Unit3
A Taste of English Humour---Reading
A Master of Nonverbal Humour
Teaching Goals:
1. To learn about English non-verbal humour and the life of Charlie Chaplin.
2. To develop Ss’ some basic reading skills, esp. searching for information.
3. To encourage Ss to learn from the qualities of Charlie Chaplin and to be optimistic.
Teaching Procedures:
Step 1. Leading-in
Purpose:
To arouse
Ss’ interest
in learning
about
nonverbal
humour.
1. (Show some pictures of well-known comedians)
How do you feel you are looking at these pictures?
How do you describe them?
How do they make you laugh?
Strange dressing ;
funny acting
amusing words;
there are many punchlines
--- verbal humour
(Show a picture of Mr. Bean)What do you know about Nonverbal humour?
Step 2. Reading and understanding
Purpose:
To present the life of Charlie Chaplin in a dfferent way:
para3--para2--para4--para5—para1;
To train Ss’ ability of searching for the required information while reading.
Para.3
(Enjoy a piece of video of Charlie Chaplin from “The Tramp”)
1.What do you know about Charlie Chaplin? What does he look like?
(Ask Ss to give a description of Charlie Chaplin. Then try to find out the related sentences in the
passage. Read and draw the character out on the Bb. )---The little tramp
2.What’s your impression of the little tramp?
The little tramp was a poor and homeless man, walking stiffly. He was considered to be a
social failure and an underdog.
3.Do you want to be a little tramp?Why was the little tramp loved by many people throughout the
world?
Because he was loved for his optimism and determination to overcome all difficulties.
He was kind even when others are unkind to him.
----This is Charlie
Chaplin’s famous film character (on Bb.)
Para.2
T: Life is not easy for Charlie Chaplin in the film. How about his own life?
Not that Charlie’s own life was easy.
---Let’s go to Charlie
Chaplin’s childhood(on Bb)
1.What did he do according to the following time clue?
In 1889: He was born in a poor family.
His parents were poor music hall performers.
As soon as he could speak and walk: He was taught to sing and dance.
Father died: His family became worse off, and he spent his childhood in looking after his
mother and brother.
By his teens: He became a most popular child actor. He could mime and act the fool doing
ordinary everyday tasks.
2.How was his childhood?
Unfortunate—Popular(on Bb)
Do you think his poor childhood helped him in his work? Why?
Suggested answer: Yes. Because he understood the problems of people who were very poor.
3.What did people think of his acting? ---subtle
No one was ever bored watching him—his subtle acting made everything entertaining.
Para.4
1.Game of acting
Encourage Ss to act according to the following situations: eating noodles ; eating chicken
legs(drumsticks); eating bananas; eating watermelons…
T: What do you think of their acting?
2.When you are very hungry, will you eat a pair of shoes?
How did he eat the shoes?(to find out the related sentences and read aloud.)
(to put the verbs into correct order.)
(Enjoy a short piece of video from the Gold Rush—eating shoes)
While watching, ask Ss to mime or explain according to the video.
What do you think of his acting?
---convincing
What do you know about the film of The Gold Rush?
（Listen and get the background information）When?________________________________
Where?_______________________________
What?________________________________
Did they succeed in finding the gold ? No
What troubles did they meet ?
They are hiding in a small hut on the edge of a mountain in a snowstorm with nothing to eat.
T: Charlie Chaplin was good at making a sad situation entertaining?
And The Gold Rush is only an
example of his work(on Bb.).
starred in
Para.5
T: Do you know any other examples of his work? (show more posters)
E x a m p l e s o f C h a r l i e C ’s
h aw
p loi r
nk
T h e Ci rc us
大马戏团 1 9 2 8
T h e G o l d R u s hC i t y L i g h t s M o d e r n T i m e s
摩登时代 1 9 3 6
淘金记 1 9 2 5
城市之光 1 9 2 9
T:What do you think of his work?
What did he get?
