Unit 5 Into the Unknown-Understanding ideas 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-Understanding ideas 教学目标和重难点 1. 教学目标 Language Ability: Understand and master key words and complex sentences related to exploration and civilization, and improve reading and expression skills. Cultural Awareness: Learn about Maya civilization, respect cultural diversity and establish the awareness of protecting ancient civilizations. Thinking Quality: Develop logical thinking through analyzing the causes of civilization decline and critical thinking through questioning and discussing. Learning Ability: Master reading strategies such as skimming and scanning, and form the habit of independent and cooperative learning. 2. 教学重难点 Key Points: Understand the main idea and structure of the text, grasp key vocabulary (e.g., civilisation, abandon, correspond) and phrases (e.g., correspond to, apply...to...), and comprehend the description of Maya civilization’s achievements and decline. Difficult Points: Analyze the possible causes of Maya civilization’s collapse logically, understand complex long sentences in the text, and use the learned language knowledge to express views on exploring the unknown. 教学过程 Step 1: Lead-in (Lead-in to Arouse Interest) Activity 1: Visual Aids Display and Question Guide. The teacher shows pictures and short video clips of Maya step pyramids, hieroglyphs and star charts, and asks students the following questions: “Have you ever heard of Maya civilization? What do you know about it? Do you think there are unsolved mysteries in the world that are worth exploring?” Then, invite 3-4 students to share their opinions freely. After the sharing, the teacher makes a brief comment, summarizes the students’ answers, and naturally leads to the topic of this lesson: “Today, we will explore the mysteries of Maya civilization together through the text in Understanding ideas.” Design Intention: The visual aids such as pictures and videos can stimulate students’ visual sense, quickly attract their attention and arouse their interest in Maya civilization. The open questions allow students to express their existing knowledge and views freely, which not only activates the classroom atmosphere but also helps the teacher understand students’ prior knowledge reserve, laying a foundation for the subsequent text teaching. At the same time, it imperceptibly guides students to enter the theme of “exploring the unknown”, which is consistent with the unit theme. Step 2: Pre-reading (Preview to Lay a Foundation) Activity 1: Vocabulary Preview. The teacher presents the key vocabulary of this lesson on the blackboard or courseware, including verbs (intrigue, bury, abandon, dismiss, correspond, apply), nouns (civilisation, pyramid, syllable, downfall), adjectives (ancient, mysterious, primitive, extraordinary) and phrases (correspond to, apply...to..., on top of). For each word and phrase, the teacher provides simple and easy-to-understand English definitions and example sentences related to the text, and guides students to read aloud 2-3 times to help them master the pronunciation and basic meaning. For example, for “correspond to”, the teacher gives the example sentence: “The locations of the 117 known Maya cities correspond to the positions of the stars.” For “abandon”, the example sentence is: “Why did the Maya abandon most of their great cities?” Activity 2: Prediction Based on the Title and Pictures. The teacher asks students to look at the title of the text “The Mysteries of the Maya” and the pictures in the text (Maya pyramids, star charts), and predicts the main content of the text. The teacher can guide students to put forward questions: “What mysteries of the Maya will the text introduce? Will it talk about their achievements or their disappearance?” Then, let students discuss in groups of 4 for 2 minutes, and each group sends a representative to share their predictions. Design Intention: Vocabulary is the foundation of understanding the text. Previewing key vocabulary in advance can help students reduce difficulties in reading, improve reading efficiency and avoid being hindered by unknown words. The example sentences closely related to the text can help students connect vocabulary with the text context in advance, laying a foundation for understanding the text. Predicting the main content based on the title and pictures can cultivate students’ ability of logical reasoning and prediction, stimulate their desire to read and verify their predictions, and make the subsequent reading more targeted. Step 3: While-reading (Intensive Reading to Comprehend the Text) Activity 1: Skimming for the Main Idea. The teacher asks students to read the text quickly, without paying too much attention to details, and complete two tasks: 1. Summarize the main idea of the text in one sentence. 2. Divide the text into several parts and summarize the main content of each part. After students finish reading, invite them to share their answers. The teacher guides students to sort out the text structure: Part 1 (Para. 1): Introduction of a teenage boy’s discovery about Maya cities and stars, leading to the mystery of Maya civilization. Part 2 (Para. 2): The brilliant achievements of Maya civilization, including architecture, mathematics, astronomy and writing system. Part 3 (Paras. 