教材分析：本课时为高一新教材模块一第四单元的Warming up 和Pre-reading。从教学要求来看，本课时主要是为了让学生掌握一些有关自然灾害的知识，对于一些自然灾害的名称，做到能够脱口而出。在这个环节中，书本上为我们的学生提供了两张图片，一张是一个现代化的城市景象，另一张是经历了地震之后陷入一片废墟中的城市景象。要求学生学会比较两张图片中的不同之处，并在此基础上能说出诸如地震之类的自然灾害给人类带来的损害与破坏。
Ask the students to read the instructions and make sure they know what to do, and then have a discussion about the two pictures.
T: Today, before we begin our reading, I’d like to ask you a question, “What is the biggest sound you have heard in your life?”
S1: The sound of wind that blew in a winter night when I was very young. It sounded like a ghost who was howling. I was very frightened at that time.
S2: The biggest noise was the one that I heard when my neighbor was quarrelling with his wife. Perhaps, they broke their TV set.
T: That’s too terrible.
S3: The noise when planes take off.
S4: The sound of trains.
T: Good! I agree that all of them are big sound. But did you once heard the sound that the heaven falls and the earth cracks, in Chinese it is 天崩地裂?
Ss: No, we have no chance to hear that.
T: If there is a sound like this, what is it?
S5: When someone hears something unexpected and terrible. For example, when one of his loved families dies, he will feel this sound.
T: Terrific! You are using a literary way to express the sound.
S6: When an earthquake happens.
T: Great! I have waited for this answer for a long time. Today we’ll learn something about earthquakes. I think most of us have heard of earthquakes. Can you imagine how terrible it is ?
S7: The earth is shaking. All the buildings will fall down.
S8: Many people will die. And perhaps many children will lose their parents.
T: Yeah, earthquakes are disasters to everybody. Now look at the two pictures of Tangshan and San Francisco. Can you describe what you see in the pictures?
S1: Tangshan is a beautiful city. It has beautiful gardens, broad roads and some tall buildings.
S2: From the picture of San Francisco, I can see that it is a very big city.There are many tall buildings thickly standing on the earth. I think the population of the city is very large.
T: Good! What will happen if there has been a big earthquake in these two cities? Work in pairs and discuss it. Then I’ll ask so me of you to show your opinion.
Step III.Pre-reading
There are two questions in this part. Both are very interesting. The first one c
an more or less reveal the students’ values; while the second one can enlarge their imagination. No matter what their answers are, as long as they have given careful thoughts to the situations, their answers should be good.
T: Now, let’s look at the pictures. What are the predictions of an earthquake?
S1: Before an earthquake animals will become nervous. Cows, pigs, horses and dogs will be upset. And people can see mice running about. If the earthquake happens during winter, people can even see snakes.
T: Terrific! Where did you get this knowledge?
S1: From geography. I like it.
T: good. Sit down please.
S2: Madam, I don’t know the meaning of the picture with two women.
T: It doesn’t matter. You will know it soon after reading our text. OK. Imagine there is an earthquake now, and your home is shaking, at this moment you have no time to take any other things but one, what will it be?
S3: I’ll take all my money. People can’t live without money.
S4: I will take as much water as possible. Because it is said that people can keep alive for nearly 7 days by drinking without any food
S5: In that case, I’d rather take some apples, so that besides drinking, I can also eat.
S6: I will carry my grandma. She is my most loved person in this world. She brought me up.
T: What a dutiful child you are! I’m very glad to hear that. Sit down please! It seems that all of you know what you should do during an earthquake.