Lesson 2 Maheegun My Brother

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Lesson 2Maheegun My Brother
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Teaching points

• 1 Introduction to the Text
• 2 Text Appreciation
• 3 Vocabulary Focus
• Compound words Noun Adjective
• 4 Grammar Focus
• (1) The grammatical function of to-infinitives
• (2) The model have done structure
• Task-teaching method

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I. Pre-Task

• 1. Introduction to the Text
• (1) Background information of WOLF
• Many of the prevailing stories depict wolves
  in a negative way--such as in Aesop's Fables.
• In fiction, the wolf is sometimes represented
  as an evil, conniving carnivore which preys on
  small children and livestock. While wolves do
  sometimes prey on livestock, they are responsible
  for a very small percentage of the livestock
  deaths in North America. Attacks by healthy wild
  wolves on humans are almost unheard of, and there
  has never been a fatal attack on a human by a
  healthy wild wolf in North America. Those attacks
  that do take place might involve an unhealthy
  wolf, or a human who is somehow inciting the wolf
  to action or impinging upon the wolf's territory.

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• Other cultures have better views of the
  wolf. In Roman mythology, the god Mars considered
  the wolf a sacred animal, and the founders of
  Rome were raised by a wolf. Native Americans also
  hold the wolf in high regard and believe that
  wolves carry characteristics that humans should
  also find important, such as strong family
  structure and teaching the young.  Eastern
  Europeans often viewed wolves as protectors of
  the harvest.  
• There seems to be very little in the way of a
  'middle ground' about wolves.  They will probably
  always be both revered and hated.  However, As
  time passes and education efforts continue, these
  perceptions seem to be changing to a more
  realistic view of the wolf as a vital part of a
  balanced ecosystem.

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• Wolf Phrases
• cry wolf
  ?????,????
• a lone wolf ??????
• wolf in sheep's clothing ??????
• have/hold a wolf by the ears ????,????
• have a wolf in the stomach ????
• keep the wolf from the door ????,????
• see a wolf
  ?????,????
• ugly enough to tree a wolf ????,??????
• wake a sleeping wolf ????
• set the wolf to keep the sheep ????

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• (2) Language and Style
• a. Inversion         
• Gone was the puppy-wool coat.
• In its place was a handsome black mantle.
• In sailed Mrs. Yesno, wild anger, who demanded
• On the top was the clear outline of a great wolf
  sitting still.
• There, about 50 feet away, crouched my two
  attackers
• There stood a giant black wolf.
• b. Simile metaphor
• We hunted the grasshoppers that leaped about like
  little rockets.
• For the next two years I was as busy as a
  squirrel storing nuts for the winter.
• Gone was the puppy-wool coat. In its place was a
  handsome black mantle.

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• c. Action expressions
• The writer is successful in his description of
  natural scenes, the snowstorm, for example, and
  the wolf his appearance, action and mood. The
  text is rich in verbs, phrases and idioms
  denoting action. Here are some describing
  Maheeguns actions upset, scatter, poke his head
  around the corner, lay his head between his front
  paws, turning his head this way and that, lick at
  the dried blood.

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• 2. Warm-up questions
• (1) How do you think Maheegun came to be
  abandoned?
• (2) Describe the looks of the wolf and his
  character. Do you think him lovable?
• (3) How did the boy in the story get lost in a
  snow storm?
• (4) How did Maheegun come to his rescue?

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II. Task- cycle

• 1. Theme
• As the title suggests, the story depicts the
  ideal relationship between humans and wild
  animals-they are fellow creatures on earth, and
  therefore should treat each other like brothers.

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• 2. Structure
• Part 1 (Paras.1-3)
• Introduction of the story
• Part 2 (Paras.4-17)
• Describe the happy days the boy and Maheegun had
  together in the short period of less than a year,
  and how Maheegun returned to the wild where he
  belonged.
• Part 3 (Paras.18-40)
• The reunion of the two when the boys life was
  endangered by two hungry wolves.
• Part 4 (Paras.41-44)
• Conclusion. The brothers returned to the place
  where they each belonged-the boy to his warm home
  and his loves ones, the wolf to his king in the
  wild.

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• 3. Language points
• (1) Pick (cotton, tomatoes, apples, strawberries,
  etc.) to take flowers, fruit, etc. from the
  plant or the tree where they are growing
• CF pick up
• to lift, take up by hand, e.g.
• Would you pick up the book from the floor?
• He picked up the phone and dialed the number of
  the police station.
• to allow sb. to get into your car and take them
  somewhere, e.g.
• Many people no longer pick up hitchhikers.
• to return to an earlier subject or situation in
  order to continue it, e.g.
• Lets pick up the conversation after lunch.
• (2) full (informal)well fed, often to the point
  of discomfort, e.g.
• -Would you like any more of the fish?
• -No, thanks. Im full.
• Never exercise on a full stomach.

