Module 5  Great people and Great Invention

Teaching planModule FiveGreat People and Great Inventions of Ancient China

                          

Teaching Aims:

1. Knowledge and Skill

a. To make them know something about some great people and inventions in ancient China such as :Confucius, Mencius , Mozi and their teaching thoughts.

b. Enable the students to learn how to express their own opinions and how to give reasons.

c. Enable Ss to express their opinions about philosophers.

d. Learn how to describe a famous person in ancient China.

e. Grasp the usage of defining attributive clause.

2.Emotion and Values

a. Cultivate their awareness of culture and the sense of pride to the motherland.

b. To encourage the Ss to be active and cooperative in the class

3. Cross-cultural awareness:

a. Understand Chinese and foreign philosophers and their thought, culture, strengthen their awareness of culture.

b. Compare the Industrial Revolution in Europe and China, and enable them know the importance of creativity.

4. Character-building:

a. To arouse their curiosity of the great inventions both at home and abroad. And let them know the importance of being creative.

Difficulties and Importance:

a.  Use the expressions of giving reasons freely.

b.  Help the students understand the text exactly and retell the text in students’ own words.

b. Master the usage of attributive clause.

Teaching Method:

a. Task-based methodology 

b. Communicative Approach

Teaching Time:

Five periods:

Period 1 vocabulary and speaking

Function Giving a definition

Period 2 Reading and Vocabulary

Period 3 Grammar 1 Defining attributive clauses

Grammar 2 Defining attributive clauses: of whom, in which

Everyday English

Period 4 Listening and Vocabulary

Speaking

Period 5 Cultural corner

Writing

Teaching Procedures:

Period 1

Step 1. Warming up

Look at the pictures and answer the following questions. 

 

Q1. Who are they?

Q2. What is their life-long career?

Q3. How much do you know about them

and their teachings?

Suggested answers:

1. They are Confucius, Mencius, and Mozi.

2. They are private teachers.

3. Open question.

Step 2. Vocabulary.

Know the meaning of the following words and use some of the words to complete the gaps.

Equal  importance  look after   philosopher  philosophy  

Ruler  state        teachings  thinker    treat   war

In ancient China, private teachers traveled from state to s_______ explaining their p________ Confucius was the most important of the ancient Chinese p________ Confucius’s  t_________ influenced society for more than 2000 years. Other important t_______  included Mencius and Mozi. All three teachers believed in the  i_________ of kindness and good government. Mencius’s ideas were very similar to those of Confucius, but some of Mozi’s t_________ were very different. For example, he hated the idea of w_____ and believed that strong people should l_________ weaker people.

Suggested answers:

1. state  2. philosophy  3. philosophers  4. teachings  5. thinkers  6. importance

7. teachings  8. war   9. look after

Step 3 Read the passage above again and answer the following questions.

Q1. Which ancient philosophers were mentioned in the passage?

Q2. What did they all believe in?

Q3. In what way were Confucius’ ideas different from Mozi’s ideas?

Suggested ideas.

1. Confucius, Mencius, and Mozi.

2. They all believe in the importance of kindness and good government.

3. Mozi hated the idea of war and believed that strong people should look after weaker people.

Step 4 Read the following statements. Translate them into Chinese first and then tick the ideas that Confucius taught.

1. Man is born good

2. All human beings are equal.

3. The family is important. We are members of a group.

4. Treat others in the way you want to be treated.

5. People are more important than rulers

6. We should love all human beings.

Suggested answers:

1. 人之初性本善。

2. 众生平等。

3. 家庭重要，我们是群体的成员。

4. 以其人之道还治其人之身。

5. 民为贵，君为轻。

6. 我们应爱所有的人。

Confucius idea: 3, 4.

Step 5 Function Giving Reasons

a. Presentation:

I am tired today because I didn't sleep well last night.

The reason why I am tired today is that I didn't sleep well last night.

b. Explanation

How to give reasons?

…because …,The reason why …is(was) that…

c. Practice

7. we remember the ancient philosophers because their ideas are important.

