Unit 4 Everyday Economics-Starting out 教案-2025-2026学年高中英语外研版选择性必修第四册

Unit 4 Everyday Economics-Starting out 教学目标和重难点 1. 教学目标 Language Ability: Master economic-related vocabulary and simple expressions to understand and talk about currency and daily economic activities. Cultural Awareness: Understand the differences and connections of currency development in different regions and cultivate a global perspective. Thinking Quality: Develop logical thinking by analyzing the evolution of currency and critical thinking by discussing daily economic phenomena. Learning Ability: Cultivate the habit of connecting knowledge with real life and improve the ability of independent and cooperative learning in English. 2. 教学重难点 Key Points: Master core vocabulary such as currency, barter, exchange, and relevant expressions about currency development and daily economic activities; understand the main stages of currency evolution and the basic characteristics of each stage. Difficult Points: Using the learned vocabulary and expressions to accurately describe the process of currency development; correctly understanding the relationship between currency evolution and social progress; expressing personal views on daily economic phenomena in simple English. 教学过程 Step 1: Lead-in (Warm-up & Activation) The teacher starts the class with a question-and-answer activity: “Good morning, everyone. When you go shopping, what do you use to pay for the things you buy? Do you use cash, WeChat Pay, Alipay, or other ways?” After inviting 3-4 students to share their answers in simple English, the teacher shows pictures of different payment methods (cash, bank cards, mobile payment screenshots) on the screen and says: “These are all common payment methods in our daily life. But do you know what people used to pay for goods before there was cash? Today, we will start our journey of everyday economics and explore the history of currency together.” Design Intention: The lead-in is closely connected with students’ real life. By asking about familiar payment methods, it can quickly arouse students’ interest in the class and activate their existing life experience. Showing pictures can help students form a visual perception, reduce the difficulty of understanding abstract economic concepts, and naturally lead to the core topic of this lesson — the history of currency, laying a relaxed and pleasant foundation for the follow-up teaching. Step 2: Presentation (Vocabulary & Key Knowledge Input) First, the teacher presents the core vocabulary of this lesson through context and visual aids. The teacher says: “Before cash appeared, people didn’t have a unified payment tool. They exchanged goods directly. For example, a farmer might exchange a bag of wheat for a piece of cloth. This way of exchanging goods directly is called ‘barter’.” The teacher writes the word “barter” on the blackboard, pronounces it clearly, and explains its meaning and usage. Then, the teacher shows pictures of barter activities in ancient times (such as people exchanging grain for tools, fur for food) and asks students to guess the meaning of “barter” again to deepen their memory. Next, the teacher introduces the evolution of currency step by step. The teacher says: “Barter was inconvenient because people had to find someone who needed the goods they had and had the goods they needed. So people began to look for a unified medium of exchange. The first mediums of exchange were some common goods, such as shells, stones, and livestock. These are called ‘commodity currency’.” The teacher presents the word “commodity currency” and shows pictures of shell currency, stone currency, etc., explaining their characteristics: easy to carry, widely recognized, and having practical value themselves. Then, the teacher continues to introduce the next stage of currency evolution: “As society developed, commodity currency became inconvenient to carry and store. For example, carrying a lot of shells or livestock was very troublesome. So people invented metal currency, such as copper coins, silver coins, and gold coins. This is ‘metal currency’.” The teacher presents the word “metal currency” and shows pictures of ancient metal coins from different countries (such as Chinese copper coins, Roman silver coins). The teacher emphasizes the advantages of metal currency: durable, easy to divide, and easy to carry compared with commodity currency. Finally, the teacher introduces the modern currency: “With the development of economy and technology, metal currency was gradually replaced by paper currency and electronic currency. Paper currency is light and easy to carry, and electronic currency makes our payment more convenient. We use WeChat Pay and Alipay every day, which are forms of electronic currency.” The teacher presents the words “paper currency” and “electronic currency”, and combines with students’ daily life to explain their characteristics and advantages. After introducing all the core vocabulary and key knowledge, the teacher organizes a quick memory activity: the teacher shows the pictures of different currencies or economic activities, and students quickly say the corresponding English words or expressions. For example, when the teacher shows a picture of barter, students say “barter”; when showing a picture of paper money, students say “paper currency”. Design Intention: Vocabulary and key knowledge are the basis of students’ language output. By introducing vocabulary through context and visual aids, students can understand