3-4): The decline and disappearance of Maya civilization and the unsolved mystery of its collapse. Part 4 (Para. 5): The significance of exploring Maya civilization and the call for continuing to explore the unknown. Design Intention: Skimming is an important reading strategy. Through skimming, students can quickly grasp the main idea and structure of the text, establish an overall understanding of the text, and avoid getting lost in details. Dividing the text into parts and summarizing the main content of each part can help students sort out the logical context of the text, improve their ability of text analysis and generalization, and lay a foundation for intensive reading of details. Activity 2: Scanning for Key Details. The teacher asks students to read the text again carefully, and find out the key details according to the following guiding questions, and fill in the form (the form is presented on the courseware): 1. What discovery did the 15-year-old Canadian boy William Gadoury make? 2. What brilliant achievements did Maya civilization have? 3. When was Maya civilization at its peak? When did it begin to decline? 4. What are the possible reasons for the collapse of Maya civilization mentioned in the text? After students finish filling in the form, the teacher checks the answers with the whole class, emphasizes the key details, and explains the difficult points in the details. For example, when talking about Maya’s achievements in mathematics and astronomy, the teacher explains: “The Maya calendar was accurate to within 30 seconds per year, which shows how amazing their understanding of mathematics and astronomy was.” When talking about the possible reasons for the collapse, the teacher guides students to find out the content in the text: natural disasters, deadly diseases, conflicts between cities, or the Maya people’s own behaviors (turning wetlands into fields). Design Intention: Scanning is a reading strategy to find specific information quickly. Through this activity, students can accurately grasp the key details of the text, deepen their understanding of the text content, and answer the guiding questions to make the reading more targeted. Filling in the form can help students sort out the key information systematically, improve their ability of information extraction and sorting, and lay a foundation for subsequent analysis and discussion. Activity 3: Intensive Reading of Difficult Sentences. The teacher selects several complex and difficult sentences in the text, guides students to analyze them, and helps them understand the meaning and structure of the sentences. The key difficult sentences are as follows: 1. “Intrigued by Maya civilisation from a very young age, 15-year-old Canadian William Gadoury thought he had made an incredible discovery from his study of ancient star charts.” (Analysis: The past participle phrase “Intrigued by...” is used as an adverbial of reason; the main clause is “15-year-old Canadian William Gadoury thought...”, and the object clause “he had made an incredible discovery from his study of ancient star charts” is followed by “thought”.) 2. “What is most extraordinary about these complex structures is how they were built without the use of wheels, metal tools or even animal power.” (Analysis: The subject clause “What is most extraordinary about these complex structures” is used as the subject; the predicate is “is”; the table clause “how they were built without the use of wheels, metal tools or even animal power” is used as the table.) 3. “It was a writing system so complicated that, so far, no one has been able to interpret it completely.” (Analysis: “so...that...” structure, which means “so...that...”; “so far” is an adverbial of time, indicating that the present perfect tense is used.) The teacher guides students to analyze the sentence structure word by word, explain the function of each component, and then let students read the sentences aloud to understand their meaning in the context. Design Intention: Difficult sentences are the key and difficult points in text reading. Analyzing difficult sentences can help students break through the reading barriers, accurately understand the meaning of the text, and master the usage of complex sentence structures. At the same time, it can improve students’ ability of sentence analysis and language comprehension, laying a foundation for their future reading and writing. Step 4: Post-reading (Expansion and Application to Deepen Understanding) Activity 1: Group Discussion. Divide students into groups of 4-5, and assign the following discussion topics: 1. Do you believe William Gadoury’s discovery? Why or why not? 2. Which achievement of Maya civilization impresses you the most? Why? 3. What do you think is the most possible reason for the collapse of Maya civilization? Give your reasons. 