资源简介

Unit 1 Honesty and responsibility
Integrated skills: Understanding white lies
内容分析：
本板块围绕单元话题，以“善意的谎言”为主题创设情境，展开一系列读、听、说、写等学习活动。教师首先引导学生阅读关于同一件事情的两段个人叙述，了解两个人对同一个善意谎言的不同解读，以此激活话题；再要求学生听一段对心理学家的采访对话，了解“善意的谎言”的定义、它的好处以及可能造成的问题；最后让学生就“善意的谎言”展开讨论，并写一篇文章，就此话题表达自己的观点。
教学目标：
By the end of this section, students will be able to:
explain what white lies are;
list the benefits and problems of white lies;
state their own opinion about (not) telling white lies;
write an article about their understanding of white lies.
教学重难点：
1. Understand the benefits and problems of white lies;
2. Develop students’ critical thinking about white lies and honesty.
教学过程：
Step 1 Lead-in
1. You are a guest at your best friend’s house. Her mother has just prepared a meal for you. You don’t like it at all. Now she is asking you “How does it taste ”
1). Will you say to her, “It’s delicious.” Why or why not
2). If you say so, do you think you are lying to her
I would say, “It’s delicious.” I don’t have to tell the whole truth if it hurts someone’s feelings, especially my best friend’s mother.
In this case, I am telling a lie to my friend’s mother, but I’m well-intended. I don’t think this kind of lie hurts her.
2. Talk about common white lies in our daily life.
3. What is the major difference between a lie and a white lie？
A lie is told to protect oneself, whereas a white lie is told to protect someone else.
【设计意图：快速引入单元话题。】
Step 2 Reading
A1 Ask students to read the article and answer the following questions.
1. What was the white lie Anne told and why did she tell the lie
2. How did Grandma find out the truth and how did she feel
3. What can we learn from the two accounts
Suggested answers:
1. Anne told her grandma that she liked the pink dress she had received from her, but in fact she didn’t. She told the lie to make her grandma happy.
2. When Grandma was passing Anne’s bedroom a few days later, she heard Anne speaking on the phone that she would never wear the pink dress. When Grandma learnt the truth, she pretended not to have heard anything, but she felt cheated and depressed.
3. We need to be careful when we decide to tell a little, “kind-hearted” lie. In Anne’s opinion, the little lie she told Grandma was not only harmless but also helped smooth an awkward situation. She thought it would make Grandma feel good. But this was not Grandma’s opinion. When she found out the truth, she felt hurt.
Step 3 Listening
B1. Ask students to listen to the interview and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). Circle the incorrect information in the false statements and correct it in the blanks.
1. John is a university professor with a special interest in the truth and lies.
2. According to John, only some people tell white lies from time to time.
3. When people find out that they have been told a white lie, they may start to wonder what other lies they have been told.
4. The interviewer tries to sound humorous when she says that she is being honest.
Suggested answers: FFTT
1) a university professor→psychologist
2) only some people → we all
B2. Listen to the interview again and complete the notes below.
White lies
What are white lies
(1) _______ lies you tell to protect other people
What are the benefits of white lies
Avoiding hurting people’s feelings
Helping (2) _______________________
What are the (3) __________ of white lies
Causing unexpected embarrassment or (4) ________ for the people being lied to
Leading to a crisis of (5) ______
Suggested answers:
(1). Small (2). strengthen relationships (3). problems (4). trouble (5). trust
Step 4 Discussion
C. In pairs, have a discussion about white lies. Use the following questions to help you.
1. What are white lies
2. Do white lies always bring about good results Why or why not
3. Would you tell white lies or not Why
Step 5 Writing
D. Write an article explaining your understanding of white lies. Use your ideas from part C and the information in parts A and B to help you.
Learning about the structure
When you explain your understanding of white lies, you can follow the structure below:
Define white lies and illustrate the definition with examples.
Explain why people tell white lies.
Raise doubts about the idea that white lies always bring about good results, and give reasons.
State whether you will tell white lies and explain why.
Learning about writing techniques
You should use diverse language in your writing. Firstly, you can try to vary the vocabulary you choose. For example, when you mean lying, you can use tell a lie, make up a story, withhold the truth, etc. Secondly, you can use different sentence structures. She told a lie to him and The truth was withheld from him by her convey nearly the same meaning but use different structures with varying degrees of formality.
Useful expressions
1.tell white lies from time to time
2.make up a story
3.keep the truth from sb.
4.well-meaning lies
5.well-intended lies
6.kind-hearted lies
7.tell white lies out of kindness
8.tell white lies with good intentions
9.smooth an awkward situation
10.avoid hurting people’s feelings
11.protect the person you love from cruel reality
12.help strengthen relationships
13.hide the truth
14.tell somebody the truth
15.know the truth
16.know the hidden truth
17.handle the truth
18.find out/ discover the truth
19.be living a lie
20.lie to sb about sth
21.a complete/total lie
22.cause unexpected embarrassment or trouble
23.lead to a crisis of trust
24.feel cheated and depressed
25.feel hurt
Step 6. Check your Writing
Sample
White lies are small lies that we tell to protect someone because we do not want to hurt their feelings, or we want to be polite. For example, you may tell your best friend that she sings well when she does not, or you tell your mum that the food she cooks is excellent instead of what you really think. These kinds of white lies help maintain good relations with people who are important to us.
However, white lies do not always bring about good results. They may cause unexpected embarrassment or trouble for the people being lied to. What's more, there is always a risk that people being told a white lie will find out the truth. If a white lie is discovered, it can cause a crisis of trust and possibly damage the relationship. For instance, your friend wants to participate in the school singing competition. You know she sings badly and will need some professional lessons if she wants to take part. Despite this, you tell her out of kindness that she will certainly win the competition because she is a great singer. When she loses in the first round and notices other students laughing at her, she feels embarrassed and realizes you lied to her. She is certain to become angry with you and start to wonder what other lies she has been told.
Choosing not to tell white lies can be difficult because it means you risk hurting those you care about. However, the risk of ruining relationships is higher if you are caught in a lie. For this reason, I choose not to tell white lies and I would rather face the consequences of always being honest so that people will know their trust in me is not misplaced.
Step 7 Homework
Polish up your writing and make a presentation to the class.
【设计意图：明确语篇特点，锻炼写作技能。】
教学反思

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