Unit 8 Literature-Lesson 1 The Last Leaf 教案-2025-2026学年高中英语北师大版选择性必修第三册

Unit 8 Literature-Lesson 1 The Last Leaf 教学目标和重难点 教学目标 Linguistic competence: Master key words and sentence patterns, understand the short story’s structure. Cultural awareness: Appreciate American literature and humanistic spirit. Thinking quality: Develop logical and critical thinking. Learning ability: Improve independent and cooperative learning skills. 教学重难点 Key points: Sort out the plot, analyze character traits and symbolic meaning of "the last leaf". Difficult points: Deeply understand symbolism, resonate with characters’ emotions and grasp the theme of human kindness. 教学过程 Pre-reading: Activation and Lead-in The pre-reading stage aims to activate students’ prior knowledge, arouse their learning interest, and lay a solid foundation for their in-depth understanding of the text. Firstly, the teacher greets students in English and starts with a warm-up activity related to literature. The teacher asks students: “What kinds of literary works do you like? Such as novels, poems, dramas or short stories?” After inviting 2-3 students to share their answers, the teacher continues: “Today we will learn a famous short story written by O. Henry, one of the most renowned short story writers in America. It is titled The Last Leaf, which is a touching story full of warmth and hope.” Next, the teacher introduces the author O. Henry briefly with simple and easy-to-understand English. The teacher says: “O. Henry, whose real name is William Sydney Porter, is known as the ‘father of modern American short stories’. His works are famous for their unexpected endings and vivid descriptions of ordinary people’s lives. Most of his stories reflect the kindness and warmth in human nature, even in difficult times. The Last Leaf is one of his most classic works, telling a story about friendship, sacrifice and hope.” To help students better understand the author’s style, the teacher can show a few pictures of O. Henry and simple English introductions on the screen, and ask students to take notes of key information. Then, the teacher leads in the theme of the text through a question-and-answer activity. The teacher asks: “Have you ever felt desperate when facing difficulties? What gives you the courage to keep going?” Students are encouraged to discuss in pairs for 2 minutes and then share their ideas. Some students may say “friends’ encouragement”, some may say “family’s support”, and others may say “their own persistence”. After listening to students’ sharing, the teacher summarizes: “When people are in trouble, a little kindness, a little hope can help them get through the hard times. Today, the characters in the story also face great difficulties. Let’s find out how they get through them with the help of each other.” Finally, the teacher presents some key new words and phrases in the text, such as pneumonia, ivy, faint, masterpiece, sacrifice, etc. The teacher pronounces each word and phrase clearly, explains their meanings with simple English and examples, and asks students to read after the teacher twice to ensure they master the correct pronunciation and basic meaning. For example, when explaining “pneumonia”, the teacher says: “Pneumonia is a kind of serious illness that affects people’s lungs. In the story, one of the main characters gets pneumonia and becomes very weak.” This link helps students remove language obstacles in advance and prepare for the while-reading stage. While-reading: Comprehension and Exploration The while-reading stage is the core part of the teaching process, which aims to help students understand the text in depth, master the plot, characters and key literary devices. This stage is divided into three parts: fast reading, careful reading and deep reading, which are carried out step by step to guide students from superficial understanding to in-depth exploration. First of all, fast reading: The teacher asks students to read the text quickly and finish two tasks. Task 1: Find out the main characters of the story and their identities. Task 2: Summarize the main idea of the text in one sentence. After students finish reading, the teacher invites students to share their answers. The main characters are Sue, Johnsy and Behrman. Sue and Johnsy are young painters who live together in Greenwich Village, and Behrman is an old painter who is their neighbor. The main idea of the text is: Johnsy gets seriously ill with pneumonia and loses the will to live, thinking she will die when the last ivy leaf outside the window falls; Behrman, an old painter, paints a realistic ivy leaf in the rain to give Johnsy hope, and finally sacrifices his own life because of catching a cold, while Johnsy regains the courage to live. After confirming the answers, the teacher comments and emphasizes: “When reading a short story, fast reading can help us quickly grasp the main characters and the general plot, which is an important reading skill. We should pay attention to the key information such as names, events and time when reading quickly.” Secondly, careful reading: The teacher asks students to read the text carefully and complete a detailed task. The teacher divides the text into four parts according to the plot development: beginning (Johnsy gets ill), development (Johnsy’s despair and Sue’s help), climax (Behrman paints the ivy leaf), and ending (Johnsy’s recovery and Behrman’s death). Students are required to read each part carefully, and fill in the blanks in the worksheet prepared in advance. The worksheet includes the following contents: 1. Why does Johnsy lose the will to live? 2. What does Sue do to help Johnsy? 3. How does Behrman help Johnsy? 4. What happens to Behrman in the end? 5. How does Johnsy’s attitude change? Students read the text carefully, find relevant information in the text, and complete the worksheet independently. After that, students discuss in groups of 4 to check their answers and exchange their ideas. The teacher walks around the classroom, guides students who have difficulties, and listens to their discussions. After the group discussion, the teacher invites representatives of each group to share their answers, and corrects and supplements them in time. For example, when talking about Johnsy’s despair, the teacher emphasizes: “Johnsy is a young painter who loves life, but the serious illness makes her lose confidence. She connects her life with the ivy leaves outside the window, which reflects her extreme despair at that time.” When talking about Behrman’s help, the teacher points out: “Behrman is an old painter who has not achieved success in his life, but he is kind and warm-hearted. He paints the ivy leaf in the cold rain, which shows his great sacrifice spirit.” In this link, the teacher also guides students to pay attention to the key sentences in the text, such as “I want to see the last one fall before it gets dark. Then I’ll go, too.” This sentence reflects Johnsy’s despair; “Someday I will paint a masterpiece, and we shall all go away.” This sentence foreshadows Behrman’s