Урок английского языка "Книги: прошлое,настоящее,будущее""
методическая разработка по английскому языку (7 класс) по теме

Истомина Л.Н.

учитель

МКОУ «Хомутовская СОШ с углубленным изучением английского языка»

BOOKS: PRESENT, PAST, FUTURE.

7 класс (углубленное изучение )

УМК Афанасьевой О.В., Михеевой И.В. - 7 (углублённое изучение английского языка)

 ПЛАН – КОНСПЕКТ УРОКА

The Aims:     1.to master the students’ communicative skills (listening, monologue   and dialogic speech);

  2. forming  of  social and cultural knowledge;

  3. to generalize  the studied material;  

The  plan.

1.  Teacher (T): Today we are going to speak about one of the most wonderful things in the world. Well, try to guess what it is! It has no mouth but speaks. It is not a tree but it has leaves. It is not alive but it can be a good friend….Right! It is a book!

               A wise man said,” Life without books is as a tree without leaves”. How  can we understand this quotation?

Pupil 1(P1): I think life without books looks as poor and unhappy as a tree without leaves.

Pupil2 (2): I’m sure that if we don’t have books in our life, it will be as boring and gloomy as trees in autumn.

T: I agree with you. Now let us  grow  our” book tree”.

(Учащиеся называют слова, обозначающие  литературные жанры и на экране появляются  названия жанров.)

Vocabulary list: autobiography, biography, adventure story, detective story, fairy tale, fantasy, historical story, (novel), horror story, humorous story, ghost story,  love story, a legend, a myth, fiction, science fiction, travel story, true (life) story, poetry, a dictionary, an encyclopedia, a reference book, a textbook.

T: What kind of stories do you like  most ? I am fond of fantasies, and one of  my  favourite  books is” The Lord of the Rings”. And  you?

P3: Actually, I am fond of fantasies too, and also I enjoy legends. I like legends about Robin Hood most of all, they are cool and funny. Etc.

2. T: Now, look at the screen! Find the appropriate name for each type of books to fit the definition. Try to think of a well-known example of each.

…..is a long written story, not in poetry, usually about invented people and events.  (  a novel)

…. an old story  about  great  events and people in ancient times, which may not be true.( a myth)

...is a book that tells a story  that’s  not  true , but which happens in a definite time  in the past and mentions real people and events from that time.( a historical novel)

…is a short story that teaches a lesson, a story in which animals or objects speak.  (a  fable)

…Is a story about fairies and other magical people which  always  ends  happily. (a  fairy tale)

…is  an  untrue  story  ( a story about imaginary people and events).(fiction)

…is a  story  of  love , adventure and mystery.(adventure)

…is a story in which frightening and often unnatural things happen. ( a horror story)

….is a book or play that tells a very excited story especially of crime and violence. ( a thriller )

3. T: Give your own  definition  for the following types of books:

a) Reference books          are books about  ….    

b) Dictionaries

c) Non-fiction books

d) Biographies

e) Westerns

1) hobbies, crafts, plants, animals, rocks and weather;

2) facts about almost anything and everything;

3) another person’s life;

4) American frontier of the 19th century;

5) words of a language with the information about their meaning, pronunciation, etc.    

4. T: Now, let’s have a guessing game. Listen to the beginnings of  different kinds of  stories and try to guess what story it is, and why you think so.

Tapescript:

1. It was a dark and foggy night. We drove and drove. At midnight , just as we thought we were lost, we saw a light behind some trees. As we got nearer, we could see a house. It looked deserted, abandoned. We knocked at the heavy , wooden door. It opened slowly. A tall man, dressed entirely in black stood there.” Good evening “, he said in a slow, deep voice. “ I’ve been expecting you.”

(horror story)

2. We were travelling through deep space at the speed of light. Suddenly , the spaceship slowed down and immediately the system came into view. A bright star with twenty or more planets. One of  these  would be our new  home, five light years from our  own galaxy.(science fiction)
3. One of my earliest memories is of my father running along the beach with our dog, Tess. I must have been about three years old. I remember the dog jumping up on me and knocking me over into the water.(true story)
4. The man lay on the ground next to a white van. There was no doubt. He was dead. I quickly looked in the pockets of his jacket- some money, a handkerchief and a theatre ticket with a Chicago phone number written on it. Three  murders in three weeks and the victims al killed in the same way. (a detective story)
5. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there lived a beautiful princess. She was an only child and her father and mother, the king and queen, loved her very much. One day an old woman came to the castle. When she saw the princess, she smiled and laughed in a strange and horrible way. (a fairy tale)

(Pupils look at the book tree as they listen to the tape. When checking pupils ‘ answers , there may be disagreement, then encourage the pupils to argue their point of view.)

