【优质课学习笔记】2025湖北初中英语好课堂课例人教版七年级下册Unit 7 Once upon a time. Section B Reading.

Unit 8 Once Upon a Time

Section B 1a-1d

今天学习的是2025湖北省初中英语好课堂张辉老师的一节课, 授课内容是人教版新教材七年级下册Unit 8 Once upon a time. Section B Reading阅读课。

Did you enjoy the soft music?Yes or no? Yes. I hope this kind of music can help you relax and just take it easy. So are you ready for today's class? Yes. Good. Class begins. Good morning, boys and girls. Good morning, Mr. John. Sit down, please. 

So today, as we can see, many excellent teachers come to our school to enjoy wonderful English lessons. Let’s welcome the teachers first. Dear teachers, welcome to Wuhan No.1 Middle School. That's so kind of you.

Activity 1 Review. 

OK. Now all the book lovers,are you ready for our English reading club meeting? Yes. Give me a big yes. Yes, yes. OK, good.(创设English Reading Club Meeting情境)

So do you remember what we read last time?

Yes, this boy. The Emperor's New Clothes. Yes, great memory. Thank you. So we read the Emperor's New Clothes.Who wrote the story?Andersen. Yes, and today we are going to read another story by him. (复习上一节课的皇帝新装，引出作者安徒生及今天要学的新课丑小鸭)

Activity 2 Look and Say.  

What are we going to read?

Together, you can say it aloud. The Ugly Duckling. Yes, you know the story very well.So ugly means not so…?Beautiful. Yes and we call a young duck…? Duckling. Which one is the ugly duckling?What do you think? OK, that boy. Which one? On your left or right? Oh, the one on your left, right? How does he look different from the other ducklings?You have sharp eyes. So he is bigger, right? And also the color is different. Yes, thank you. Sit down, please. So these ducklings are small and yellow. But that one is big and grey. Yes, so they are different in…?Size and color. Together, size, size, size. Very good. But is he ugly? Yes or no? Oh, you have different opinions. Maybe the story will give you the answer. (观察图片，初步认识角色)

Activity 3. Look and Predict.  

Now let's learn more about the characters.

Look at these pictures.What characters can you see?We can see a cat and a hen. Yes. Together, hen, hen. Yes. And in Picture B, we can see the ugly duckling and two…? Birds, maybe. Who is it in pictures C?A swan. Yes, together, swan, swan. What does the swan look like? A swan has a long…?Neck. Yes, and what do we call this?Some white…? Oh, we use the word for animals like cats and dogs, but for birds like swans, we use the word…? Feather. Yes, together, feather, feather. And pay attention to this letter group. OK? Read after me, /e/,/e/, feather, feather. Excellent! And in Picture D, we can see the…? Ugly duckling and three…? Oh, yellow ducklings. Yes, and also some…? Oh, maybe they are her children, yes? So she's the mother duck. 

What do you think happens in the story?Now number the pictures on your worksheet. Go. Finished? Right. So who wants to show your guess on the whiteboard?I have some pictures for you. Who wants to have a try. OK, what about? Yes, this boy. Yes, this boy. You can put this picture. Show your guess. Thank you. Go back to your seat. So this is his guess. Is it possible? Yes. Any different guesses? What about? Yes, that girl, you. Please come and show your guess. Thank you. Let’s take a look. And may I ask why you put this picture before that one?Oh, probably right. Thank you. Sit down, please. So this is her guess. We are not sure about the two guesses, right? So let's leave a question mark here. (通过观察给出的图片，让学生进行故事顺序的预排，两个学生预排结果不同，引导学生去阅读文章)

Activity 4. Read and Act.  

Now it's time for you to read the story very quickly and check if your guesses are right. And also answer this question. Is the ugly duckling a real duck or any other animal? Together, real, real. Yes. So now, read it quickly. Go.

Who can put this pictures in the right order?Who wants to have a try? OK, maybe this girl. Can you help us put these pictures in the right order? Thank you. Please go back to your seat. OK, is it the right order? Yes or no? Yes. OK. So now we get the storyline. (阅读文章梳理文本故事线)

And who can answer this question? Is he a real duck?Yes. What about this boy? So, who is he? Oh, he's a beautiful swan. You are right. And where did you find the answer?In the last paragraph. Can you read the sentence?The duckling looked down, and to his surprise, he saw that he was a beautiful white swan too! I love your reading. You read clearly. Thank you. Please sit down. So what's the meaning “to his surprise”?How did the ugly duckling feel?Yes, the girl. He felt surprised. You are right. Sit down, please. So together, to one's surprise, to one’s surprise. At that time he felt very surprised.     

OK. And how did he find out he was a beautiful wise swan? Now let's read the story carefully and answer the two questions.

(1) What did the ugly duckling search for? Why?