final masterpiece—the ivy leaf he painted. The teacher asks students to read these sentences aloud, analyze their meanings and the emotions contained in them, and improve their ability to appreciate the language of literary works. Finally, deep reading: The teacher guides students to explore the symbolic meaning of “the last leaf” and the theme of the text. The teacher asks: “What does ‘the last leaf’ symbolize in the story?” Students are encouraged to think independently and discuss in groups. After the discussion, students share their ideas. Some students may say it symbolizes hope, some may say it symbolizes life, and others may say it symbolizes kindness and sacrifice. The teacher summarizes: “The last leaf is a symbol of hope, life and human kindness. It is not a real leaf, but a masterpiece painted by Behrman with his life. It gives Johnsy the courage to live, and also reflects the beauty of human nature—kindness, sacrifice and mutual help.” Then, the teacher asks students to discuss the theme of the text: “What does the author want to tell us through this story?” Students discuss actively, and the teacher guides them to summarize: “The story tells us that even in difficult times, human kindness and mutual help can bring hope to people. Behrman’s sacrifice tells us that a small act of kindness can save a life; Johnsy’s recovery tells us that we should never lose the hope for life, no matter how difficult the situation is. At the same time, it also shows the beauty of friendship and the value of life.” In addition, the teacher guides students to appreciate the literary devices used in the text, such as personification and contrast. For personification, the teacher asks students to find sentences in the text, such as “Mr. Pneumonia was not a nice old gentleman. He was a cold, unfeeling stranger who touched people with his icy fingers.” The teacher explains: “The author personifies pneumonia as a cold stranger, which makes the description more vivid and vivid, and also reflects the cruelty of the illness.” For contrast, the teacher points out: “Behrman is a grumpy old man on the surface, but he is kind and willing to sacrifice himself; Johnsy is desperate at first, but she regains hope in the end. These contrasts make the characters more vivid and highlight the theme of the text.” Post-reading: Consolidation and Application The post-reading stage aims to help students consolidate the knowledge they have learned, apply the reading skills and language points to practice, and improve their comprehensive language ability. This stage includes three activities: language consolidation, group discussion and writing practice. First, language consolidation. The teacher arranges some exercises to help students master the key words, phrases and sentence patterns in the text. Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the given words (pneumonia, ivy, faint, masterpiece, sacrifice). For example: 1. Johnsy got seriously ill with ______. 2. Behrman painted a ______ in the rain. 3. We should respect those who are willing to make ______ for others. Exercise 2: Rewrite the sentences with the given phrases (give up, depend on, in spite of, take care of). For example: 1. Johnsy wanted to stop living because of the illness. → Johnsy wanted to give up living because of the illness. 2. Whether Johnsy can live depends on the last ivy leaf. → Johnsy’s life depends on the last ivy leaf. Students complete the exercises independently, and the teacher checks the answers and explains the key points. This link helps students consolidate the language knowledge and improve their ability to use language. Second, group discussion. The teacher puts forward a discussion topic: “If you were Behrman, would you do the same thing as him? Why or why not? What can we learn from Behrman, Sue and Johnsy?” Students discuss in groups of 4 for 5 minutes, and each group selects a representative to share their views. When students share, the teacher listens carefully, comments and guides them. For example, if a student says “I would do the same thing as Behrman because helping others is a kind of virtue”, the teacher affirms his view and says: “You are right. Behrman’s kindness and sacrifice are worth learning. In our daily life, we should also help others and pass on warmth.” If a student says “I might not do the same thing because it is too dangerous”, the teacher says: “Your idea is understandable, but we should learn from Behrman’s spirit of helping others. We don’t need to make great sacrifices, but we can do small things to help those in need.” Through this discussion, students can deepen their understanding of the characters and the theme, and establish correct values. Third, writing practice. The teacher asks students to write a short passage (about 100 words) with the title “The Power of Kindness”. The requirements are: 1. Combine the story of The Last Leaf. 2. Express your own understanding of the power of kindness. 3. Use at least 3 key words or phrases learned in this lesson. Before writing, the teacher gives some hints: “You can start with the story of The Last Leaf, talk about Behrman’s kindness and sacrifice, then express your own views on kindness, and finally talk about how to show kindness in daily life.” Students write independently, and the teacher walks around the classroom to guide students who have difficulties in writing. After students finish writing, the teacher selects 2-3 excellent compositions to read aloud in class, comments on them, and points out their advantages and areas for improvement. This link helps students apply the language knowledge and writing skills they have learned, and improve their writing ability. Summary and Homework First, summary. The teacher summarizes the whole lesson in English: “Today we learned the short story The Last Leaf by O. Henry. We got to know the main characters, sorted out the plot, explored the symbolic meaning of ‘the last leaf’ and the theme of the story. We also learned some key words and phrases, and practiced reading, speaking and writing skills. Through this lesson, we should learn to cherish life, be kind to others, and never lose hope when facing difficulties.” Then, homework arrangement. The teacher assigns three types of homework to meet the needs of different students: 1. Basic homework: Recite the key words, phrases and key sentences in the text; Read the text aloud for at least 3 times and record it. 2. Consolidation homework: Finish the exercises in the textbook related to this lesson; Write a 50-word summary of the text. 3. Expansion homework: Read another short story by O. Henry (such as The Gift of the Magi) and write a short comment (about 80 words); Discuss with your family or friends about the power of kindness and share your views. Finally, the teacher ends the class with a warm sentence: “Kindness is like a light in the dark, which can bring hope to people. Let’s be kind to others and pass on warmth to make the world a better place. See you next class!” 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 $