3.　　　 She should bring a sweater.

2.　　　 It might be warm but there may be some rain. And it might be cold.

1.　　　 The best time to come is in October.

2. Key sentences重点句子

It’s freezing, isn’t it?

Yes, it’s really cold.

Will it be snowy?

It may not even be cold just now. And it might be windy.

It’ll probably be hot and sunny.

It may be quite cool.

Ability goals 能力目标

Enable students to use may, might and probably.

Teaching important/difficult points 教学重难点

Make sentences using It’s…to do sth and sentences with may, might, probably and because, but, so.

Teaching methods教学方法

Task-based learning.

Teaching aids教具准备

Some pictures and a tape recorder

Teaching procedures and ways教学过程与方式

Step I Revision

In this procedure, check the homework with students.

Ask students to talk about weather and give advice and reasons.

One sample:

S: What’s the weather like in your town?

S: In spring it’s very cool and there’s little rain.

S: What’s the best time to visit your town?

S: The best time to visit my town is in winter.

S: Why?

S: Because it’s not cold in winter and there’s a lot of snow in the mountains and people usually ski there.

S: It might of great fun.

Step II Listening

In this procedure, ask students to listen to a short passage and finish activities 1 and 2.

T: Do you know the city of Sydney? Where is it?

S: It’s in Australia.

T: What do you know about the city?

S: It is the oldest city in Australia.

T: What is the best time to visit the city?

S: The best time to visit Sydney is in autumn, especially around March and April, with clear, warm days and mild nights. In Spring (September to November) there's more chance of rain, but it usually clears quickly. Average temperatures are around 25°C (77°F), though it can get to over 40°C (104°F) in summer.

Talk about the New York city with students in the same way. Then ask students to listen to the passage and do the exercises.

Go through the answers with students.

Step III Further practice

Revise It’s…to… in this module: Ask students to do activities 3 and 4.　

Check the answers by doing chain work as follows.

Sample:

S1: It’s a good idea to bring an umbrella.

S2: The best time to visit New York is in October.

S3: It’s very important to wear warm clothes when it’s freezing.

…

Then go on with activities 5 and 6. Revise the use of possible, probably and may.

Give students a few minutes to complete the exercises. Do chain work to check the answers.

Sample:

S1: It’s sunny now, but let’s take an umbrella because it may rain later.

S2: It isn’t always warm in February, so it might be cool.

S3: We’re going to the mountain and we hope it may snow.

…

After this, ask students to do activities 7-11.

Check the answers with the class.　

Step IV Module task

In this procedure, students will read a passage and answer questions first, and then write a message to one of their friends.　

Sample answers to activity 12:

1. Words & phrases生词和短语

possible, shine, depend, stormy, best, railcard, truly

2.　　　 find information about Sydney and New York.

Period 3 Language in use

Target language 目标语言

1.　　　 finish activities 4-7 on page 153.

2. Wear warm clothes.

　Wear warm clothes because it might be cool in the evening.

Ask students to report their work.

Game

Ask students to do activity 4 by playing a game “Look for your friends”.

T: When we give our friends advice, we should use because or so to say our reasons. Let’s come to activity 4. Please read the sentences first, and then we’ll play a game.

Divide students into two groups and ask each group to write these sentences down on small pieces of paper. One group writes down the first part numbered 1, 2, 3 … and the other the part with a, b, c…. Then begin the game as follows: S1 group draws one piece from Sa group and read the sentence, the other group must respond quickly by matching the two parts of the sentence and read out loudly.

One sample:

S1: You can come any time you like, but…

Sa: But the best time to visit England is in spring.

Step IV Writing

In this procedure, students will try to write some advice and give the reasons using so, but, because.

T: We’ve learned the best time to visit the USA from the passage. What’s the best time to visit your town? Write your advice and don’t forget to give your reasons.

Give students a few minutes to write and ask some students to read what they write before the class.

Sample version:

The best time to visit my town is in summer because the famous cypresses all become green. The mountains and rivers are very clear and cool. And don’t forget to bring your umbrellas because there might be rains any time there. Guess where my town is!

Step V Homework

Ask students to

1. Bring an umbrella.

　Bring an umbrella because it might rain.

2. Key sentences重点句子

The USA is a very big country to visit, so choose carefully the places to see and the time to go.

Bring a good map because you may want to travel around.

It’s a good idea to bring your camera because you may want to take photos of the autumn leaves.

It’s pleasant to visit Alaska in July and August but it might be cool in the evening.

So remember to wear some warm clothes.

Any time you like!

Ability goals 能力目标

Enable students to talk about the weather in the USA.

Teaching important/difficult points 教学重难点

How to talk about the weather in the USA.

Teaching methods教学方法

Reading and writing.

Teaching aids教具准备

A projector or some pictures and some small pieces of paper, a tape recorder

Teaching procedures and ways教学过程与方式

Step I Revision

In this procedure, students will revise some new words and do pair work to practice the sentence: What will the weather be like tomorrow?

Show some pictures to the class and ask some students to write the following words on the blackboard.

sunny, cloudy, snow, freezing, temperature, cool, dry, shower, wet, snowy

Then ask them to work in pairs, and talk about the weather today and tomorrow.

Sample dialogue:

S1: What’s the weather like today?

S2: It’s cloudy.

S1: What will the weather be like tomorrow?

S2: It may be rainy./It will probably be rainy.

Ask some pairs to act in front of the class.

After this, present the Reading by practice When’s the best time to… in pairs.

T: It’s sunny/cloudy/rainy…today. But when is the best time to visit our town/city? Why? (Write the question on the blackboard) Let’s have a discussion in pairs.

Sample dialogue:

S1: When is the best time to visit our town/city?

S2: I think September is the best time.

S1: Why?

S2: Because it’s not too hot or cold at that time.

Ask some pairs to act in front of the class.

Step II Reading

In this procedure, ask students to listen and read the passage. Make sure they can describe the photos according to the passage.

T: Like China, there are many beautiful places in the USA. The weather is different in these places. Now listen to a passage introducing the weather in the USA. Books closed! Listen to the tape and decide what you can see in the photos.

Ask the students to listen to the tape. After listening, ask the students to have a discussion about the photos in groups.

Ask some students to have a report.

Sample reports:

S: It might be autumn in Picture 1 because the trees start to change colour. A white house stands behind the trees. It may be pleasant to live in the house.

S: It might be hot summer in Picture 2 because there are many people swimming in the sea. And I can see a balloon.

S: It is winter now in Picture 3. There are a lot of snow in the street.

Then ask students to read the passage and check their answers.

T: You should choose time to visit some good places in the USA. Read the passage carefully and fill in the table below.

Ask students to work in pairs to complete the table and report their answers. Then go through the answers with the students.

Sample answers:

Step III Careful reading

In this procedure, students will read the passage more carefully and slowly. Then they will do activities 2 and 3.

Check the answers with the class.

T: If you want to give your friends advice, you’d better give your reasons at the same time. Now read the passage again and find out the sentences of this type.

Sample sentences: