Slide 1: Racing forward (S2-P2)  厦门思明教师进修学校 何闽娥
Slide 2: Curriculum Focus Political awareness Approaching current affairs Learning strategy Identifying the main idea of a paragraph
Slide 3: Background information How much do you know about the American presidency When US citizens go to the polls to "elect" a president, they are in fact voting for a particular slate of electors. In every state but Maine and Nebraska( 内布 拉斯加 ), the candidate who wins the most votes in the state receives all of the state’s electoral votes.
Slide 4: The number of electors in each state is the sum of its U.S. senators and its U.S. representatives. (eg.The District of Columbia has three electoral votes, which is the number of senators and representatives it would have if it were permitted representation in Congress.) The electors meet in their respective states 41 days after the popular election. There, they cast a ballot （投票） for president and a second for vice president. A candidate must receive a majority of electoral votes to be elected president.
Slide 5: Information about Barack Obama Barack Obama was born on August 4th, 1961, in Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. and Ann Dunham. Obama graduated from Columbia University in 1983, and moved to Chicago in 1985 to work for a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment. In 1991, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. He has worked as a community organizer, civil rights lawyer and law professor. Since 1997, he has represented parts of Chicago’s South Side in the Illinois General Assembly. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Malia and Sasha.
Slide 6: In 1995, Obama published an autobiography, Dreams From My Father:A Story of Race and Inheritance. And he won a Grammy for the audio version of the book. His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006.
Slide 7: Pre reading Who are they? Why are they put together?
Slide 8: Skimming Tips: The main idea of a paragraph is the author's message about the topic. It is often expressed directly or it can be implied. It is easy to identify a main idea that is directly expressed in the text. 1. Main ideas are often found at the beginning of paragraphs. The first sentence often explains the subject being discussed in the passage. 2. Main ideas are also found in the concluding sentences of a paragraph. The main idea can be expressed as a summation of the information in the paragraph as well as a link to the information in the next paragraph.
Slide 9: Read it fast and try to find the main idea of each paragraph. Para 1-2 Para 3 Para 4 Para 5-7 Para 8-10 Barack Obama is the strongest AfricanAmerican candidate to run for US Presidency. Introduce his family ， his early life and the early situation of his campaign. The situation of his running at the beginning A lot has changed and why more and more people support Obama. Obama won nearly 90 percent of the African-American voters in
Slide 10: Scanning Please match the pictures with explanations A 1. Obama was born to an D ________ father. 2. He was raised in _______ and C __________. 3. His mother came from a small B town in __________. 4. On Tuesday night he won the primary in the state of A _________, which has the most registered black voters in the US. C B D
Slide 11: Scanning Scan the text and find the numbers, and its purpose Time Numbers Purposes At the beginning Now On Tuesday night Four out of five black Democrats viewed Clinton favorably Obama has won 29 states to her 17 Obama won the primary in Mississippi, which has nearly 90 % of the registered black voters His disadvantageous position His advantageous position
Slide 12: Scan the text and complete the box below. people A CNN political analyst quote “African-American Democrats used to be reluctant to support Obama because they didn’t think a black man could be elected,” “But now they believe.” “It inspired me, and it’s been a while since I’ve been inspired politically.” Meaning People didn't believe Obama could be elected because of his race. A truck driver His character appeals to everyone regardless of race.