Unit Four The Girl in the Fifth Row Leo Buscaglia I.Teaching Aims: 1.To get students know the style of story-telling. 2.To have students better understand the meaning of love. 3.To get students grasp the key words and sentence structures. II.Teaching Importance and Difficulties: 1.Understand the author's main purpose of writing the essay. 2.Know the writing strategies of the text. 3.Grasp the key language points in the text. III.Teaching periods:6 periods IV.Teaching steps: 1.Pre-reading activities 1)What do you think love means? 2)How do you express your love,either verbally or non-verbally,for your parents when conversing with them? 2.Information related to the text: 3.Detailed Study of the Text: Text Analysis The whole text can be divided into 4 parts. Part I.(Para.1-Para.3):It introduces the main characters,presents the setting of the story and tells us the girl in the fifth row had pulled the writer through his first teaching lesson. Part II.(Para.4-Para.12):It presents the causes of the writer's decision to teach a course on love. Part III.(Para.13-Para.38):It is the core of the story.It may be divided into three sections.Paras.13-16 provide necessary information about this special course and present the author's premise.Paras.17-30 supply detailed accounts of the assignments or love actions the writer and his students performed.Paras.31-38 illustrate the statement"While attempting to open doors to love for others,I found that the doors were opening for me." Part IV.(Para.39):The writer ascribes his wonderful life to Liani,the girl for whom he cherishes profound affection. Analysis Part I.(Para.1-Para.3): Discussion questions 1.Why was the writer seized with panic at the beginning of his first lecture? Because he entered the classroom with a great deal of anxiety and his large class responded to his awkward smile and brief greeting with silence.No one seemed to be listening. 2.How did the girl in the fifth row help the writer regain his confidence and enthusiasm?
Unit Four The Girl in the Fifth Row Leo Buscaglia I. Teaching Aims: 1. To get students know the style of story-telling. 2. To have students better understand the meaning of love. 3. To get students grasp the key words and sentence structures. II. Teaching Importance and Difficulties: 1. Understand the author’s main purpose of writing the essay. 2. Know the writing strategies of the text. 3. Grasp the key language points in the text. III. Teaching periods: 6 periods IV. Teaching steps: 1. Pre-reading activities 1) What do you think love means? 2) How do you express your love, either verbally or non-verbally, for your parents when conversing with them? 2. Information related to the text: 3. Detailed Study of the Text: Text Analysis The whole text can be divided into 4 parts. Part I. (Para. 1-Para. 3): It introduces the main characters, presents the setting of the story and tells us the girl in the fifth row had pulled the writer through his first teaching lesson. Part II. (Para. 4-Para. 12): It presents the causes of the writer's decision to teach a course on love. Part III. (Para. 13-Para. 38): It is the core of the story. It may be divided into three sections. Paras. 13-16 provide necessary information about this special course and present the author's premise. Paras. 17-30 supply detailed accounts of the assignments or love actions the writer and his students performed. Paras. 31-38 illustrate the statement "While attempting to open doors to love for others, I found that the doors were opening for me." Part IV. (Para. 39): The writer ascribes his wonderful life to Liani, the girl for whom he cherishes profound affection. Analysis Part I. (Para. 1-Para. 3): Discussion questions 1. Why was the writer seized with panic at the beginning of his first lecture? Because he entered the classroom with a great deal of anxiety and his large class responded to his awkward smile and brief greeting with silence. No one seemed to be listening. 2. How did the girl in the fifth row help the writer regain his confidence and enthusiasm?