5. T: I see you know the types of books quite well, but I’d like to know if you had read some famous books. Look at the screen, read the extracts and match them with their titles.

1. “The prince began to take off his fine  clothes, and Tom took off his old clothes and put on the clothes of the prince. Tom looked at the prince as he stood there dressed in Tom’s clothes. He had seen someone very like him before. Where has he seen him? “Come and look at us in the glass!”cried the prince. They were just like each other.”(The Prince and the Pauper “by M. Twain)

2. “I had slept for many hours. When I awoke it was just daylight. I tried to get up from the ground, but I could not move! My  arms and feet were held down to the ground with strings. I heard some noise around me, but I could see nothing. In a little time I felt  something  alive moving on my foot, then it came over my body and up to my face. Turning my eyes down as much as I could, I saw a man. He was less  than  15 centimeters  high”.(“Gulliver’s Travels “by  Jonathan  Swift)

3. “Alice and her big sister were sitting on the grass. Her sister was reading a book, but Alice had nothing to read…She was too sleepy…Just  then , a white rabbit ran by, very near to her. That does not happen every day, but Alice did not wonder about it.  But she did wonder when the rabbit took a watch out of its pocket and looked at it.(“Alice’s Adventures in  Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll).

4. “At 7 o’clock on a hot evening in the  Seeonee  hills, Father Wolf woke up. There was a little animal at the mouth of the cave. It was Tabaqui, the jackal. The wolves of India  don’t like Tabaqui. He makes trouble now.”Shere Khan, the Big One, has changed his hunting grounds,” Tabaqui  said.” (“The Jungle Book” by  Rudyard Kipling.)

5. “There were 150 places at the table. Each knight had his name written in his place. There were one hundred and twenty –eight  knights  at the table. As time went on other brave and good knights came, and King Athur gave them places. One place was not filled for a longtime. That place was for a knight who had never done any bad thing to anybody. It was called the “Seat Perilous: if a bad man sat in it, he would die. After many years Sir Galahad came and was given that place.”(“King Arthur and the Knights of the round Table.”)

6.    T: Well, we have described  different types of books and now I suggest that you describe authors. Say  how you can characterize authors.

Pupils: Authors can be good, interesting, great, famous, well-known, talented, medieval, eighteenth century, ancient, modern, classical.

T:  So, look at the list of these famous authors and  say some words about them.

1. William Shakespeare
2. Agatha Christie
3. Charles Dickens
4. A. A. Milne
5. Lewis Carroll
6. Rudyard Kipling
7. Jonathan Swift
8. Daniel Defoe
9. Beatrix Potter

7. T:   How can we characterize good books?

P: Good books can be:

2. interesting                      
3. enjoyable
4. entertaining
5. original
6. amusing
7. funny
8. witty
9. exciting
10. fascinating
11. fast-moving
12. powerful
13. true-to-life
14. well-written
15. easy to read

8. T: Match these Russian words and word combinations with the English adjectives from the vocabulary list above

1. увлекательная
2. оставляющая  сильное впечатление
3. легко  читающаяся
4. остроумная
5. забавная
6. волнующая
7. достоверная
8. трогательная

9.  T:  I'm sure each of you  has a  favourite  book. Please tell us about it.

P1: I am fond of adventure stories and historical novels. My  favourite  book is “Three Musketeers” by A. Dumas . He is a famous French classic who lived in the  18 century. This  book is a classic .It is  very interesting, fascinating,  exciting, entertaining and easy to read. The book is  in one volume, with an interesting design and coloured illustrations. “Three Musketeers” is an expensive edition in hardcover. The book describes the events which took place in the 18 th century in France at the court of the king  Liudovic 14th. The main character of the book is D’Artanyan .Other characters are: Miledy,  Atos,  Portos,   Aramis and others. The book is worth reading. The language of the book is expressive, the style is unforgettable. I couldn’t put it down until I’m finished. I can read it twice . It’s the real thing and I would recommend it to everyone.

