Цели урока:
- Обобщить лингвострановедческий материал по указанной теме. Углубить и расширить знания по теме.
- Совершенствовать умения и навыки практического владения английским языком по данной теме по всем видам языковой деятельности: аудированию, говорению, чтению и письму.
- Повысить интерес к изучению иностранного языка.
Урок подготовлен в рамках тематической презентации, выполненной в программе “Power Point”. Такая форма проведения ИКТ помогает четко выстроить структуру урока, наглядно показать этапы работы учителя и учеников, эстетически оформить урок.
Оснащение урока:
- Компьютер, видеопроектор, экран
- Учебник “English-4” (И.Н.Верещагина)
- Аудиопроигрыватель
- Мультимедийная презентация по теме.
- Слова песни “Billy Boy”
План урока
- Сообщение темы и целей урока
- Вводная часть. Краткий обзор подтем урока по презентации
- Устные сообщения, подготовленные учащимися
- Аудирование ”The Average American”. Ответы на вопросы
- Исполнение песни ”Billy Boy” в стиле “country”
- Диалоги по опорным лексическим единицам
- Работа с текстом (поставить предложения в логическом порядке).
- Подведение итогов урока. Выставление оценок
Ход урока
Teacher: Good morning, boys and girls! I’m glad to see you today. I hope you are fine and ready to work hard at the lesson, aren’t you? So, let’s start our lesson. It will be devoted to America.
The pupils listen to the hymn of America “The star-spangled banner”.
Then the slides of the presentation go and the pupils describe the symbols of America, its flag and emblem.
After that the teacher asks the pupils to answer the questions and describe the pictures. The questions appear on the slides of the presentation.
The Discovery of America
- Who discovered America and when?
- Who sent Christopher Columbus to India?
- What do you know about this man?
- Why did he decide to go west?
- What was the name of the new land?
The First Settlements
- When did the 1st settlements appear in America?
- When did the “Mayflower” sail to America?
- Why did the people want to leave England for America?
- When did they reach America?
- Who was on board the ship?
The History of Thanksgiving Day
- When did people celebrate this holiday for the first time and why?
- What do people usually do on that day?
- What is the traditional food of this day?
- What is the symbol of Thanksgiving Day?
Native Americans
- Where did Native Americans come from?
- What were Native Americans like?
- Where did they live?
- Where do most Native Americans live now?
Teacher: Now I would like you to tell us what you know about Christopher Columbus and his life, the first colonists and their voyages on board the “Mayflower”, the history of Thanksgiving Day, Native Americans, Wild West traditions, and symbols of America.
Further on there go the narrations of the pupils studied and prepared beforehand in class and as their homework (the Students’ book).
THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA
Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.
We don’t know much about the man. He was born in Italy but lived in Spain for a long time. He was a seaman and made many sea voyages. In 1493 the King and Queen of Spain gave him money to go to India. He decided to sail west as he was sure that our planet was round. And after sailing 4000 miles (6400 kilometers), he reached some land. Columbus thought that it must be India but it was not. It was a new land – a new continent. It was America – Central America in fact. People began to speak about the land as “the New World”.
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS’S VOYAGES
England became interested in the New World too. The first English settlements appeared in America at the beginning of the 17th century. On the 21st of September 1620 a group of people left England for the New World. They sailed from the English port of Plymouth on board the ship the “Mayflower”. They wanted to start a new life and to have no problems with the church.
After two months’ voyage, on the 21st of November, these people landed in the Northeast of America. There were 74 men and 28 women on the “Mayflower”. They set up a colony and called that part of the country “New England”.
THE HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING DAY
(By Monica Vincent)
The last Thursday in November, as you know, is a holiday in America. People call this holiday Thanksgiving Day. It is perhaps the most important day in the American year. People go to church, and families come together for the day. They decorate their houses with the fruit and flowers of autumn and prepare traditional American food: roast turkey, potatoes and pumpkin. It's rather like Christmas, but what are people celebrating? What are they giving thanks for?
The colonists decided to have a special dinner. They wanted to thank God — to give Him their thanks for many things. It was a difficult year, but the people still had food to eat. The colonists had a thanksgiving dinner for all the people. It lasted three days. For the whole three days they gave thanks for their good harvest and their happy year in a new country.
