Making a difference（The Fourth Period）

   ss: yes.
   (teacher plays the tape for the students to listen. then the students read the passage. after that, the teacher shows the screen and lets the students have a discussion.)
    discuss the following questions:
    1. of all the characteristics mentioned in the passage, which do you think is the most important? why?
    2. what do great scientists like stephen hawking, galileo galilei and zhang heng have in common? find out more about them and how they work and think.
use the questions below to get started.
what is the scientific spirit?
how do scientists solve problems?
how do scientists make a difference?
what can we learn from great scientists?
  t: please discuss the questions on the screen. do it in pairs or groups. you're given four minutes to prepare. after that i'll ask some of you to report your results of the discussion. are you       clear?
  ss: yes.
  t: now, begin.
 (four minutes later, teacher collects the results of their discussion.)
  t: which group would like to give your answer to the first question?
  s: (one of the students stands up.) being creative, i think, is the most important. because scientists can make new discoveries by using their imagination all the time.
     (another student stands up. )
  s: i think being curious is the most important. only when someone is curious about something can be come up with new ideas.
(teacher asks the students to report the results of the second question. the students ray have various answers. then let the students write a short passage about their discussion after class. teacher may ask some students to read their passages in the next class. )
step v writing
    t: who is your favourite scientist?
       (the students may have different answers. )
    t: now we're going to write a paragraph to describe your favourite scientist. before you write, you should think carefully about what you want to write. what does the reader need to know about the scientist? how can you best describe him or her? what is the most important or interesting fact about the scientist? why do you like him or her? you can first discuss these questions in groups. use your answers to write your paragraph. if you want to know more about him or her, you can use a library or the internet to find more information after class. in class you should list an outline of the passage. when you write your passage, the ideas, words and expressions on the blackboard may help you to describe a great scientist.