The girl remained poised and attentive.Her animated expression and warm smile encouraged the writer to go on.When he said something,she would nod,or say,"Oh, yes!"and write it down.She emanated the comforting feeling that she cared about what he was trying so haltingly to say.He began to speak directly to her,and she responded actively.As a result,his confidence and enthusiasm returned,and the other students had begun listening and taking notes. Language work 1.awkward:adj.lacking skill or grace;clumsy;causing difficulty,embarrassment, or inconvenience e.g.: (1)The young man is shy and awkward with women. (2)Swans are surprisingly awkward on land. (3)Arrange the next meeting at a less awkward time. 2.My large class responded to my awkward smile and brief greeting with silence. I briefly greeted my students with an unnatural smile,but the whole large class remained silent as though nothing had happened. 3.fuss:v.to keep moving or touching sth.busily,nervously,or aimlessly e.g: (1)Stop fussing and eat your food. (2)In anticipation of her boyfriend's visit,she got up and fussed about in her room. 4.stammer:v.to speak with halting articulation,esp.with pauses or rapid repetitions of the same syllable e.g.: (1)The boy stammers whenever he speaks. 5.For a few moments I fussed with my notes.Then I started my lecture,stammering; no one seemed to be listening. For several minutes I fiddled with my teaching notes.Then,I began my lecture, speaking with pauses and rapid repetitions.Meanwhile,it seemed to me that none of the students were listening to me or paying attention to me. 6.panic:n.sudden uncontrollable fear or alarm e.g.: (1)Panic swept through the swimmers as they saw the shark approaching. (2)The fire caused a panic in the cinema. (3)She succumbed to a last-minute panic. 7.poised:adj.calm,self-assured,and dignified e.g.: (1)At the moment when the ship was sinking,the captain remained poised, ordering that children and women be evacuated immediately. 8.At that moment of panic I noticed in the fifth row a poised,attentive young woman in a summer dress. Seized by sudden uncontrollable fear at that time,I chanced to spot in the fifth row a girl in a summer dress who was listening to me calmly and attentively. 9.Her skin was tanned,her brown eyes were clear and alert,her hair was golden
The girl remained poised and attentive. Her animated expression and warm smile encouraged the writer to go on. When he said something, she would nod, or say, "Oh, yes!" and write it down. She emanated the comforting feeling that she cared about what he was trying so haltingly to say. He began to speak directly to her, and she responded actively. As a result, his confidence and enthusiasm returned, and the other students had begun listening and taking notes. Language work 1. awkward: adj. lacking skill or grace; clumsy; causing difficulty, embarrassment, or inconvenience e.g.: (1) The young man is shy and awkward with women. (2) Swans are surprisingly awkward on land. (3) Arrange the next meeting at a less awkward time. 2. My large class responded to my awkward smile and brief greeting with silence. I briefly greeted my students with an unnatural smile, but the whole large class remained silent as though nothing had happened. 3. fuss: v. to keep moving or touching sth. busily, nervously, or aimlessly e.g: (1) Stop fussing and eat your food. (2) In anticipation of her boyfriend's visit, she got up and fussed about in her room. 4. stammer: v. to speak with halting articulation, esp. with pauses or rapid repetitions of the same syllable e.g.: (1) The boy stammers whenever he speaks. 5. For a few moments I fussed with my notes. Then I started my lecture, stammering; no one seemed to be listening. For several minutes I fiddled with my teaching notes. Then, I began my lecture, speaking with pauses and rapid repetitions. Meanwhile, it seemed to me that none of the students were listening to me or paying attention to me. 6. panic: n. sudden uncontrollable fear or alarm e.g.: (1) Panic swept through the swimmers as they saw the shark approaching. (2) The fire caused a panic in the cinema. (3) She succumbed to a last-minute panic. 7. poised: adj. calm, self-assured, and dignified e.g.: (1) At the moment when the ship was sinking, the captain remained poised, ordering that children and women be evacuated immediately. 8. At that moment of panic I noticed in the fifth row a poised, attentive young woman in a summer dress. Seized by sudden uncontrollable fear at that time, I chanced to spot in the fifth row a girl in a summer dress who was listening to me calmly and attentively. 9. Her skin was tanned, her brown eyes were clear and alert, her hair was golden
