Lessons from Jefferson

1. Lessons from Jefferson

2. Teaching Aims(教学目的): Focal Points(教学重点): To grasp the important words and patterns (掌握重点单词和句型). To understand the lessons from Jefferson(了解杰斐逊的遗训). The usage of the important words and patterns (重点单词和句型的用法) To understand the contents of the text (理解课文内容）

3. Difficult Points(教学难点): • Focal patterns(重点句型) Teaching Methods(教学方法): • Teaching(讲授式) • Discussion(讨论式) • Elicitation(启发式)

4. Important words and phrases（重点单词和短语） • source, appoint, create, go out of one’s way, leave to, act on, leave behind, above all Important patterns（重点句型） • 1. It is/was…that… • 2 neither … nor… • 3.were it left to me…

5. The Declaration of IndependenceAdopted on July 4, 1776 • The rights belong to everybody • Recounts the wrongs the British did against colonies • Proclaim the independence from British rule • B. Mark the beginning of a new nation • C. Hence, July 4 become the national birthday

6. .The Declaration of Independence: One of the most important historical documents of the U.S. written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. It declared formally the independence of the thirteen colonies in North America from Great Britain.

7. I.Information Related To the Text (与课文相关的信息)

8. . 1.George Washington (1732---1799): Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and first President of the U.S. (1789---1797)..

9. Abraham Lincoln (1809---1865): Sixteen President of the U.S. (1861---1865).

10. Thomas Jefferson (1743---1826): third President of the U.S. (1801---1809) and author of the Declaration of Independence .The son of a wealthy planter in Virginia. Jefferson was well educated and trained as a lawyer. A man of many interests, he was also an architect, and a patron of learning and the arts.

11. Social Class

12. An introduction to Social Class Social Class is a group of _______________________ from other groups in terms of weath, position and power. According to ____________ classes are determined primarily according to ___________________ of a given society, that is, according to an examination of who owns the means of production and whooperates the means of production. The theory of class is largely based on ________________. people differentiated Marxist viewpoint the relations of production Max Weber.

13. Max Weber’s theory The men in every society are evaluated by their fellow men on a number of structural bases. They are evaluated in terms of their profession, their social statues, their membership in a family or ethnic body, and their knowledge or education

14. A Brief Introduction to Jefferson and the French Revolution • Jefferson served as minister to France from 1785 to 1788 when revolution was imminent in France • He sympathized with the revolution, feeling it was similar in purpose to the American Revolution. • Thanks to his political writings and his legal reforms in Virginia, French reformers regarded Jefferson as a champion of liberty.

15. Group Discussion Topic:Let’s talk about Jefferson • Qustion: Do you have any idea about him? • Have you ever heard any story about him? • Can you list us his Professions? Statesman, Writer, Thinker, Diplomat, Architect, Musician, Scientist & Inventor

16. What is the spirit we can learn from him? • 1. Always learning something new, Always trying to contribute to human progress • Group Work: • 2. “I had rather be shut up in a very modest village, with my books, my family and a few old friends, dinning on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it likes than to occupy the most splendid post which any human power can give”

17. Learn more about America • Washington D.C. Capital of the United States, situated on the Potomac River in the District of Columbia. The district is a piece of land ten miles square and it does not belong to any one state but to all the states. The district is named in honor of Columbus, the discover of America.

18. Learn more about America The capital owes much to the first President of the United States, George Washington. It was Washington who chose the place for the District and laid in 1790 the corner-stone of the Capitol, where Congress sits.

19. Word-web • Threaten • Appoint • Educate • Humble • Owe • Resent • Conflict • Error • Influence • Perform • Source • obtain • action • create • false • prefer • talent • agreement • custom • Hesitate • Origin • reject

20. Proper Names Bruce Bliven / 布鲁斯·布利文 Thomas Jefferson / 托马斯·杰斐逊 George Washington / 乔治·华盛顿 Abraham Lincoln / 亚伯拉罕·林肯 the Declaration of Independence 《独立宣言》 the James River 詹姆斯河 Lafayette / 拉斐特 Heaven / 上帝；天堂 Philadelphia / 费城 (美国港市)

21. II. Lessons from Jefferson（杰斐逊的遗训） • Go and see. • You can learn from everyone. • Judge for yourself. • Do what you believe is right. • Trust the future; trust the young.

22. III. Analyze the text（分析课文）

23. The setting of the story, when, who and where Lessons from Jefferson By Bruce Bliven Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, may be less famous than George Washing- ton and Abraham Lincoln, but most 5 people remember at least one fact about him: he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Although Jefferson lived more than 200 years ago, there is much 10 that we can learn from him today. Many of his ideas are especially in- teresting to modern youth. Here are some of the things he said and wrote: The author’s occupation in detail

24. Go and see. Jefferson believed 15 that a free man obtains knowledge from many sources besides books and that personal investigation is important. When still a young man, he was appointed to a committee to find out whether the South Branch of the James River was deep enough to be used by large boats. While the other members of the committee sat in the state capitol and studied papers on 20 the subject,Jefferson got into a canoe and made on-the-spot observations. You can learn from everyone. By birth and by education Jefferson be- longed to the highest social class. Yet, in a day when few noble persons ever spoke to those of humble origins except to give an order, Jefferson went out of his way to talk with gardeners, servants, and waiters. Jefferson 25 once said to the French nobleman, Lafayette, "You must go into the people's homes as I have done, look into their cooking pots and eat their bread. If you will only do this, you may find out why people are dissatisfied and understand the revolution that is threatening France. "

25. Judge for yourself. Jefferson refused to accept other people's opinions without careful thought. "Neither believe nor reject anything," he wrote to 30 his nephew, "because any other person has rejected or believed it. Heaven has given you a mind for judging truth and error. Use it. " Jefferson felt that the people "may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false, and to form a correct judgment. Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. " Do what you believe is right. In a free country there will always be conflicting ideas, and this is a source of strength. It is conflict and not unquestioning agreement that keeps freedom alive.Though Jefferson was for many years the object of strong criticism, he never answered his critics. He expressed his philosophy in letters to a friend, " There are two sides to every question. If you take one side with decision and act on it with effect, those who take the other side will of course resent your actions."

26. Regarding Young people as the hope of the future Trust the future; trust the young. Jefferson felt that the present should never be chained to customs which have lost their usefulness. " No society," he said, "can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs to the living generation. " He did not fear new ideas, nor did he fear the future. " How much pain, " he remarked, "has been caused by evils which have never happened! I expect the best, not the worst. I steer my ship with hope, leaving fear behind. “ Jefferson's courage and idealism were based on knowledge. He probably knew more than any other man of his age. He was an expert in agriculture,archeology; and medicine.He practiced crop rotation and soil conservation a century before these became standard practice, and he invented a plow superior to any other in existence. He influenced architecture throughout America, and he was constantly producing devices for making the tasks of ordinary life easier to perform. Jefferson’s idea and behavior had exerted huge influence on the people at that time and even the present generation.

27. Of all Jefferson's many talents, one is central. He was above all a good and tireless writer. His complete works, now being published for the first time, will fill more than fifty volumes. His talent as an author was soon discovered,and when the time came to write the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia in 1776, the task of writing it was his. Millions have thrilled to his words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. . . " When Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of American independence, he left his countrymen a rich legacy of ideas and examples. American education owes a great debt to Thomas Jefferson, who believed that only a nation of educated people could remain free.

28. While Reading Activities (Lines 1~2) Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, may be less famous than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but…… Question: Why is Jefferson less famous than Washington and Lincoln? Washington is well-known for his leadership in the American Independence War. Lincoln is well-known for his role in abolishing slavery in the United States.

29. While Reading Activities (Lines 14~16) Jefferson believed that a free man obtains knowledge from many sources besides books and that personal investigation is important. Question: What are the advantages and disadvantages of personal investigation? Advantages: to get first-hand material, not to have to rely on false information or situations which have changed, ability to ask and answer your own questions. Disadvantages: limitations in time and ability to travel, lack of money, no expertise on the subject.

30. While Reading Activities • (Lines 22~24) Yet, in a day when few noble persons even spoke to those of humble origins except to give an order, Jefferson went out of…… • Question: Why didn’t noble persons speak to those of humble origins except to five an order? • The noble persons thought they were superior and looked down upon the people of humble origins and regarded talking with those people as degrading. But sometimes they had to, because they had to order those people to do things for them.

31. While Reading Activities (Lines 30~32) “Neither believe nor reject anything,” he wrote to his nephew, “because any other person has rejected or believed it…… Question: How do you understand “Neither believe nor reject anything because any other person has rejected or believed it.”? Never believe or reject anything only because any other person has rejected or believed it. Don’t accept blindly other people’s likes or dislikes. One must have independent thought.

32. While Reading Activities (Lines 42~43) He expressed his philosophy in letters to a friend…… Question: What do you understand his philosophy? It is difficult to satisfy both sides. It is natural that there are two sides to every question.

33. While Reading Activities (Lines 46~47) “No society,” he said, “can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs to the living generation.” Question: Why can not a society make a perpetual constitution, or a perpetual law? Society changes and people’s ideas change, too. What’s good today is not necessarily good tomorrow.

34. While Reading Activities (Lines 63~65) Millions have thrilled to his words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” Question: What is the significance of “all men are created equal…”? No one should be denied the rights that he is entitled to and no one should be discriminated against because no person is, at base, really inferior to any other.

