Unit 5 Looking into nature 课件-2025-2026学年外研版英语八年级下册

Unit 5 Looking into nature 第1课时 Starting out & Understanding ideas (Reading: 1—4) 1 Activity 1: Look and answer Boys and girls, what does the picture make you feel? Look at the picture of a starry sky and answer the question. 2 Activity 1: Look and answer What do you know about these people? What do they have in common? Look at the pictures in Part 1 of Starting out and answer the questions. 3 Activity 1: Look and answer What secrets of nature do you know? Which one do you want to explore more? Look at the picture in Part 2 of Starting out and answer the questions. 4 Activity 2: Guess and share unlock discovery change prove a window on the past key secrets of nature Look at the title and the pictures in Part 2 of Understanding ideas and guess what the passage is about. 5 Activity 3: Check and choose Read the passage in Part 2 of Understanding ideas and check your guess. 6 Activity 3: Check and choose Choose where you are most likely to read this passage. a In a popular science magazine about findings in nature. b In a newspaper report on exhibitions about dinosaurs. c In a sci-fi book about travelling 160 million years into the past. 7 Activity 4: Read and complete How does amber show the secrets of nature? ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ① It preserves parts of dinosaurs (like feathered tails), proving that some dinosaurs had feathers and changing old beliefs. ② It holds ancient plants and animals, showing how life on Earth has changed over millions of years. ③ It helps discover new species (like unknown ants), which can rewrite the history of certain organisms. ④ As a “window on the past”, it holds clues that are still being studied to unlock more of nature’s mysteries. Read Paragraph 2~Paragraph 4 in Part 2 and answer the question. 8 Activity 4: Read and complete secrets Thanks to (always) changed 35 million unknown ants nature window Complete the diagram in Part 4 with the words and expressions from the passage. 9 Activity 5: Think and share What do you think of Paragraph 1? Why does the writer begin like this? I think Paragraph 1 is ______. It makes me feel (like) ______. The writer begins like this to ______. What are some other ways for you to learn about nature’s secrets? Discuss the questions in “Think and share” in groups of 5~6. 10 Activity 6: Retell and share Retell the value of amber according to the diagram. What other secrets might amber unlock in the future? What other things or who can show nature’s secrets? 11 Activity 7: Debate Pro side: ① The discovery of new species. ② Evidence of past facts. Con side: ① High research costs. ② Although amber can preserve some fragments of the past, it only represents a tiny part of palaeontology and thus has limitations. ③ The uncertainty of research conclusions. V.S. Discuss in groups about “Is investment in amber research worthwhile?”. 12 1. Finish the reflection on the learning sheet. (Required) 2. Work in groups to carry out the “Amber Research Project”. The group members need to collect information related to amber ( such as more amber research cases, characteristics of amber from different regions), and then make posters. (Required) 3. Write a short essay titled “If I found a special piece of amber”, describing what’s inside the amber and its value for research. (Optional) Homework 13 $Unit 5 Looking into nature 第2课时 Understanding ideas (Grammar: 5—8) 1 Activity 1: Lead-in Boys and girls, the Natural History Museum has sent us a grammar exploration challenge letter. It contains the secrets of amber and the universe, as well as interesting grammar tasks. Do you dare to unlock them together? 2 Activity 1: Lead-in 3 Activity 1: Lead-in What special grammar structure is hidden in these sentences? Today, let’s explore the secrets of nature and the object clauses! (a) For hundreds of years, people believed that dinosaurs looked like huge lizards. (b) They can tell us whether dinosaurs had feathers, but that’s not all. 4 Activity 2: Text treasure hunt Each group finds sentences containing that/if /whether from the reading passage in 3 minutes. 5 Activity 2: Text treasure hunt main clause+conjunction (that/if/whether)+subordinate clause 6 Activity 3: Rule decoding Now you have different identities. You need to express your ideas using object clauses. Scholars hundreds of years ago: state old views in Part 7 Modern scientists: state new evidence to refute old views Cosmic researchers: use if/whether to express doubts 7 Activity 3: Rule decoding You mind map should cover the functions of conjunctions and structures. Draw a grammar mind map of object clauses in groups. 8 Activity 4: Practise object clauses Connect the sentences in Part 6 with that/if/whether independently . 