Her skin was lightly browned,her brown eyes were transparent and watchful,and her hair was like gold in color. 10.tanned:adj.(also sun-tanned)(of skin)taking on a brownish color after being exposed to ultraviolet light,esp.from the sun or a sunlamp e.g.: (1)She was beautifully tanned after her holiday in Hawaii (2)Lisa had a tanned complexion. 11.alert:adj.attentive and quick to act or think e.g.: (1)The troops are always alert to possible dangers. (2)The alert listener will have noticed the error. (3)Though he is over eighty,his mind is still remarkably alert. 12.animated:adj.lively;given the appearance of movement e.g.: (1)They are having an animated discussion. (2)I have rarely seen him so animated. 13.Her animated expression and warm smile were an invitation for me to go on. Her lively expression and enthusiastic smile encouraged me to continue with my lecture. 14.emanate:(fml)v.to come or flow from sb.or sth e.g. (1)The idea originally emanated from his brother. (2)Delicious smells were emanating from the kitchen. (3)She emanated a fragrant smell. 15.haltingly:adv.in a slow and hesitant manner,as if lacking in confidence e.g.: (1)He answered the questions haltingly. (2)He who acts haltingly will let opportunities slip by. 16.She emanated the comforting feeling that she cared about what I was trying so haltingly to say. She expressed the comfortable feeling that she was interested in what I was trying to say in such a slow and hesitant manner.//Her expression revealed to me the feeling, relieving me,that she was much absorbed by what I was trying to say,with so much hesitation and an obvious lack of confidence. 17.risk:vt.to expose sb.or oneself to danger or to the possibility of suffering harm, loss,etc. e.g.: (1)The soldier risked his own life to rescue the child from drowning. (2)We should risk failure before we can succeed. (3)We risked getting caught in a storm when we embarked on the voyage. 18.stunning:adj.(infml)impressive,splendid;surprising or shocking e.g. (1)You look stunning in your new suit. (2)What stunning achievements you have scored!
Her skin was lightly browned, her brown eyes were transparent and watchful, and her hair was like gold in color. 10. tanned: adj. (also sun-tanned) (of skin) taking on a brownish color after being exposed to ultraviolet light, esp. from the sun or a sunlamp e.g.: (1) She was beautifully tanned after her holiday in Hawaii. (2) Lisa had a tanned complexion. 11. alert: adj. attentive and quick to act or think e.g.: (1) The troops are always alert to possible dangers. (2) The alert listener will have noticed the error. (3) Though he is over eighty, his mind is still remarkably alert. 12. animated: adj. lively; given the appearance of movement e.g.: (1) They are having an animated discussion. (2) I have rarely seen him so animated. 13. Her animated expression and warm smile were an invitation for me to go on. Her lively expression and enthusiastic smile encouraged me to continue with my lecture. 14. emanate: (fml) v. to come or flow from sb. or sth. e.g. (1) The idea originally emanated from his brother. (2) Delicious smells were emanating from the kitchen. (3) She emanated a fragrant smell. 15. haltingly: adv. in a slow and hesitant manner, as if lacking in confidence e.g.: (1) He answered the questions haltingly. (2) He who acts haltingly will let opportunities slip by. 16. She emanated the comforting feeling that she cared about what I was trying so haltingly to say. She expressed the comfortable feeling that she was interested in what I was trying to say in such a slow and hesitant manner. // Her expression revealed to me the feeling, relieving me, that she was much absorbed by what I was trying to say, with so much hesitation and an obvious lack of confidence. 17. risk: vt. to expose sb. or oneself to danger or to the possibility of suffering harm, loss, etc. e.g.: (1) The soldier risked his own life to rescue the child from drowning. (2) We should risk failure before we can succeed. (3) We risked getting caught in a storm when we embarked on the voyage. 18. stunning: adj. (infml) impressive, splendid; surprising or shocking e.g.: (1) You look stunning in your new suit. (2) What stunning achievements you have scored!