the meaning and usage of words in a specific scene, rather than rote memorization. The step-by-step introduction of currency evolution conforms to students’ cognitive rules, from simple to complex, from familiar to unfamiliar, helping students establish a clear knowledge framework. The quick memory activity can consolidate the learned vocabulary in time, enhance students’ confidence in learning, and lay a solid foundation for the follow-up listening and speaking activities. Step 3: Listening Practice (Comprehension & Language Application) First, the teacher tells students: “Now we will listen to a short passage about the history of currency. Please listen carefully and answer the following two questions.” The teacher presents the questions on the screen: 1. What are the four stages of currency evolution mentioned in the passage? 2. What is the advantage of electronic currency compared with paper currency? Then, the teacher plays the recording twice. For the first time, students listen to get the general idea of the passage; for the second time, students listen carefully and write down the answers to the questions. After the recording is played, the teacher invites students to share their answers, corrects mistakes in time, and explains the key sentences in the passage. For example, if students have difficulty understanding the sentence “Electronic currency makes payment faster and more convenient than paper currency”, the teacher will parse the sentence structure and explain the meaning of “faster and more convenient”. Next, the teacher arranges a listening fill-in-the-blank activity. The teacher presents a short passage with some blanks on the screen (the passage is slightly simpler than the listening material, focusing on the core vocabulary and expressions learned in this lesson). The teacher plays the recording again, and students fill in the blanks with the correct words or expressions. After finishing, the teacher checks the answers with the whole class, and asks students to read the completed passage together to strengthen their memory of the vocabulary and sentence patterns. Finally, the teacher organizes a group discussion: “After listening to the passage, do you think electronic currency will completely replace paper currency in the future? Why or why not? Please discuss with your group members and share your opinions in English.” Each group has 4-5 students, and the discussion lasts for a few minutes. During the discussion, the teacher walks around the classroom, guides students to use the learned vocabulary and expressions (such as “electronic currency”, “paper currency”, “convenient”, “replace”), and helps students solve language difficulties they encounter. Design Intention: Listening practice is an important way to improve students’ language comprehension ability. By setting different levels of listening tasks (listening for main ideas, listening for specific information, listening for fill-in-the-blank), it can gradually improve students’ listening ability and meet the needs of students at different levels. The group discussion after listening can not only consolidate the learned knowledge but also provide students with opportunities for language output, cultivate their ability to express personal views in English, and at the same time develop their cooperative learning ability and critical thinking ability. Step 4: Speaking Practice (Expression & Communication) First, the teacher arranges a pair work activity: “Please work with your partner. One of you acts as a reporter, and the other acts as an expert on currency. The reporter asks questions about the history of currency, and the expert answers with the knowledge we learned today. For example, the reporter can ask: ‘What is barter?’, and the expert answers: ‘Barter is a way of exchanging goods directly without using currency.’” The teacher gives 2-3 examples of questions and answers to guide students, and then lets students start their pair work. During the process, the teacher walks around to observe, corrects students’ wrong expressions in time, and encourages students to use more learned vocabulary and sentence patterns. After the pair work, the teacher invites 2-3 pairs to perform their dialogues in front of the class. After each performance, the teacher comments positively, affirms the advantages of the students (such as correct use of vocabulary, fluent expression), and puts forward appropriate suggestions for improvement (such as adding more details to the answers). This not only can mobilize students’ enthusiasm but also can let other students learn from each other. Next, the teacher organizes a class discussion activity: “We have learned about the evolution of currency from barter to electronic currency. How has the change of currency affected our daily life? Please share your own experiences and views. For example, you can talk about how mobile payment has changed your shopping habits.” The teacher first gives an example to guide students: “In the past, I had to carry cash when I went shopping, but now I only need to take my mobile phone, which is very convenient. This is the impact of electronic currency on my life.” Then, students are invited to share their views one by one. For students who have difficulty expressing, the teacher gives appropriate prompts, such as “Do you think mobile payment is more convenient than cash?”, “Have you ever used barter in your life?” Finally, the teacher summarizes the students’ views: “Everyone has shared very good views. The