Unit4 Customs and Traditions Reading A Digging in 教学设计-2025-2026学年高中英语沪外版必修第一册

Unit 4 Customs and Traditions-Reading A-Digging in 教学目标和重难点 教学目标 It cultivates students’ language ability to understand and express customs-related contents, strengthens cultural awareness of respecting cultural diversity, develops logical thinking through text analysis, and fosters autonomous learning ability in exploration and cooperation. 教学重难点 Key points: Master core vocabulary and sentence patterns about customs; grasp the text structure and main ideas. Difficult points: Analyze the cultural connotation behind customs and express personal views in appropriate English. 教学过程 Step 1: Lead-in (Pre-reading) The teacher starts the class by showing multi-modal materials, including pictures of traditional Chinese customs (such as the Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival) and foreign customs (such as German Jugendfeier, Latin American Quinceanera). Then the teacher asks students two open-ended questions in English: “What can you see in these pictures? Do you know any stories or meanings behind these customs?” After that, the teacher invites students to share their ideas freely in pairs. Each pair has a short discussion and then one or two pairs are invited to present their views to the whole class. Finally, the teacher naturally leads to the topic of the lesson: “Today we will read an article titled Digging in, which introduces different customs and traditions around the world and explores the cultural meanings behind them.” Design Intention: This lead-in activity connects students’ prior knowledge and real-life experiences, which can quickly arouse their interest in the topic of customs and traditions. The use of multi-modal materials (pictures) makes abstract cultural concepts more intuitive, helping students build a preliminary cognitive connection with the text content. Pair discussion and class presentation not only provide students with opportunities to practice oral English expression, but also activate their prior knowledge about customs, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent reading and understanding of the text. Meanwhile, it guides students to shift their attention from familiar Chinese customs to foreign customs, paving the way for the in-depth exploration of cultural diversity in the text. Step 2: Pre-reading Preparation First, the teacher presents the core vocabulary and key sentence patterns in the text, which are closely related to the theme of customs and traditions. The vocabulary includes ceremony, tradition, respect, responsibility, celebrate, symbolize, inherit, etc. For each vocabulary, the teacher explains its meaning in simple English, combines it with the pictures shown in the lead-in part, and guides students to read and remember the words. For example, when explaining “ceremony”, the teacher points to the picture of Quinceanera and says: “A ceremony is a special event held to celebrate an important occasion, such as the Quinceanera in Latin America for girls who turn 15.” Then, the teacher introduces the background knowledge of the text briefly: “Digging in mainly introduces the coming-of-age ceremonies in different countries and regions, showing the common expectations for young people in different cultures and the unique cultural connotations of each ceremony.” Next, the teacher asks students to predict the content of the text based on the title “Digging in” and the background introduction. The teacher can give some hints: “What do you think the author will talk about in this article? Will it introduce the specific process of some ceremonies? Or will it discuss the significance of these ceremonies?” Students are encouraged to express their predictions freely, and the teacher writes down some reasonable predictions on the blackboard. Design Intention: Vocabulary is the foundation of reading comprehension. By pre-teaching core vocabulary and key sentence patterns, students can avoid obstacles in understanding the text due to unknown words, which helps them read the text more smoothly. Combining vocabulary explanation with pictures can deepen students’ memory of words and help them understand the usage of words in specific cultural contexts. The background introduction helps students grasp the main direction of the text in advance, reducing the difficulty of reading. Predicting the text content can activate students’ thinking, improve their reading initiative, and make them more focused on the key points of the text when reading, thus improving reading efficiency. Step 3: While-reading (Text Exploration) Activity 1: Skimming for Main Ideas The teacher asks students to read the text quickly and answer two questions: 1. What is the main topic of the text? 2. How is the text structured? After students finish reading, the teacher invites several students to share their answers. Then the teacher summarizes: “The main topic of the text is the coming-of-age ceremonies in different cultures around the world. The text adopts a ‘general-specific-general’ structure: the first paragraph introduces the general significance of coming-of-age ceremonies; the middle paragraphs introduce the specific coming-of-age ceremonies in Germany, Latin America and India respectively; the last paragraph summarizes the common values behind these ceremonies.” At the same time, the teacher helps students sort out the text structure by drawing a simple mind map on the blackboard. Design Intention: Skimming is an important fast