P2:   I prefer to read fairy tales. My  favourite  book is “The Chronicles of Narnia.” This book is written  by an English 20th century writer C.S. Lewis. It describes  the adventures of two brothers and two sisters in an imaginary country. One of the main characters is a Great Lion who lives in this country and can do magic. At first the action takes place in England in 1940s or 1950s, I think. And in the beginning the author describes the children and explains how they get  to the magic country. From the book we learn that true love and friendship can do miracles. I’m sure that the book is worth reading and I would  recommend it to anyone.

10.  T: It’s great that all of you like reading but have you ever thought about the kind of books people used long ago?

P1  :  I know that many, many years ago a town crier ran through the streets and shouted out all the news. It is only in the last 500 years that books have been printed on paper. Before that time the only way of making books was to write them out by hand. No one knows when  writing first began, but we have found drawings on the walls of caves and scratching on bones which are at least 25.000 years old.

P2: And I know from my History lessons that the earliest books were written on tablets of wood or pieces of bark. In Greece   and Rome, the tablets of wood were covered with wax, and writing was impressive upon them with a small stick called “ stylus.” These tablets were held together on one side with thin strips of leather or metal rings.

P3:  I’d like to add that in Assiria and Babylonia clay tablets were used for writing and the words were drawn with a piece of wood. After baking, the tablets were kept on shelves, just like books are kept today. Although the clay tablets didn’t look very beautiful, they were long-lasting and some of them survived until the present day.

P4:  The earliest books of the ancient world were written on papyrus and skins of young animals. These books took the form of a long strip, rolled from one cylinder to another. These  writings were known to the Romans as volumen   from which  comes the word  volume.

T:  and do you know that though paper has been known in China since the first century , the secret of papermaking came to Europe much later. Books were quite common in ancient Rome: we know that there were many booksellers and the first public library was founded there about 39 B. C.

By the way do you happen to know where and when was printing invented?

P: The first people to invent printing were the Chinese. In  Europe  there were several people who can be called inventors of printing. The best known is Johann Gutenberg from Germany.

T:  what about other European countries?

P: The first printing press in England was set up by William Caxton at Westminster n 1476, and  the first printing press in Russia  -by Ivan Fedorov in  Moscow in 1564.

11. T:  Let’s  imagine a situation when people   from different  epochs  meet together and discuss the problem of books. Let’s role-play such a situation.( all the pupils are given the badges with the names of professions: A mediaeval scholar( monk) (M), a writer from the 23d century (Wr), JD Rowling (JR), а teacher of Literature(TL), a journalist from “the Mirror” (J), a student (S), a historian (H), a librarian (L), a very absent-minded scientist (SC).

SC: Hallo, ladies and gentlemen! …Oh, you look so strange…and how you managed  to get into my lab, I wonder…,it’s my time-machine!

TL: Well, and who are you? And what do you mean saying” your lab”?

SC: Oh, let me introduce myself. I’m Alex, an inventor. We are  testing  our time-machine and somehow it has brought you here. But don’t worry . We’ll repair it very quickly. My  assistant will do the work and I suggest you  have tea and talk. Will you  introduce yourself?

( All the pupils tell their  imaginary names , and some information about their  occupation. Then tea is served.)

H: All of us deal with the  world of books and  writing and  somehow  managed  to meet here . But it’ a lucky  coincidence! Well, I’ve always been interested in how books were created in the past. Brother Artemius, can you tell us anything ?

M: Well, it’s well –known , I suppose, that in my time books are written by hand. It takes a very long time to write a whole book with a pen. As the work is very slow, very often several brothers are needed to copy a book. Such people must be very attentive, hard-working and careful. We work with candle-light, so a lot of people have problems with eyesight.

J: And what are your books about?

M:  Well, we have books about Saints, Herbs and Minerals, written records of historical events, Astrology and Legends.

L: Wonderful! But I suppose books are very expensive ,  aren’t   they?

M: You’re absolutely right! Only very rich Lords, Monasteries and Universities can afford to have books.

TL: And what about ordinary people?

