Lesson Plan for Unit 4

Text A: Tony rivisonno’s American Dream

Warm-up Questions: Why do some people want to come and live

in the United States?

What do you think American believe is the best thing about their country?

What is the “American Dream”?

There are three important reasons.

Cultural pluralism

Traditional American Values and Beliefs (1) Land of opportunity

Historically, the United States has been viewed as “the land of opportunity”, attracting immigrants from all over the world. The opportunities they believed they would find in America and the experiences they actually had when they arrived nurtured this set of American values.

Traditional American Values and Beliefs (2) Basic traditional American values

It is believed that there are generally six basic traditional American values. They represent:

individual freedom and self-reliance,

equality of opportunity and competition,

material wealth and hard work.

Individual Freedom and Self-reliance By freedom, Americans mean the desire and the

ability of all individuals to control their own destiny without outside interference from the government, a ruling noble class, the church, or any other organized authority.

There is, however, a price to be paid for this individual freedom: self-reliance. This means that Americans believe they should take care of themselves, solve their own problems, and “stand on their own feet.”

Equality of Opportunity and Competition What do most Americans mean when they

say they believe in equality of opportunity? They do not mean that everyone is – or should be – equal. However, they do mean that each individual should have an equal chance for success. Americans see much of life as a race for success. For them, equality means that everyone should have an equal chance to enter the race and win.

There is, however, a price to be paid for this equality of opportunity: competition. If much of life is seen as a race, then a person must run the race in order to succeed; a person must compete with others. If every person has an equal chance to succeed in the United States, then it is every person’s duty to try.

Material Wealth and Hard Work

Acquiring and maintaining a large number of material possessions is of great importance to most Americans. Why is this so? Probably the main reason is that material wealth has traditionally been a widely accepted measure of social status in the United States.

Americans have paid a price, however, for their material wealth: hard work. Hard work has been both necessary and rewarding for most Americansthroughout their history. Because of this, they came to see material possessions as the naturalreward for their hard work.

Cultural Notes (1)

American Dream

The belief of Americans that their country offers opportunities for a good and successful life. For minorities and immigrants, the dream also includes freedom and equal rights.

The phrase “going from rags to riches” was a slogan for the great American Dream.

Cultural Notes (2) Depression days( 大萧条时期 )

The period of severe economic failure in most countries of the world that lasted from 1929 until World War II. It began in the US when the New York Stock Exchange(纽约证券交易所 ) fell on 29 October 1929, known as Black Tuesday. Many businesses and banks failed and millions of people lost their jobs. President Franklin D. Roosevelt improved the situation with his New Deal policy(新政 ), but the Great Depression was only ended by industrial production for the war.

Study of the Text–Text Organization(1)

The text can be roughly divided into two parts.

The first part (Paras. 1-29) focuses on the life story of Tony Trivisonno.

The second part (Paras.30-33) gives the author’s reflections on the story of Tony.

Study of the Text–Text Organization(2)

Scan the text and circle all the time words, phrases or sentences in the text.

one evening

the nexttwo days

Summer passed into fall

The month passed

one daya year or twopassed

After about two years

Sometime later

Thenduring the war

After he Passed away

Study of the Text–Text Organization(3)

The text is written according to time sequence:how Tony fulfilled his American Dream step by step.The time phrases listed above serve as transitionsbetween the steps. 1) Tony took the first step by working as a help at

Mr. Crawford’s house.2) Tony got a job clearing snow at Mr. Crawford’s

factory.3) Tony learned to become a skilled worker.4) Tony bought a house with Mr. Crawford’s help.5) Tony bought a farm and sent for his family in

Italy.

Study of the Text—Personal Description (1)

Physical appearance:

Line 3 He was about five-foot-seven or eight, and thin.

Lines 59-60 He seemed to stand a little straighter. He was heavier. He has a look of confidence.

Line 71 …neatly dressed

Question:

What do you know about Tony from the above-mentioned description of him?

Study of the Text—Personal Description (2)

Characteristic features with supporting details: “I mow your lawn,” he said. (4 times) “When winter come, you give me job clearing

snow at the factory.” “I want to be ’prentice,” he said. “I like a buy a house.” “Mr. Craw, I sell my house!” he said with pride. “Mr. Craw, I buy a farm.”

--My wife said he was very helpful…--I asked the personnel for a report. They said Tony was a very good worker.--I got a report that he had graduated as a skilled grinder.--They found the farm green with vegetables, the little house livable and homey. There was a tractor and a good car in the yard. The children were educated and working, and Tony didn’t owe a cent.

Language Study (1)

Pairing: What does a gardener do? A B

to mow the gardento weed the yardto sweep the lawnto clean up any little tasksto take care of heavy objectsto lift the walksto fix things

Language Study (2)

1. L.5 …hard to comprehend his broken English.

2. L.39 Tony took a cut in pay to become an apprentice.

3. L.42 My wife and I were delighted with what we felt was a satisfying e

nd of the story.译文：我和太太都挺高兴，觉得他的事

总算有了个令人满意的结局。

Language Study (3)

4. L.84 He grew in stature in my mind.5. L.86 They all had reached their success by

the same route and by the same values and principles: vision, determination, self-control, optimism, self-respect and above all, integrity.

6. L.89 Tony did not begin on the bottom rung of the ladder. He began in the basement.

7. L.91 But, after all, the balance sheets were exactly the same.

Compare above all and after all.above all: more than anything else; most of alle.g. Of all Jefferson’s many talents, one is central. He was above all a good and tireless writer.after all: in spite of all that has happened or has been said, etc.e.g. After all, what does it matter?

Language Study (4)

Vocabulary file:-- become an apprentice-- an apprentice school-- trained laborers-- read blueprints and micrometers-- do precision work-- a skilled grinder-- read the millionths of an inch on the micrometer-- shape the grinding wheel with an instrument

set with a diamond

Language Study (5)

Vocabulary file: a house for sale pay interest loan money write a mortgage for $2000 with no down payment a piece of property sponsor sb. not owe a cent the balance sheets

Language Study -- Words and phrases to drill (1)Verbs:

abandon amaze amuseapproach create discardgraduate handle huntloan sponsor

Phrasal verbs:call on clean up do withpass away send for turn awayturn down work out

Language Study -- Words and phrases to drill (2)Nouns:

balance capacity characterconfidence determination dietpersonnel property wreck

Adjectives:helpful skilled weekly

Adverb:sometime (Cf. page 103 for confusable words)

Other phrases:above all for sale

To find more interesting stories concerning the American Dream, you can visit the following web site:

www.usdreams.com

Announcement for next week’s big class:

Preview Text A of Unit 5, Integrated Course 1.

Thank you!