B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

Unit 3 The Generation Gap

Text A Father Knows Better

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

This

comedy centers around a proud father’s attempts to help his children, attempts which somehow or other always end up embarrassing them. For the sake of fun it carries things to extremes, but nearly everyone can recognize something of themselves and their parents in it.

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

I.

Teaching Objectives II. Before Reading III. Global Reading IV. Detailed Reading V. After Reading

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

Ⅰ. Teaching Objectives Students will be able to:understand the main idea (Father meddled in children’s affairs with good intentions, but only to find his efforts unwelcome) and structure (three settings, three scenes) of the text; appreciate the basic elements of a play; grasp the key language points and grammatical structures in the text; conduct a series of reading, listening, speaking and writing activities related to the theme of the unit.

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

Ⅱ. Before Reading English Song – The Times They Are A-changin’ Bob Dylan 1. Bob Dylan, born on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota in the USA, is widely regarded as perhaps America’s greatest popular songwriter born in the twentieth century. Much of his best work is from the 1960s when his musical shadow was so large that he took on political influence. The civil rights movement had no more moving anthem than his song Blowin’ in the Wind. Millions of young people embraced his song The Times They Are A-Changin’ during that era of extreme change. The radical political group The Weathermen named themselves after a lyric in Dylan’s song Subterranean Homesick Blues – “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” The Times They Are A-changin’ (song)

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

2. ComedyListen to the passage and fill in the blanks with the missing words. Comedy is a universal form of expression and a major dramatic genre that is intended to amuse. Comedy is associated with humorous behavior, wordplay, pleasurable feeling, release of tension, and laughter. Imbued with a playful spirit, comic entertainment frequently exposes incongruous (不协 调的), or ridiculous aspects of human nature. It generally follows a fixed pattern of theatrical surprises that leads to a sense of delight in the viewer. Of all dramatic genres, comedy is the most widely performed.

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

3.Fast-food restaurant

A fast-food restaurant is a restaurant characterized by food which is supplied quickly after ordering (and which may or may not be consumed quickly as well), and by minimal service. The food in these restaurants is commonly cooked in advance and kept hot, or reheated to order. Many fast-food restaurants are part of restaurant chains or franchise (特许经营权) operations, which provide standardized foodstuffs to the individual restaurants, shipped from central locations. Because of its convenience, fast food (also known as take-away food or take-out food) is very popular in many modern societies, but is often criticized for poo

r nutritional value (often contributing to obesity (肥胖)), advertising (especially directed at children), and other issues.

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

4. High school Introduction

High school, or secondary school, is the last segment of compulsory education in the United States, Canada, China, Korea and Japan. It provides a secondary education. Secondary education is a period of education which directly follows primary education. The purpose of a secondary education can be to prepare for either higher education or vocational training. It is referred to by various different names in different countries, including high school in the United States and Australia, or middle school in the Netherlands. It occurs mainly during the teenage years. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education varies from country to country, but is generally around the seventh to the ninth year of education.

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

High school in the United States In the United States, high school generally consists of grades 9, 10, 11 and 12, though this may vary slightly by school district. In some areas, high school starts with tenth grade; a few American high schools still cover grades 7 through 12. American students are allowed to leave high school at age 16~18, depending on the state, or when they graduate or go on to college or other education. This schoolleaving age is usually in grade 10 or 11 if the standard curriculum has been followed throughout life, without skipping grades or being held back. Thus, the last two years of high school are not compulsory, but most students complete high school and receive a diploma. A high school diploma is generally required for entrance into a college or university, but many colleges accept a small number of students after the eleventh grade.

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

High school in Canada Secondary schooling in Canada differs depending on what province one lives in. Normally it follows the American pattern; however in Quebec, for instance, high school lasts five years and is started earlier and finished at a younger age than elsewhere in Canada. In Quebec most students follow high school by attending a college of general and vocational education, which is comparable to a junior college, and which is obligatory for Quebec students wishing to go on to university in Quebec.

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

High school in Australia High school is the former name for secondary schools in Australia. The name was officially changed to secondary school in the early 1990s, but to majority of the adult Australian population they are still “high schools”. The exact length of secondary school varies from state to state, but the majority teach Years 7~12. It is compulsory to attend school until the age of fifteen, but most students remain at school to complete their studies and go on to college or university.

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

5. Warm-up Questions Is there a generation gap between you and your parents? What will you do if you have different opinions from you

parents? What are the major compon

ents of a play?

*The major components of a play include characters, settings, stage directions, language, conflicts, climax and themes. Conflicts are the essence of a play, a clash of actions, ideas, desires or wills. They can happen in three forms: man against man, man against environment, man against himself. When a conflict develops to the most intensified point, it becomes a climax. Stage directions are one important part in the play. Their functions are to set up stage properties in the proper place; to indicate a change in setting; to direct actor’s movement, gesture, facial expression, tone of voice and so on. Play is often divided into comedy and tragedy.

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

Up

Left Left Left Center Stage

Up Right Stage Right Down Right

Stage

Down

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

6. Generation Gap (代沟) The generation gap refers to the disagreement and conflict between young people and their elders. Parents said that children didn’t show them proper respect and obedience, while children complained that their parents didn’t understand them at all. Parents often expect their children to do better than they did. The strong desire that parents have for their children may cause disagreement between them. Moreover, the knowledge of a lifetime may become out of date overnight as a result of rapid development of the society. The young and the old seem to live in two very different worlds, separated by different skills and abilities. The causes of the generation gap are rooted in the freedom and changes of our society, and in the rapid speed at which society changes. The generation gap will continue to be a feature of American life for some time to come.

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

Ⅲ. Global Reading Part

Division of the Text * hint: just read the stage directions put in brackets. The play can be divided into three scenes according to the changes in setting.

B2 Unit 3 The Generation Gap

Parts 1

Lines 1~65

Main Ideas In a fast-food restaurant, Father embarrassed Sean by talking too proudly to the restaurant manager.

2

66~169

3

In the Thompson family dining room, Father embarrassed Diane by persuading a work-mate into pressing his son to ask her to the senior prom. 170~210 In an office at Heidi’s high school, Father embarrassed Heidi by boasting to an official about how bright she was.