Unit 17 Disabilities
⒐.Brief Statements Based on the Unit
This unit mainly tells us the difficulties that the disabled people may face.The text¨Disabled? Not me!〃shows us a middle school studentXZhong Xiaowen,who could only move around in her wheelchair,could overcome lots of difficulties,and finally succeeded.From her success,we learn something important.There is nothing difficult in the world if you stick to it.When you meet with difficulty in your life and study,please donˇt lose heart.
The teacher should train the studentsˇ mental and moral character of taking pleasure in helping the disabled and help the students to know how to help the disabled to build up the spirit of ¨being stronger,independent and equal to normal people in activities〃.Of course it is necessary for students to master the important phrases and sentence patterns in this unit.Meanwhile we should review the usage of the Direct and Indirect Object.
⒑.Teaching Goals
1.Talk about disability.
2.Practise talking about ability and inability.
3.Review Direct and Indirect Objects.
4.Write an argumentative essay.
⒒.Background Information
1.Will Inspired Life
The little country schoolhouse was heated by an old-fashioned,pot-bellied coal stove.A little boy had the job of coming to school early each day to start the fire and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates arrived.
One morning they arrived to find the schoolhouse engulfed in flames.They dragged the unconscious little boy out of the flaming building more dead than alive.He had major burns over the lower half of his body and was taken to a nearby county hospital.From his bed the dreadfully burned,semiconscious little boy faintly heard the doctor talking to his mother.The doctor told his mother that her son would surely dieXwhich was for the best,reallyXfor the terrible fire had devastated the lower half of his body.
But the brave boy didnˇt want to die.He made up his mind that he would survive.Somehow,to the amazement of the physician,he did survive.When the mortal danger was past,he again heard the doctor and his mother speaking quietly.The mother was told that since the fire had destroyed so much flesh in the lower part of his body,it would almost be better if he had died,since he was doomed to be a lifetime cripple with no use at all of his lower limbs.
Once more the brave boy made up his mind.He would not be a cripple.He would walk.But unfortunately,from the waist down,he had no motor ability.His thin legs just dangled there,all but lifeless.Ultimately he was released from the hospital.Every day his mother would massage his little legs,but there was no feeling,no control,nothing.Yet his determination that he would walk was as strong as ever.When he wasnˇt in bed,he was confined to a wheelchair.One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some fresh air.This day,instead of sitting there,he threw himself from the chair.He pulled himself across the grass,dragging his legs behind him.He worked his way to the white picket fence bordering their lot.With great effort,he raised himself up on the fence.Then,stake by stake,he began dragging himself along the fence,resolved that he would walk.He started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard beside the fence.There was nothing he wanted more than to develop life in those legs.Ultimately through his daily massages,his iron persistence and his resolute determination,he did develop the ability to stand up,then to walk haltingly,then to walk by himselfXand thenXto run.He began to walk to school,then to run to school,to run for the sheer joy of running.Later in college he made the track team.Still later in Madison Square Garden this young man who was not expected to survive,who would surely never walk,who could never hope to runXthis determined young man,Dr. Glenn Cunningham,ran the worldˇs fastest mile!
2.Helen Keller
Helen Keller(1880~1968) was a famous author and educator.She was stricken at the age of 19 months with an illness that left her deaf and blind.She became mute shortly thereafter.Her parents in 1887 got her a teacher Anne Mansfield Sullivan from the Perkings School for the Blind in Boston.A remarkable,close relationship developed between teacher and pupil.Within two years,Miss Keller was able to read and write in Braille.She graduated(1904)from Radcliffe College,where Miss Sullivan had spelled the lectures into her hand.
Helen Keller devoted her life to publicly aiding the deaf and blind.With the aid of a translator,she toured the world to promote the education of persons similarly afflicted.She wrote numerous books,including¨The Story of My Life〃(1902).
⒓.Teaching Time:Four periods
The First Period
Teaching Aims:
1.Learn and master the following:
Phrases:deal with,overcome the difficulties
Sentence Patterns:
If you were in a wheelchair,you wouldnˇt be able toK
If I were blind,I would need a/anK
2.Train the studentsˇ listening ability.
3.Improve the studentsˇ speaking ability by describing,talking and discussion.
Teaching Important Points:
1.Train the studentsˇ listening ability.
2.Make the students master the sentence patterns and describe the pictures freely.
Teaching Difficult Point:
How to improve the studentsˇ speaking ability.
Teaching Methods:
1.Listening-and-answering activity to help the students go through with the listening materials.
2.Individual,pair of group work to make every student work in class.
Teaching Aids:
1.a tape recorder
2.the multimedia
3.the blackboard
Teaching Procedures:
兂Step ⒐ Greetings and Lead-in
T:Good morning/afternoon,everyone.
Ss:Good morning/afternoon,Mr/Ms.
T:Sit down,please.First I want to ask you some questions.Have you been to some places of interest?Have you climbed the mountains?
Ss:Yes.(Students may have different answers.)
T:How can you get there?
Ss:We can get toKby bus/by train/on footK
T:Now please look at the screen.
(The teacher shows a picture of a wheelchair on the screen.)
How do you say it in English?
Ss:Wheelchair.
T:What kind of people uses it?
Ss:People with disabilities/who couldnˇt stand up.
T:Good.Now,tell me if you were in a wheelchair,would you be able to get to some places like tall buildings,high mountains?
Ss:I can go toKby myself,because thereˇs no step.Itˇs easy for me to get there.