1. Is there life in outer space? Scientists aren’t sure. _____________________________________________________ 2. “I want to be a scientist and study plants,” John told his parents. _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ 3. Is Mr Brown interested in insects or birds? Emily wants to know. ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ Emily wants to know if/whether Mr Brown is interested in insects or birds. Scientists aren’t sure if/whether there is life in outer space. John told his parents that he wanted to be a scientist and study plants. 9 Activity 4: Practise object clauses Read and predict the needed conjunctions in the context and then fill in the blanks. if /whether that if that that if /whether /whether 10 Activity 5: Creative application Brainstorm discoveries in nature exploration. 11 Activity 5: Creative application Work in pairs, and look at the notice in Part 8 and write a short passage about exploring nature. Useful expressions For hundreds of years, people believed that... ... made an amazing discovery. By..., ... found/realised/saw that... It proves that... It teaches us that... Research shows that... 12 Activity 5: Creative application Discuss your short passage in groups. 13 Activity 5: Creative application 14 Activity 6: Summarise Today, we have learnt the usage of conjunctions in object clauses and can use them to tell scientific discovery stories! Do you remember in what situations are that and if/whether used? 15 1. Record “small discoveries” in life with object clauses and share them in the next class. (Required) 2. Read nature-exploration articles on English websites, extract 3 sentences containing object clauses, analyze the grammar functions, and make “Grammar-Science” cards. (Optional) Homework 16 $Unit 5 Looking into nature 第3课时 Developing ideas (Listening and speaking: 1—4) 1 Activity 1: Guess and share What do you see in these pictures? Have you heard of them before? Which one interests you the most? Why? Look at some pictures about unsolved secrets and guess what they are. 2 Activity 2: Look and say Please look at the picture and tell us what you can see above the river. Look at the picture of a river and talk about it. 3 Activity 3: Listen and choose Listen to the talk and choose the correct topic in Part 1. a. A disappearing river in South America. b. The life of the people in the Amazon rainforest. c. A boiling river in the Amazon rainforest. 4 Activity 3: Listen and choose Listen for stress clues! PREsent preSENT OBject obJECT CONduct conDUCT If we stress the second syllable, the word is usually a verb. Noun Verb 5 Activity 4: Listen and complete the profile Listen to the talk for the second time and complete the profile in Part 2. look at the picture of a river and talk about it. cook tea heavy rain amazing wonders When listening, please focus on three parts: the name of the river, the four actions people do with it, and the speaker’s opinion. Pay special attention to expressions that show opinions, such as “I think” and “I believe”. 6 Activity 4: Listen and complete the profile Work in groups to discuss these questions. ·Why does the speaker say it is “one of the most _____ of the rainforest”? · If you lived there, which of the four uses would you choose? And why? 7 Activity 5: Listen and complete Listen to the conversation and complete the table in Part 3. sunshine heat the river becomes hot 700 kilometres in the water produce possible research 8 Activity 5: Listen and complete Listen again and talk about how the speakers discuss possibilities. Focus on words like “could” “might” “maybe” and “perhaps” and structures like “It’s certain that... ” and “It’s possible that...”. 9 Activity 6: Complete a mind map Complete the mind map about the river. 86℃ cook tea becomes hot in the water about 700 kolometres chemicals 10 Activity 7: Choose and share Work in pairs to discuss unsolved secrets of nature and talk about possible explanations using target language structures. The truth may be... It’s likely that... Perhaps it’s because... It’s probably a result of... There’s a (strong) possibility that... It’s possible that... There’s a chance that... 11 1. Summarise phrase patterns for expressing opinions and possibilities. (Required) 2. Complete a report on an unsolved mystery of nature, including: facts, possibilities, and evidence. You can draw some pictures as well. (Optional) Homework 12 $Unit 5 Looking into nature 第4、5课时 Developing ideas (Reading for writing: 1—5) 1 Activity 1: Lead-in What do you think the person’s job might be? How would you describe the person? Look at the photos and read the words below them.Then answer the questions. 2 Activity 2: Fast reading ·Who explored China’s plants with great passion and hard work? _______________________________________________________ ·What difficulties did he meet? _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Read the passage in Part 2 and answer the questions. Professor Wang Wencai. He fell seriously ill while doing field work in Yunnan and nearly died; he also lost sight in his right eye at the age of 83. 