Unit 5 Into the Unknown-Starting out 教案-2025-2026学年高中英语外研版选择性必修第四册

Unit 5 Into the Unknown-Starting out 教学目标和重难点 1. 教学目标 Language Ability: Students will master key words and expressions related to natural phenomena and exploration, and improve their ability to listen for specific information and express opinions orally. Cultural Awareness: They will understand the diversity of ancient cultural interpretations of natural phenomena and cultivate respect for different cultures. Thinking Quality: It fosters logical thinking through comparing ancient and modern explanations, and critical thinking by encouraging discussions on unsolved mysteries. Learning Ability: Students will develop autonomous learning and cooperative inquiry skills through group activities and independent thinking. 2. 教学重难点 Key Points: Mastering core vocabulary such as “earthquake, solar eclipse, thunder, lightning, mirage” and expressions for describing natural phenomena; understanding the main content of the video and the differences between ancient misunderstandings and scientific explanations. Difficult Points: Using the target language accurately to talk about natural phenomena and their explanations; developing the ability to connect prior knowledge with new learning content; cultivating the awareness of exploring the unknown and scientific spirit. 教学过程 Step 1: Lead-in (Warm-up and Activation) The teacher starts the class with an open question: “Have you ever been curious about some unexplained phenomena in the world? For example, why do earthquakes happen? What causes a solar eclipse?” Then, the teacher shows pictures of four common natural phenomena (earthquake, solar eclipse, thunder and lightning, mirage) on the screen, and invites students to look at the pictures and share what they know about these phenomena briefly. During the sharing process, the teacher guides students to use simple English to express their ideas, and writes down key words and expressions mentioned by students on the blackboard, such as “shake, dark, light, sound” and so on. Design Intention: This lead-in activity is designed to arouse students’ interest in the theme of “exploring the unknown” by connecting with their daily life and prior knowledge. The open question and picture display can effectively activate students’ thinking, let them quickly enter the learning state, and lay a foundation for the subsequent video learning and topic discussion. At the same time, it can help the teacher understand students’ existing knowledge level of natural phenomena, so as to adjust the teaching progress and content appropriately. Step 2: Video Learning (Listening Comprehension and Key Information Extraction) First, the teacher introduces the video content briefly: “Today we will watch a video about some natural phenomena. It will tell us how ancient people explained these phenomena and what the scientific explanations are. Please listen carefully and try to get the key information.” Then, the teacher plays the video for the first time. After playing, the teacher asks two simple questions to check students’ overall understanding: “What natural phenomena are mentioned in the video?” “What two kinds of explanations of these phenomena are introduced?” Students can answer the questions individually or in pairs, and the teacher gives positive feedback and supplements. Next, the teacher plays the video for the second time, and distributes a listening task sheet to students. The task sheet includes three parts: 1. Fill in the blanks with the words heard in the video (focusing on key vocabulary such as “tectonic plates, Moon, electric charge, air layers”); 2. Match the natural phenomena with their ancient explanations; 3. Briefly describe the scientific explanation of one natural phenomenon. During the video playing, the teacher reminds students to take notes and focus on the key information. After the video ends, students complete the task sheet independently first, then discuss with their group members to check and correct the answers. Finally, the teacher invites several groups to present their answers, explains the difficult points and key points in the listening material, and teaches the key vocabulary and expressions in detail, such as “earthquake is caused by the movement of tectonic plates”, “a solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun” and so on. Design Intention: The video is the core learning material of the Starting out section. Playing the video twice can help students from overall understanding to detailed information extraction, which conforms to the law of listening comprehension learning. The listening task sheet is designed to guide students to listen with purpose, improve their listening ability of extracting specific information. The group discussion after completing the task can promote students’ mutual learning and help them solve problems together. The teacher’s explanation of key vocabulary and expressions can lay a solid language foundation for students’ subsequent oral expression and topic discussion. Step 3: Picture Discussion (Oral Practice and Theme Deepening) After the video learning, the teacher shows the four pictures of unsolved mysteries in the textbook (Atlantis, Nazca Lines, Tunguska event, Black hole) on the screen, and introduces each mystery briefly: “Besides the natural phenomena we just learned, there are many unsolved mysteries in the world. Let’s look at these four pictures. They are Atlantis, Nazca Lines, Tunguska event and Black hole. Do you know anything about them?” Then, the teacher divides students into groups of 4-5, and assigns a task: Each group chooses one of the four mysteries, discusses the following questions, and prepares a short report: 1. What do you know about this mystery? 