郑州七十四中学 陈 烁
Step 1. Lead-in
Ask the students what they have known about the black people. And then let them watched the pictures to answer the question: “What happened to the black in the past?” The students perhaps give the different answers. After that the teacher can lead the students to know something about some famous black American writers in history. For example , Alex Harley. The teacher can introduce something about his book “Root”.
Step 2. Reading
Give the students about 5 minutes to read through the text. While reading, ask the students try to find the main idea of this passage. Then give the questions on the screen. Ask the students to give the answers or let the them to discuss them.
General idea:
What does"roots"mean ?
A. It means "origin".
B. It means "causes".
C. It means "central parts ".
D. It means " lower parts of plants".
2). Reading comprehension:
1.When Kunta Kinte was caught ,__________.
A. he was swimming in the river
B. he was working in the fields
C. he was cutting down a tree in the forest
D. he was making a drum
2.Kunta Kinte escaped , but he was caught again ,
then ________.
A. he was sold to another farm
B. the farmer cut off part of his foot
C. the farmer killed him
D. he was set alone
3.When Alex Haley became a writer,
he decided _________.
A. to find out more about his “roots”
B. to travel around the world
C. to kill the farmer who had hurt his ancestor
D. to write an article to sold the farmer
4.Where were Alex Haley’s “roots”?_______.
A. They were in the east of Africa
B. They were in the east of Gambia
C. They were in the west of Gambia
D. They were in some place in Africa .
Step 3. Language points
After the students get the general idea and some details the passage, the teacher can deal with some language points. The teacher can ask some students translate some sentences.
1.provide somebody with something
学校给我们提供了一个优美的学习环境。
Our school provides us a beautiful studying environment.
2.the moment /the minute /the last time /each time /every time… + clause
他在街上一露面，我就认出他来啦。
I recognized him the moment he appeared in the street.
Step4 Story telling
During this time the teacher can divide the students into some groups, and let them to tell some thing about the pictures in the book. After that ask some students to tell the whole story if time permitting. Show the key words and expressions on the screen.
Picture 1
1)born in Gambia
2)a free and strong man
3)fond of music
Picture 2
1)cut a tree in a forest
2)make a drum
3)hit on the head
Picture 3
1)wake up
2)caught by some black
3)reason with them
4)sent to a castle
Picture 4
1)a few days later
2)taken and put in a sailing boat
3)in chains
4)unable to stand up
Picture 5
1)arrive in a port in America
2)a third of the black people missing
Picture 6
1)sold to farmers
2)work in the fields
3)badly treated
4)try to run away
5)cut off part of his foot
Step5 Oral practice
The teacher can ask the student to have an oral practice. Suppose some years later Haly came from Africa and a newspaper reporter interviewed him and they made a dialogue. This period you can ask some students to make up the dialogue as much as they could. The teacher can give the questions on the screen to remind the students of the details of the passage they just have read.
R: Reporter H: Haley
R: Where/ancestor/come from ?
R: Why/interested/in your “roots” ?
R: What/you do/to find out more ?
R: Why/you go/to Gambia ?
R: How/get enough money/go to Gambia ?
R: What/you discover/when/go to Gambia ?
R: How/find out/about Kunta’s disappearance ?
Step 6. Doing some research
After class, the teacher can ask the students to do some research to find more information about Helay and his book“Roots”on the internet.
Alex Harley
Alex Harley was born in the northeast of New York in 1921, but he spent most of his early life with his mother's family in southern Tennessee． His grandmother told him stories about their family． Their history, she said, began with Toby．He was a slave from Africa and his name was Kunta．
Alex Harley went to school and then to college． In 1939, he joined the U.S．coastguard． As he was a Black, his job was to wait on table and wash dishes．In his spare time, he learned to write stories．He served in the coastguard for 20 years．After he retired (退休), he put all his time into writing．
Alex Harley remembered the stories his grandmother had told him． He began to study his family history． After a lot of research, Harley decided that Toby was probably Kunta Kinte of the West African Mandingo people． Kunta Kinte was caught near the village of Juffure on the Gambia River．He was sold as a slave in Annapolis, Maryland in 1767．Then Harley made a trip to Gambia and talked with a history expert in Juffure． The African historian made his conclusion stronger．
Alex Harley wanted to tell the experiences of the black people in 18th-and-19th-century America． He spent 10 years researching and writing his family story for the book “Roots”． It was published in 1976． It won a special Pulitzer Prize．A few years later, a film series(连续剧) based on Harley's book was shown on American television．