M: Most people are illiterate, they  can neither read nor write, so don’t need books.

S: But how do they get news? Information is power.

M: Oh, it’s very simple! If the news is very important, a town crier runs through the  streets and shouts out  all the news. But usually people get it in town or village inn when they  discuss daily affairs and have something to drink.

J: And what material are books  made of?

H: Let me answer the question, and  brother Artemius will check if I’m  right.

M, J :  O.K.!

H: The very first  books were  carved on stones and often pictures with some sort of information were painted o the walls of caves. Then books were made of papyrus, invented in Egypt, clay, tree bark, and animal skin. Books made of papyrus were called “rolls”. Books made of animal skins were rather big and heavy.

M: Absolutely right! We need a special support or a stand to read them.

H: But they were perfectly written and decorated with  beautiful pictures miniatures.

JR: And then some clever people from China invented paper! All educated people were happy! And when printing was invented , books became cheaper, so many people could have books to read and study, right?

WR.:  How very strange! Paper, animal skins…can’t imagine!

JR : Are books in your time different?

WR:  In my time we don’t have books. I mean heavy things made of plastic or paper. We don’t need to write books by hand or with the help of a typewriter. We have computers. Their sounds and images make you  feel  that  you’re in a real situation . So  a writer just link his brain with a computer and begins to imagine scenes, characters and situations. And the computer creates pictures and memorises everything.

L: And what does a person do if he wants to read a book?

WR:  Well, this person just downloads a necessary file to this computer and links directly to it: and he can find himself “inside” the book he has chosen.

S : Great! It’s the same as in computer games!

WR : It’s even better! If you’re a real fan, you may join a  writer while he is creating a new book.

J: And what books are popular?

WR: Well, about the Middle Ages(18-21 centuries) , space operas and some romantic novels about knights’n’ dragons.

M: I can hardly understand what you’re talking about. I think it is some sort of magic!

J: No, not at all! It’s science. And as for magic, we have a real specialist in it, a person who writes books about magic Joan, why did you decide to write such a book?

JR: Well, I think our life is a bit grey and lacks bright events and emotions. And also if you are very attentive , you can find strange and unusual thing everywhere. I’ve just shown them to people.

TL: What do your books teach people?

JR:  I think they  teach them to be real friends, honest,  kind, brave and clever. They  teach us to understand people, to help them in difficult situations, to fight with evil to feel responsibility for somebody or something. Well…maybe  something else, it’s up to readers to decide.

S: I’m very interested in the motto of Hogwarts. What does it mean: “Draco dormiens numquam  titallandus”?

JR :  Ha-ha! It’s a secret! You should study more!

S:  Oh! U-u-u…

H:  I’ll let this cat out of the bag. It means “Don’t wake a sleeping  dragon  up”.

S:  Oh, thanks a lot! Joan, what progress are you making with your new book?

JR:  I have already finished the 8th book about Harry Potter and his friends and I hope to write the last book in 2010.

J:  What does the success of a book depend on?

JR:  Well, it’s difficult to say, but I think the writer should be sincere, honest and create a book with all his heart. And I think we’d better ask Mr. Gordon about it.

L:  I should say today the situation with editing and publishing books is quite problematic, as people prefer watching TV and video and play computer games , so they begin to read less. In the 20th  century people used books to get information , to think over them, to relax; but today people prefer to use the net. But in spite of all this, people go on reading books. And if each person finds something for himself in a book, this book will be popular  with the reading public.

TL: What do you consider the aim of books is?

L: I’m sure the aim is to help people  solve problems of life, teach good things, help in self- education as books are the source of knowledge.

SC: What do you think about people’s likes and dislikes in reading?

L:  Unfortunately many people prefer light reading to serious one, and it makes people a bit stupid, I think.

TL:  I absolutely agree with you! My students prefer to read  sth  easy , which doesn’t make them think. They certainly read books from their school   programme,  but not because they like them or find sth  for themselves , but because they have to.

S:  Oh, that’s not fair! We also read some serious, philosophical books  by modern writers like Paulo Coelho and some others. But don’t you think that classics are a bit boring and out-of-date, you see the style of life is absolutely different, and it’s very difficult to understand the feelings, emotions, behavior and motivation of people who lived in the 16th -19th  centuries.

