Unit11 Letter to a B student
I. Lead-in (Group work）：
1. What do you usually do on weekend (Shopping/ watching TV/ surfing the internet)
2. How many scores do you mostly get for the English courses you have been taking If we use grade A, B, C and D to mark your scores, which grade do you get
（A：≥70 B：≥60 C：≥50 D: ≥40 F:Failed）
3. Are you feel happy or are you disappointed when you get a B Why (Disappointed—lose confidence—acquired knowledge—learn new ways of thinking—put in practice)
4. Imagine yourself to be a teacher and that you are to write a letter to a student who is disappointed with the grades he gets. What would you say to him in the letter (Judgment of knowledge –not represent qualities)
II. Cultural background
American Education System versus Asian Education System (ppt)
III. Structural analysis (Group work）
Key words Key sentences Main idea of the text (ppt)
IV. Text analysis
1).Part I: Paragraph 1--The 1st paragraph serves as an introduction.
Language work:
1. far superior to→better in quality than
. The boy is far superior to that girl in study.
2. Gentleman’s C→ a decent grade.
The basic definition of the gentlemen's C is: a passing grade a teache r gives to a student who shouldn't be passing.
. An empty A is equal to a gentlemen's C.
3. eligibility→the qualification or abilities required for doing sth.
eligible (adj).:to be able to do sth.
. Citizens above the age of 18 are eligible to vote and be voted. [Problems]
Questions: (Pair work）(ppt)
1. What change about grades has the writer mentioned briefly
(The writer has mentioned briefly the change in the way grades are regarded, I .e the
norm has shifted upward.)
2. What, according to the writer, has caused the change
(The change has to do with the general social climate where grades determine eligibility
for graduate school and special programs .This is why the writer says there is nothing
he can do to remove the feeling of disappointment.)
Main idea: The 1st paragraph serves as an introduction.
2).Part II: Paragraphs 2-5constitute the first main part of the letter.
Language work:
1. off set→to counterbalance
2. You’ve grown up in a society where winning is not the most important thing ---- it’s
the only thing.
→P154
3. “sins”…”salvation”→
According to the Bible, people are born with sins, if you want to get salvation
/ be rescued; you have to believe in God and obey it, and do many goods. But in modern society, being failure is a sin, and only success can rescue you. [Problems]
4 Where does the author state his purpose of writing the letter What is that purpose
(Para 3, to put your disappointment in perspective)
→put sth. in perspective→to judge the importance of something correctly.So what the
author wants to do is to show the students how they should regard/view disappointment correctly.