Wild turkeys were on the table of this meal, and since then the turkey has become a symbol of Thanksgiving Day.
NATIVE AMERICANS
(By Terry Tomsha)
Native Americans came from Asia. Over 20 000 years ago they travelled across the land between Siberia and Alaska.
When English colonists came to the New World on board the "Mayflower" the Native Americans met them and were very friendly and helped them a lot. In those days people lived in small earth houses and grew their own food. Most Native Americans were very peaceful. They wanted to live happily with nature and each other. They believed in many gods and thought that gods lived in trees, stones, water and fire. They believed their gods could bring success in hunting, farming and fishing. They often had special ceremonies with dances and music before they went hunting or fishing or when they began farming.
Native American songs and poems are a very important part of their traditions as they help them to keep their history and culture alive.
Another famous tradition was smoking the pipe of peace. When they smoked this pipe together with people they didn't know, it meant friendship and peace.
THE WILD WEST
Another tradition from the "Wild West" is "cowboy" clothes. In the days of the Wild West clothes were very important as they helped people to live leading a difficult and dangerous life. Cowboys spent much time outdoors. They usually wore hats, boots and jeans. Hats helped them in the sun and protected their faces and eyes from the hot sun. Boots were also very important. It was more comfortable to walk through long grass in boots. There were many dangerous snakes where cowboys worked and lived and the boots protected people from them. Boots also made riding a horse easier.
In the middle of the 19th century in the city of San Francisco there lived a tailor called Levi Strauss. He made special clothes — strong trousers called jeans. Very soon cowboys started to wear jeans. Now people wear jeans in America and all over the world.
SYMBOLS OF AMERICA
The American flag is often called "The Stars and Stripes". There are three colours on the flag of the United States — red, white, and blue. As there are fifty states in the United States, there are fifty stars on the American flag: one star for each state. The American flag has thirteen stripes. The stripes are red and white. The flag has seven red stripes and six white stripes. There is one stripe for each of the first thirteen colonies of the United States. You can see pictures of the American flag in newspapers and magazines. Americans are proud of their flag and display it in many places.
One of the most famous symbols of the USA is the Statue of Liberty. France gave the statue to America in 1884 as a symbol of friendship. The Statue is in New York on Liberty Island. It is one of the first things people see when they arrive in New York by sea.
The eagle became the official national symbol of the country in 1782. It has an olive branch (a symbol of peace) and arrows (symbols of strength). You can see the eagle on the back of a dollar bill.
The United States of America has the national hymn too. It is called "The Star- Spangled Banner".
Every state in the USA has its own flag, its own symbol and its own song too.
Another task is to listen to the script “Average American” and answer the questions.
What Does the Average American Do?
The average American sleeps 7.5 hours a night.
The average American takes a shower every day.
The average American goes to the cinema once a month.
The average American watches TV four hours a day.
The average American goes to the dentist once a year.
The average American reads the newspaper every day.
The average American eats three hamburgers a week.
The average American drinks a cup and a half of coffee a day.
The average American lives in a house.
The average American eats at fast food restaurant once a month.
The average American listens to the radio 2 hours a day.
The average American goes to bed before 12 p.m.
The average American wears pajamas in bed.
Having listened to the text twice, the pupils answer the questions:
- How many hamburgers does the average American eat a week?
- When does the average American go to bed?
- How long does he watch TV every day?
- The average American takes a shower every day, doesn’t he?
- How often does he go to the dentist?
- How often does he go to the cinema?
Teacher: Now you will practice your oral fluency and try to make up the dialogue using the keywords (foreign, tickets, luggage, expensive, cheap), but before it relax a little bit. Let’s sing a song “Billy Boy”.
Teacher: You will work in groups and try to make up and dramatize the dialogues of your own. Use the dialogue on page 21, ex. 3 of your Student’s book.
The pupils get ready and act.
Teacher: The next task is to read and translate the sentences and put them in the logical order. First, read and translate the sentences (Student’s book, p.142, ex. 4).
The pupils have some time to complete the task.
Teacher: We have spoken about many interesting things. You all worked hard and I’ll give you only good and excellent marks.
Today I’m not going to give you any homework. Bye. See you.