The Lesson Plan
Part A How to Avoid Foolish Opinions
Unit 7,Book IV Reading
New English Course
Yang Li
Department of Foreign Languages
Tsinghua University
June 25,2003
Table of Contents
Teaching Objectives 3
Teaching Methods 3
A Brief Description of the Class 3
Language Points 3
Teaching Procedures 4
Evaluation 6
Appendix 9
Teaching Objectives
to help students learn the important words in this text
to familiarize students with some commonly used prefixes
to prompt students to identify the topic statement and the flow of the details
Teaching Methods
New English Course (Reading) is a course designed to help the students with their English language integrative skills,Though,as the name implies,the focus is mainly on reading skills,students will be guided to use the other skills – listening,speaking,writing and translating unconsciously.
A Brief Description of the Class
Unit Name,Unit 7 Part A How to Avoid Foolish Opinions (Book IV Reading)
Time,90 minutes (2 sessions)
Place,Language Lab
Student Level,Lower Intermediate
Language Points,
Words and Expressions,
prone,fatal,cautious,dogmatic,conviction,maintain,as to,on one’s guard,warrant,rid of,diminish,seek out,compare,subject to,conceal,seeing that,short of,cocksure wary of,superior,adjust to,conceit
Prefixes,
super-,sub-,uni-,un-,in-,de-
Grammar,
Subjunctive mood,Aristotle could have avoided … (L5)
if I were writing a book …(L11)
he would have liked to undo the whole of … (L51)
by considering what Gandhi might have said,.,(L58-59)
Paraphrases (sentences that students may find difficult),
I should not commit myself until I had seen one… (L12)
If an opinion …,that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do,(L21-24)
The most savage controversies are those about maters as to which there is no good evidence either way,(L27-29)
I found this very profitable in diminishing the intensity of insular prejudice,(L39-40)
This reflection should generate a certain caution,(L44-45)
It is more difficult to deal with the self-esteem of man as man,because we cannot argue out the matter with some non-human mind,(L78-79)
Language Skills to be Developed,
Scan texts
Find topic statements
Follow the sequencing of reasons
Summarize and evaluate main points
Brainstorm and learn prefixes to enlarge vocabulary bank
Teaching Procedures,
Warm-up Activities (8 min)
Step 1,Ask students to discuss four statements with their partners (on ppt1See Appendix A) and work out,
What are foolish opinions according to them?
What are the causes of people’s foolish opinions?
How to avoid foolish opinions?
In this section,students will be involved in their active communication with others,since the statements are light,they would not realize this activity is a TASK,If their answers are exactly the same with those in the text,I would praise them for their careful preview; if not,that doesn’t mean they did not preview,on the contrary,if theirs is different from those in the text,I would praise them for their independent thinking,Both will help me naturally lead the class into the next step.
Lesson Body (72 min)
Step 2,Summarize students’ answers and introduce what we are going to study,Russell’s How to Avoid Foolish Opinions,
Since Russell,the name,cannot be new to Chinese students,especially Tsinghua students,I will prompt to say what they know about the author,and then I will show them the ppt and summarize with a few words,
Step 3,Ask students to scan the text and find out the 5 rules to avoid foolish opinions.
First ask the whole class whether most of the paragraphs have topic statements,Since students are required to preview the text,this might not be difficult,Then ask them how many rules are suggested by Russell and what are they respectively (in the text sequence),After that,I will affirm them by clicking the ppt,
If students did not tell in desired sequence,let it be and ask other students to say the missing one(s),
Step 4,Extract examples and details for each paragraph/rule2.