35. 1.source; origin • “source” involves the metaphorical comparison to the fountainhead of a river. • “origin” suggests a remote beginning in time or place, its Latin etymology meaning “to rise”. • e.g. 1).We’ll have to find a new source of income. • 2).A newspaper gets news from many sources. • 3).The origin of the custom is unknown. • 4).Ancient Greece is called the origin of Western Civilization.

36. 2.appoint; name • “appoint” indicates that the selection is made by someone officially charged with this duty. • “name” is less formal and tells little about the chooser or the method of choice involved. • e.g. 1).The president appointed a new cabinet member. • 2）.I heard that the committee would appoint him director of the China studies program. • 3).He was appointed to a university chair. • 4).When will they name a successor? • 5).He was named captain of the team.

37. 3.go out of one’s way to do something: make a special effort or exert oneself more than usual to do something. • e.g. 1）.Jane went out of her way to be nice to the newcomer. 2).He is so selfish that he never goes out of his way to help others. • 4.neither… nor… • e.g. 1).The table is neither nice nor solid. • 2).Neither he nor you are a student.

38. 5. It is/was…that (who)… • e.g. 1).I t is because English is useful that we study it hard. • 2). It is advanced world levels that we should catch up with and surpass. • 6.act on: act according to • e.g. 1).You would not have made such a mistake if you had acted on his advice. • 2).Acting on his advice ,I went there by plane.

39. 7. leave behind: abandon; fail to take or bring. • e.g. 1）.Oh dear! I’ve left the umbrella behind. • 2）.Can you lend me a pen? I have left mine behind. • 8. in existence • e.g.1）. That kind of system is no longer in existence. • 2）.This is the longest bridge in existence. • 9. above all: most important of all • e.g. 1）.Children need many things , but above all they need attention. • 2）.Be polite, above all, to old people.

40. 10.discover; invent; create • To discover is to find or find out something that is already in existence but was not known about, such as a place or a fact. • To invent is to make something that had no previous existence, such as a machine or a method, through the use of the imagination or through experiment. • To create often means to bring something new into existence out of old things or to produce a character or a role in a play through the imaginative process.

41. Old words or expressions New words or expressions announcement declaration freedom independence get obtain done in person personal examination investigation put in a position of responsibility appoint small, narrow boat canoe documents papers A. New words and old words

42. at the place of action on the spot low in position humble source origin displease dissatisfy scare threaten refuse reject mistake error not true false opinion judgment feel doubtful prefer

43. like better the latter the second of two the latter disagree conflict without question unquestioning having the same opinion agreement unfavorable remarks criticism point of view philosophy result effect feel angry or bitter at resent

44. now the present tie chain never-ending perpetual say, comment remark very bad evil science or practice of farming agriculture study of ancient human life archaeology protecting conservation good or better superior the state of existing existence have an effect on influence

45. art and science of building architecture continuously constantly do, carry out perform special natural ability talent means device chief, main, most important central one complete book volume have a very exciting feeling thrill clear self-evident the same equal the yearly return of a special date anniversary abandon leave behind heritage legacy

46. B. Chinese and English phrases Chinese English 有趣 be of interest 某人的遗训 lessons from somebody 至少 at least 独立宣言 Declaration of Independence 现代青年 modern youth 获得知识 obtain knowledge 来源很广 from many sources 亲自做调查 personal investigation 被任命为 be appointed to

47. 调查 to find out 州议会大厦 the state capitol 研究文件 study papers 有关这一问题 on the subject 做现场调查 make on-the-spot investigations 向…..学习 learn from 论出身 by birth 论所受的教育 by education 属于 belong to 社会阶层 social class

48. 出身卑微 of humble origin 发号施令 give an order 想尽办 go out of one’s way 烧饭锅 cooking pot 自己作判断 judge for oneself 接受别人的意见 accept other people’s opinions 不经认真考虑 without careful thought 判断真理和谬误 judge truth and error 一切真实和虚伪的东西 everything true and false 做出正确的判断 form a correct judgment

49. 完全信任 be safely trusted 毫不犹豫 not hesitate a moment 相互冲突的思想 conflicting ideas 力量的源泉 source of strength 绝对的一致 unquestioning agreement 保持活力 keep alive 批评的对象 the object of criticism 反驳 answer the critics 付诸行动 act on 表达观点 express one’s philosophy

50. 站在一面 take one side 坚决地 with decision 对某人的行动不满 resent one’s actions 被束缚于 be chained to 无用的习俗 customs which have lost their usefulness 活着的一代 the living generation 基于 be based on 同时代的人 men of one’s age 擅长 be an expert in… 农作物轮作 crop rotation 土壤保持 soil conservation