas. Point out to students that for each adjective in the flow chart in Part A on page 17, there should be an example to back up this adjective.

Tell more able students that this type of chart is often called a ‘mind map’. In the centre is the main idea—in this case a person’s name. Joined to the center are the main ideas—here are David’s characteristics. On the outside are concrete examples to show how David demonstrates those characteristics. You can have any number of bubbles branching out form each idea. This is a useful way to plan a piece of writing as it allows the writer to visualize his/her ideas and how they are related to one another.

2. Ask students to work in pairs to complete the flow chart in Part A. Then ask each pair to give their answer for one number of the chart.

Remind students that this kind of writing is often objective—some people may value one characteristic more highly than another. Encourage them to think for themselves by telling them that there are no right or wrong answers, only that they must have a justification for their choice of good characteristics. This may give them some extra confidence ahead of the Main task.

3. Tell students to work on their own to fill in the blanks in part B. Remind them to use the flow chart on page 17 as a guide. Check answers as a class.

4. Tell students to work in pairs to make a flow chart about someone from the class. for stronger classes, encourage students to choose someone for chairperson about whom they do not know very much. You could encourage them to ask this student questions in an interview format so they can find out more about that student. For weaker classes, students may feel more comfortable writing about someone they know well.

5. Ask students to start off by writing down some adjectives to describe the student they have chosen. Then they need to write down concrete. You can consult a dictionary and provide a list of different adjectives to describe characteristics for students’ reference.

Tell them to present their flow charts clearly and neatly, as they will be displayed on the wall of the classroom.

6. Ask students to write a formal letter of their own. Remind them to use the flow chart they created as a guide for the letter. Also remind them they can use Kitty and Millie’s letter as a model. Encourage them to add new and additional information if they can, and remind them that they can use synonyms of the adjectives in the letter.

7. When students have finished their letters, remind them to check their own work for mistakes. Tell students to swap their letters with their partners to check each other’s work for mistakes.

8. Suggest alternatives and improvements to students’ work. Try not to tell students what they have done wrong all the time. Also highlight areas where they have done something well, in order to boost their confidence.

9. Ask students to write their final letter on a piece of plain paper, or for those who are able to, type it on a computer.

10. Display the letters on the classroom wall. For stronger classes, ask each student to present their recommendation to the class. for weaker classes, allow students to present their recommendation to a partner only.

11. Homework:  《课时练》P15-16hHjhj

9A  Unit 1 Star Signs

第十课时   Main task  主备：

Check out

Objectives

1. To review key vocabulary and grammar items taught in the unit

2. To give students the opportunity to reinforce the grammar and vocabulary items learnt in this unit, and to gain confidence through doing so

3. To allow students to check their progress and ask any questions they may still have

teaching procedures:

1. Tell students that this is revision. They have already learnt these words and grammar items

2. Ask students to do Part A on page 19 on their own. Then choose three students to be the three main characters. Ask them to role-play the conversation. The rest of the class check their answers.

Part B

Teaching procedures:

1. Students complete Part B on their own.

2. For more able students, ask them to try to work out the answers without seeing the picture prompts. For less able students, tell them that the pictures will give them clues to the scrambled words.

3. Homework:  《课时练》P17-20hHjhj

实验报告单（一）

物体

推测

实验结果

浮

沉

不确定

浮

沉

胡萝卜

牙签

橡皮

回形针

蜡烛

小磁砖

螺丝帽

塑料泡沫

（在你认为正确的方框里面打“√”）