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• (3) not that although it is not true that, e.g.
• She loved music but seldom went to concerts-not
  that she couldnt afford to.
• (4) wait for sth. to happen/sb. to do sth. , e.g.
• We were waiting anxiously for Mr. Miller to
  announce the winners.
• The film crew waited for three hours for the sun
  to come up.
• (5) take sb. /sth. to to make sb. /sth. go from
  one level, or situation to another, e.g.
• His job as a UN official took him to over sixty
  countries.
• Her excellent performance soon took her to the
  top management of the firm.
• (6) serve (only) to do sth. to have a
  particular effect or result, e.g.
• His appearance on the scene served only to worsen
  the situation.
• The blanket could serve to keep the rain out for
  a while.

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• (7) fog (figurative) to confuse or hide, e.g.
• He said it was all because the alcohol had fogged
  his brain. (cause him not to think clearly)
• The chairmans speech served only to fog the
  issue. (made it less clear)
• (8) Leave n. v.-ed/adj./prep. Phrase, etc.
  to cause to be or to remain in a particular state
  or position, e.g.
• He leaves the window open when the weather is
  fine.
• The flood left hundreds of people homeless.
• She hates to leave the house in a mess.
• (9) sail (of people) to move in a confident
  manner
• (10) wild with sth. showing strong uncontrolled
  feelings because of
• (11) demand (that) sth. be done/sb. do sth. to
  ask for firmly and not be willing to accept a
  refusal, e.g.
• The police demanded that the gangsters lay down
  their guns.
• The demonstrators demanded that all the facts be
  made public.

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• (12) with his nose to the sky he raised his head
  in such a way that his nose pointed toward the
  sky
• (13) turning his head this way and that moving
  his head in different directions
• (14) as if to check the wind as if he was trying
  to find out which direction the wind was blowing.
• (15) start an act of moving your body quickly
  and suddenly because you are surprised, afraid,
  etc.
• (16) flood (v.) to fill or enter a place in
  larger numbers or amounts, e.g.
• Most of the morning his study is flooded with
  sunlight.
• The waiting shoppers flooded in as soon as the
  store opened.
• (17) thrill to sth. (formal) to feel excited at
  sth.
• The young audience thrilled to the song and
  started humming.
• (18) (all) for the best best for the long run
  although sth. appears bad or unpleasant, e.g.
• They had to sell their car, but since they are
  both without a job, its probably for the best.
• His parents didnt want him to work in London,
  but they knew it was perhaps for the best.

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• (19) (all) on ones own without help, by ones
  own efforts or resources alone, without anyone
  else, responsible for oneself, e.g.
• That Christmas dawn he was fifteen, Robert got
  all the milking done on his own.
• Much of college success depends on whether you
  can study on you own.
• (20) slip (into/out of) to put on or take off
  (a garment, etc.) quickly
• (21) a blanket of sth. a thick layer or
  covering of sth. ,e.g.
• A blanket of snow/fog/cloud/mist
• (22) Only too very, e.g.
• We know only too well that its a touch-and-go
  business.
• Turn to him whenever you need help. He would be
  only too pleased.
• (23) only to do sth. (written) used to mention
  sth. that happens immediately afterwards, esp.
  sth. that causes surprise, disappointment, etc.
  ,e.g.
• Ausable returned home only to find Max, his
  enemy, standing halfway across his room.

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• (24) hit (informal) arrive at, reach, e.g.
• They decided to have a break after hitting a
  difficult point.
• The yen hit an all-time low ( reached its lowest
  point ever) on the money market yesterday.
• (25) be (/get) lost to be unable to find your
  way, not knowing where you are, e.g.
• Dont panic when you are lost in the forest.
• Its easy for a new arrival to get lost in a big
  city like Beijing.
• (26) blow itself out (of a storm) to lose force
  or cease entirely, e.g.
• The weather forecast says that the storm will
  soon blow itself out and move out to sea.
• (27) see (written) to be the time when/the place
  where an event happens to witness, e.g.
• September 21, 2001 saw the 60th anniversary of
  the university.
• The house saw many important meetings in the
  countrys history.