19.pull sb.through (or round):to help sb.recover consciousness or from an illness e.g.: (1)She was so ill that no one seemed to be able to pull her through. (2)A sip of brandy helped to pull the man round. 20.This stunning young woman had pulled me through. This exceptionally wonderful girl had helped me regain my confidence and enthusiasm,contributing a great deal to the success of my first lesson. 21.After a while I risked looking about. A few minutes later,I plucked up the courage to look up at the students.This sentence shows what a panic the writer had been thrown into.It tells us indirectly that the writer had been filled with anxiety and worry. Part II.(Para.4-Para.12): Discussion questions 1.Why did Liani jump to her death? From the context we can infer that the girl had not felt that she had been loved,though in fact she had been loved,and that she felt terribly lonely,disappointed,and weary of life. Language work 1.creativity:n.the quality of being able to create or to make sth.new or original e.g.: (1)Her new book is full of creativity (2)He is not a good writer;he lacks in creativity. 2.sensitivity:n.degree or quality of being sensitive;having or showing perceptive feeling or sympathetic understanding e.g.: (1)She possesses the sensitivity of a great writer. (2)One of the side effects of this medicine is an increased sensitivity to sunlight. 3.delicate:adj.showing tact or good judgments e.g.: (1)Her delicate sense of judgment was fully demonstrated in the negotiation 4.Her papers,which I read over the subsequent weeks,were written with creativity, sensitivity and a delicate sense of humor. Her papers,which I read over the following weeks,were filled with new and original ideas,with perceptive feeling and understanding,and with a sensitive kind of wit.(or: Her papers,which I read over the following weeks,clearly showed that she was a creative and sensitive writer with a keen sense of humor.) 5.save:vt.to make or keep sb.or sth.safe from harm,loss,etc.;keep money for future use e.g.: (1)It was too late to save the sick woman,and she died. 6.caring:adj.esp.used as attribute)showing or feeling care e.g.: (1)They are all caring parents. 7.awareness:n.having knowledge or realization of sb.or sth.;well-informed of
19. pull sb. through (or round): to help sb. recover consciousness or from an illness e.g.: (1) She was so ill that no one seemed to be able to pull her through. (2) A sip of brandy helped to pull the man round. 20. This stunning young woman had pulled me through. This exceptionally wonderful girl had helped me regain my confidence and enthusiasm, contributing a great deal to the success of my first lesson. 21. After a while I risked looking about. A few minutes later, I plucked up the courage to look up at the students.This sentence shows what a panic the writer had been thrown into. It tells us indirectly that the writer had been filled with anxiety and worry. Part II. (Para. 4-Para. 12): Discussion questions 1. Why did Liani jump to her death? From the context we can infer that the girl had not felt that she had been loved, though in fact she had been loved, and that she felt terribly lonely, disappointed, and weary of life. Language work 1. creativity: n. the quality of being able to create or to make sth. new or original e.g.: (1) Her new book is full of creativity. (2) He is not a good writer; he lacks in creativity. 2. sensitivity: n. degree or quality of being sensitive; having or showing perceptive feeling or sympathetic understanding e.g.: (1) She possesses the sensitivity of a great writer. (2) One of the side effects of this medicine is an increased sensitivity to sunlight. 3. delicate: adj. showing tact or good judgments e.g.: (1) Her delicate sense of judgment was fully demonstrated in the negotiation. 4. Her papers, which I read over the subsequent weeks, were written with creativity, sensitivity and a delicate sense of humor. Her papers, which I read over the following weeks, were filled with new and original ideas, with perceptive feeling and understanding, and with a sensitive kind of wit. (or: Her papers, which I read over the following weeks, clearly showed that she was a creative and sensitive writer with a keen sense of humor.) 5. save: vt. to make or keep sb. or sth. safe from harm, loss, etc.; keep money for future use e.g.: (1) It was too late to save the sick woman, and she died. 6. caring: adj. ( esp. used as attribute) showing or feeling care e.g.: (1) They are all caring parents. 7. awareness: n. having knowledge or realization of sb. or sth.; well-informed of
