1. Life is a
by Jack London

2. The schedule of my plan: What to teach :
2.Why to teach:
3.How to teach:
I. analyze the material
II. type of the lesson
III. analyze the ss
I. language objectives
II. ability objectives
III. emotion objectives
I. learning strategies
II. teaching methods
III. teaching design

3. I. Analyze the material
This is a short poem written by Jack London. The poem compares life to a journey full of choices. One has to make choices continuously during the journey. Once you made a choice, no matter what happens, stick to it.

4. II. Type of Lesson: an integrated lesson
Input
Reading
Listening
Speaking
Writing
Output

5. III Analyze the students
The students of this lesson are in senior 3. They have learned a few simple forms of English poems in M6U2. They are interested in appreciating English poems and try their best to write some simple poems. But some of them are not good at English and lack of confidence. So it is very important to arouse their interest and build up their confidence.

6. Teaching key points
1. to understand the rhyme of the poem
2. to get the key words by reading and listening.
Teaching difficulties
a. to find what kind of rhyme of the poem is.
b. to use the target language efficiently.
c. to write a poem to express their feelings.

7. Why to teach 1. Knowledge objectives:
a. able to understand the key words:
journey, despair, byname, destination, make up one’s mind, try one’s best
b. able to find what rhyme of the poem are and grasp the main idea.
c. able to know more about Jack London
2. Ability objectives:
a. able to get information from the poem by listening and reading the poem
b. able to express their feelings by writing poems according to the writing steps.
c. able to present enough reasons to support their opinions.
3. Emotion objective
learn to make a good choice when necessary

8. Whole design Writing practice Reading/Listening Speaking Experience;
Explore;
Express
material
practice
Writing
Whole design

9. Teaching methods
task-based language teaching approach
communicative language teaching method
Teaching aids
multi-media computer and a tape recorder
Learning strategy
Reading, Listening, speaking and writing

10. Teaching design Step1. Lead- in: talking
Q1: What did you have for your breakfast? How about lunch?
Q2: What would you like to do this weekend?
Q3: What will you do after graduation, to work or for further study?
T: Life is full of choice. Some life choices are easier to make than others. What to have for breakfast is an easier decision than choosing what to do after graduation. And yet, the difficult choices are the most character-defining.
As language is learnt gradually, this step tries to find out the link between the old and the new to lead ss into this new lesson.

11. Step 2 Pre-reading
About the author
Listening
Discussion

12. 1.A short passage about Jack London
Jack London was a famous American writer, He was born on January 12, 1876 in California. His family was very poor, and Jack had to leave school to make money. He worked hard in many different jobs. Later, Jack returned to school. But he didn’t stay long. In the year 1897, he went to Alaska to find gold. Instead of getting much gold, he found ideas for his books and stories. He went back home and began to write. His writing were warmly welcomed and he became rich and famous when he was under thirty . But Jack London was not a happy man. In poor health. He took his own life in He was then only forty years old.
More background information will help ss understand the poem better.

13. Have a revision of rhyme Ss have learned rhyme in M6U2
2.Listening
1) Pre-listening
Have a revision of rhyme
Ss have learned rhyme in M6U2
2) Listen to the poem and try to answer:
Does the poem have rhyming words?
After listening to the poem, the students have some minutes to speak and share their opinions.
3)Post-listening
When you were listening to the poem, did it make you feel something or think about something? What did it make you feel or think about?
This question has no standard answers, the students can discuss and express what they think freely.

14. Step 3 While-reading
Skimming
Scanning

15. Skimming
Read the text after the tape in pairs and circle the key words or phrases in each paragraph.
Suggested answers:
no straight way; choices; make up one’s mind ;try one’s best
As the saying goes “Tell me, I forget; show me, I remember; let me try, I understand.” This task aims to let ss try to make it by themselves.

16. 2.Scanning read the poem part by part
In each part: teacher asks students to find and circle the rhyming words and list them on the blackboard to share.
Part 1
Hell-heaven; up-down; hope-despair
Antithesis
Part 2
Guess the meaning of byname
Part3
Add some more material about Jack London’s life, to make ss understand better.
Part4
Critical thinking:
What should Jack London agree with? (multiple choice )

17. Step 4 Post-reading
1. Appreciation
Which sentence do you like best and give your reasons?
2. Writing and Sharing
What’s your opinion about life?
Try antithesis and rhyme
Life is….
Life is a journey which…
Life is a journey, ….

18. Step 5 Homework
1. Read aloud and recite the poem.
2. Polish your poem
As homework is the extension of the classroom teaching. I assigned this homework to extend students’ ability of using English.