Have a careful study of Para,2 to 6 (See Appendix A).Besides asking students to extract examples,ask them to identify language points such as useful words and expressions,useful yet somewhat new prefixes,difficult sentences,etc,(See Appendix B for vocabulary and expressions and Appendix C for prefixes),Be prepared to answer their questions on the text,If they fail to identify any above-mentioned points,I would point out the points myself and ask students to either make sentences with words and expressions or paraphrase,
Step 5,Identify the organization of the text,
Ask students to tell whether this essay is well organized and how they can demonstrate this,
Very apparently,this essay is well organized,The first paragraph tells us what to expect in this essay,and the remaining five paragraphs describe one rule each,with examples,Besides,the author has arranged his,simple rules” in a particular order – from the simplest and most concrete to the hardest and most abstract.
This sequencing (from the most general to the most specific) is quite commonly used to attain the logical order of a piece of writing,Give students a set of sentences which are out of the logical order,and ask them to discuss them and rearrange them in this order,(See Appendix D)
Point out students can apply this style of flow of text to their own writing,
Lesson Closure (10 min)
Step 6,Make a summery of the essay.
Identify the style of the text – exposition
Ask students to retell the five rules by Russell
Refer to the ppt again for useful words and expressions
Re-point out the characteristic organization of the text and the merits of such a sequence
Point out the human significance of the essay,how to apply what we have learned from the essay and daily life to avoid foolish opinions,though,To err is human”—everyone is prone to foolish opinions,
Step 7,Assign homework
Finish all the exercise in Part A
Get ready for the Quiz (See Appendix E)
Step 8,Point out that owing to the limitation of time in class,students should refer to the uploaded materials in the Internet Classroom3 for the stuff we cannot cover in class,
Evaluation,
Students will be evaluated through the quiz (See Appendix E) and the assignment,
Notes,
1. ppt,Microsoft PowerPoint,A software by Microsoft which is designed to create and show slides on computer,
2. paragraph/rule,In this text,one paragraph contains one rule to avoid foolish opinions.
3, the Internet Classroom,where Tsinghua students can communicate with teachers or among themselves after class,See Appendix F
Appendix,
Appendix A,PowerPoint
Appendix B,Words and expressions
be prone to,tending to suffer from an illness or show a particular negative characteristic
You’re more prone to illnesses when you’re tired and your body is run-down.
You have to bear in mind that Angela is rather prone to exaggeration.
I’m prone to forget names,[+ to infinitive]
LIABLE,PRONE mean being by nature or through circumstances likely to experience something adverse,LIABLE implies a possibility or probability of incurring something because of position,nature,or particular situation *liable to get lost*,PRONE stresses natural tendency or propensity to incur something *prone to procrastination*,
count,to calculate the number of units in a group
If you don’t do as I tell you by the time I’ve counted (up) to three,there’ll be trouble - one,two,three,
The teachers counted the students as they got on to the coach,[T]
There’ll be eight for dinner,counting (= including) ourselves,[T]
To count down is to count backwards to zero,esp,before sending a spacecraft into space.
to consider or be considered as
(formal) I count myself fortunate to have had such a good education,[T]
I’ve had three jobs in the last five years,but one of them was unpaid,so that doesn’t count,[I]
I’ve always counted Lucy among my closest friends,[T]
to have value or importance; to matter
I’ve always believed that happiness counts more than money.
In our university/class,everybody counts.
If people spoil their voting papers,their votes don’t count (= they are ignored).
fatal,very serious and having an important bad effect in the future or (of illness,accidents,etc.) causing death
He made the fatal mistake of believing what they told him.
This illness is in almost all cases fatal.
DEADLY,MORTAL,FATAL,LETHAL mean causing or capable of causing death,DEADLY applies to an established or very likely cause of death *a deadly disease*,MORTAL implies that death has occurred or is inevitable *a mortal wound*,FATAL describes conditions,circumstances,or events that have caused or are destined inevitably to cause death or dire consequences,and stresses the inevitability of what has in fact resulted in death or destruction *fatal consequences*,LETHAL applies to something that is bound to cause death or exists for the destruction of life *lethal gas*,确定的死亡原因,可能为谋杀而策划的.
commit,People might be said not to commit themselves if they refuse to express an opinion on a subject.
We don’t want to commit ourselves to a financial plan until more details are known.
