unit 14 They Will Not Be Forgotten

Unit 14

They Will Not Be Forgotten

Teaching objectives

Topic: History

Vocabulary: Expressions about history; sweep over, be engulfed in, in one’s face, strike a chord with / in, on the periphery of, etc.

Writing: Discussion of the importance of history

Why study history?

broaden one’s outlook offer entertainment and excitement provide inspiration and make us brave

provide identity teach values help attain the ability to think and act critically shed light upon the present and future

Part I Listening & speaking activities

Aims: Teaching the expressions and phrases to talk about history Learning to analyze and understand historical events

Preparation

Work with your group to think of as many words / phrases / expressions as possible regarding the following topics.

Prepositional phrases denoting the past

in the Tang Dynasty, during the Second world War, at the Battle of Gettysburg, of Roman history, after the Nanking Massacre, from ancient Athens, by 1914, from time immemorial, since long ago, some time ago, ages ago, in the old days, during the reign of…

Expressing past events

(It) happened a long time ago, They had done…by the end of the century, In the past, …dated back to, …originated from

Adjectives evaluating past events

(negative) atrocious, bestial, dark, barbaric, uncivilized, savage, cruel, turbulent, cold-blooded, harsh, unmerciful

(positive) prosperous, enlightened, beneficial, patriotic, benevolent, humane, humanitarian, gallant, civil, chivalrous

Expressions of forgetting

forget, loss of memory, absent-minded, lapse of memory, fall into oblivion, pass out of public consciousness, unable to recall, suffer from amnesia, have a mental block

Expressions of remembrance

memorise, remember, recall, remind, something brought back a lot of memory, bring somebody back to childhood / sweet memory of one’s childhood, get lost / be deep in memory, become nostalgic, reminisce

Group Discussion

1. Do you think your history learning experience benefits you? How should history be taught and learned?

2. Do you think it is necessary to study your personal history or the history of your family? Why? 3. Name three events in Chinese history which, in your opinion, are of outstanding significance to the history of China.

Histories make men wise; poetry, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend. ～读史使人明智，读诗使人 灵秀；数学使人周密，物理 学使人深刻；伦理学 使人 庄重，逻辑与修辞使人善 辩～ Francis Bacon (1561-1626) lawyer, statesman, philosopher

Talk

In China’s long history, many historical figures left their names in history books or other historic records. Some are heroes, some are villains, and some are victims. But all of them were creators of history. Think about your knowledge of Chinese history, and tell the story of a historical figure you admire or despise most and explain the reasons.