Unit2 Learning about Trade and Economy Reading B-Critical Thinking 讲义-2025-2026学年高中英语沪外版选择性必修第四册

Unit 2 Learning about Trade and Economy-Reading B-Critical Thinking 教学目标和重难点 教学目标 It focuses on improving students’ language ability to understand and express trade and economy themes, cultivating cultural awareness of global economic exchanges, developing critical thinking to analyze economic phenomena rationally, and fostering independent learning ability to explore related knowledge actively. 教学重难点 Key points: Master core vocabulary and complex sentences about trade and economy, and grasp the text’s structure and main ideas. Difficult points: Conduct critical analysis on economic views in the text and express personal opinions logically in English. 教学过程 Lead-in: Activate Background and Arouse Interest The teacher starts the class by showing pictures and short videos about common trade scenarios in daily life, such as online cross-border shopping, international commodity fairs, and the circulation of daily necessities from different countries. Then the teacher asks two guiding questions: “What trade activities have you encountered in your life? How do these trade activities affect our daily life?” After asking the questions, the teacher gives students 3 minutes to think independently and then invites 2-3 students to share their answers in English. During the sharing process, the teacher listens carefully, corrects minor language errors appropriately, and guides students to expand their ideas, such as connecting trade with product prices, product types, and employment opportunities. Finally, the teacher makes a brief summary: “Trade is closely related to our life. It connects different countries and promotes the exchange of materials and culture. Today, we will read a passage about trade and economy, and learn to think critically about economic phenomena through this passage.” Design Intention: The lead-in links the text theme with students’ real life, which can quickly activate students’ existing knowledge and experience about trade, reduce the difficulty of understanding the text, and arouse their interest in learning the text. By asking questions and encouraging students to speak, it not only exercises students’ oral expression ability but also lays a foundation for the subsequent reading and critical thinking training. At the same time, it naturally leads to the core content of the lesson, making the transition of the teaching process smooth and natural. Pre-reading: Preview Vocabulary and Predict Text Content Vocabulary Preview: The teacher presents the core vocabulary and phrases in the text on the blackboard or courseware, including trade, economy, import, export, benefit, challenge, globalize, economic growth, trade barrier, and sustainable development. For each word and phrase, the teacher explains its meaning briefly with simple English, combines it with common collocations, and gives simple example sentences related to trade and economy, such as “China’s export of electronic products has increased significantly in recent years.” and “Trade barriers may affect the development of international trade.” Then, the teacher organizes a small group activity: divide students into groups of 4, and each group is asked to make 2-3 sentences with the given vocabulary and phrases within 5 minutes. After the activity, each group sends a representative to present their sentences to the whole class. The teacher comments on the sentences, affirms the correct expressions, and corrects the improper collocations or grammatical errors, helping students master the usage of core vocabulary and phrases in practice. Text Prediction: The teacher shows the title of Reading B and the first paragraph of the text to students, and asks them to predict the main content of the text according to the title and the first paragraph. The guiding questions are: “What do you think the passage will talk about? What aspects of trade and economy may it involve?” Students are allowed to discuss in groups for 2 minutes, and then share their predictions. The teacher records students’ predictions on the blackboard, such as “It may talk about the advantages and disadvantages of international trade.” “It may introduce the development of global trade.” Then the teacher says: “Let’s read the text carefully to check whether your predictions are correct and learn more details about trade and economy.” Design Intention: Vocabulary is the foundation of understanding the text. Previewing core vocabulary before reading can help students avoid being hindered by new words when reading, improve reading efficiency, and lay a solid language foundation for understanding the text and conducting critical thinking. The group activity of making sentences makes vocabulary learning more interesting and interactive, which is conducive to students’ deep memory and flexible use of vocabulary. Predicting the text content can stimulate students’ reading motivation, cultivate their ability to infer information according to clues, and make students read the text with a clear purpose, improving the pertinence and effectiveness of reading. While-reading: Comprehend Text and Cultivate Critical Thinking This part is divided into three steps: skimming, scanning, and careful reading, which are carried out step by step to help students understand the text comprehensively and gradually develop critical thinking ability. Skimming: The teacher asks students to read the whole text quickly, focusing on the topic sentence of each paragraph, and complete two tasks: (1) Summarize the main idea of the whole text in one sentence; (2) Divide the text into several parts and summarize the main idea of each part. After students finish reading, the teacher invites several students to share their answers. The teacher guides students to sort out the structure of the text: the first part (Paragraph 1) introduces the importance of trade and economy to global development; the second part (Paragraphs 2-4) discusses the advantages and challenges of international trade; the third part (Paragraph 5) puts forward suggestions on promoting the healthy development of international trade. Then the teacher confirms the main idea of the text: The passage discusses the importance of international trade, analyzes its advantages and existing challenges, and puts forward corresponding suggestions. Design Intention: Skimming is a basic reading strategy that helps students quickly grasp the core content and overall structure of the text, forming a macro understanding of the text. By asking students to summarize the main idea and divide the text structure, it not only exercises students’ ability to extract key information but also helps them establish a logical framework of the text, laying a foundation for in-depth reading and critical analysis. Scanning: The teacher asks students to read the text again, focusing on specific details, and complete a detail-filling task. The task content is closely related to the advantages and challenges of international trade mentioned in the text, such as: (1) The advantages of international trade include providing more choices for consumers, promoting economic growth, and strengthening cultural exchanges between countries. (2) The challenges of international trade includetrade barriers, unfair trade rules, and environmental problems caused by excessive trade. Students complete the task independently, and then check the answers with their group members. The teacher explains the key details that students fail to grasp, and emphasizes the key sentences in the text, such as “International trade not only brings economic benefits but also promotes cultural communication and mutual understanding between different countries.” and “Trade barriers will increase the cost of goods and hinder the free flow of resources.” Design Intention: Scanning is a strategy to find specific information quickly. Through the detail-filling task, it can help students deepen their understanding of the text content, master the key details of the advantages and challenges of international trade, and lay a foundation for the subsequent critical analysis. At the same time, it can train students’ ability to locate key information accurately and improve their reading efficiency. Careful Reading: On the basis of skimming and scanning, the teacher guides students to read the text carefully, focuses on the key paragraphs and sentences, and carries out critical thinking training through a series of guiding questions. First, the teacher leads students to read Paragraphs 2-3 (the part about the advantages of international trade) and asks: “The text says that international trade can provide more choices for consumers and promote economic growth. Do you agree with this view? Can you give examples in real life to support your opinion?” Students are allowed to discuss in groups for 3 minutes, and then share their views. Some students may give examples such as “We can buy fruits from other countries in the supermarket, which enriches our life.” and “China’s export of high-speed rail technology promotes economic growth in both China and the importing countries.” The teacher affirms students’ views and guides them to think further: “Are there any potential problems behind these advantages? For example, will the import of a large number of foreign goods affect the development of local industries?” Then, the teacher leads students to read Paragraph 4 (the part about the challenges of international trade) and asks: “The text mentions trade barriers and unfair trade rules as the main challenges of international trade. What do you think are the reasons for the emergence of trade barriers? How can we solve these problems?” Students discuss in groups again, and the teacher participates in the discussion of each group, guiding students to think from multiple perspectives, such as the interests of countries, differences in economic development levels, and differences in policies. After the discussion, each group sends a representative to share their views. The teacher summarizes: “Trade barriers are usually caused by the need to protect local industries, differences in economic development levels between countries, and other factors. To solve these problems, countries need to strengthen communication and cooperation, formulate fair trade rules, and promote the liberalization and facilitation of international trade.” Finally, the teacher leads students to read Paragraph 5 (the part about suggestions) and asks: “The text puts forward suggestions on promoting the healthy development of international trade. Do you think these suggestions are practical? Can you put forward other reasonable suggestions?” Students think independently and share their suggestions, such as “Strengthen the supervision of international trade to ensure fair trade.” and “Promote green trade to reduce the impact of trade on the environment.” The teacher comments on students’ suggestions, affirms the reasonable parts, and guides students to think about the feasibility of the suggestions. Design Intention: Careful reading is the key link of cultivating students’ critical thinking. By designing hierarchical guiding questions, it guides students to not only understand the views in the text but also question, analyze and evaluate these views, breaking the habit of passive acceptance of knowledge. Through group discussions, students can exchange ideas, learn from each other, expand their thinking perspective, and improve their ability to analyze and solve problems. At the same time, combining the text content with real life enables students to realize the practical significance of the text, and promotes the integration of language learning and critical thinking training. Post-reading: Consolidate and Apply, Deepen Critical Thinking This part includes three activities: language consolidation, critical discussion, and writing practice, which are designed to help students consolidate the knowledge learned, apply it flexibly, and further deepen their critical thinking ability. Language Consolidation: The teacher arranges a sentence reconstruction task. The teacher presents several incomplete sentences, which are rewritten based on the key sentences in the text. Students are required to complete the sentences with the correct words and phrases learned in the text. For example: (1) International trade plays an important role in promoting ______ (economic growth / cultural exchange). (2) To solve the problem of trade barriers, countries need to strengthen ______ (communication and cooperation / competition). After students complete the task independently, the teacher checks the answers and explains the key points, helping students consolidate the core vocabulary and sentence patterns in the text. In addition, the teacher invites students to find the complex sentences in the text, such as attributive clauses,状语 clauses, and subject clauses, and analyze their structures and meanings. For example, the sentence “The development of international trade has brought great benefits to all countries, but it also brings some challenges that cannot be ignored.” The teacher guides students to analyze that this sentence is a compound sentence, connected by “but”, and the latter clause contains an attributive clause “that cannot be ignored” modifying “challenges”. Through this activity, students’ ability to understand complex sentences is improved, and their language ability is further enhanced. Design Intention: Language consolidation is an important link to deepen students’ understanding of the text and master language knowledge. The sentence reconstruction task can help students