reading skill. Through this activity, students can quickly grasp the main idea and text structure of the article, which helps them establish a overall understanding of the text. Drawing a mind map can visualize the text structure, making it easier for students to remember and understand the logical relationship between each part of the text. This activity also helps students develop the ability to extract key information quickly, which is an important part of improving their reading ability. Activity 2: Scanning for Specific Information The teacher divides students into groups of 4. Each group is assigned a task: to find specific information about the coming-of-age ceremonies in one of the three regions (Germany, Latin America, India) according to the text. The task includes: the name of the ceremony, the time of holding, the main activities and the expectations for young people. The teacher provides a table for students to fill in. After students finish scanning and filling in the table, each group sends a representative to present their findings to the whole class. The teacher corrects and supplements the information to ensure that students grasp the key details of each ceremony accurately. Design Intention: Scanning is a skill to find specific information quickly. This group activity not only cultivates students’ scanning ability, but also improves their cooperative learning ability. By filling in the table, students can sort out the specific information of the text systematically, avoiding the confusion of information. Group presentation allows students to communicate and learn from each other, and the teacher’s correction and supplement can help students grasp the key details accurately, laying a foundation for the in-depth analysis of the text later. At the same time, it enables students to have a clear understanding of the differences between different coming-of-age ceremonies. Activity 3: Close Reading for Deep Understanding The teacher guides students to read the text carefully paragraph by paragraph, focusing on analyzing the key sentences and the cultural connotation behind them. For example, when reading the paragraph about the German Jugendfeier, the teacher asks: “What activities do young people take part in during the Jugendfeier? What does the candle-lighting ceremony symbolize?” Students are asked to find the answers in the text and express their views. Then the teacher explains: “The candle-lighting ceremony symbolizes the passing of responsibility from parents to young people, which reflects the German emphasis on the sense of responsibility of young people.” When reading the paragraph about the Latin American Quinceanera, the teacher asks: “Why do girls wear pink dresses and dance with their fathers during the Quinceanera? What cultural values does this reflect?” After students discuss, the teacher summarizes: “Wearing pink dresses symbolizes youth and purity, and dancing with fathers reflects the respect for family and the importance of family bonds in Latin American culture.” When reading the paragraph about the Indian Sacred Thread Ceremony, the teacher guides students to analyze the meaning of the “sacred thread” and the expectations for young people, helping students understand the religious and cultural connotations contained in the ceremony. In addition, the teacher guides students to pay attention to the transitional words and sentences in the text, such as “In Germany”, “In Latin America”, “In India”, “However”, “In fact”, and analyzes their functions in connecting the text and promoting the logical development of the article. Design Intention: Close reading is the key link to deepen students’ understanding of the text. By analyzing key sentences and cultural connotations, students can not only master the language knowledge in the text, but also understand the cultural background and values behind different customs. This helps to cultivate students’ cultural awareness and improve their ability to analyze and interpret texts. Guiding students to pay attention to transitional words and sentences can help them understand the logical structure of the text more clearly, and improve their ability to organize language and write coherently. At the same time, it encourages students to think deeply and express their own views, developing their thinking quality. Step 4: Post-reading (Consolidation and Application) Activity 1: Vocabulary and Sentence Pattern Consolidation The teacher designs some exercises to help students consolidate the core vocabulary and key sentence patterns learned in the text. The exercises include: 1. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the given words (ceremony, respect, celebrate, symbolize, inherit); 2. Rewrite the sentences using the key sentence patterns in the text. For example, the teacher gives the sentence “People in Germany hold Jugendfeier to celebrate young people’s coming of age.” and asks students to rewrite it using the pattern “... is held to ...”