evolution of currency has made our life more and more convenient, which reflects the progress of society and economy. We should pay more attention to the economic phenomena around us and learn to use English to express our views on them.” Design Intention: Speaking practice is the key link to improve students’ language application ability. Pair work and class discussion are flexible and diverse forms of activities, which can provide students with sufficient opportunities for language practice. By setting role-playing tasks, students can be more actively involved in the activity, reduce the pressure of speaking English, and improve their confidence in speaking. The teacher’s guidance and comments can help students correct their mistakes in time, improve their expression ability, and at the same time cultivate their ability to observe and think about real-life economic phenomena. Step 5: Consolidation & Extension First, the teacher arranges a vocabulary consolidation activity: “Please match the words in Column A with the explanations in Column B.” Column A includes words such as barter, commodity currency, metal currency, paper currency, electronic currency; Column B includes their corresponding explanations. Students complete the matching task independently, and then the teacher checks the answers with the whole class. For students who make mistakes, the teacher explains again to help them master the meaning of the words. Next, the teacher introduces some extended knowledge: “In different countries and regions, there are different currencies. For example, the currency of China is RMB, the currency of the United States is the US dollar, the currency of the European Union is the euro, and the currency of Japan is the yen.” The teacher shows pictures of these currencies on the screen and teaches students their English names (RMB, US dollar, euro, yen). Then, the teacher asks students: “Do you know the English names of other currencies? You can share them with the class if you know.” This can enrich students’ knowledge and expand their horizons. Then, the teacher arranges a small writing task: “Please write a short passage (about 50 words) to introduce the evolution of currency, using the vocabulary and expressions we learned today. You can start with ‘The evolution of currency has gone through four main stages...’” Students complete the writing task independently. During the process, the teacher walks around to help students solve writing difficulties, such as how to use the learned words correctly, how to organize sentences logically. After students finish writing, the teacher collects some students’ works, reads them aloud in class, and comments on them, affirming the advantages and putting forward suggestions for improvement. Finally, the teacher arranges a homework task: 1. Recite the core vocabulary and key expressions of this lesson. 2. Finish the writing task and polish it according to the teacher’s comments. 3. Observe the economic phenomena around you (such as shopping, saving money) and try to describe them in English with the knowledge learned today. Design Intention: Consolidation activities can help students review and consolidate the knowledge learned in class, deepen their memory. The extended knowledge about different currencies can enrich students’ cultural reserves and cultivate their global perspective. The small writing task can integrate listening, speaking, and reading skills, improve students’ writing ability, and test their mastery of the knowledge. The homework task can extend the teaching content to daily life, guide students to apply the learned knowledge to practice, and cultivate their learning ability and observation ability. Step 6: Summary & Reflection The teacher summarizes the content of this lesson: “Today, we have learned about the history of currency evolution, including four main stages: barter, commodity currency, metal currency, and electronic currency. We have also mastered some core vocabulary and expressions related to currency and daily economic activities. Through listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities, we have improved our language application ability and understood the impact of currency evolution on our daily life.” Then, the teacher guides students to reflect on their learning: “Please think about what you have learned today, what you have mastered well, and what you still need to improve. For example, do you master all the core vocabulary? Can you use English to talk about the history of currency freely? If you have any questions, you can ask the teacher or your classmates after class.” Finally, the teacher encourages students: “Everyday economics is closely related to our life. I hope you can pay more attention to the economic phenomena around you, keep learning English, and improve your ability to use English to communicate and solve practical problems. I believe you can do better in the next class.” Design Intention: The summary can help students sort out the knowledge learned in class, form a systematic knowledge framework, and deepen their understanding of the teaching content. The reflection link can guide students to pay attention to their own learning process, find their own advantages and disadvantages, and improve their learning ability. Encouraging students can enhance their confidence in learning English and stimulate their interest in further learning everyday economics-related knowledge. 1 / 1 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $