Unit 5 Amazing Animals Reading Actively 讲义-2025-2026学年高中英语重大版必修第一册

Unit 5 Amazing Animals-Reading Actively 教学目标和重难点 教学目标 Language Competence: Students will master core vocabulary (e.g., amazing, recognize, conserve, habitat) and sentence patterns related to animal characteristics and behaviors, improving their ability to obtain specific information, infer implied meanings and express views on animal-related topics in English. Cultural Awareness: Students will understand the significance of animal protection in different cultures, cultivate respect for all living things and establish the concept of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Thinking Quality: Students will develop logical thinking through analyzing the structure of the reading text and critical thinking by discussing the relationship between human activities and animal survival. Learning Ability: Students will master reading strategies such as skimming and scanning, cultivate autonomous learning and cooperative learning skills, and form the habit of active reading and deep thinking. 教学重难点 Key Points: Mastering the core vocabulary and phrases about animal characteristics, behaviors and protection; grasping the main idea and structure of the reading text; applying skimming and scanning strategies to quickly obtain key information. Difficult Points: Understanding the long and complex sentences in the text and accurately inferring the author’s implied attitudes and views; flexibly using the learned vocabulary and sentence patterns to express personal views on animal protection; cultivating the awareness of combining reading with practical life and establishing a correct concept of animal protection. 教学过程 Step 1: Lead-in (Pre-reading) The teacher starts the class by showing a series of vivid pictures and short video clips about amazing animals, including elephants, octopuses, dogs, bats and butterflies. The video clips show the unique behaviors of these animals, such as elephants mourning their dead, octopuses opening cans to get food, dogs using their sense of smell to find things and bats flying in the dark. After playing the video, the teacher asks students some interactive questions in English: “What animals can you see in the video? What amazing behaviors do they have? Do you know why they have these special abilities?” Then, the teacher invites several students to share their answers with the whole class. After the sharing, the teacher naturally leads to the topic of this lesson: “Today, we will read an article about amazing animals, explore their unique characteristics and behaviors, and learn how to protect them.” Design Intention: The vivid pictures and video clips can quickly attract students’ attention and arouse their interest in the topic of amazing animals. Asking interactive questions helps activate students’ prior knowledge about animals, including the names, living habits and special abilities of animals they have learned before. This link not only creates a relaxed and pleasant English learning atmosphere but also lays a solid foundation for the subsequent reading activity. It conforms to the cognitive characteristics of senior high school students, who are more likely to be motivated by visual and interactive activities, and guides students to enter the English learning state smoothly. Step 2: Pre-reading Preparation First, the teacher presents the core vocabulary and phrases of this reading text on the PPT, including amazing, recognize, keeper, conserve, habitat, threaten, survive, take care of, in danger, be capable of, enable...to... etc. For each word and phrase, the teacher explains its meaning in simple English, gives example sentences closely related to the animal theme, and guides students to read them aloud to master the correct pronunciation and usage. For example, when explaining “amazing”, the teacher says: “Amazing means causing great surprise or wonder. For example, The octopus’s ability to open cans is amazing.” When explaining “take care of”, the teacher gives the example: “Mother pigs take care of their babies carefully.” Then, the teacher arranges a quick matching activity: students match the words with their meanings in pairs, and the teacher checks the results and explains the difficult words again. Next, the teacher briefly introduces the background of the reading text: the article is selected from a popular science magazine, which mainly introduces the amazing abilities and behaviors of several common animals, and calls on people to protect animals and their habitats. Design Intention: Vocabulary is the foundation of reading. By pre-teaching core vocabulary and phrases, students can reduce reading obstacles and improve reading efficiency. The example sentences closely related to the animal theme help students understand the usage of words in context and lay a foundation for their subsequent reading and expression. The quick matching activity can test students’ mastery of vocabulary in time, and the teacher can adjust the teaching focus according to the test results. The brief introduction of the text background helps students understand the purpose and theme of the article in advance, and improves their ability to predict the content of the text. Step 3: While-reading (Active Reading) Activity 1: Skimming for Main Idea The teacher asks students to read the whole text quickly and answer two questions: 1. What is the main topic of the article? 2. Which animals are mentioned in the article? After students finish reading, the teacher invites some students to answer the questions, and then summarizes the main idea of the article: The article introduces the amazing abilities and behaviors of elephants, dogs, bats and other animals, and emphasizes the importance of protecting these animals and their living environments. During the process, the teacher guides students to find the topic sentence of each paragraph and helps them sort out the structure of the article: the first paragraph introduces the theme of amazing animals; the middle paragraphs introduce the characteristics and behaviors of different animals respectively; the last paragraph calls on people to protect animals. Design Intention: Skimming is an important active reading strategy. Through this activity, students can quickly grasp the main idea and structure of the article, cultivate their ability to extract key information from the whole text. Guiding students to find the topic sentence of each paragraph helps them understand the logical relationship between paragraphs and improve their ability to analyze the structure of the text. This activity also lays a foundation for the subsequent intensive reading. Activity 2: Scanning for Specific Information The teacher divides students into groups of 4, and assigns a task to each group: each group is responsible for finding specific information about one kind of animal mentioned in the text (elephants, dogs, bats, butterflies). The task list includes: 1. What amazing abilities does the animal have? 2. How do these abilities help the animal survive? 3. Are there any threats to the animal’s survival? Each group reads the relevant paragraphs carefully, searches for the required information, and records it in the form of notes. After the group discussion, each group sends a representative to share their findings with the whole class, and the teacher comments and supplements the information to ensure that students grasp the key details of the text. For example, for elephants, students should find that elephants have a strong memory, can mourn their dead, and their habitats are threatened by human activities; for bats, students should know that bats can use echolocation to find food and avoid obstacles in the dark. Design Intention: Scanning is another important active reading strategy, which helps students quickly find specific information according to the task requirements. Group cooperation can cultivate students’ cooperative learning ability and communication ability, and make students more actively involved in the reading activity. By assigning different tasks to each group, students can focus on the key content of the relevant paragraphs, improve reading efficiency and accuracy. The teacher’s comments and supplements help students correct their mistakes and deepen their understanding of the text details. Activity 3: Intensive Reading for Deep Understanding The teacher selects several long and complex sentences from the text and guides students to analyze them, helping students understand the structure and meaning of the sentences. For example, the sentence “Elephants mourn their dead with rituals akin to human grief, which shows that they have complex emotions.” The teacher guides students to identify the attributive clause “which shows that they have complex emotions” and explains the meaning of “akin to”. Then, the teacher asks students to read the text again carefully and answer the following questions: 1. What does the author want to tell us through introducing these amazing animals? 2. What is the author’s attitude towards animal protection? 3. What can we do to protect these amazing animals? Students think independently first, then discuss with their partners, and finally share their views with the whole class. The teacher guides students to infer the author’s implied meaning: the author wants to show that animals are intelligent and have emotions, so we should respect and protect them. Design Intention: Intensive reading helps students deepen their understanding of the text, master the structure of complex sentences and improve their ability to understand difficult sentences. By asking in-depth questions, students are guided to think beyond the surface information of the text, develop their logical thinking and critical thinking abilities. Independent thinking and group discussion enable students to express their views freely, improve their ability to use English to communicate and express their opinions. This link also helps students understand the author’s purpose of writing and lay a foundation for the subsequent post-reading activities. Step 4: Post-reading (Consolidation and Extension) Activity 1: Vocabulary and Sentence Pattern Consolidation The teacher designs two exercises to consolidate the learned vocabulary and sentence patterns. Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the given words (amazing, recognize, conserve, threaten, survive). For example, 1. The _________ thing is that the small bird can fly thousands of miles to its hometown every year. 2. We should take measures to _________ the endangered animals. Exercise 2: Rewrite the sentences using the given sentence patterns (be capable of, enable...to...). For example, 1. Dogs can smell things underground. → Dogs are capable of smelling things underground. 2. The new technology helps people protect wild animals better. → The new technology enables people to protect wild animals better. Students finish the exercises independently, and the teacher checks the results, explains the common mistakes and emphasizes the key points of usage. Design Intention: Consolidation exercises help students consolidate the learned vocabulary and sentence patterns, improve their ability to use language flexibly. The exercises are closely related to the text content, which can help students connect the language knowledge with the reading text and deepen their understanding of the language points. Checking and explaining mistakes in time can help students correct their errors and avoid repeating them in the future. Activity 2: Group Discussion and Expression The teacher puts forward a discussion topic: “With the development of human society, more and more animals are in danger. What do you think are the main reasons for the decline of animal populations? What can we do as senior high school students to protect amazing animals?” Students discuss the topic in groups of 4, and each group member expresses their own views. During the discussion, the teacher walks around the classroom, provides guidance for students who have difficulties in expression, and encourages students to use the learned vocabulary and sentence patterns. After the discussion, each group sends a representative to make a 2-minute speech in English, introducing the group’s views. The teacher comments on the speeches, affirming the advantages and putting forward suggestions for improvement, such as the use of language and the logic of expression. Design Intention: Group discussion and speech activities can not only consolidate the learned language knowledge but also improve students’ oral expression ability and logical thinking ability. The discussion topic is closely related to real life, which can arouse students’ sense of social responsibility and deepen their understanding of animal protection. The teacher’s guidance and comments help students improve their oral expression skills and build their confidence in speaking English. Activity 3: Text Extension and Reflection The teacher introduces some additional information about animal protection, such as the current situation of endangered animals in China and the world, and some animal protection organizations and their actions (e.g., World Wildlife Fund). Then, the teacher asks students to write a short reflection (50-80 words) about “What I have learned from this reading and how I will protect animals in the future”. Students finish the reflection independently, and the teacher collects some excellent works and shares them with the whole class, commenting on the content and language expression. Finally, the teacher makes a summary of the lesson: “Today we have learned about the amazing abilities of many animals, understood the importance of animal protection, and mastered some useful reading strategies and language knowledge. I hope all of you can respect all living things, take action to protect animals, and make our world more beautiful.” Design Intention: Text extension helps students expand their horizons, understand more knowledge about animal protection, and enhance their sense of social responsibility. Writing a reflection enables students to sort out their gains from the lesson, deepen their understanding of the theme of animal protection, and improve their writing ability. Sharing excellent works can stimulate students’ learning motivation and help them learn from each other. The teacher’s summary helps students sort out the key content of the lesson and strengthen their memory of the knowledge they have learned. Step 5: Homework Arrangement 1. Read the reading text aloud for 15 minutes every day, and recite the key paragraphs and core vocabulary. 2. Finish the exercise sheet about the text, consolidating the learned vocabulary and sentence patterns. 3. Surf the Internet to find more information about amazing animals, and write a short English passage (100-120 words) introducing one kind of amazing animal and its living situation. 4. Discuss with your family members about animal protection and share what you have learned in this lesson with them. Design Intention: Homework is an extension of classroom teaching, which helps students consolidate the knowledge and skills learned in class. Reading aloud and reciting help students master the pronunciation and intonation of English and strengthen their memory of the text. The exercise sheet helps students further consolidate the language points. Looking for information and writing a short passage can cultivate students’ autonomous learning ability and writing ability. Discussing with family members helps students spread the concept of animal protection and enhance their sense of responsibility. 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 $