young plants

seedlings

sprout vi/vt.soil

blossom vi.

What are farmers busy doing?

ploughingplough

sowing

fertilizing/ fertilising

weeding

fertilize

harvesting

The life of farmer: a lot of work to do: ploughing, sowing, weeding, harvesting, fertilizing

busy.

Little Seedsby Else Holmelund Minarik

Little seeds we sow in springgrowing while the robins(a kind of bird) sing,

give us carrots, peas and beans,tomatoes, pumpkins, squash and greens.

And we pick them,one and all,

through the summer,through the fall,

Winter comes, then spring, and thenlittle seeds we sow again.

As a man sows, so he shall reap.

种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆。

No root, no fruit.

无根就无果。

A single flower does not make a spring.

一花独放不是春，百花齐放春满园。

A snow year, a rich year.

瑞雪兆丰年

Red sky at nightShepherds’ delight.Red sky in the morningShepherds’ warning.

This means that if the sky is red in the evening, the weather will be fine the next day, but if it is red in the early morning, the weather may turn bad.

Agricultural scientist

Read the passage quickly and find the main idea of each paragraph.

Para.1

Para.2

Para.3

About Jia Sixie

About Qimin Yaoshu

About his advice

Skimming:

How much do you know about Jia Sixie?

1. Where was Jia Sixie born and when did he live?

Yidu, Shandong Province in the sixth century AD

2.How did he spend his time?spend one’s time (in) doing research into…….He collected information, studied it, did experiments andlearnt from the experience from farmers.

3.Which book did he write ?The book he wrote is called …

A quick look about Qimin Yaoshu

It is about both _______ and __________.

It ________ advice on the following subjects:

farming

gardening

includes

growing green vegetableskeeping cows, sheep keeping fishes in lakes how to make wineIt is of great ________ value

It is a ______ _______ to farming. practical guide

3. About Jia Sixie’s adviceDo things at the right time of the year.

Clean ground before sowing or planting crops and remove weeds.

Plough the soil autumn ploughing spring ploughing

Change the crops in the field.

Plant wheat close together.

Grow plants next to each other in the same field.

Improve the soil if not good.

Other scientists said that wheat should be plantedwith space between the plants, but Jia did experimentsand showed that planting wheat close together is better.

planting wheat close together

What can we learn from the sentence?

Jia’s advice on wheat planting

a farmer

a scientist

a farming pioneer

Summary1. Do things at the right time of the year.2. Let sheep or cows walk on the land.3. Plough deeply the first time and less

deeply the second time.4. Change the crops in your fields.5. Grow different crops next to each

other in the same field.

Farming Calendar

AprilMarch

May--September October

November

March

• It is in March that we should remove the weed. Plough the land for the second time. The ploughing has to be done less deeply. Then we clean the rough ground.

April

• It’s in April that we should sow seeds. We should remember to grow different plants next to each other.

From May to September

• It is in this time that we should water the plants. Put fertilizer on the soil and remove weeds regularly.

October

• It is in this time that we should harvest them.

November

• It is in November when we have to plough the land for the first time. The ploughing has to be done deep.

You’ve just received a letter from your best friend Mary. Right now she’s planning to grow a vegetable garden but she has no idea so she is asking for your help. Write her a letter and make decisions on the following:

1.What she should grow and why2.How she can grow it3.What to do at different time of the year

SEFC Unit 24 Science of farming Lesson94 A Farming Pioneer

Step 1 Lead-in1) It’s spring now. Farmers are very busy. What are they busy doing?2) Is farming very important in China? China is a country of agriculture. Actually it is one of the first few countries in the world to study the science of farming. What are the others?3) But before people started farming, the living conditions were very bad. As we know, everyone needs something to eat. What did they live on?4) As time went on, they developed farming. How did they make a living then?

5) It was really a great step in agriculture. Do you think what they planted was always enough to feed themselves? How to solve the problem of hunger? collect wild fruits plant crops increase the production catch wild animals keep animals do research into agriculture

(6) In Chinese history, there occurred some persons who spent time on agriculture and did something of great importance to China. Can you name some of them and introduce them?

Step2 BrainstormingWhat have you already known about Jia Sixie?

Step3 Predicting Which (of the following) do you think will be mentioned in the passage?

Step4 ScanningRead the title and the first sentence of each paragraph to find out what is the main idea of each paragraph.

Step5 Careful readingP1 China was one of the first countries in the world to study the science of farming. How earlier may China begin to study the science of farming than some other countries in the world? Are you proud of that? Why (not)?

P2 a great farmer in Chinese history Was he born in a rich family? Why do you think he spent his time on research into agriculture after his retirement from the government?

P3 ways of keeping seeds Do we use the same way as Jia Sixie advised to keep seeds nowadays? Any differences?

P4 how to improve soil conditions Any other ways can you think of to add to improve the soil conditions?

P5 The book Jia Sixie wrote is called Qi Ming Yao Shu. Why is the book called Qi Min Yao Shu? How long did he spend on the book? Do you think it is a long time?

P6 The book was considered to be an important summary of the knowledge of farming. Is the book still of any use today? Why (not)?

Step6 Further Thinking1 What would you rather call Jia Sixie? a farmer, an official, a researcher, an agriculturist, a writer or a pioneer?2 What kind of characters does he have?3 We know now agriculture has developed from primitive farming to modern agriculture. Can you imagine what farming will be like in the future?

Farmers’ proverbs & sayingsThe wisdom of farmers about the weather and farming is collected in many popular proverbs and passed on from generation to generation. The following proverbs tell you sth about the weather in England. Are they true for China?

1 No weather is ill, if the wind be still.2 Yellow sky at sunset, wind in the morrow.3 Rain before seven, clear by eleven.4 April showers bring May flowers.5 Deeds are fruits, words are but leaves.6 The best ground bears weeds as well as flowers.

Read and answer:

1. What advice did Qiminyaoshu include? 2. What should you firstly do as a farmer? 3. What must be done before sowing or planting crops? 4. Why did Jia Sixie let sheep or cows walk on the land? 5. What should we do if we want to reach the best harvest? 6. Should wheat planted close together or with space?

Jia’s Advice

On time of farming

at the correct time… 

On soil

On ploughing

On changing crops

On different plants in the same field

grow different plants next to each other

Don’t plant the same crop year after year…..

examine the soil…carefully

condition…not good, …improve…

before sowing or planting crops…

clean .. remove the weeds

sheep or cows

be ploughed

plough deep…plough less deep

autumn…deeper than the spring ploughing