I can’t commit myself on that subject until I’ve taken legal advice.
to promise or give (your loyalty or money) to a particular principle,person or plan of action
I think I can come tonight but I won’t commit myself till I know for sure,[T]
Lots of women complain that the problem with men is that they won’t commit themselves to a relationship,[T]
The government claimed to commit itself to improving health care,[T]
cautious,a cautious person takes care to avoid risks.
He’s a cautious driver.
sth which is described as cautious is careful,well considered and sometimes slow or uncertain.
a cautious approach/ cautious criticism
CAUTIOUS,WARY,mean prudently watchful and discreet in the face of danger or risk,CAUTIOUS implies the exercise of forethought usually prompted by fear of danger *a cautious driver*,WARY emphasizes suspiciousness and alertness in watching for danger and cunning in escaping it *keeps a wary eye on the competition*,CAREFUL stresses attention,care and concern.
medieval,of or from the Middle Ages (= the period from about 1000 AD to 1500 AD,or from about 600 AD to 1500 AD),when the power of kings,people of high rank and the Christian Church was strong.
a medieval building/painting/town
dogmatic,the imposing of one’s will or opinion as though these were beyond challenge 独断的，教条的
Theirs is one of the most dogmatic political parties in Europe.
conviction,a determined belief or fixed opinion
Paul’s a man of strong convictions,[C]
She had a deep/firm/lifelong conviction (that) there would be a better life after death,[C + (that) clause]
You can’t do this kind of work if you don’t have conviction (= did not sound) about what you’re doing,[U]
maintain,to express firmly your belief that something is true
Throughout his prison sentence Dunn has always maintained his innocence,[T]
He maintained that he had never seen the woman before,[+ that clause]
to keep (a road,machine,building,etc.) in good condition
A large country house costs a lot to maintain.
The roads around the town have been very poorly maintained.
to continue to have; keep in existence,or not allow to become less
Despite living in different countries,the two families have maintained close links,[T]
as to,as to/as for means to change the subject to.
As to where we’ll get the money from,we’ll talk about that later.
as to means about.
I can’t answer questions as to how long this will last.
He was uncertain as to which road to take.
on one’s guard,be careful and aware because a situation might be dangerous.
It’s wise to be on your guard against people who are trying to con you.
warrant,[formal] to promise that (something) will be done or will happen
The retailer warranted that he would take back any faulty goods.
rid...of,to make (a person or place) free of someone or something unpleasant or harmful (rid/ ridded)
Our aim is to rid this government of corruption,[usually + of]
I didn’t enjoy doing the assignments and I was glad to be rid of them,[usually + of]
diminish,to reduce or be reduced in size or importance
I don’t want to diminish her achievements,but she did have a lot of help,[T]
The memory of them will not be diminished by time,[T]
We have seen the value of our house diminish greatly/sharply/substantially in value over the last six months,[I]
DECREASE,LESSEN,DIMINISH,REDUCE,ABATE,DWINDLE mean to grow or make less,DECREASE suggests a progressive decline in size,amount,numbers,or intensity *slowly decreased the amount of pressure*,LESSEN suggests a decline in amount rather than in number *has been unable to lessen her debt*,DIMINISH emphasizes a perceptible loss and implies its subtraction from a total *his visual acuity has diminished*,REDUCE implies a bringing down or lowering *you must reduce your caloric intake*,ABATE implies a reducing of something excessive or oppressive in force or amount *the storm abated*,DWINDLE implies progressive lessening and is applied to things growing visibly smaller *their provisions dwindled slowly*
insular,[disapproving] interested only in your own country or group and not willing to accept different or foreign ideas
Theirs is a very insular culture,protected as it is from outside influences.
seek out,[formal] If you seek someone or something out you look for them (and find them).