flexibly use the core vocabulary and sentence patterns learned in the text, and improve their ability to use language. Analyzing complex sentences can help students break through the difficulty of understanding long and difficult sentences in the text, improve their language comprehension ability, and lay a solid foundation for subsequent language application. Critical Discussion: The teacher sets a controversial topic related to the text: “With the development of globalization, international trade is becoming more and more frequent. Do you think international trade is more beneficial or more harmful to the development of developing countries?” First, the teacher divides students into two groups: the positive group (holding the view that international trade is more beneficial) and the negative group (holding the view that international trade is more harmful). Each group is asked to discuss the topic in detail, collect relevant arguments and examples to support their own views, and organize their language to prepare for the debate. During the discussion, the teacher walks around the classroom, provides guidance for each group, such as reminding students to combine the text content and real-life examples, and helps students sort out their arguments and logical clues. After the discussion (about 5 minutes), the debate begins. Each group sends 3 representatives to speak: the first representative states the group’s view and main arguments, the second representative supplements the arguments and gives examples, and the third representative refutes the opposite group’s view. The teacher acts as the host and referee, guiding the debate to be carried out in an orderly manner, reminding students to use English to express their views politely and logically, and correcting language errors appropriately. After the debate, the teacher makes a summary: “International trade has both advantages and disadvantages for developing countries. It can bring economic growth and technological progress, but it may also bring challenges such as the impact on local industries. Therefore, developing countries should seize the opportunities brought by international trade, take effective measures to avoid risks, and promote their own sustainable development.” Design Intention: The controversial topic debate is an effective way to cultivate students’ critical thinking ability. It can stimulate students’ thinking enthusiasm, encourage students to think from multiple perspectives, analyze and evaluate different views, and improve their ability to express their own views logically and refute opposite views. At the same time, it can help students deepen their understanding of the impact of international trade, combine the text knowledge with real social issues, and realize the practical value of the text. In addition, the debate can also exercise students’ oral expression ability and cooperative learning ability. Writing Practice: On the basis of the discussion and debate, the teacher arranges a writing task: Ask students to write a short passage (about 150 words) titled “My View on International Trade”, expressing their own views on international trade, including its advantages, challenges, and their own suggestions. The teacher provides some key vocabulary and sentence patterns for students’ reference, such as “in my opinion”, “on the one hand... on the other hand...”, “therefore”, “we should...”, etc. Students complete the writing task independently. During the writing process, the teacher walks around the classroom, provides guidance for students who have difficulties, such as helping them sort out their writing ideas, correct grammatical errors, and improve the expression of sentences. After students finish writing, the teacher collects some representative compositions (including excellent compositions and compositions with common problems), and comments on them in class. For excellent compositions, the teacher affirms their advantages, such as clear logic, accurate language, and unique views, and asks students to learn from them. For compositions with problems, the teacher points out the existing problems, such as unclear logic, incorrect collocation, and insufficient arguments, and guides students to correct them. Design Intention: Writing practice is an important way to test students’ language application ability and critical thinking ability. Through writing, students can systematically sort out their own views on international trade, express their views in English logically and accurately, and further deepen their understanding of the text theme. The teacher’s guidance and comments can help students find their own shortcomings in writing, improve their writing ability, and at the same time, let students learn from each other and make progress together. Summary and Extension Summary: The teacher invites students to summarize the content of this lesson independently, including the main idea of the text, the advantages and challenges of international trade, and the methods of critical thinking about economic phenomena. Then the teacher makes a comprehensive summary: “In this lesson, we read a passage about international trade and economy, mastered the core vocabulary and key sentences related to trade and economy, understood the importance, advantages and challenges of international trade, and learned to think critically about economic phenomena through discussion and debate. We should realize that trade is an important driving force for global development, and we should view trade and economic phenomena from an objective and comprehensive perspective.” Extension: The teacher assigns an after-class task: Ask students to collect relevant materials about China’s foreign trade in recent years (such as data, cases, etc.), and write a short report (about 200 words) to introduce China’s foreign trade development and put forward their own views and suggestions. At the same time, the teacher recommends some English materials related to trade and economy for students to read after class, such as English news reports, short articles, etc., to expand their horizons and improve their reading ability. Design Intention: The summary link helps students sort out the knowledge learned in this lesson, form a systematic knowledge framework, and deepen their understanding of the text theme and critical thinking methods. The after-class extension task connects the classroom teaching with real life and social development, encourages students to explore knowledge independently, expands their knowledge reserve, and further improves their language ability, critical thinking ability and independent learning ability. Recommending English materials can help students create a good English learning environment and improve their comprehensive English quality. 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 $