2. What are the possible explanations for this mystery? 3. Do you want to explore this mystery? Why or why not? During the group discussion, the teacher walks around the classroom, provides guidance for students who have difficulty expressing themselves, helps them use the target language correctly, and encourages shy students to participate in the discussion. After the discussion, each group sends a representative to present their report to the whole class. The presentation time of each group is 2-3 minutes. After each presentation, the teacher and other students can ask questions, such as “Do you have any other possible explanations for this mystery?” “What tools do you think we need to explore this mystery?” The teacher gives positive comments on each group’s presentation, focusing on their oral expression, the rationality of their views and their participation in the discussion. Design Intention: This link connects the video content with the textbook pictures, deepens students’ understanding of the theme “Into the Unknown”. Group discussion can cultivate students’ cooperative learning ability and oral expression ability, and let them practice the target language in real communication scenarios. The presentation and questioning link can not only show the learning effect of each group, but also stimulate students’ thinking and arouse their enthusiasm for exploring the unknown. The teacher’s guidance and comments can help students find their own advantages and deficiencies, and improve their oral expression ability continuously. Step 4: Famous Quote Analysis (Theme Elevation and Thinking Training) The teacher writes Marcel Proust’s famous quote on the blackboard or shows it on the screen: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Then, the teacher guides students to analyze the quote: “What do you think this quote means? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?” First, students think independently for 2-3 minutes, sort out their own ideas. Then, they discuss with their deskmates, exchange their views and supplement each other. After the discussion, the teacher invites students to share their understanding of the quote. Some students may think that the quote means that exploring the unknown is not only about going to new places, but also about looking at things from a new perspective; some students may combine their own experiences to talk about how to discover new things in daily life with new eyes. The teacher affirms students’ different views, and makes a summary: “This quote tells us that the spirit of exploration is not only reflected in exploring distant unknown areas, but also in keeping a curious heart and observing and thinking about the world around us with new perspectives. This is also the core meaning of our unit.” Then, the teacher asks another question: “Combined with the natural phenomena and unsolved mysteries we learned today, how do you understand the ‘new eyes’ in the quote?” Students continue to discuss and share. The teacher guides them to realize that “new eyes” mean scientific thinking, critical thinking and a persistent spirit of exploration, which can help us understand the unknown world better. Design Intention: The analysis of the famous quote is to elevate the theme of the lesson, let students understand the deeper meaning of exploration, not just the exploration of the external world, but also the exploration of their own cognitive methods. Independent thinking and pair discussion can cultivate students’ critical thinking ability and logical thinking ability, and let them express their views in English. The teacher’s summary and guidance can help students grasp the core of the quote, and connect it with the unit theme, laying a foundation for the subsequent learning of the unit. Step 5: Language Consolidation (Vocabulary and Sentence Pattern Practice) In this link, the teacher designs two practice activities to help students consolidate the key vocabulary and sentence patterns learned in this lesson. Activity 1: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the given words. The words include “earthquake, solar eclipse, thunder, lightning, mirage, cause, explain, explore”. For example: 1. A ____________ happens when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun. 2. Scientists are trying to ____________ the mystery of the Nazca Lines. 3. The main ____________ of the earthquake is the movement of tectonic plates. Students complete the exercises independently, then check the answers with the whole class. The teacher explains the usage of the key words, such as the collocation of “cause” and “effect”, the usage of “explore” and its noun form “exploration”. Activity 2: Sentence pattern transformation and imitation. The teacher gives the key sentence patterns learned in the lesson, such as “People used to believe that..., but now we know that...”, “...is caused by...”