Unit 15 We’re trying to save the manatees!
Ⅰ． Teaching Aims and Demands
1． Knowledge Objects
（1） Key Vocabulary
manatee, cheetah, chimpanzee, kangaroo, polar-bear, gentle, furry, enormous, playful, noisy, aggressive, spotted
（2） Target Language
I am like this animal because I am strong and intelligent． I like water, and I like to eat vegetables．
You’re like an elephant．
No．
You’re like a manatee．
Yes．
2． Ability Objects
（1） Train students’ listening ability．
（2） Train students’ communicative competence．
3． Moral Object
Love all kinds of animals because they are our friends．
Ⅱ． Teaching Key Point
Target Language
Ⅲ． Teaching Difficult Points
1． How to train students’ listening ability．
2． How to train students’ communicative competence．
Ⅳ． Teaching Methods
1． Didactic to learn the new vocabulary．
2． Listening-and-answering activity to help
students go through with the listening material．
3． Groupwork to make every student work in class,
Ⅴ． Teaching Aids
1． A tape recorder
2． The blackboard
3． A projector
Ⅵ． Teaching Procedures
Step I Revision
Now let’s review five different verb tenses． Can you name the five tenses? Please look at the screen．
Show the names of the five tenses on the screen by a projector along with a sample sentence for each．
present progressive: You’re reading these sentences．
present: We use our books every day．
past with used to: He used to live in the countryside．
passive voice: Our classroom is found at the end of the hall．
present perfect: We have already finished Unit 14． We haven’t finished Unit15 yet．
Invite a student to read the verbs in these sentences． Then get other students to briefly explain what each tense is used for．
Present progressive describes things that are happening right now．
Present describes things that happen all the time or usually happen．
The past with used to describes things that were a certain way in the past, but have changed now．
The passive voice describes things that we don’t know who did, or we don’t care who performed the action．
The present perfect describes recent events．
Get students to think of two or three more sample sentences using each type of verb． Have several students read their sentences．
Step Ⅱ 1a
This activity introduces the key vocabulary．
Look at the signs on each animal’s picture and read the words to the class． Get students to repeat the name of each animal．
African elephants, chimpanzees, kangaroos, manatees, cheetahs, polar bears． If necessary, read the words and ask students to repeat them again． Then have students read the words by themselves．
Make sure students can read the words correctly and fluently．
Read the directions to the class． Point to the list of words in the box． Read the words and let students repeat them． Then get different students to explain what they think each word means in their own words． For example, A gentle animal is quiet and not dangerous． A fury animal is covered with soft hair． Ask some students to explain any words students may not understand．
An enormous animal is very great．
A playful animal is full of fun．
An aggressive animal is fond of quarrels and quick-tempered．
A spotted animal is marked with spots．
Let students begin filling in the answers on their own． When they work, walk around the classroom checking their progress and answering any questions they may have． After students have finished using all the words from the box, let the students write some other words in the blanks below some of the pictures．
Check the answers with the whole class．
Let students say the words they wrote under each heading．
Answers
Possible answers
manatee: gentle, shy
chimpanzees: noisy
elephants: enormous, gray
kangaroos: playful
cheetahs: spotted, fast
polar bears: aggressive, furry
Step Ⅲ 1b
This activity gives students practice in understanding the target language in spoken conversation．
Go through the instructions with the class． Look back at the list of words in Activity 1a． You will hear Ginny and Victor talk about the animals in the picture in Activity 1a． Now please listen to the recording carefully and circle the words on the list that they use to describe the animals．
Play the recording the first time． This time students only listen． Play the recording a second time． Now listen to the recording again and circle the words you hear on the recording．
Check the answers．
Answers
These words should be circled:
aggressive, gentle, shy, furry, gray, fast, spotted
Tapeseript
Boy: Hey, Ginny, What’s that big, furry animal in the pond?
Girl: It’s a polar bear, Victor． They’re kind of aggressive．
Boy: Are they? They looks like really love water．
Girl: Uh-huh．
Boy: And what do you call those big, gray things in the water?
Girl: They’re called manatees．
Boy: What?
Girl: Manatees． They’re very gentle and very shy．
Boy: Oh． And how about the yellow and black spotted animals in that cage?
Girl: They’re cheetahs． The cheetah is the fastest animal on earth．
Step Ⅳ 1c
This activity provides oral practice using the target language．
Go through the instructions with the whole class．
Look at the sample conversation in the box and get three students to read it aloud to the class．
SA: I am like this animal because I am strong and intelligent． I like water, and I like to eat vegetables．
SB: You’re like an elephant．
SA: No．
SC: You’re like a manatee．
SA: Yes!
Tell students to think of an animal that is the same as them in some ways． Take a few minutes to write down a statement．
Say, You can write a sentence or two that describes how you are similar to the animal you choose． Don’t say the name of the animal．
A few minutes later, let student read their statements to the class and see how quickly the other students can guess what animal the students is talking about．
Statement 1
S1:I am like this animal because I am playful and funny．
Ss: You’re like a polar bear．
S1: No．
Ss: You’re like a kangaroo．
S1: Yes!
Statement 2
S2: I am like this animal because I run very fast． I like to wear colorful clothes．
Ss: You’re a kangaroo．
S2: No．
Ss: You’re like a cheetah．
S2: Yes!
Note
like—（here prep． ）in the manner of
Step Ⅴ Summary
In this class, we’ve learned some important words such as manatee, kangaroo, Po ;; ar bear, gentle, furry, enormous, playful, noisy, aggressive, spotted． We’ve also learned the target language I am like this animal because I am strong and intelligent． I like water, and I like to eat vegetables． You are like an elephant． No． You’re like a manatee． Yes!
Step Ⅵ Homework
1． Get students to write down some statements and read them to their partners．
Let the partners guess what animals they are talking about．
2． Review the new words in the box in
Activity 1a．