The theme of this unit is human and nature, focusing on the theme of wildlife protection. Nature is a complex ecosystem, in which there are delicate balance between animals and plants. Because of the role of the food chain, the extinction of one species will produce influence, causing a series of chain reaction. Large scale extinction of species will have a serious and even irreversible impact on the ecosystem, resulting in immeasurable losses. Therefore, it is of great significance to protect wild species. To protect wild species is to protect human beings themselves.

The motto of this unit is “when the buying stops, the killing can too,” which is a public service advertising slogan to protect wildlife. It tells people that every rhinoceros horn, every fur, every bowl of shark fin soup, every ivory product, and every tiger bone product, etc. consumed by human beings, are innocent wild animals slaughtered behind them.

The mission of wild aid is to ban illegal trade in endangered wildlife and mitigate climate change. It aims to educate the public to reduce the consumption demand for endangered wildlife products through public publicity and improve the awareness of environmental protection.

【教学目标】

1. Improve the awareness of wildlife protection by acquiring the knowledge of wildlife protection.

2. Focus on environmental protection and protection of all lives.

3. Analyse the living environment of wild animals with appropriate thinking mode.

4. Skillfully use the vocabulary and grammar knowledge of this unit to cultivate self-study ability according to the unit content

5. Develop cooperative learning ability through discussion and other ways

【教学重难点】

1. Enable the students to talk about the current situation of wild animals.

2. Guide the students to summarize the main idea of each paragraph as well as the main idea of the text.

3. Help students learn what effort has been made to change the serious situation and what else should be done.

【教学过程】

Step 1: Warming up and prediction

1. Let’s look at some animals, and discuss what they have in common.

They are endangered animals.

They are being hunted by some illegal hunters for money.

They should be well protected now.

They are cute and beautiful…

2. Guessing game: what kind of animal is it?

1) It is good at running and jumping.

2) It is one of the Beijing Olympic mascots.

3) Its name is closely connected with Changtang Nature Reserve.

4) It mainly lives in Qinghai and Tibet.

It is an antelope.

3. Watch a video about antelopes and talk about the feelings about the video.

Feel sorry and sad. They shouldn’t be hunted and instead should be well protected.

Step2: Fast reading tasks

Read the passage quickly to solve the following questions.

(1)Why did the author come to Tibet?

The author comes to Tibet in order to observe Tibetan antelopes.

(2)Why did the population of antelopes drop so badly in the 1980s and 1990s?

The population of antelopes drops so badly because of being hunted and the loss of their habitats.

(3)What was done to protect the Tibetan antelopes?

Humans protect the Tibetan antelopes by watching over them and adding some bridges and gates.

(4)Why should we continue the protection programs of the antelopes?

The threat to them has still existed.

(5)What can we do to save the planet according to the author?

We ought to live in harmony with nature.

Step3: Scanning reading tasks

Read the passage and fill in the blanks.

Title: A DAY IN THE CLOUDS

Paragraph 1 We come here to observe Tibetan (1) _________.

Paragraph 2 I’m (2) ______by their beauty and also reminded of the danger they are in.

Paragraph 3 My guide works at a nature reserve, which is a (3) ______for animals and plants.

Paragraph 4 In 1980s and 1990s, the population (4) ________because of people’s activity.

Paragraphs 5&6 The government placed it under national (5) _________and its population recovered.

The protection programs will continue.

Paragraph 7 We must change our way of (6) ___. Only when we learn to (7) ____in harmony with nature can we stop being a (8) ______to wildlife and to our planet.

1. antelopes 2. struck 3.shelter 4. dropped

5.protection 6.life 7.exsit 8.threat

Step4: Consolidation

1. Read quickly and figure out the main idea of each paragraph.

Paragraph 1: The writer visited Changtang in order to observe Tibetan antelope.

Paragraph 2: Tibetan antelopes are in danger.

Paragraph 3: His guide thinks that the land is sacred and protecting the wildlife is a way of life.

Paragraph 4: Bad times for the Tibetan antelope.

Paragraph 5: The Chinese government and volunteers took effective measures to protect the Tibetan antelope.

Paragraph 6: The effective measures have helped the population of Tibetan antelope recover.

Paragraph 7: Human beings must change the way of life in order to save the planet.

2. What does the author experience in the clouds?

Things the author sees:

Snow-covered mountains disappearing into clouds

The antelopes moving slowly across the green grass

Things the author hears:

Changtang National Nature Reserve

Bad times for the Tibetan antelope

Measures to protect the Tibetan antelope

Effects achieved after years of protection

Things the author feels or thinks:

Struck by their beauty

Changing our way of life.

Existing in harmony with nature.

Step 5: Critical thinking:

What’s the purpose of this article?

The author intends to tell us that although the Tibetan antelope has been removed from the endangered species list, the threats to them have not yet disappeared. We must change our way of life and learn to exist in harmony with nature.

Step 6: Summary

Introduce the topic—why—how—results

Step7 Homework:

Review what we have learned and find out the key language points in the text.