Lesson 1 Chinese Seasonal Festival

Teaching aims:

To use pictures to help understand new words

To read a text quickly to find specific information

To practise the Present Simple Passive, Present Continuous Passive, Past Simple Passive, Present Perfect Passive and Past Continuous Passive.

To practise spoken English

Teaching difficulties:

To read a text quickly to find specific information

To practise the Present Simple Passive, Present Continuous Passive, Past Simple Passive, Present Perfect Passive and Past Continuous Passive.

Teaching Aids: computer and cassette

Teaching procedures:

Ⅰ. Warming up

T: What’s your favorite season?

S:

T: (show some slides about “spring” “summer” “autumn” and “winter” )What festivals happen during your favorite season?

S: students will say out different festivals in different seasons.

T: Today we will read three articles about Chinese Seasonal Festival, now guess what festivals they are?

S:

T: They are the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Lantern Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival. Before reading the text can you introduce these festivals in your own words?

S:

T: Ok, I’m glad that your spoken English has improved. You can describe these festivals’ character. Now let’s read the text you will learn more from them.

Ⅱ Reading

Read the text and do the exercise (according to these pictures say out the names of festivals)

T: Are you interested in these festivals?

S:

T: Read the text quickly and the following sentences tell me which festival it belongs to?

1.      On that day, many people try their best to go home to share the feeling of ‘being together’ with families.

2. This festival marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebration.

3. This festival marks the beginning of the hottest season of the year.

4. The special food for this festival is sweet dumplings.

5. The festival falls on fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar.

6. On that day, the moon is said to be biggest and brightest.

Answers: 1. the Mid-Autumn Festival   2. the Lantern Festival  3. the Dragon Boat Festival 4. the Lantern Festival  5. the Dragon Boat Festival  6. the Mid-Autumn Festival

Ⅲ Talking and speaking

Divide the class into three groups. Each group reads one section of the text carefully and writes four or five questions about it. Then give the class three or four minutes to read the whole text again. Students close their books，in turn each group asks its questions for the rest of the class to answer.

Do the exercise 3

Encourage students to describe other festivals they know well but they can’t tell the name of the festival so that other students will be interested to guess what they are.

Ⅳ Voice your opinion

1. Do you think too much money is spent at festival times? Why or why not?

2. Which festival in China is most important for children? Young people? Old people? Women and men?

Ⅴgrammar

Show students the basic passive structure: be +past participate; be +being + participate

Compare a sentence of the active voice with one of the passive voice.

Do the exercise 5, 6, 7 and 8

Ⅵ Vocabulary

Do the exercise 9

Ⅶ Homework

Do the exercise 10