Period 2 reading
Teaching goals:
1) Learn the text
2) Enable students to talk about deadly diseases and attitudes towards AIDS
3) Make it clear that ignorance causes fear
4) Encourage students to try to make their life beautiful
Teaching methods
Skimming method
Task-based method
Topic discussion method
Teaching procedures
Step 1 lead-in
As we know, everyone will get ill in his whole life. Most of the time, illness can be cured sooner or later. However, some diseases can’t be cured. We call them incurable diseases. AIDS is such a disease. Now let’s have a quiz about AIDS to see how much you know about AIDS. Please open your books and turn to page 49. it doesn’t matter if you don’t know some of the answers. then please set it aside. We’ll deal with it later.
Step2 skimming
Read the passage on page 51 as quickly as possible. Prepare for the question below.
How do you understand the title “Born Dying”?
Suggested answer
Xiaohua, who was born with AIDS, will die before she has a chance to grow old.
Step3 listening
Listen to the tape. Before listening, look at the following questions.
What is AIDS?
Suggested answer
AIDS is a disease that breaks down the body’s immune system and leaves a person defenceless against infections and illnesses.
What do AIDS patients suffer from?
Suggested answer
They not only suffer from the disease, but also suffer from people’s fear of the disease.
Step 4 intensive reading
Para 1
According to this part, say something about Xiaohua.
Suggested answer
Xiaohua is 12.
Xiaohua lives in a province in South China.
Xiaohua is a happy girl.
Xiaohua smiles a lot.
Xiaohua likes to talk to her friends after school.
Xiaohua is one of millions of children in the world living and dying with AIDS.
Para2
According to this part, say something about AIDS.
Suggested answer
AIDS breaks down the body’s immune system.
AIDS leaves a person defenceless against infections and illnesses.
Most people who have AIDS manage to survive only a few yeas after they get the disease.
Medicine can help keep some of them alive.
The treatment is expensive, and do not cure them.
Para3
Find answers to the following:
What is the relationship between AIDS and HIV.
Suggested answer
People get AIDS after having been infected with HIV.
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS
When did Xiaohua’s mother die of AIDS.
Suggested answer
3 years after Xiaohua was born
Does Xiaohua miss her mother? What does she say about her mum?
Suggested answer
Yes, of course.
I wish I could remember more about my mum.
I wish thatshe were here wth me and that she weren’t sick.
Para4
Read this part together.
Which sentence is the most surprising?
Suggested answer
I think “As with most diseases and disasters, the young suffer the most” is.
Why is the disease spreading fast?
Suggested answer
Because of a lack of proper health care (适当的医疗保健), prevention and education.
Para5
Fill in the blanks with what you learn from this paragraph.
For children like Xiaohua there is little hope. The drugs that are available are much too expensive. She will die before she has a chance to grow old.
However, she does not let that knowledge discourage her. /She is not discouraged at that knowledge.
Instead, she has decided to use the limited time she has left to do something to help others.
She spends much of her time telling others about her diseases and encouraging people to learn how to protect themselves.
She also goes to visit other AIDS patients in hospitals across the country to support tem and cheer them up.
Para6
We know that AIDS patients have to deal with people’s fear of the disease.
In your opinion, what causes fear?
Suggested answer
Ignorance. Many people do not know much about AIDS and afraid that any contact with people who have AIDS are dangerous.
What does Xiaohua and Dr. Wang often tell people?
Most dangerous things is not knowing about the disease.
(Ignorance is the dangerous thing.)
What did Xiaohua do in order to change people’s attitude?
She created a network of patients and doctors that can persuade hospitals and companies to spend more money on AIDS research and education.(to make people no longer ignorant)
Let’s keep in mind that
IGNORANCE LEADS TO FEAR WHILE KNOWLEDGE LEADS TO COURAGE AND SUCCESS.
Let’s return to page 49 and check how much we know about AIDS.
The suggested answers are F F T F F T F T
Para7
Translate the last paragraph into Chinese.
小华学会了与HIV病毒和平相处，并且接受了自己最终会患艾滋病的现实，她知道自己的寿命会没有同学们的长，但是她不会让疾病破坏自己的幸福。“我的一生可能来的短暂，”她说，“但没有理由不美丽。”
Read what Xiaohua said aloud.
Xiaohua is a girl who has AIDS. However, she does not give up. She thinks thet there is no reason why her life cannot be beautiful. She suffers from the disease, but she is really a person with great strength.
Step5 topic discussion
What does Xiaohua mean by saying “beautiful”?
Suggested answer
Meaningful
Of help to others
Full of passion
Fulfillment,etc
What can we learn from her?
Suggested answer
Her attitude to life
Her optimism
Her courage
Her determination to make her life beautiful
Maybe we will sometimes suffer from diseases or hardships in our future life. Maybe life will not be easy for us. Maybe life will play tricks on us. But we should keep in mind that
THERE IS NO REASON WHY OUR LIFE CANNOT BE BEAUTIFUL.