Unit 10 American literature
unit 10 american literature
ⅰ.brief statements based on the unit
most of us have heard of some world-famous writers such as mark twain,jack london,ernest hemingway.some of their works are well-known in the world.the topic of this unit is about american literature.warming up gets students to know what a poem describes and what it means.in speaking,students are asked to talk about some american writers and their works pre-reading and post-reading get students to practise how to predict a story and how to describe a story.reading tells us a love story written by american writer o.henry.as for integrating skills,teacher should not only train the students’ reading ability,but also help them learn to write a book review.
in the aspect of language study,teacher trains students’ ability to use some key words and phrases.teacher also helps students to review all the verb tenses.listening helps students learn to grasp the detailed information of the club activities that some students organise.
ⅱ.teaching goals
1.talk about american literature.
2.practise predicting and describing what a story might be about.
3.review all the verb tenses.
4.write a book review.
ⅲ.background information
1.alex haley
alex haley 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 haley went to school and then to college.in 1939,he joined the us coastguard.as he was a black,his job was to wait on tables and washed dishes.in his spare time,he learned to write stories.he served in the coastguard for 20 years.after he retired he put all his time into writing.
alex haley remembered the stories his grandmother had told him.he began to study his family story:after a lot of research,haley decided that toby probably was kunta kinte for 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 1707.then haley made a trip to gambia and talked with a history expert in juffure.the africa historian made his conclusion stronger.
alex haley wanted to tell 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 was a special “pulitzer prize”.a few years later,a film series based on haley’s book was shown on american television.