TL: I’m sure some ideas and concepts are universal for any time and any model of society. So, what books do you think should be included in the school programme?

S:  Well, I think there are some excellent examples of fantasy, science fiction and maybe some detectives, I mean authors like J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, A Azimov, etc.

TL: Well…

(then the telephone rings and interrupts the conversation. Everybody listens. Alex, the inventor, answers the phone.)

SC : Oh, dear colleagues , My assistant says   that we have had our time –machine repaired and we are ready to send you home now.

L: Oh, how I wish we will meet again!

SC: Why not?  Hope is the last to die . I  promise to improve my machine and find you. Then  we’ll have a nice cup of tea and talk. But now it’s time for you to leave for your time. Good luck, friends!

12. T:  Now you will listen to what different people think about the future of books , but before listening look at some words you’ll hear . There are also their definitions some of them are mixed. Find and match them properly.

                                                                                                        A . have the   ability or right to enter or use

1. access(something)
2. doubt
3. current
4. on-line
5. predict (something)
6. provide (somebody with something)
7. remain
8. replace(something)

   B. a feeling of being unsure

C.take the place of something or somebody

D.belonging to the present time

E.see or describe the future

F.to supply

G.continue to be unchanged

H.connected with the computer network

T:  Listen to these opinions (New Millenium,10 Form, Unit 8, p.122)

T: Now tick the correct column.

  T:  Tick the arguments each  speaker used

13. T:  Read one more opinion on the future of books, fill in the gaps with the words (access, doubt, current, on-line, predict, provide, remain, replace).then listen to the tape and check your answers.

There is no (1)…. about the advantages  of books (2)…They are going to (3)..printed  books in future. Printed books will(4)…only in scientific libraries and only specialists will have an (5)…to them. But even they will prefer computers to books to(6)…most(7)…information. It is impossible to(8)…everybody with books on-line but I’m just(9)…the future in the way I see it.

14. T:  What do you think of the future of books and computers?

P1 : I’m sure the paper book  will be around for a long time. They look and feel great and they will always remain the same. Paperback books are lightweight and relatively low cost. Computers might become cheaper too but they definitely will be more expensive than books. Books are easy to use and it’s clear that people will always prefer paperback books.

P2:  There is no doubt that books will change a lot. Cheap, handy, pocket-size electronic books will soon appear and replace all paperback books. Though people will keep some books they will be found only in museums. And one more thing. People won’t waste a lot of timber to produce e-books and this will save the forests.

P3:  I think books will remain an important source of information.

P4: My opinion is that computers will replace books in future. Paperback  books will be read by the poor, the old, and collectors only.

P5: I suppose that most libraries for books will disappear. On-line books will be more popular.

15. T:  Fill in the gaps with the  following words(access, doubt, current, on-line, predict, provide, remain, replace) to make the lines rhyme.

There isn’t any……

That the book will soon die out

Some of them will still…..

That’s the reason for my pain

New computers will…

Those working “at a snail’s pace’’

Everybody will….

All the info we possess

I….that news….

Will be….all the time

Please…….. this silly rhyme

With the words you’ve learnt this time!

16. T:  Take a look at what famous people have said about books and reading. What do you agree or disagree with? Why?

1. Reading makes a full man.(Francis Bacon)

P: I think that if a person doesn’t read a lot he is dull and knows little. It is not interesting to talk to such a person.

2. History books which contain no lies are extremely dull. (Anatole France)

P: I think that fiction is more interesting to read than non-fiction. Historical novels are always full of adventures, exciting events.

3. All books are divided into two classes : the book of hour, and the book of all time.(John Ruskin)

P: It means that there are books that are interesting to read for people of all ages and all times

4. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.( Richard Steele)

P: I think we should train our mind just as we train our body to be  a well-educated person.

5. Reading is a vital form of communication with all of mankind, and wisdom of many ages.(Olzhas Suleymenov).
6. P: It means that our civilization has stored a lot of knowledge and we should look for it in books.

XVII.T:  Match the beginnings of the proverbs with their endings

Pupils:

17. T: Your home task is to write a time capsule. Think what will happen to books in 10 years’ time, write a paragraph on a piece of paper and keep it in a safe place. Read it in 10 years to see if you were right.

18. The results of the lesson.