师：Hello everyone, welcome to my class. Today, let's learn Unit 4, Information Technology. Lesson 1, avatars together. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: first, master related words, phrases and some sentence patterns about avatars; second, view avatars objectively and develop creativity; third, learn different views on avatars and use avatars online safely.
First, look at the screenshot of our class WeChat group. Describe your parents' avatars and explain why they chose them. There are many types of avatars, such as cute animal avatars, avatars in fancy clothes, and cartoon character avatars. You can use the phrases and sentence structures below to help you.
Next, let's make predictions. What would you like to learn from the article about avatars? Please write down your questions in the diagram. You can ask questions like: What is an Avatar? When did the first Avatar appear? Where do people use avatars? Why do people use avatars? Of course, you can add more questions.
And now, let's read the text for the first time. I hope you can read it as quickly as you can. While reading, please focus on the text type and the main idea of each paragraph. Now you can start.
Let's check the answers. What is the text type of the passage? Is it a narration, an argumentative essay, an expository writing, or a practical writing? Yes, it is an expository writing. An expository writing aims to provide information, explain, or give details about a certain topic.
Then let's match the titles with the paragraphs and check our predictions from the text. We know paragraph 1 is about the definition of avatars. Paragraph 2 is about the history of avatars. Paragraph 3 is about different occasions and different choices. Paragraph 4 is about the link between avatars and personalities. Paragraph 5 is about their wide use. And the last paragraph is about views on avatars.
Here we should note that if we combine paragraph 3, 4, and 5, we can get the purposes of using avatars. Then we can divide the text into four parts. Part 1 is paragraph 1, which is the definition of avatars. Part 2 is paragraph 2, about the history of avatars. Part 3 contains paragraph 3, 4, and 5, regarding the purposes of using avatars. And the last part is the last paragraph, about views on avatars.
Next, let's read the text again. This time, please read it carefully. While reading, focus on keywords, phrases, and sentence structures. After reading, please complete the table. You can stop here to finish your task.
Let's take the answers from the article. We know the definition of avatars: an avatar is a digital image that represents an internet user. Regarding its history, in the 1980s, the first simple 2D avatars appeared in role - playing computer games. And in the late 1990s, avatars were used in web chats like instant messenger. As for the purposes of using avatars, we know avatars can be used to express oneself. Avatars let you express yourself and give you lots of room for creativity. They can also be used to represent oneself. People experiment with things like different hairstyles, which perhaps says a lot about what they want to look like. And about views on avatars, we know there are negative views and positive views. Some users are becoming afraid of meeting people in the real world, while others view avatars more positively.
And then, to have a better understanding of the text, let's look at two more questions.
Question 1: What does the writer mean by "The avatar you choose says a lot about your personality"? Do you agree with the writer? Give examples to support your opinion. You can have a debate and voice your opinion bravely and freely. Here I have two examples of viewpoints. Let's listen to them.
The first one: I agree with the writer, because most people create avatars that have similar features to their personalities, look more or less like them, and act like them. Though some people's avatars are different from themselves, like having different hairstyles, those also perhaps say a lot about what they want to look like. Avatars allow people to express themselves and give them lots of room for creativity. That's why people can choose avatars that fit their interests the most. All in all, the avatar you choose says a lot about your personality.