4. What can we learn from the rise and fall of Maya civilization? During the discussion, the teacher walks around the classroom, guides students to express their views freely, helps them solve the problems encountered in the discussion, and reminds students to use the key words and phrases learned in this lesson. After the discussion, each group sends a representative to share the group’s views, and the teacher makes comments and summaries, affirming the reasonable views of the students and guiding them to think more deeply. Design Intention: Group discussion can stimulate students’ thinking, encourage them to express their views freely, and improve their ability of oral expression and cooperative learning. The discussion topics are closely related to the text content, which can help students deepen their understanding of the text, develop their critical thinking and logical thinking ability. At the same time, it can urge students to use the learned language knowledge in practice, improving their language application ability. Activity 2: Language Practice. The teacher designs two language practice tasks: 1. Fill in the blanks with the key words and phrases learned in this lesson. The sentences are closely related to the text content, such as: (1) The Maya’s understanding of mathematics and astronomy was applied to their calendar, which was very accurate. (2) No one knows exactly why the Maya abandoned their cities. (3) The locations of Maya cities correspond to the positions of the stars. 2. Sentence rewriting: Ask students to rewrite the difficult sentences analyzed in the while-reading part in their own words, ensuring that the meaning remains unchanged. After students finish the tasks, the teacher checks the answers with the whole class, corrects the mistakes, and emphasizes the correct usage of words and sentences. Design Intention: Language practice is an important link to consolidate the learned knowledge. Filling in the blanks can help students consolidate the memory and usage of key words and phrases, and sentence rewriting can help students master the usage of complex sentence structures and improve their ability of language expression. The tasks are closely related to the text, which can help students connect the language knowledge with the text context, realizing the integration of knowledge and application. Activity 3: Theme Expansion. The teacher introduces other unknown mysteries in the world, such as the Bermuda Triangle, the Pyramids of Egypt and the Loch Ness Monster, and plays a short video about these mysteries. Then, ask students: “What other unknown fields do you want to explore? What qualities do we need to have when exploring the unknown?” Invite students to share their views, and the teacher guides students to realize that exploring the unknown requires curiosity, courage, perseverance and scientific spirit. Finally, the teacher makes a summary: “The world is full of unknowns, and exploring the unknown is the driving force for human progress. We should keep a curious heart, learn scientific knowledge, and have the courage to explore the mysteries of the world.” Design Intention: Theme expansion can broaden students’ horizons, stimulate their desire to explore the unknown, and deepen their understanding of the unit theme. Introducing other unknown mysteries can enrich the classroom content, make the classroom more colorful, and guide students to establish a correct view of exploration. At the same time, it can cultivate students’ scientific spirit and positive life attitude, which is in line with the requirements of core literacy. Step 5: Summary and Homework (Consolidation and Extension) Activity 1: Classroom Summary. The teacher invites students to review the content of this lesson, including the main idea and structure of the text, key vocabulary and phrases, difficult sentences and the theme of exploring the unknown. Then, the teacher makes a comprehensive summary: “In this lesson, we have learned about the brilliant achievements and mysterious decline of Maya civilization, mastered some key words and phrases related to exploration and civilization, and improved our reading and expression skills. We also discussed the mysteries of Maya civilization and the significance of exploring the unknown. I hope everyone can keep a curious heart and have the courage to explore the unknown world in the future.” Design Intention: Classroom summary can help students sort out the knowledge learned in this lesson, consolidate the memory of knowledge, and form a systematic knowledge framework. Inviting students to review independently can improve their ability of self-summary and self-reflection, which is conducive to the formation of good learning habits. Activity 2: Homework Arrangement. The teacher assigns three levels of homework to meet the needs of different students: 1. Basic Homework: Read the text aloud for 15 minutes every day, recite the key vocabulary and phrases, and copy the difficult sentences analyzed in class. 2. Intermediate Homework: Write a short passage (80-100 words) about “My View on Exploring the Unknown”, using the key words and phrases learned in this lesson. 3. Advanced Homework: Surf the Internet to collect information about one unknown mystery in the world, and prepare a 2-minute oral report to share in the next class. Design Intention: The hierarchical homework takes into account the differences of students’ learning levels, ensuring that every student can complete the homework and gain a sense of achievement. The basic homework is to consolidate the basic knowledge, the intermediate homework is to improve the language application ability, and the advanced homework is to broaden students’ horizons and improve their ability of information collection and oral expression. At the same time, it can connect the classroom learning with extracurricular learning, realizing the extension of learning. 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 $