8. I bought the book because it is about philosophy.

9. Mencius resigned because the ruler was not following his advice.

10. Mozi hated the idea of war because he thought people should not kill each other.

Suggested answers:

1. The reason why we remember the ancient philosophers is that their ideas are important.

2. The reason why I bought the book is that it is about philosophy.

3. The reason why Mencius resigned was that the ruler was not following his advice.

4. The reason why Mozi hated the idea of war was that he thought people shouldn’t kill each other.

Step 6. Discussion:

1. Choose two ideas in Step 4 that you agree with most. Write one or two sentences explaining why.

2. Say three things you know about Confucius.

3. Say what you know about Mencius and Mozi.

Homework:

1. To get more information about great philosophers in ancient China from other resources.

2. Preview the content of the passage in reading and vocabulary.

Period 2

Step 1 Pre-reading:

Q1. How do people usually measure a country’s achievement?

Q2. Why can “Education” measure a country’s achievement?

Q3. What have you known about Confucius, Mencius, and Mozi?

Q4. Can you translate the following sentences into Chinese?

   a. Where there are three men walking together, one of them is bound to be able to teach me something.

b. What you do not want done to you, don’t do to others.

c. To study and not think is a waste; to think and not study is dangerous.

Suggested answers:

1. life expectancy; education; income

2. It is very important factor for the development of a country not only at present but also in ancient time and in future.

3. open.

4. a. 三人行，必有我师焉。

b. 己所不欲，毋施于人。

c. 学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。

Step 2 While-reading:

a. Skimming:

Read the passage quickly and find the answer to the questions:

Who are the three great persons that the writer is talking about?      

b. Scanning

Read the passage quickly and try to find the answers.

1. The Chinese people ______for over 2,000 years.

 A. followed Confucius’s teachings   B. influenced Confucius

2. Mencius believed that people are _____important than rulers.

 A. less        B. more

3. Mohism began _______.

A. in 476 BC                   B. by mozi

4. Mozi did not agree with ________.

  A. kindness             B. war

5. Mencius had important government positions, _________.

A. but Mozi did not      B. and so did Mozi

Suggested answers:

1. A   2. |B   3. B  4. B  5. A

c. Detailed-reading

Read the passage carefully; and fill the form with the proper information.

Name	Year of Birth	Length of living	Background	Ideas	Influence
Confucius
Mencius
Mozi

Suggested answers:

Name	Year of Birth	Length of living	Background	Ideas	Influence
Confucius	551 BC	72	1.States were at war with each other. 2. There are many great philosophers	kindness, duty; order in society	1. Chinese society was influenced by these ideas for more than 2000 years 2. The founder of the Ru School of Chinese thought.
Mencius	372 BC	83	1. Came from poor family. 2. Unusual clothes and behavior.	kindness; people were more important	1. Every influential. 2. Found the philosophy called Mohism
Mozi	476 BC	86	1. His father died. 2. Brought up by his mother. 3. An important position in the government.	men were equal; love for the weak	The book of Mencius

Step 3 Post-reading

Ex1. Read the passage again, and then decide whether the following statements are true or false.

1. Confucius lived in a country where there was no war a long time ago.

2. Confucius was a philosopher whose influence has been the greatest for more than 2000 years.

3. Mencius was a student taught by Confucius.

4. Some rulers followed the advice which was given by Mencius.

5. Mozi was a man who lived an unusual life.

Suggested answers:

1,3, 4, F   2, 5, T

Ex2. Reading comprehension.

1. Whose influence has been the greatest among all the philosophers of ancient China?

A. Mencius   B. Mozi         C. Confucius     D. Zhuangzi

2.  Confucius stressed the importance of the following aspects except__________

A. Kindness         B. friendship   C. order   D. duty

3. Which is  NOT the right statement about Mozi?

A. He was known for his unusual clothes and behavior.

B. He hated the idea of war.

C. All his beliefs were the same as Confucius.

D. He believed all men were equal.

4. “If the government was kind, then people would be good.” is the teaching of _________.

