Going home (教学设计)

Going home (教学设计)

Teaching aims:

Enable students to have a better understanding of the reading passage Learn some strategies of continuation writing

Teaching important points:

Help students to understand the personalities of Vingo and his wife, which determine the development of the plot

Teaching difficult points:

Help students to imitate the structures of the given passage and analyze the strategies of continuation writing

Teaching procedures:

Step1: Lead-in (导入热身, 话题切入)

Lead in the topic of going home by sharing the first part of a song entitled Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree

【设计意图】这首歌曲【老橡树上的黄丝带】就是根据这篇小说《回家》改编的，这样既能

让学生了解《回家》的背景，又能为接下去的解读文本扫除语言和思维方面的障碍。此外，这里只呈现歌曲的前半部分，留有悬念，为接下去的续写服务。

Step2: Setting-analyzing (解读故事背景，把握话题)

Who ––– Vingo/three boys and three girls When ––– spring Where ––– on the bus from New York to Fort Lauderdale

What –––[three boys and three girls: carrying sandwiches and wine in paper bags, dreaming

of golden beaches and sea tides] 【happiness; excitement; liveliness】

[Vingo: dressed in a plain, ill-fitting suit,never moving,... kept chewing the inside

of lip ] 【silence; stillness; reserve】

Tip1: Sharp contrast and comparison may help highlight what you want to express. Vingo’s vivid description of apppearance

He sat in front of them, dressed in a plain, ill-fitting suit, never moving, his dusty face masking his age. his personalities: rough; quiet, caring little about details

Vingo’s mystery and his story behind arouses the readers’ curiosity 【Suspense one】 Tip2: Vivid description of appearance may help picture one’s character.

【设计意图】通过介绍故事的背景，了解故事的基本要素。对于Vingo和the young people的

后续发展设置悬念，Vingo外貌描写更引起学生继续探究故事的兴趣，设置悬念。

Step3: Development-analyzing (分析故事发展，理清脉络)

Paragraph3: Interaction one (Vingo and one of the girls) He sat rooted in his seat. He kept chewing the inside of his lip, frozen into complete silence. 【sad; nervous; worried; a heavy heart】

Structures to imitate

① My father stood there, surprised/shocked/stunned. ② My father stood rooted to the spot. The young people were carrying…, dreaming of golden beaches and sea tides… Soon all of them were in it, interestedly looking at the pictures Vingo showed… ③ The crowd were walking on the beach, laughing, shouting and clapping. Tip3: Past participle and present participle may depict one’s inner feelings more vividly.

He said quietly, as if remembering something he had tried to forget.

What indeed happened to Vingo?【Suspense two】

Paragraph4-6: Interaction two (Vingo and one of the girls)

The first letter: He told his wife she could have a new guy if she couldn’t stand it. Let go love

The second letter: He asked if she would take him back and put a yellow ribbon as a signal. Return to love Both the letters are written out of Vingo’s deep love.

However, what was his wife’s choice? 【Suspense three】 What does a yellow handkerchief mean for Vingo? It means his wife’s love, acceptance and forgiveness.

Since the 1970’s, a yellow ribbon symbolizes forgiveness and welcome to someone long lost.

symbolism Tip4: Rhetoric can turn something abstract into concrete, usually with the theme hidden.

Paragraph7: Interaction three (Vingo and six young people)

The description of family photos: the woman handsome in a plain way, the children still unformed in the much –handled snapshots the woman handsome in a plain way/she is a wonderful woman, really something 【beautiful but plain; kind; caring for family】 His wife’s personalities determines the outcome of the story, then what’s the result? 【Suspense four】 in the much–handled snapshots Ving’s missing his family so much

Tip5: Keeping readers in suspense until the very end is a good plot designing.

【设计意图】紧扣悬念， 步步推进， 为接下去的续写做好充分的铺垫， 既分析了人物的性

格特点（性格决定人物的选择，铺垫情节的发展）， 又点出了文章的主题，通过理解黄丝带的象征意义升华了文本的内涵。与此同时，还通过分析文本的语言，强化学生可以有效模仿的语言方面和内容方面的精华之处，为接下去的续写奠定思维和语言的基础。

Step4: Ending of the story (continuation writing) What is the story to be continued? Paragraph1:

Now they were 20 miles from Brunswick, then 10 miles, and then five. ... Paragraph2:

Vingo got off the bus and headed toward his home, and there at the front door a familiar scene blurred his eyes. ...

Discussion: In what ways can we make the best of the given information? ► Based on the key words from paragraph1&2 ► Based on the suspense from the given passage

criteria of the ► Based on the personalities of the characters

► Imitate the vivid description of appearance continuation writing ► Imitate the vivid description of action

► Imitate some forms of proper rhetoric(修辞)

► Imitate the writing form of sharp contrast

Para1:

Then Brunswick was 10 miles, and then five. Then, suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, screaming and shouting and crying, doing small dances of joy. All except Vingo. Vingo sat there stunned, looking at the big oak tree. It was covered with yellow ribbons—20 of them, 30 of them, maybe hundreds, a tree that stood like a banner of welcome billowing in the wind. As the young people shouted, Vingo slowly rose from his seat and made his way to the front of the bus to go home. Para2:

Vingo got off the bus and headed toward his home, and there at the front door a familiar scene blurred his eyes. His beloved wife, dressed plainly, was sewing and mending one of his worn-out overcoats, three children sitting around helping do some handcrafts. Vingo stepped forward, with a firm and steady pace, as if trying his best to prevent himself from another loss. When he approached, he said to his wife softly, “I’m back home.” Then the whole family held each other in a long and silent embrace. The crowd were out there, whistling, yelling and clapping. Then the bus slowly started moving away.

Step5: Conclusion

As a conclusion of the class, the teacher emphasizes the theme of the passage, the writing strategies mentioned and the criteria of a good continuation writing.

At last, let Ss enjoy the last part of the song. With the suspense disclosed, we know Vingo’s family are reunited.

Step6: Homework

1. Review the good structures learned from the passage. 2. Write the continuation by students themselves.