T:Who has different answers?
S1:I can go toKwith the help of my friends.They can carry me up there.
S2:I canˇt go toK,because itˇs high on the top of the hill.What a pity!I can only look at it from far away.
兂Step ⒑ Warming up
T:Today weˇre going to learn Unit 17¨Disabilities〃.(Bb:Unit 17 Disabilities The First Period)
First letˇs look at some words.
(Show the following on the screen)
disability/,㈧IⅪ兊‖㈥IⅣIⅫI/n.鶭
ability/兊‖㈥IⅣIⅫI/n.鶭
sidewalk/‖Ⅺ㈤I㈧@兟儶Ⅲ/n.鶭
escalator/‖㈨ⅪⅢ兊Ⅳ㈨IⅫ兊 (r)/n.鶭
elevator/‖㈨ⅣI㈨IⅫ兊 (r)/n.鶭(=lift)
(Teacher teaches the words and explains them,then let the students look at the first four pictures on Page 49.)
T:OK.Now I want you to discuss the first four pictures using the following sentences.
1.Sentence Patterns:
(1)If I were in a wheelchair,I wouldK
(2)If I were blind,I wouldnˇtK
(Write them on the blackboard)
Yeah,please discuss them in groups of four.After a while,everyone is asked to talk about the pictures.Is that clear?
Ss:Yes.
T:OK.Please work in groups and try to imagine what difficulties and dangers you might face.
(After a while,teacher asks some students to talk about the pictures.If time permits,teacher may ask more students to answer.)
T:Now time is up.Who wants to say first?
S1:Picture 1.If I were in a wheelchair,I would not go to the public buildings because there were so many steps.
S2:Picture 2.If I were blind,I might fall down when walking on the sidewalk as itˇs not flat.
(Or:There are some blocks.)
S3:Picture 3.If I were disabled,I wouldnˇt go to the toilet,for the equipments are not fit for the disabled.
S4:Picture 4.If I were in a wheelchair.I couldnˇt ring in public places,because the public telephone is too high for me to reach.
T:How hard they are!We pay little attention to them in our daily life.We must take effective measures to improve their conditions.Letˇs see what changes have taken place.Please discuss in groups.In the meanwhile,we should notice the two phrases:deal with,overcome the difficulties.(Teacher writes the following on the blackboard.)
2.(1)deal with
e.g.How shall we deal with the problem?
(2)overcome the difficulties
(After a while,teacher asks some students to talk about the last four pictures.)
T:Now.Any volunteer?
S1:We should provide an entrance suitable for wheelchairs on the ground floor.
S2:We should build a special sidewalk for the blind,and fix some feeling equipment.
S3:We must provide suitable toilets for people with disabilities,fixing two handrails.
S4:We should set the public telephone in a proper place so that people in a wheelchair can reach it.
T:They hope to lead a normal life as we do,so we should help them overcome the difficulties.
兂Step ⒒ Listening
T:Now please turn to Page 50.Letˇs do some listening.You are going to hear John talking about his life.There are three questions for you to answer.You need to listen carefully.Is that clear?
S:Yes.
T:OK.Letˇs begin.
(Teacher plays the tape for the first time.Then play for the second time.During this time,teacher may pause for students to write down the information.Play some parts of the tape more times if necessary.Finally teacher checks the answers with the whole class.)
兂Step ⒓ Speaking
T:Please look at Speaking on Page 50.Now imagine you are disabled.Choose two of the situations below and discuss how you would deal with them.You may use the following sentence structures.
(Show the structures on the screen.)
I probably couldnˇtK
Iˇm sure I would be able toK
If IK,I would be able toK
I would need help toK
It would be difficult toK
I would try toK
T:OK.Please begin to discuss them.
(Teacher goes among the students and listens to their discussions,then chooses several students to express their ideas in different ways.)
Who can describe Situation 1?
S1:Iˇll try.If I were blind,it would be difficult for me to get there.But I would try my best.First I would walk down the familiar sidewalk with the aid of a walking stick.When crossing the street,I would ask others for help.Or I probably could get there by taxi.
S2:Situation 2.If I were deaf,I would not be able to hear other playersˇ words.It would be difficult for us to work together.I would have to read their facial expressions and gestures.
I think Iˇm more lucky than Helen Keller,for I can see.I should learn her spirit of studying,and try to imitate by looking at their mouths.Iˇm sure I would learn English well.
S3:Situation 3.If I were in a wheelchair,Iˇm sure I would be able to go shopping,eat at a fast food restaurant and then go to a cinema with the help of my friends.First I would do my best to get to the steps of the building by myself,and then they could carry me up to the entrance of the lift.Iˇm sure I would be able to get there and have a good time.
兂Step ⒔ Summary and Homework
T:In this class,weˇve done some listening and speaking.Weˇve also talked about the situations of the disabled.Of course,weˇve learned some useful sentence patterns.After class,practise more talking about disability in English.Master the useful sentence patterns,(Teacher points to the blackboard.)and preview the reading material¨Disabled?Not me!〃.So much for today.Goodbye,everyone!
兂Step ⒕ The Design of the Writing on the Blackboard
Unit 17 Disabilities
The First Period
1.Sentence Patterns:
(1)If I were in a wheelchair,I wouldK
(2)If I were blind,I wouldnˇtK
2.(1)deal with
e.g.How shall we deal with the problem?
(2)overcome the difficulties
兂Step ⒖ Record after Teaching