A. Mencius            B.Confucius   

C. Mozi                    D. Xunzi  

5. Which belief by Mozi was similar to that of Confucius?

A. We should love all human beings.

B. The government shouldn’t treat people badly.

C. We should look after those who are weaker than ourselves.

D. The government was most important.

6.  What’s main idea of the passage?

A. The author wants to make people believe in the teachings by thinkers of ancient.

B. The author wants to introduce three influential philosophers of ancient China.

C. The author wants to tell interesting stories about three important teachers in ancient China.

D. The author wants to show the history of philosophy in ancient China.

7.  Which shows the right order of time when the three great thinkers lived?

A. Confucius--- Mencius ---Mozi   B.Mencius----Mozi----Confucius

  C. Confucius---Mozi---Mencius      D.Mozi--- Mencius---Confucius

8.   From the text we can infer that___________

A. Only in time of war could philosophers produce great  teaching.

B. It was not easy to find a state where people would follow the thinker's teaching.

C. Great philosophers must have been born in poor families.

D. Influential philosophers wouldn’t agree with each other.

Suggested answers:

1. C  2. B  3. C 4. A   5. D 6. B.   7. C   8. B

Step 4. Language Explanations:

【词条1】influence

【课文原句】

Confucius’s teachings influenced society for more than 2,000 years. (Page 43)

【点拨】此处influence为动词，意思是“对……有影响”，整句意为“孔子的学说影响了中国社会有两千多年”。如：

My teacher influenced my decision to study art.

【词条2】stress, order

【课文原句】He stressed the importance of kindness, duty and order in society. (Page43)

【点拨】stress 此处意为“强调，着重”，相当于emphasize。整句话意为“他强调了仁爱、责任和社会秩序的重要性”。如：

 He stressed the point that we should be punctual.

【拓展】stress可作名词，有“压力；强调”之意。如：under the stress of 在……的压力下；

place / put / lay stress on 重视，强调。如：

The boy stole the bread under the stress of huger.

Our English teacher put particular stress on the important of reading English aloud.

【点拨2】order此处意为“秩序，次序”。常见的搭配有：in order 按顺序，整齐；out of order 不整齐，状态混乱。如：

Since the war broke out, the whole society was totally out of order.

【拓展】order还可意为“命令；点（菜等）；定货”，可作名词或动词。如：

It’s time we ordered dinner.

May I have your order, please?

【词条3】found

【课文原句】Mozi founded the philosophy called mohism. (Page 43)

【点拨】found此处意为“创立”。该句意为“墨子创立了墨家哲学”。如：

The rich man founded a school for poor children in his hometown.

【拓展】

1. found on / unpon 意为“把……建在……上；基于……”，常用于被动语态。如：

This story isn’t founded on fact at all.

2. found的名词形式为foundation，意为“地基；基础”。如：lay the foundations of a building 给建筑物奠基。

【词条4】bring up

【课文原句】                          

His father died when he was young, and he was brought up by his mother. (Page 43)

【点拨】bring up 此处意为“抚养、养育”。如：

The old man has brought up three children.

The boy was brought up by his aunt.

【词条5】a time

【课文原句】It was also a time when there were many great philosophers. (Page 43)

【点拨】a time此处意为“一个时期，一段时间”。如：

It’s a time since I saw you last.

【拓展】time常见的搭配还有：

1. at a time 每次，一次。常用于“数词＋at a time”的场合。如：

He spoke two hours at a time.

2. at one time 过去某个时候，曾经。如：

At one time I used to go swimming every Sunday.

3. at the same time 同时，一齐。如：

Can a man both read and write at the same time?

【词条6】be at war with

【课文原句】Ancient China was a place where states were often at war with each other. (Page43)

【点拨】at war意为“处于战争状态中”， be at war with意为“与……处于战争状态中”，而at /in peace则是“处于和平状态，相安无事”的意思。如：

The two country are always at war with each other these years.

We hope all the countries in the world will be at peace forever.

【词条7】be similar to

【课文原句】Mengzi was a thinker whose teachings were very similar to that of Confucius.

【点拨】be similar to是“和……相似”的意思，“在……方面相似”用be similar in。如：  

Shenzhen is similar to Hongkong in many ways.

Gold is similar in color to brass.

【拓展】 be the same as与……相同；

be different from与……不同。如：

His appearance is quite different from his elder brother.

I’ll get the same bicycle as I had before.

Step 5. Discussion:

Q1. What kind of conclusion can you draw after learning the philosophers of Ancient China?

Q2. What should you do after knowing something about three great philosophers and their thoughts?

Suggested answers:

1. They all believed in the importance of kindness and good government. They were all teachers, thinkers and philosophies. Mozi hated the idea of war.

2. Treasure them and learn from these ideas; develop the Chinese traditional virtues-- to respect teachers and elders.

Homework:

1. Read the passage several times to get more familiar with the information in it.

2. Write a biography of famous person in ancient China.