. After students finish the exercises, the teacher checks the answers and explains the key points and common mistakes, helping students master the usage of vocabulary and sentence patterns flexibly. Design Intention: Vocabulary and sentence pattern consolidation is an important link to improve students’ language ability. Through targeted exercises, students can consolidate the knowledge they have learned, and flexibly use the core vocabulary and key sentence patterns in different contexts. The teacher’s explanation of common mistakes can help students avoid making the same mistakes again, improving the accuracy of their language expression. Activity 2: Group Discussion and Expression The teacher puts forward a discussion topic: “Compare the coming-of-age ceremonies introduced in the text with the coming-of-age ceremonies in China (such as the 18-year-old coming-of-age ceremony). What are the similarities and differences? What cultural values do they reflect respectively?” Students are divided into groups of 4 to discuss the topic. During the discussion, the teacher walks around the classroom, guides students to express their views in English, and helps them solve the language difficulties encountered in the discussion. After the discussion, each group sends a representative to make a speech, and the teacher makes comments and summaries, affirming the reasonable views of the students and guiding them to respect cultural diversity. Design Intention: Group discussion can provide students with more opportunities to practice oral English expression, and improve their ability to communicate and cooperate with others. Comparing Chinese and foreign coming-of-age ceremonies helps students deepen their understanding of their own culture and foreign cultures, cultivate their cross-cultural communication awareness and ability, and establish a correct view of cultural diversity. The teacher’s guidance and comments can help students improve their oral expression ability and logical thinking ability, and further deepen their understanding of the theme of the text. Activity 3: Writing Practice The teacher asks students to write a short passage (about 100 words) titled “My Understanding of Coming-of-Age Ceremonies”. The requirements are: 1. Briefly introduce one coming-of-age ceremony (from the text or in China); 2. Express your own views on the significance of coming-of-age ceremonies. Students are encouraged to use the core vocabulary and key sentence patterns learned in the text. After students finish writing, the teacher collects some students’ works, reads them out in class, and makes comments, pointing out the advantages and areas for improvement. Then students exchange their works in pairs and put forward revision suggestions to each other. Design Intention: Writing practice is an important way to test students’ comprehensive language ability. Through writing, students can integrate the vocabulary, sentence patterns and cultural knowledge learned in the text, and improve their ability to express their views in written English. Peer review can help students learn from each other, find their own shortcomings, and improve their writing ability. The teacher’s comments can provide targeted guidance for students, helping them improve their writing level continuously. Step 5: Summary and Extension First, the teacher leads students to summarize the content of the lesson: “In this lesson, we read the article Digging in, which introduces the coming-of-age ceremonies in Germany, Latin America and India, understands the specific process and cultural connotation of each ceremony, masters the core vocabulary and key sentence patterns related to customs and traditions, and discusses the similarities and differences between Chinese and foreign coming-of-age ceremonies.” Then the teacher emphasizes the key points of the lesson again, including the text structure, core vocabulary, key sentence patterns and cultural connotation. Next, the teacher puts forward the extension task: “After class, please collect information about other customs and traditions around the world (such as wedding customs, festival customs), and prepare a short speech to share in the next class. At the same time, think about how we can inherit and develop our own traditional customs in the context of globalization.” Design Intention: Summarizing the lesson helps students sort out the knowledge they have learned, form a systematic knowledge framework, and deepen their memory and understanding of the lesson content. The extension task can extend the teaching content beyond the classroom, encourage students to take the initiative to explore more cultural knowledge, cultivate their autonomous learning ability and cultural exploration awareness. At the same time, it guides students to pay attention to the inheritance and development of their own traditional culture, which is in line with the requirements of cultivating cultural awareness in core literacy. Step 6: Homework Arrangement 1. Review the core vocabulary and key sentence patterns of this lesson, and copy them twice to consolidate the memory. 2. Revise the short passage written in class according to the teacher’s comments and peer suggestions, and hand it in the next class. 3. Complete the extension task: collect information about other customs and traditions, and prepare a short speech (about 2 minutes). 4. Read the text again and try to retell the main content of the text in your own words. Design Intention: Homework is an important way to consolidate the teaching effect and extend the learning process. The first two homework tasks help students consolidate the language knowledge and writing ability learned in class. The third homework task encourages students to explore cultural knowledge independently, cultivating their autonomous learning ability. The fourth homework task helps students deepen their understanding of the text and improve their ability to retell and express in English. 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 $