The USA

　　The fierce wars between the new settlers and the local Indians broke out.Settlers made agreements with Native Americans chiefs but always broke them afterwards.At last, they came to a deal: The Native Americans were forced onto the poor land that the settlers did not want.

Passage 2:

　　To our surprise,the island of Manhattan was bought from local Indians for a handful of goods worth about $24. Even today Native Americans express their anger over this business deal.In 1858 an area of poor housing was torn down and Central Park was created.

Lesson 49 教学设计方案（二）

Step 1　 Revision

　　Find out how much the students know about the USA. Ask some rapid questions around the class. What is the capital of the USA? (Washington, D. C.) Who is the President of the USA? Name three past Presidents of the USA. In which city is the tallest building? (Chicago.) How many States are there in the USA? (50; 48 contiguous States, plus Alaska and Hawaii.) Which American President brought an end to slavery and was shot in a theatre? (Abraham Lincoln.) What was “the gold rush”? (The time when thousands of people went to California to look for gold.) Where are the two Disneylands ? (Los Angeles and Florida.) What is the name of the centre of the film industry in Los Angeles? (Hollywood.) What prize is given to film actors and directors? (An Oscar.)

Step 2　Presentation and discussion

　　SB Page 1, Part 1. Find out how much the Ss know about New York. Write the title of the text on the Bb and ask the Ss to tell you what they know. Put any useful notes and key words that arise out of this discussion on the Bb. Teach the new words skyscraper, avenue, etc. Get Ss to talk about the picture and describe what they can see.

Step 3　 Reading for general understanding

　　Read the task aloud. Allow the Ss enough time to read the text and tick the subjects which are mentioned in the text. Check the answers with the class. (Population; history; government; sports; transport; parks; buildings.)

Step 4　Reading

　　Wb Lesson 49, Ex. 1. Go through the exercise and make sure the Ss know what to do. Let them read the whole passage carefully and answer the questions, working in pairs or small groups. Check the answers with the whole class. This is a good time to deal with any language problems. See if the Ss can guess the meaning of handful.

Notes：

a　New York is the largest city in the USA, with an estimated population of 7,165,000 in the city and 9,119,737 in the metropolitan area (1984 dates). It is made up of five boroughs： Manhat tan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Richmond. It is the largest US port, the country's trade centre, and, with its banks and stock exchange, the financial centre of the world. The United Nations has its headquarters in New York.

b　The group of islands includes Manhattan, Long Island, Staten Island.

c　The first westerner to discover： Point out the structure “the + superlative/ordinal number + noun + to + infinitive”. The meaning is the first westerner who discovered.

d　In 1524, Giovanni da Verrazano, an Italian in the service of the French King Francis I, discovered the island of Manhattan. In 1609, Henry Hudson sailed up the river which is named after him. He was on a voyage for the Dutch East India Company in his ship Half Moon.

e　In 1624 the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam was started on lower Manhattan.

f　a handful = the amount of goods that can be held in one's hand (s). Similar expressions： mouthful, armful, pocketful.

g　Peter Minuit is said to have bought the island of Manhattan for $24 worth of goods.

h　making it = when New York grew to 125,000 people, it became the largest city in the USA.

i　was torn down = was destroyed. Tear down is usually used with buildings, but can also be used with large notices and political banners.

j　reaching from 59th Street ...： Manhattan is organized on a grid system. Avenues run north to south and streets run east to west.

k　the age of mass arrivals = a time when people arrive in the US in large numbers

l　Ellis Island is in Upper New York Bay. From 1892-1943 it was the chief entry station for immigrants to the US.

m　went up = was built

n　The tallest building in the US is the Sears Tower in Chicago. It was completed in 1974, has 110 storeys and is 443 metres high (32 metres taller than the World Trade Center).

o　this is no mistake = this is not a mistake

p　This is because： This refers to the previous sentence.

Q　New York never sleeps： Point out that things, like cities, can be compared to human beings.

r　the underground railway： in American English subway. The first subway was built in 1904.

s　all-night = which stay open all night long

t　the city ugly and dirty ... unsafe： Point out the ellipsis and the omission of is in these three phrases.

u　a very exciting place to be： a set expression (= it is very exciting to be there)

Step 5　Discussion

Get Ss to work through these questions in pairs or small groups, then check the answers at the end.

　　1　Islands provide safety from attack and shelter for ships from storms.

　　2　They feel that they were “robbed” in an unfair business deal.

　　3　Manhattan Island is made of solid rock, which provides firm foundations for tall buildings.

　　4　Because land is scarce and very expensive.

　　5　 A, B and C are all good answers.

　　6　 C

　　7　 C

Step 6　Re