. First, the teacher gives examples to explain the usage of the sentence patterns. For example: “People used to believe that earthquakes were caused by a giant catfish, but now we know that they are caused by the movement of tectonic plates.” Then, students are asked to imitate the sentence patterns, combine the natural phenomena or unsolved mysteries they learned, and make their own sentences. Each student makes 2-3 sentences, then shares them with their group members, and the group selects the best sentences to present to the whole class. The teacher comments on students’ sentences, corrects the wrong expressions, and encourages them to use the sentence patterns flexibly. Design Intention: Language consolidation is an important link in English teaching. The fill-in-the-blank activity can help students master the spelling and usage of key vocabulary, and the sentence pattern imitation activity can help students flexibly use the target sentence patterns in practical communication. Independent practice and group sharing can not only consolidate the learned knowledge, but also improve students’ ability to use language comprehensively. The teacher’s explanation and comments can help students correct mistakes in time and deepen their understanding of the language points. Step 6: Summary and Homework (Review and Extension) First, the teacher leads students to summarize the content of this lesson: “Today we learned about some natural phenomena and their ancient and scientific explanations, discussed four unsolved mysteries, analyzed a famous quote about exploration, and practiced the key vocabulary and sentence patterns. Through this lesson, we not only mastered some language knowledge, but also understood the spirit of exploration. ” The teacher emphasizes the key points and difficult points of this lesson again, and reminds students to review them after class. Then, the teacher assigns homework, which is divided into three levels to meet the needs of different students: Level 1 (Basic): Review the key vocabulary and sentence patterns learned in this lesson, copy them twice and make 5 sentences with the key sentence patterns. Level 2 (Improvement): Choose one of the unsolved mysteries discussed in class, search for more information about it on the Internet, and write a short passage (80-100 words) to introduce it. Level 3 (Challenge): Think about a phenomenon in daily life that you are curious about, try to find its scientific explanation, and prepare a 3-minute oral report to share in the next class. Design Intention: The summary link can help students sort out the knowledge system of this lesson, deepen their understanding and memory of the learned content. The hierarchical homework is designed to take care of the differences of students’ learning levels, so that every student can gain something. The basic homework helps students consolidate the language knowledge, the improvement homework cultivates students’ ability to collect and process information, and the challenge homework stimulates students’ enthusiasm for independent exploration, which is closely connected with the unit theme and lays a foundation for the subsequent learning. Step 7: Reflection and Feedback (Interactive Evaluation) At the end of the class, the teacher invites students to reflect on their learning process: “What did you learn in this class? What do you think you did well? What difficulties did you encounter? Do you have any suggestions for this class?” Students can speak freely, and the teacher listens carefully and takes notes. For the difficulties raised by students, the teacher gives simple explanations and guidance; for the suggestions, the teacher expresses thanks and says that they will be considered in the subsequent teaching. In addition, the teacher distributes a simple evaluation form to students, which includes three items: 1. I can understand the main content of the video. (Yes/No/Not sure) 2. I can use the key vocabulary and sentence patterns to express my ideas. (Yes/No/Not sure) 3. I am interested in the theme of exploring the unknown. (Yes/No/Not sure) Students fill in the evaluation form quickly and hand it in. The teacher will analyze the evaluation results after class to understand students’ learning effect and adjust the teaching plan appropriately. Design Intention: The reflection and feedback link can help students understand their own learning situation, find their own deficiencies, and improve their learning ability. The teacher can also understand the teaching effect through students’ reflection and evaluation forms, find out the problems in the teaching process, and optimize the teaching methods and content for the next class. This link reflects the student-centered teaching concept, and helps to improve the quality of teaching. Supplementary Teaching Links (Flexible Adjustment) If there is extra time in the class, the teacher can carry out an optional activity: “Exploration Quiz”. The teacher prepares some questions about natural phenomena and unsolved mysteries, such as “What is the scientific explanation of lightning?” “Where is the Nazca Lines located?” Students answer the questions in groups, and the group with the most correct answers wins a small reward. This activity can not only enrich the class content, but also arouse students’ interest in learning, and consolidate the knowledge learned in the class. If some students have difficulty in listening comprehension or oral expression, the teacher can provide additional help after class, such as replaying the video for them, guiding them to practice oral expression, and helping them overcome learning difficulties. At the same time, the teacher can encourage students to form learning groups after class, help each other and make progress together. Design Intention: The supplementary teaching links are designed to flexibly adjust the teaching content according to the actual class situation, meet the different needs of students, and ensure that every student can gain something in the class. The “Exploration Quiz” can increase the fun of the class, and the after-class help can help students with learning difficulties catch up, which reflects the inclusive teaching concept. 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 $