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• (28) take over to gain control
• (29) freeze to stop moving because of fear, etc.
  , e.g.
• The children frozen at the frightening moan.
• (30) food cry (here) the wolfs howl that called
  his kind to come for food
• (31) take its/their/a heavy toll on sb./sth. to
  have a bad effect on sb./sth., e.g.
• Years of hard work and anxiety have taken their
  toll on his health.
• His liver trouble has take a heavy toll on him.
• The destruction of the World Trade Center in New
  York is taking its toll on US airlines.
• (32) fanned it into life caused it to burn again
  by waving sth. like a fan, a piece of wood or
  ones hands

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• 4. Teaching activities
• Paraphrase
• (1) Little Maheegun gained strength after I got
  the first few drops of warm milk in him.
• This means that the baby wolf was very small and
  could not eat or drink or suck from a dish, so
  the boy had to feed him by getting the milk into
  his mouth(probably with a spoon or an
  eyedropper).
• (2) Not that we didnt have our trouble.
• When I say the year I got Maheegun was the
  happiest (year) of my life, I dont mean that
  Maheegun never caused trouble.
• (3) Maheegun was the most mischievous wolf cub
  ever.
• Maheegun was the most mischievous wolf cub I had
  ever heard of.

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• (4) He was curious too. Like looking into
  Grandmas sewing basket-whick he upset,
  scattering thread and buttons all over the floor.
• He was curious, too. For example, he was eager to
  know what was in Grandmas sewing basket. He
  knocked it over, sending everything inside flying
  all over the floor.
• (5) Maheegun world poke his head around the
  corner, waiting for things to quiet down.
• (At such times) he would move away and stay
  somewhere out of Grandmas sight, and wait until
  her anger had died down.
• (6) We hunted the grasshoppers that leaped about
  like little rochets.
• Like little rockets a simile in which the
  grasshoppers are compared to little rockets
  because the way the former jump is just like
  little rockets shooting upward

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• (7) By then, Maheegun was half grown.
• At that time, Maheegun had not yet grown into an
  adult wolf but he was on the way to becoming one.
  (In half a year, Maheegun reached the stage of
  development that is equivalent to adolescence for
  humans.)
• (8) Gone was the puppy-wool coat. In its place
  was a handsome black mantle.
• His fur had changed. It used to be soft thick
  hear, and now it had turned into a beautiful
  black and was no longer woolly.
• Note the metaphor the writer uses in describing
  the change in Maheeguns fur. When he was a cub
  his fur was just like a puppy-wool coat when he
  was half grown, his fur became so beautiful that
  he looked as if he was wearing a black mantle.
• (9) They belonged only to Maheegun and myself.
• Only the two of us knew what we did together and
  how happy we were. No one else could share our
  happiness.

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• (10) It all served to fog my mind with pleasure
  so that I forgot my Grandpas repeated warning,
  and one night left Maheegun unchained.
• Although my Grandpa had told me to chain up
  Maheegun at night, I forgot to do so one night-I
  was so happy with him that my alertness
  slackened.
• (11) The following morning in sailed Mrs. Yesno,
  wild with anger, who demanded Maheegun be shot
  because he had killed her rooster.
• The next morning Mrs. Yesno came in. She was very
  angry, and told us to shoot Maheegun dead because
  he had killed her cock.
• Not the inverted sentence order in sailed Mrs.
  Yesno.
• (12) But something caused me to wake up with a
  start. I sat up, and in the moon flooded cabin
  was my grandfather standing beside me.
• I dont know why ,but I woke up with/because of a
  sudden uncontrolled movement of my body. I sat up
  and found the cabin bright with moonlight and my
  grandfather standing beside me.

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• (13) On the top was the clear outline of a great
  wolf sitting still, ears pointed, alert,
  listening.
• The clear figure of a big wolf was sitting
  without moving on the top of the rock. His ears
  were raised and he seemed to be listening to
  something.
• (14) The whole white world thrilled to that wild
  cry.
• Everything in the snow-covered wildness seemed to
  be aroused / stirred by the passionate cry of
  Maheegun.
• (15) Then after a while, from the distance came a
  softer call in reply. Maheegun stirred, with the
  deep rumble of pleasure in his throat. He slipped
  down the rock and headed out across the ice.
• After a while, a less passionate cry came from
  the distance answering Maheeguns call. Maheegun
  moved, he seemed please, for I heard a deep
  rolling sound of pleasure in his throat. Then he
  got down from the rock and moved away across the
  ice.

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• (16) He will take her for life, hunt for her,
  protect her. This is the way the Creator planted
  life. No man can change it.
• Cultural Note According to the first part of the
  Bible, known as Genesis, God created the world
  and everything in it in six days, and on the
  seventh day God rested. When God made human
  beings, he made a man called Adam out of earth,
  and then made a woman called Eve out of one of
  Adams ribs (one of the curved bones that
  surround your chest). God assigned different
  roles to Adam and Eve-the first man and woman,
  Adams role being to take care of Eve, provide
  for her and protect her, and also to guide her.
  God created living creatures in the same way.
• (17) I tried to tell myself it was all for the
  best, but it was hard to lose my brother.
• I tried to convince myself that it was the best
  thing to have happened in the long run, but it
  was hard to be without Maheegun, whom I now
  looked upon as my brother.

