Step 1 Revision

1 Check the homework exercises.

2 Get the Ss to tell you twelve things about Australia that they have learnt so far in this unit.

Step 2 Preparation for listening

SB Page 18, Part 1. Wb Listening, Unit 5. Tell the Ss We‘re going to listen to a story about a bush fire in Australia. Then read the introduction aloud and read through the question in Ex. 1 and make sure the Ss understand what to do.

Step 3 Listening

Listening Cassette Unit 5. Do each exercise in turn. Play the tape, then let Ss discuss their answers in pairs. Play the tape again if necessary, then check the answers with the whole class.

Listening Text

Bush fire

An Australian woman is talking on a radio programme about her escape from the bush fires near Sydney in 1994.

The first thing I did when I woke up in the morning was watch the TV news. I could see that the situation was bad, and they showed a map where the fires were burning. Outside in the garden I couldn’t see the sun, as the sky was full of smoke.

I decided I‘d better prepare to leave. My daugh­ters were staying in town and my husband was abroad so it was up to me to decide what to do. I packed a suitcase of clothes and another case of useful things. It’s difficult in this kind of situation to know what to take with you. So, I took my passport and my bank book and all the money I had. I took my diary, my address book and my camera. Finally I took our wedding photographs, as I didn‘t want to lose those.

Out in the garden the sky was getting blacker, and the wind which had been blowing hard for two days was getting stronger. I could now hear the sound of the fire which was only a mile or two away. I was expecting the police to drive by and warn people. Suddenly I noticed little pieces of burning wood falling out of the sky. They landed on the ground and started to burn the grass. I didn’t wait a moment longer. I got into my car and drove down the road. The smoke was thick and at times it was difficult to see the road. Animals were running across the road, trying to escape the fire. There were dogs, a few horses and lots of kangaroos. Five miles down the road I came to a long bridge over the river. Once on the other side, I knew I was safe.

Answers:

Ex. 1: Watching TV;

Her family members;

Animals;

The smoke Ex. 2: The Australian woman watched the TV news.

She went outside.

She packed two cases.

She went outside again.

She saw some pieces of burning wood.

She got into the car.

She drove down the road.

She saw some animals.

She drove across a bridge. Ex. 3: her passport, bank book, money, diary, address book, camera, wedding photo­graphs

Ex. 4: 1 She was expecting the police to drive by and warn people.

2 Abroad.

3 In town.

4 Because the sky was full of smoke.

Step 4 Checkpoint

Go through Checkpoint 5. Revise the -ing Form. Practise the useful expressions and deal with any language problems that you or the Ss wish to raise.

Step 5 Test

Give the Ss the following test on the -ing form.

Complete these sentences in your own way using the -ing form.

1 She is not very good at mathematics and keeps, …

2 I used to live near the sea, and I miss ....

3 My mother thought I was too ill to go out and stopped....

4 I‘ll meet her at the station tomorrow morning. I don’t mind....

5 I had a headache and didn‘t feel like ....

6 The police officer saw ....

7 I quite enjoy ....

8 I prefer ... to ....

9 When I was young I used to love ....

10 Have you considered ... next year?

Step 6 Writing

SB Page 18, Part 2. Read through the passage aloud in class to make sure that the Ss read the complete text before beginning to put the verbs into the correct tenses. Point out the time markers. If you have a weak class, get them to underline all the time markers before they begin, like once/now/today/still/in the past forty years, etc. Let the Ss work through this exercise in pairs, then go over the answers with the whole class. It is good consolidation to get students to write out the complete text for homework, particu­larly Ss who have difficulty with this type of exercise. Answers:

has changed, used not / usedn’t / didn‘t use, began, started, met, returned, started, came, have come, has changed, was, was, stay, was, can, traded, trades, do not change, wave, stop, will slow, are.

Step 7 Writing

SB Page 18, Part 3. Point out that the text on Australia in Part 2 of this lesson is a model for their written work.

There are several possible procedures for preparing for this written work. Here is one procedure:

1 Write up the headings on the Bb and get Ss to tell you what has changed in China, either in their lifetime, or in the past fifty years. Add these notes to the Bb, with any new headings that are suggested.

2 Put Ss in pairs and get them to practise orally in English what they will say. EITHER

3 Get Ss to work in groups. Each S in the group will write a paragraph about one of the headings.

4 Students can change their work when they have finished for comment and correction. OR

3 Get each S to make a plan of what he/she will write. Walk round and help during this stage.

4 Then get the Ss to write their essays in class or for homework.

Step8 Workbook

Wb Lesson 12, Exx. 1-3.

Ex. 1 practises the use of the -ing Form. It is quite easy for the Ss to complete the sentences. Get them to translate the sentences into Chinese, making sure they understand the meaning. For Ex. 2, go over the phrases in the box and see if the Ss understand them. Then ask them to work in pairs. Check the answers with the whole class. If your class is good enough, you may take up Ex. 3 in class. Do this exercise orally before you set it as written homework. Encourage the Ss to use the structures and expressions they have learned. Remind them not to do word for word translation.

Homework

Finish off the Workbook exercises. Finish the writing about changes in China.