3 Activity 2: Fast reading ·What did he think of his success? _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ ·What did his favourite piece of music tell us after he passed away? _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Read the passage in Part 2 and answer the questions. He seldom thought about personal honour or wealth, and he believed the award belonged to the team. It softly told people about his lifelong exploration and love of nature. 4 Activity 2: Fast reading ①He spent years in wild mountains and forests. ②He passed away with the falling leaves of autumn. ③He lost sight in his right eye but still carried on with his research. ④Wang Wencai was born in the flowering season. Put these sentences into the right order according to the passage. ④ → ① → ③ → ② 5 Activity 3: Intensive reading Read the passage for the second time and complete the diagram in Part 3 with the words and expressions from the passage. the fields plants discovered and named twice 6 Activity 3: Intensive reading Read the passage for the second time and complete the diagram in Part 3 with the words and expressions from the passage. great passion and hard work fell seriously ill carried on with personal honour or wealth the team had no idea 7 Activity 3: Intensive reading Retell the whole story in groups according to the diagram. 8 Activity 4: Think and share ·What does the writer mean by “made plants his life”? _________________________________________________________ ·What does “quiet about” mean? Which expression in the passage has a similar meaning? _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ ·Why does the writer mention “the seasons” in the last paragraph? _________________________________________________________ It means he devoted his whole life to plants. “Quiet about” means not talking much about. The similar expression is “seldom thought about personal honour or wealth”. To show his life was like plants, in harmony with nature. Answer the questions. 9 Activity 4: Think and share ·What does the title of the passage mean? ·What words will you use to describe Wang Wencai? ·What can you learn from the passage? ·What is the spirit of exploration in your mind? Discuss the questions. 10 Activity 5: Write and share How to organise a passage about a nature explorer? Finish the mind map. 11 Activity 5: Write and share Share your stories in groups, and each group chooses the best one to share with the whole class. 12 Activity 5: Write and share Evaluate each other’s work using the evaluation form. 13 1. Polish your own story about a nature explorer. (Required) 2. Make a profile card about a nature explorer. You can decorate it with some pictures or some colourful stickers. (Optional) Homework 14 $Unit 5 Looking into nature 综合实践课 Presenting ideas & Reflection 1 Step 1: Plan Work in groups. Search for information about achievements in nature exploration. 2 Step 1: Plan Use the thinking map below for help. 3 Step 1: Plan Take a group vote to decide on the achievement for your poster. What is the achievement? Who accomplished it? Why is it important? What qualities are needed to achieve it? Class, we’re going to work in groups for this activity. Each group will search for and gather information about significant achievements in nature exploration. After your discussion, take a group vote to decide which achievement you’ll feature on your poster. 4 Step 2: Make Organise your ideas with the help of the table. 5 Step 2: Make Include drawings or photos to make your poster look better. 6 Step 2: Make Include drawings or photos to make your poster look better. Remember, a great poster isn’t just words—it also needs visuals! Here’s a tip: Include drawings, diagrams, or photos to make your poster more engaging and eye-catching. You can sketch key moments, add a world map, or even print images if you have them. Be creative! 7 Step 3: Share Introduce the topic of the poster to the class. 8 Step 3: Share Explain the design of the poster. 9 Step 3: Share Collect opinions from classmates. 10 Step 4: Improve and evaluate Collect advice and make improvements. 11 Step 4: Improve and evaluate Evaluate the presentations. 12 Step 4: Improve and evaluate The whole class vote on the best three posters and the best three presentations. 13 Step 5: Reflect Complete the chart. 14 Step 5: Reflect Self-assessment. To express my understanding, I can... □use words and expressions in the unit to talk about nature exploration. □use object clauses with that, if and whether to describe discoveries in nature exploration. □describe the spirit of nature exploration. ∗1 = excellent, 2 = good, 3 = not yet 15 Step 5: Reflect Self-assessment. I still need to improve: 16 $