After the meeting he sought out the person who had spoken about the plans,[M]
While he was at the library he decided to seek some information out on the aging phenomenon,
perverse,[disapproving] (of a person) intentionally acting in a way that is unreasonable or harmful,or (of an action or feeling) unreasonable or unexpected; incorrect,improper 刚愎的，执拗的，逆反的，不正当的 wrongheaded,determined,or cranky opposition to what is reasonable or normal
Jack was being perverse and refused to do anything the rest of us wanted to do.
She took a perverse delight in hearing that her sister was getting divorced.
The police investigating the case believed that the murderer was a person who took a perverse pleasure in violence.
compare,to examine or look for the difference between (two or more things)
He compared her to a summer day,
Compare some recent work with your older stuff and you’ll see how much you’ve improved.
COMPARE implies an aim of showing relative values or excellences by bringing out characteristic qualities whether similar or divergent *compared the convention facilities of the two cities*,CONTRAST implies an emphasis on differences *contrasted the computerized system with the old filing cards*
subject to,subject to depending on the stated thing happening
We plan to go on Wednesday,subject to your approval.
Any such settlement is subject to the court’s permission.
Moving all the books should not take long,subject to there being (= if there are) enough helpers.
undo,to remove the good or bad effects of (an action or several actions)
I did a really tough aerobics class and then went out for a meal and undid all the good work!
It’s very difficult to undo the damage that’s caused by inadequate parenting in a child’s early years.
prevailing,existing in a particular place or at a particular time.
The prevailing mood is one of optimism.
We will have to look at the offer in the light of prevailing circumstances.
Under prevailing law,the government cannot annul such marriages.
refutation,[formal or legal] the act or process of saying or proving that (a person,statement,opinion,etc.) is wrong or false
short,lacking
We’re a bit short of coffee - I must remember to get some more.
Computers are in rather short supply in this office (= There are not enough).
(informal) She’s like her mother - a bit short on brains (= She is not very clever).
I’m a little short (= I do not have much money) this week - could you lend me ten dollars?
cocksure,[informal disapproving] too confident in a way that is slightly unpleasant or rude
He’s so cocksure I don’t think he ever doubts himself for one moment.
be convinced of,to make (someone) certain; to persuade
Your explanation might have convinced Sheila,but it didn’t convince me.
He managed to convince the jury of his innocence.
It’s useless trying to convince her (that) she doesn’t need to lose any weight,[+ object + (that) clause]
I hope this will convince you to change your mind,[+ object + to infinitive]
retort,[slightly formal] (to make) a quick annoyed or clever answer
She offered to help me but I retorted that I could do it myself,[+ that clause]
“If I were your wife I’d put poison in your coffee,” she said,-,And if I were your husband I’d drink it,” he retorted,[+ speech]
He made an angry retort,[C]
conceal,to prevent (something) from being seen or known about; to hide (something)
The entrance to the house is concealed behind high gates,[T]
I tried to conceal my surprise when she said she was only 22,[T]
Is there something you’re concealing from me? [T]
He managed to conceal from his parents where he was going,[+ wh- word]
HIDE and CONCEAL,HIDE may or may not suggest intent *hide in the closet* *a house hidden in the woods*,CONCEAL usually does imply intent and often specifically implies a refusal to divulge *concealed the weapon*,
adjust,to change (something or yourself) slightly,esp,in order to make it more correct,effective,or suitable
If the chair is too high you can adjust it to suit you,[T]
She adjusted her skirt,took a deep breath and walked into the room,[T]
I can’t adjust to living on my own,[I]
The lifestyle is so very different - it takes a while to adjust,[I]
seeing that,(informal seeing as,not standard seeing as how) considering or accepting the fact that; as
Seeing that we need to arrive by twelve o’clock,we’d better leave at nine.
We may as well go to the concert,seeing as (how) we’ve already paid for the tickets.
conceit,too much pride or too much confidence in your general ability to perform particular actions or to achieve particular aims
She is full of conceit.
The conceit of that man is incredible!
for aught we know,aught - anything
I haven’t seen her and she could be in Australia for aught I know/care (= it is something I do not care about).
Appendix C,Some of the Prefixes in This Text
Prefixes of numbers
uni-,un- (L),mono- (Gk)
unicycle,uniform,unicorn,unanimous
monolingual,monologue,monotonous,monosyllabic
bi-,bin- (L),di- (Gk);
bilateral,bicycle,biennial,biannual (twice a year),biceps,bilingual,bifocus,biweekly
diatomic,duet,dioxide,divalent,dialogue
tri- (Gk L),ter- (L)
triangle,trilingual,trimonthly,triweekly,triceps
tertiary,
quadri-,quadr-,quadru- (L),tetra-,tetr- (Gk)
quadrilateral
quadraphonic/quadrophonic (of an electronic system of recording,playing or receiving sound; having sound coming from four different directions),quadruped (any animal that has four legs),quadruple (to become four times as big,or to multiply (a number or amount) by four),quartet,
tetravalent,
quinque-,quinqu-,quin-,quint-,quintu- (L),penta-,pent- (Gk)
quinquelateral
quintet
pentathlon,pentagon,pentathlete
sexi-,sex- (L),hexa-,hex- (Gk)
sexisyllabic,
sexangle,sextuple,sextuplet (twin),sextupole
hexagon
septa-,septi-,sept- (L),hepta-,hept- (Gk)
September,septuple
heptagon,heptagonal,heptangle,heptathlon,heptathlete
oct-,octa-,octo- (L Gk)
octagon,October,octuple,octave,octagon,octet
octopus,
nona-,non- (L),ennea- (Gk)
nonagon,nonuple
ennehedron
dec-,deca- (Gk)
decagon,December,decade
semi-
semifinal,semicircle,semiautomatic,semi-diameter,semicolon
cent-
cent,century,centimeter,percent,centigrade
kilo-
kilogram,kilometer
multi-
multiple,multimedia,multiparty
Some other prefixes super-,sub-,uni-,un-,in-,de-
super-,supermarket,superman,supersonic,supervisor
sub-,subconsciously,submarine,subcontinent,subcategory,
un-,undo,uncover,unscrew
de-,decompose,demerit
in-,insoluble,incomplete,inconvenient,inactive,incredible,incorrect,indigestion,invisible,inhuman,infamous,infinite
im-,impossible,impenetrable,impractical,immoral,immortal,impatient,imperfect,impure
il-,illegal,illogical,illiterate
ir-,irregular,irresponsible
Appendix D,Sequencing Statements
1. For thousands of years,the Chinese have collected and experimented with the edibles available in China.
2. On the contrary,they have adopted foreign foods since the dawn of history.
3. Few cultures in the world today have developed as imaginative a cuisine as the Chinese,
4. This statement is not to say that they resisted imported foods.
5. Even in prehistoric times,the Chinese accepted wheat,goats,and sheep from Central Asia,
Key,3,1,4,2,5.
Appendix E,Quiz
Complete the following sentences with words or phrases from this unit,changing forms if necessary.,
1. We are all ___________ ______ (feel certain sth is true) his innocence,
2. He ___________ (say that something or someone is like someone or something else) his girlfriend to a summer day,
3. _________ ______ (Considering the fact that) we need to arrive by twelve o’clock,we’d better leave at nine.
4. ___________ (change slightly) the car seat so that all the controls are within reach.
5. I don’t want to ___________ (reduce) her achievements,but she did have a lot of help.
6. I can’t answer questions ______ ______ (about,concerning) how long this situation will last.
7. He ___________ (express firmly) that he had never seen the woman before.
8. My inner voice told me to be ___________ (careful).
9. Graf made a ___________ (very serious) mistake halfway through the match.
10. You’re more ___________ ______ (likely to suffer from sth) illnesses when you’re tired and your body is run-down.
Key, 1. convinced of 2. compares 3. Seeing that
4. Adjust 5. diminish 6. as to
7. maintained 8. cautious/ wary 9. fatal
10,prone to Appendix F,The Internet Classroom