current affairs e.g.: (1)His awareness of the situation was surprising 8.poignant:adj.painfully sharp to the emotions or senses;deeply moving;arousing sympathy e.g.: (1)She has many poignant memories of her childhood. (2)What a poignant sight it was! (3)He wrote some poignant satires with poignant wit. 9.wince:vi.to show pain,distress by a slight involuntary movement of the muscles in the face e.g.: (1)He winced as she stepped on his injured foot. (2)I still wince at the memory of the stupid things I did. 10.I thought of Albert Schweitzer's poignant statement:"We are all so much together and yet we are all dying of loneliness." I was reminded of Albert Schweitzer's emotional statement that though we are always together,we still feel terribly lonely.(or:I thought of Albert Schweitzer's emotionally profound statement that although together almost every day,we all feel sad and miserable because we lack real friendship.) 11.The moment I mentioned Liani's name,she winced As soon as I referred to Liani's name,her face revealed her anguish. 12.where cliffs fall abruptly into the sea. .where steep,high rocks stand up at the edge of the sea. 13.There,shocked picnickers later reported,she jumped to her death. It was at that place that,accord ing to what astonished picnickers described,she jumped into the sea and drowned herself. 14.And her God-given uniqueness was gone forever. Her unusual,remarkable,and unparalleled qualities with which she had been endowed by God vanished forever. 15.From the tenderness with which Liani's mother spoke of her,I knew that she had been loved.But it was obvious to me that Liani had not felt loved From the sensitive and tender emotion with which Liani's mother told me about her,I realized that she had been loved.But it seemed clear to me that Liani had failed to be aware of this love. Part III.(Para.13-Para.38): Detailed Study of Paras.13-16 Discussion questions 1.What necessary information is supplied about the Love Class? It was a non-credit course.The teaching methods were quite special:the teacher and students shared their reading,their ideas,and their experiences.Few students missed even one session of the love course.The sessions were scheduled to start at 7 p.m.and end at 10,yet they often continued well past midnight. 2.Which sentences tell us that the students were interested in the love course and that
current affairs e.g.: (1) His awareness of the situation was surprising. 8. poignant: adj. painfully sharp to the emotions or senses; deeply moving; arousing sympathy e.g.: (1) She has many poignant memories of her childhood. (2) What a poignant sight it was! (3) He wrote some poignant satires with poignant wit. 9. wince: vi. to show pain, distress by a slight involuntary movement of the muscles in the face e.g.: (1) He winced as she stepped on his injured foot. (2) I still wince at the memory of the stupid things I did. 10. I thought of Albert Schweitzer's poignant statement: "We are all so much together and yet we are all dying of loneliness." I was reminded of Albert Schweitzer's emotional statement that though we are always together, we still feel terribly lonely. (or: I thought of Albert Schweitzer's emotionally profound statement that although together almost every day, we all feel sad and miserable because we lack real friendship.) 11. The moment I mentioned Liani's name, she winced. As soon as I referred to Liani's name, her face revealed her anguish. 12. where cliffs fall abruptly into the sea. . where steep, high rocks stand up at the edge of the sea. 13. There, shocked picnickers later reported, she jumped to her death. It was at that place that, according to what astonished picnickers described, she jumped into the sea and drowned herself. 14. And her God-given uniqueness was gone forever. Her unusual, remarkable, and unparalleled qualities with which she had been endowed by God vanished forever. 15. From the tenderness with which Liani's mother spoke of her, I knew that she had been loved. But it was obvious to me that Liani had not felt loved. From the sensitive and tender emotion with which Liani's mother told me about her, I realized that she had been loved. But it seemed clear to me that Liani had failed to be aware of this love. Part III. (Para. 13-Para. 38): Detailed Study of Paras. 13-16 Discussion questions 1.What necessary information is supplied about the Love Class? It was a non-credit course. The teaching methods were quite special: the teacher and students shared their reading, their ideas, and their experiences. Few students missed even one session of the love course. The sessions were scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and end at 10, yet they often continued well past midnight. 2. Which sentences tell us that the students were interested in the love course and that