Unit 6 Great minds-B Reading and critical thinking 教学设计 2025-2026学年沪外教版英语八年级上册

Unit 6 Great minds-B Reading and critical thinking This reading passage in Unit 6 of the 2024 Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press English textbook for Grade 8 Upper Secondary focuses on introducing great minds in history. It might include stories and contributions of famous figures from different fields such as science, literature, and philosophy. Through vivid descriptions and detailed accounts, students are presented with the ideas, achievements, and the process of how these great minds overcame difficulties. The text aims to inspire students, expand their knowledge about historical greats, and cultivate their critical thinking skills when analyzing and evaluating the content. 教学目标 A. Knowledge Objectives Students will be able to understand and master new words and phrases related to great minds, such as “genius”, “invent”, “contribution”, “philosophy” etc., and use them correctly in sentences. They can grasp the main idea and important details of the reading passage, and be able to retell the stories of the great minds briefly. B. Ability Objectives Improve students' reading skills, including skimming for the general idea, scanning for specific information, and inferring the meaning from context. Develop students' critical thinking ability. They should be able to analyze the reasons for the success of great minds, evaluate their contributions, and express their own opinions reasonably. Enhance students' oral and written communication skills. They can discuss the topic of great minds in groups and write a short passage about a great mind they admire. C. Emotional Objectives Cultivate students' respect and admiration for great minds in history, and inspire them to strive for excellence in their own lives. Foster students' interest in learning about historical and cultural knowledge, and broaden their horizons. 教学重难点 A. Key Points New words, phrases, and key sentence patterns in the reading passage. For example, “make a great contribution to...”, “be famous for...”, etc. Understanding the main idea, details, and the overall structure of the passage. Developing students' reading skills, especially skimming, scanning, and critical reading. B. Difficult Points Helping students to think critically about the content, such as analyzing the factors that led to the success of great minds and evaluating their long - term influence. Guiding students to express their complex thoughts and opinions clearly and accurately in English, both orally and in writing. A. New Words and Phrases genius /ˈdʒiːniəs/n. a person who has an unusually high level of intelligence, or a very great ability or skill 天才；天赋 Einstein was a mathematical genius. 爱因斯坦是个数学天才。 invent /ɪnˈvent/v. to create or design something that has never been made before 发明；创造 Bell invented the telephone in 1876. 贝尔于 1876 年发明了电话。 contribution /ˌkɒntrɪˈbjuːʃn/n. something that you do or give in order to help achieve or provide something 贡献 She made a major contribution to the success of the project. 她对该项目的成功作出了重大贡献。 philosophy /fəˈlɒsəfi/n. the study of the nature and meaning of existence, truth, good and evil, etc. 哲学 He is interested in the philosophy of ancient Greece. 他对古希腊哲学感兴趣。 be famous for 因…… 而著名 China is famous for its long history and rich culture. 中国以其悠久的历史和丰富的文化而闻名。 make a great contribution to 对…… 作出巨大贡献 Thomas Edison made a great contribution to the development of electricity. 托马斯・爱迪生对电的发展作出了巨大贡献。 B. Key Sentence Patterns Sb. is considered (as/to be) + n./adj. 某人被认为是…… Confucius is considered as one of the greatest philosophers in Chinese history. 孔子被认为是中国历史上最伟大的哲学家之一。 It is said that... 据说…… It is said that he has achieved great success in his research. 据说他在研究中取得了巨大成功。 教学过程 A. Lead - in (5 minutes) Show some pictures of well - known great minds like Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, and Leonardo da Vinci on the PPT. Ask students: “Do you know these people? What do you know about them?” Encourage students to share their prior knowledge. Then introduce the topic of this class: “Today, we are going to read a passage about some great minds. Let's explore their amazing stories and contributions.” B. Pre - reading (8 minutes) New Words Teaching Present the new words and phrases on the PPT one by one. Explain their meanings, pronunciations, and usages. For example, when teaching “genius”, show some pictures of geniuses and give sentences like “Mozart showed his musical genius from a very young age.” Let students read the words and phrases after the teacher several times to practice pronunciation. Prediction Ask students to look at the title, pictures, and subtitles in the reading passage. Then ask them to predict what the passage might be about. For example, if the title is “Great Minds in Science”, students may predict that the passage will talk about famous scientists, their inventions, and discoveries. Write down some of their predictions on the blackboard. C. While - reading (20 minutes) Skimming (3 minutes) Let students read the passage quickly within 3 minutes. Ask them to find out the main idea of each paragraph and the overall main idea of the passage. After they finish reading, invite some students to share their answers. For example, if the passage has three paragraphs, one student may say: “Paragraph 1 is about the definition of a great mind. Paragraph 2 introduces a famous scientist and his achievements. Paragraph 3 talks about the influence of great minds on society. The overall main idea is to introduce what great minds are and some examples of great minds.” Scanning (7 minutes) Give students some detailed questions related to the passage, such as “When did Thomas Edison invent the light bulb?”, “What was Isaac Newton's most famous discovery?” Let students read the passage carefully again to find the answers to these questions. After they finish, check the answers together. This can help students improve their ability to find specific information in the text. Critical Reading (10 minutes) Divide students into groups of 4 - 5. Present some critical thinking questions to each group, such as “What do you think are the most important qualities for a great mind?”, “How did the social environment at that time affect the achievements of these great minds?” Let students discuss these questions in groups. Walk around the classroom to monitor their discussions and offer help if necessary. After the discussion, each group selects a representative to report their group's opinions to the whole class. Encourage other groups to ask questions or make comments. D. Post - reading (10 minutes) Summary Summarize the key points of the reading passage with students, including new words, phrases, main idea, and important details. Review the critical thinking points discussed in class. Write a mind - map on the blackboard to help students better organize and remember the knowledge. Discussion and Writing Ask students to choose a great mind they admire the most. Let them first discuss in pairs about why they admire this person. Then ask them to write a short passage of about 80 - 100 words introducing this great mind, including basic information, achievements, and the reasons why they admire him/her. After they finish writing, ask some students to read their passages aloud in class. Give them appropriate praise and suggestions for improvement. E. Homework Assignment (2 minutes) Ask students to rewrite their short passages about the great mind they chose, based on the comments in class, and hand it in next class. Encourage students to do some extra reading about great minds on their own, such as reading biographies or watching documentaries, and share what they learn in the next class. 教学反思 Positive Aspects The use of pictures in the lead - in stage successfully attracted students' attention and aroused their interest in the topic. Most students were actively involved in sharing their knowledge about the great minds in the pictures. Group discussion in the critical reading part provided students with an opportunity to express their opinions freely. It was found that students could think actively and come up with some creative and reasonable viewpoints, which effectively developed their critical thinking ability. The combination of skimming, scanning, and critical reading in the while - reading stage helped students gradually master different reading skills. They became more proficient in understanding the overall text and extracting specific information. Areas for Improvement In the new words teaching, although various methods were used, some students still had difficulty in remembering the words. In the future, more vocabulary - building activities, such as word games or memory challenges, can be added to help students better memorize new words. During the group discussion, a few students were a bit passive and did not actively participate in the discussion. In the next class, more efforts should be made to encourage these students to get involved, for example, by assigning specific roles to each group member. In the writing part, some students had problems with grammar and sentence structure. It indicates that more grammar teaching and writing practice related to the topic are needed in the following classes. 2 / 37 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $