Teaching Plan
Text A A journey through the odyssey years
Objectives:
? Cultural objectives: to have knowledge of Odyssey, Odysseus and the odyssey
years
? Linguistic objectives: to understand and use the words, phrases, structures,
rhetoric in the text
? Communicative objectives: To be acquainted with the writing skills of a
comparison/contrast essay
Part I Warm-up
I. Knowledge of The Odyssey, Odysseus, and the odyssey years 1. Assignment Check
Students are going to share their assignments. Read our their reflection.
The assignment has to be given when students and the teacher last meet. Their last assignment is to:
Watch the movie The Odyssey and write a reflection. Thee reflection should includes:
? a short summary of the movie
? students’ feelings and ideas after watching the movie.
2. Brainstorming:
Question: What does the odyssey years may mean?
Answers for reference: Now the Odyssey has become a special term for an epic journey or great struggle as Odysseus, the main character in the epic poem, encountered repeated troubles and challenges when he left home and loved ones.
II. Comparison of you and your parents 1. Questions:
1) What is your understanding of “generation gap”?
2) Do you think there is a generation gap between you and your parents? Why
do you think so?
2. Group work:
1) Think of the differences between you and your parents.
2) Make a summary of your discussion by filling in the following chart. 3) Share answers/ Aspects of differences You Your parents Education College education High school
1
3. Critical thinking
Discuss the following problems in groups.
1) Do you agree with the statement that the odyssey years could lead to self-discovery? Why or why not?
2) What might be the most significant personal effect caused by the delay in transition to adulthood?
3) How might parents look at the new trend and the delayed transition?
*These are open-ended questions. Allow students to freely express themselves and tell them to listen to the authors’ answers to these questions. And the class will re-discuss these three questions when we have finished our reading.
Part II Pre-reading
I. Quiz
1. Take the quiz by checking (√) whether the statements on Page 60 are true to you. And then you can judge which generation you belong to according to the grading criteria.
2. Question: Do you think the quiz kind of define some characteristics of you and your generation?
II. Main structure
Read the whole passage and divide the text into several parts. Fill in the blanks to present the main structure of the text.
*Pay attention to how the author makes a comparison between two different generations.
Part III While-reading
I. Introduction Part 1. The structure analysis
1) Ask students to discuss in pair or in group
The introduction part is composed of two sections.
? Paragraph 1 describes that each age phase brings its own peculiar set of challenges.
? Paragraph 2 functions as a transition.
2) The teacher presents the writing skill
Transition creates a link or connection between the previous paragraph and the following one. In English, transition can be realized by using transitional words, sentences or paragraphs.
2. Questions for understanding
1) How do people divide our life stages (Para. 1)?
2) Why does the author say that each unique life phase brings its own peculiar
set of challenges (Para. 2)?
2
3. Words, phrases and sentences
Give an intensive analysis of the new words (e.g. their origins, literal meanings & implied meanings), phrases and sentences.
* The teacher should help students to understand and think, instead of giving them the answers directly. Allow more time for students’ thinking and reflection.
II. Body part: the odyssey years: a newly added phase of life 1. Structure analysis
2. Questions for understanding
1) According to the author, what does “a norm” refer to (Para. 3)? 2) What are the so-called “odyssey years” (Para. 4)?
3) Why does the author think that odyssey years are “an unavoidable stage in
reaching adulthood (Para. 4)?
3. Words, phrases and sentences
III. Body part: characteristics of the odyssey years 1. Structure analysis
2. Questions for understanding
1) Why young people feel pressure (P6)?
2) According to the author, where does the young people’s “confusion” come
from (P6)?
3) Why parents feel anxious and upset (P7)?
4) What are pressures for women and men respectively (P8, 9)? 3. Words, phrases and sentences
IV. Conclusion part
1. Questions for understanding
What is the author’s advice proposed? What should not the graduates do and what should they do?
2. Words, phrases and sentences
Part IV After-reading
I. Summary
1. Re-discuss the critical thinking questions:
1) Do you agree with the statement that the odyssey years could lead to
self-discovery? Why or why not?
2) What might be the most significant personal effect caused by the delay in
transition to adulthood?
3) How might parents look at the new trend and the delayed transition? 2. Recall the main structure II. Writing skills
1. Recall the main ideas of the text and how the author structures his writing.
3
2. Introduce two major structures of comparison or contrast:
? Point-to-point ? Subject-to-subject
3. A good example
Suppose now we are going to write an article to compare/contrast two places: my hometown and my college town, that is, Gridlock and Subnormal. How can we organize our ideas by using the following structures? ? Point-to-point(See in Appendix I)
? Subject-to-subject(See in Appendix II)
Part V Assignment
I. Structured writing: You and your parents
1. Recall what you have discussed in the classroom on the differences between you and your parents and reorganize these ideas into an article based on the comparison/contrast structure.
2. You can either use the point-to-point structure or the subject-to-subject structure.
II. Watching a video clip:
1. Watch the video clip and make a summary of each interviewee’s story, e.g. what they are doing now or what are their problems.
2. Think of the title: Chinese young people: a dependent generation. Do you agree with it or not? Why or why not?
III. Preview
Have a preview of Text B Finding my way back home.
4
Part VI Appendix
Appendix I How to write by point-to-point Topic sentence POINT #1 DETAIL (a) DETAIL (b) POINT #2 DETAILS (a) DETAILS (b) POINT #3 My (a) hometown and (b) college town are similar. Both are small rural communities. ? Gridlock has about 10,000 people. ? Subnormal has about 11,000 local residents. ? It has about 4000 college students. Both are located in rural areas. ? Gridlock is surrounded by many acres of farmland. ? This farmland is devoted to growing corn. ? The land is also used to grow soybeans. ? Subnormal is in the center of land used for raising hogs. ? This land is also used to raise cattle. Both towns contain college campuses. ? Gridlock is home to Neutron College. ? This college is famous for its Agricultural Economics program. ? It is also famous for its annual Corn-Watching Festival. ? Subnormal contains Quark College. ? This campus is famous for its Agricultural Engineering department. ? It is also famous for its yearly Hog-Calling Contest. DETAILS (a) DETAILS (b)
5
Appendix II How to write by subject-to-subject Topic sentence SUBJECT #1: My hometown and college town are similar. GRIDLOCK ? Gridlock is a small town. It has about 10,000 people. ? Gridlock is in a rural area. ? It is surrounded by many acres of farmland. ? This farmland is devoted to growing corn. ? The land is also used to grow soybeans. ? Gridlock is home to Neutron College. ? This college is famous for its Agricultural Economics program. ? It is also famous for its annual Corn-Watching Festival. DETAILS ABOUT GRIDLOCK: SUBJECT#2: SUBNORMAL ? Subnormal is a small town. ? Subnormal has about 4000 college students. ? It has about 11,000 local residents. ? Subnormal is in a rural area. ? Subnormal is in the center of land used for raising hogs. ? This land is also used to raise cattle. ? Subnormal contains Quark College. ? This campus is famous for its Agricultural Engineering department. ? It is also famous for its yearly Hog-Calling Contest. DETAILS ABOUT SUBNORMAL:
6