T h e Tr a m p T h e G re a t Di c ta to r
大独裁者 1 9 4 0
流浪汉 1915
c_
te
C h a p lin
w ro te
, d_ ire
__ _
_d
_ _, p
a ro
n d d u c eth
d e
d _ in
film s hsta
e _rre
___
_ __ _.
H e w a s g iv e sp
n e
a c_
ia
_l
__
O _sc
__
a_
r_ _ _ _ _ _ fo r
h is o u t s t a n d i n
w go rk
.
outstanding
a special Oscar
---His
achievement (on Bb.)
Para.5&Para.1
Qs:1.Why was he loved and remembered as a great actor?
Because he could inspire people with great confidence.
2.How?
He brightened the lives of Americans and British through two world wars and the hard
years in between by making people laugh when they felt depressed, so they could feel
more content with their lives.
3. Why Americans and British?
He was born in England and then lived in the USA but was buried in Switzerland in 1977.
---That’s the reason Why
people needed cheering up (on Bb.)
Enjoy the words: “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.”
---Title: A Master
of Nonverbal Humour (on Bb.)
Step3. Reading aloud and Thinking
Purpose: To think about the writer’s attitude according to the different organization.
To talk about and learn from the qualities of Charlie Chaplin.
1. Listen to the text and read aloud.
2. Match the main idea according to the notes on Bb.
Para.1
Charlie Chaplin’s famous film character
Para.2
Charlie Chaplin’s childhood
Para.3
An example of his work
Para.4
His achievement
Para.5
Why people needed cheering up
3. What’s the author’s attitude to Charlie Charplin?
A. positive
B. negatived C. serious
D .appreciative
4. Read and find out some sentences of appreciation(one from each para.):
(Para1)Up to now nobody has been able to do this better than Charlie Chaplin.
(Para2)No one was ever bored watching him – his subtle acting made everything
entertaining.
(Para3)This character was a social failure but was loved for his optimism and
determination to overcome all difficulties.
(Para4)The acting is so convincing that it makes you believe that it is one of the best
meals he has ever tasted!
(Para5)He is loved and rememberd as a great actor who could inspire people with great
confidence.
5. What can we learn from the sentences about Charlie Chaplin?
Humorous, Entertaining, Optimistic, Determined, Gifted, Outstanding, Confident…
Step4. Consolidation
Purpose: To consolidate the whole passage by completing the summary.
1.Summary
As an outstanding humourous actor, Chaplin could make people laugh when they _________,
So they felt more ____________ their lives. His charming _________ “the little tramp” is
well-known all over the world, a poor and _________ person wearing large trousers, ________
shoes, and carrying a walking _______.
A social _______ as he was, he was loved by all the people for his ____________ and
____________ in overcoming difficulties and being kind to people _______ to him. When playing
the famous film The Gold Rush, Chaplin managed to make the sad situation—eating a _______
shoe, entertaining by using __________ humour.
2.Group Activity
To encourage Ss to make a poster of Charlie Chaplin, which might
contain the following aspects:
A picture of Charlie Chaplin, some introduction, some slogans(to
encourage Ss to enjoy life )…
Step5. Appreciation
Purpose: To encourage Ss to be optimistic even when they meet with difficulties.
To enjoy life.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A joke a day, keeps doctors away.
A laughter makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
Where there is humor, there is happy.
A good laughter is a good friend.
A good joke is better than everything.
A happy heart lives long.
Among jokes all is common.
A happy year, a rich year.
A humorous mind in a sound body.
Life
Life is challenging, meet it.
Life is various, make it.
Life is beautiful, discover it.
Life is humorous, enjoy it.
Step5. Home task
To finish the poster.
Bb. Design:
A Master of Nonverbal Humour
3.Charlie Chaplin’s famous film character (a social failure,underdog)
2.Charlie Chaplin’s childhood(unfortunate—popular?)
4.An example of his work(sutle,entertaining,convincing)
5.His achievement(outstanding,a special Oscar)
1.Why people needed cheering up(depressed—inspire--content)
the little tramp
Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.
By JinQing
High School