1、The First Period从容说课This is the first period of this unit.It includes Warming-up，Discussion ，New words and Listening.In this period， students should get the first impression of earthquakes， including the phenomena before an earthquake， the cause of an earthquake， the ways to reduce the damage and so
2、 on.In Warming-up，students first discuss what would happen during an earthquake.Then discuss some other natural disasters，such as hurricanes，tornadoes and typhoons.What are they and what would happen if these natural disasters occur？After these two steps，the students would have a general idea about
3、natural disasters.This lays a foundation for the Reading passage.Also these two steps provide the students with enough chance to practice speaking.The teacher should stimulate the students to express themselves using English.Next the teacher will explain some new words and expressions that would app
4、ear in the Reading passage.After class students should use these words and expressions to make sentences.In this way， the teacher can check whether the students have mastered these words and expressions or not.Then in the Listening part，students will listen to the cause of an earthquake and the ways
5、 to reduce the damage.They should first make a judgment whether the statements are true or false.Then try to fill in a form.After finishing the tasks in the textbooks，the teacher can also ask the students to go online after class to look for more information about how to reduce the damage of an eart
6、hquake.This period lays emphasis on speaking and listening.The teacher should try his or her best to encourage the students to say something.Dont always correct the mistakes that the students would make while speaking.Otherwise，the students would feel reluctant to speak out their opinions.三维目标1.Know
7、ledge：（1）Get a general idea of earthquakes and some other natural disasters.（2）Know the causes of an earthquake.2.Ability：（1）Train the students speaking ability by describing，talking and discussion.（2）Train the students listening ability.（3）Train the students ability to use the Internet to search fo
8、r some useful information.（4）Train the students ability to cooperate with others.3.Emotion：（1）Know the damage that an earthquake and other natural disasters could bring about.（2）Know the ways to reduce the losses of an earthquake.教学重点Train the students speaking ability by describing，talking and disc
9、ussion.教学难点Train the students listening ability.教具准备（1）a tape recorder（2）a projector（3）the blackboard教学过程Step 1 GreetingsTeacher （T）：Good morning/afternoon ， class! Students （Ss）：Good morning/afternoon， teacher.Step 2 Warming-up T：First，I want to ask you a question.Do you know what happened in the I
10、ndian Ocean at the end of last year？It shocked or we can say frightened the whole world.S1：Let me try.A terrible tsunami broke out there on 26th December.More than 200000 people were killed.T：Yes.It is said that it is the biggest in the four decades.A tsunami is an undersea earthquake.Then have you
11、heard of any land earthquakes？Ss： Yes.T：Would you please list some？S2：We can often hear that earthquakes occur in Japan.S3：In 1906，an earthquake struck San Francisco，USA.About 700 people died in the earthquake and the fires.And as many as 250000 people lost homes.S4：And in 1989，another big earthquak
12、e hit San Francisco.About 100 people were killed.It was Americas second strongest earthquake.T：But do you know any famous earthquakes that happened in our country？S5：Of course.The Tangshan Earthquake that happened in 1976.My father experienced it，and he often tells me about the deadliest earthquake.
13、T：Can you tell me what might happen in an earthquake？You may look at the two pictures on Page 25.S6：If an earthquake happens，the whole city would collapse.The tall buildings might be destroyed.The roads， the railway tracks and so on would be destroyed.Bridges would fall down.Water pipes would be bro
14、ken.Then people would face water problem.S7：In the 1989 earthquake in San Francisco，a wide and busy road which was built like a bridge over another road fell onto the one below.Many people were killed in their cars， and only a few lucky ones were not hurt.S8：If the earthquake comes at night，a large
15、number of people would be killed or trapped in the houses.S9：Sometimes during the earthquake，big holes would appear in the earth.T：Yes.You did a very good job.You see，there are large quantities of tall buildings in San Francisco.No one can imagine what would happen if another big earthquake hit the
16、city.Step 3 DiscussionT：You know，an earthquake is one of the terrible natural disasters.Do you know any other natural disaster？And what will happen during the disasters？Discuss with your partner.（A few minutes later.）T：Now Ill ask some of you to tell us the disasters you know.S1：Floods，hurricanes，to
17、rnadoes.S2：Typhoons ，drought.T：Very good.What would happen in these disasters？S3：In a flood，water will be everywhere.It would wash away many things.Many people would be drowned.People could go to stay on tall buildings or even the roofs.S4：If hurricane，typhoon or tornado occurs，there would be very s
18、trong winds.Things would be blown down.There would be a lot of traffic accidents.And the sailors on the sea would be in great danger.S5：During the drought，water is badly needed.The farmers would have no water to irrigate the crops in the fields.T：Next I will explain these disasters and meanwhile sho
19、w you some pictures.A flood is the movement of water out of a river，lake or ocean onto land.It was reported that in 2004 at least 100 people were dead and 83 were missing after rainstorms caused landslides（山崩） and floods in Southwest of China.A hurricane is a strong storm with high winds and rain.Th
20、e very center of the storm， called the eye，is calm.A tornado is a violently rotating（旋转的） column of air that forms at the bottom of a cloud and touches the ground.A Typhoon is an intense tropical weather system with a well-defined circulation and maximum sustained（持续不变的） winds of 74 miles per hour.I
21、n other parts of the world， they are known as hurricanes，tropical cyclones（龙卷风） and severe tropical cyclones.Drought refers to a period of time without rain that can damage crops such as wheat and corn.Step 4 New WordsT：In this unit，you will read a passage about an earthquake.In the passage，you will
22、 meet a lot of new words and expressions.Now were going to learn them.First read the words and expressions from “shake” to “fresh” after me.T：Read these words and expressions by yourself.Meanwhile，please pay attention to their meanings.T：Now I will explain these words and expressions in English.1.pi
23、pe：a thin metal piece that carries water 2.dam：a special wall that keeps water behind it 3.shocked：worried or frightened 4.injure：hurt 5.well：a deep place to store water to drink 6.canal：a very long water way for boats 7.ruin：the part of a building left after the rest has been damaged 8.a great numb
24、er of：a lot of 9.at an end：finished；dead 10.bury：put something under the earth 11.rise：go up 12.rescue：help to get someone out of danger 13.steam：gas that hot water gives outStep 5 ListeningT：Before we learn the passage about an earthquake，lets first know why there are earthquakes in the world.So le
25、ts do some listening on Page 62.Listen to the tape for the first time and try to get a general idea of the passage.S1：This passage is about the cause of earthquakes and how we can reduce losses from them.T：Very good.Listen to the tape for the second time and judge whether the statements in Part 1 ar
26、e true or false.T：Lets check the answers.Listen again and try to correct the statements that are false.T：Listen again and try to complete the table in Part 2.（Play the tape again if necessary.）（A few minutes later.）T：Lets check the answers.Step 6 Homework1.Use the following words and expressions to
27、make sentences.shake，rise，crack，burst，at an end，right away， injure，ruin，survivor，useless，rescue ，dig out，organize，shelter ，fresh ，bury，shock ，destroy2.Preview the reading passage on Page 26.板书设计Unit 4 EarthquakesThe First Period一.Disasters ：二.New Words and Expressions：tsunami pipe a great number ofe
28、arthquake dam at an endflood shocked buryhurricane injure risetornado well rescuetyphooncanal steamdrough truin活动与探究Poster-making：1.Divide the whole class in five groups.2.Ask them to look for more ways of reducing losses from earthquakes.The students can go to the library or use the Internet to sea
29、rch for information.The following websites might be helpful.http：/earthquake.usgs.govhttp：/www.eqnet.org/http：/www.ceri.memphis.edu/3.After searching for the information，each group should make a poster，informing people how to reduce the losses of an earthquake.备课资料Why do Earthquakes Happen？Scientist
30、s explain that the outside of the earth is made of a number of different plates.For example，at San Francisco the Pacific plate which is moving towards the northwest meets the North American plate.The Pacific plate is moving very slowlyat 5.3 centimeters a year.Sometimes these two plates stop and do
31、not move for years.Then suddenly，they jump and an earthquake is felt.As a result of the movement of these plates，west America near the sea has always been a bad place for earthquake.When the 1906 earthquake happened，the Pacific plate jumped 5-6 meters to the north.We cannot stop earthquakes，but we c
32、an do things to make sure they do not destroy whole cities.First，it is not a good idea to build houses along the lines where two of the earths plates join together.Second，if you think there may be an earthquake，it is better to build houses on rock not on sand.Third，you must make the houses as strong
33、 as possible.Weak buildings will fall down in an earthquake，but strong ones may stay up.How Can We Reduce the Losses of an Earthquake？BEFORE THE EARTHQUAKE STRIKESDevelop an earthquake-specific family plan.If you are at risk from earthquakes：Pick “safe places” in each room of your home.A safe place could be under a sturdy table or desk or against an interior wall away from windows，bookcases，or tall furniture that could fall on you.Also pick safe places in your office，school and other buildings you are frequently