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• (18) For the next two years I was as busy as a
  squirrel storing nuts for the winter.
• As busy as a squirrel storing nuts for the
  winter a metaphor meaning that the boy was busy
  preparing himself for a future career
• (19) It was not long after that I found the
  answer.
• Soon I found that Maheegun still remembered me.
• (20) A mile down the road I slipped into my
  snowshoes and turned into the bush.
• After walking a mile along the road, I decided to
  cut through/take a shortcut through the wood. So
  I quickly put on my snowshoes, left the road and
  moved into the wood.

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• (21) By then the snow had made a blanket of white
  darkness, but I knew only too well there should
  have been no creek there.
• (Trying to locate the position of the tall pine
  tree on the north slope of Little Mountain,) I
  moved around to the right only to fall into a
  creek bed that was filled with snow.
• (22) By then the snow had made a blanket of white
  darkness, but I knew only too well there should
  have been no creek there.
• By that time, it was snowing heavily, and the
  sky/air was so thick with big snowflakes that I
  couldnt see through them, but I realized that I
  had taken the wrong direction, for there was no
  creek where I should be.
• (23) I tried to travel west but only to hit the
  creek again.
• I tried to move west but found myself having come
  back to the creek again.

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• (24) I knew I had gone in a great circle and I
  was lost.
• I realized that I had seen moving this way and
  that around the same area and that I had lost my
  way
• (25) There was only one thing to do. Camp for the
  night and home that by morning the storm would
  have blown itself out.
• I knew that it was dangerous to move on in the
  blinding snow, and that the only thing to do was
  to stay where I was and get some sleep during the
  night and home that I would find snowstorm was
  over the next morning.
• (27) I was in deep trouble.
• I was in a very dangerous situation. (I might be
  frozen to death here if I couldnt find my way.)
• (28) Everything had been smothered by the fierce
  whiteness.
• Everything had been heavily covered by thick
  snow, and its whiteness was frightening.

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• (29) The light of another day still saw no end to
  the storm. I began to get confused. I couldnt
  recall whether it had been storming for three or
  four days.
• When the first gray light of another day came,
  the storm was still raging on. I found myself
  unable to think clearly. I couldnt tell whether
  the snowstorm had continued into its third or
  fourth day.
• (30) A great white stillness had taken over and
  with it, biting cold.
• The storm had blown itself out. Now nothing in
  this white world moved. It was quiet and terribly
  cold. / What smothered this world of whiteness
  was stillness plus biting cold.
• (31) My supply of wood was almost gone. There
  must be more.
• I had little wood left. I needed more to keep
  warm in the biting cold.

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• (32) Slashing off green branches with my knife, I
  cut my hand and blood spurted freely from my
  wound.
• While cutting green branches with my knife, I cut
  my hand and blood started pouring out from the
  wound.
• (33) The howl seemed to freeze the world with
  fear.
• The long loud cry seemed to have struck terror
  into every living creature, and everything
  suddenly became still.
• (34) Suddenly the world exploded in snarls. I was
  thrown against the branches of the shelter.
• Suddenly with terrible snarls, the wolf began to
  attack. I was sent flying and landed against the
  shelter.

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• (35) Maybe it was relief or weakness or both-I
  dont know.
• I wasnt quite sure why I cried. Maybe I cried
  because I was now out of danger, or maybe because
  I was so weak that I wanted to let all my anxiety
  of the past few days pour out in tear.
• Cultural Note In the US (also, in the UK), women
  are allowed by society to cry, but men do not cry
  very much, except when someone has died. Most men
  do not feel comfortable crying at other times. A
  little boy who cries is sometimes called a
  crybaby. It is only when under great emotional
  strain that a big boy of 16, like the narrator
  then, cries in private.
• (36) The cold and loss of blood were taking their
  toll.
• As I had lost a lot of blood, and it was
  extremely cold, I was sick and weak.
• (37) The sun was midway across the sky when I
  noticed how restless Maheegun had become.
• When the sun was shining above, I noticed
  Maheegun had become very restless.

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• Discussion
• This article may revive your memory of the happy
  time that you stay with your beloved pet. Maybe
  he is a little dog, or a cat, or a rabbit, etc.
  Tell your story about your beloved pet.

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III Post-task

• Written work
• Answer the question in about 130 words.
• How did the boy in the story get lost in a
  snowstorm and how did Maheegun come to his
  rescue?
• Please cover these points
• 1. How the boy was trapped in a snowstorm
• 2. The dangerous situation he was in
• 3. How the wolf came to his rescue