(2) Were the swans friendly to the ugly duckling?

Clear? Yes. Go.

Finished? Right. Who can answer the first question? What did he search for? Why? Yes, the boy. Yes, he searched for a new home. Why? Yes, you are right. Thank you. So the other ducklings laughed at him. Together, laugh at, laugh at. And told him to…? Can you read it? Yes, go away. Together, go away, go away. So he decided to…? Search for a new home. Yes.So what's the meaning of “search for”?Can you give us a similar phrase?Do you know? Yes, maybe this boy. To look for something. Yes, you are right and maybe you are pretty close, right? Can you add an adverb? Look for something very…?Oh, carefully. I like that word. Thank you. So search for is to…? Together, look for something very carefully. You learned so fast. 

So how did the other ducklings laugh at him?How? What did they say?The boy. Yes. “He doesn’t look like us! What an ugly duckling!” So were they friendly to the ugly duckling?No. 

So try to read it in an unfriendly tone. Maybe the listening recording can help you. Let's listen. “He doesn't look like us! What an ugly duckling!” You have a try. Yes.

And we have five ducklings here, right? So who wants to read? OK, maybe the boys. One, two , three, four, five. Can you read it together in an unfriendly tone? Three, two, one, go. “He doesn't look like us! What an ugly duckling!”( One boy made a sound of a duckling.)

What happened?OK. So you read with feeling. Thank you. Sit down. You really read it with feeling. And this boy, yes. So you just made the sound of a duckling, right? OK. So if you were the ugly duckling, how would you feel? I will feel sad. Oh, you will feel sad. Let me write down your feeling here. Sad. OK. Thank you. Sit down, please. You are so cute. 

OK and after that,who did the ugly duckling meet?Together, many other…? Birds. Right. And did they like him? No, because they thought he was very….? Ugly too. 

And one day he met….?The cat and hen. Yes, and he said…? Can you read it together? May I….? Go. May I stay with you? He asked…? Hopefully. A new word. Together, hopefully, hopefully. So how did he feel?OK, yes, that girl. Yes, he felt hopeful. You are right. Thank you. Excellent! Let me write it down. Hopeful. He felt very hopeful at first. But did they like him? Yes or no? No. Why? Why didn't the cat or the hen like him? Who knows the reason? Yes, that boy. Speak to the microphone, please. Pay attention to the past tense. So they didn't like him because he…? Oh, couldn't. Yes. Thank you. Wonderful. He couldn't per or lay eggs. Together, lay, lay, lay eggs. And another new word? Do you know how to read it? Purr. Yes. Let's read together, pur, pur. Good. OK. So who can purr? The cat can purr, right? Listen to this. Did you hear that sound? Yes, it's a special skill of a cat. Yes. So they didn't like him because he could not pur or lay eggs. So how did he feel? First, he felt hopeful, but now how did he feel? What about? Yes, this boy. Oh, he felt disappointed. Oh, he felt disappointed. A really good word. Can you spell it? Very good. Thank you. You help us learn a new word, right? Let's try to read it together, disappointed, disappointed.

And in the end,he met some beautiful…?White swans. Yes. Were they friendly to the ugly duckling?Yes, I want to ask students here, the girl, please. Oh, they were friendly. Why do you think so? My friend, you do look like us! Look in the water. You just read the line of the one here, right? Thank you. Sit down, please. Very good. 

“My friend, you do look like us! Look in the water.” This one said in a friendly way.Who wants to read this sentence in a friendly tone? What about this girl? Can you read it? Have a try. “ My friend, you do look like us! Look in the water.” Wow, I love your pronunciation. What a friendly tone! Thank you. Big hands for her. Yes. OK. 

So can you read it together? Have a try, use a friendly tone. Together. “ My friend, you do look like us! Look in the water.”

Yes, let's listen to the recording. “ My friend, you do look like us! Look in the water.” I think you read even better than the speaker in the recording. Be confident, right? Good.(引导学生精读获取情感线，对体现重要情感冲突能够反映故事人物性格的句子进行赏析，并跟读模仿，让学生体现文字背后的意义)

So let’s take a look at the ugly duckling’s feelings. So he was first…? Sad. And then? Hopeful. Then? Disappointed. And finally? Surprised. Yes.(梳理出清晰的情感线）

So before he found his true self, he went through a lot right. OK.

Activity 5. Read and Share.

And I have some good news for you. Today in our reading club meeting, with the help of AI, we invite a special guest. Do you want to meet him? Yes. Let’s take a look.

Hi, I'm Christian Andersen. I'm from Denmark. I was born in a poor family. When I was young, many people looked down upon me. But with my talent and hard work, I finally became a world-famous writer. I hope you can enjoy my story. 

Thank Mr. Anderson and for his sharing.(AI复活安徒生，开启跨越时空的对话）

OK, so let's enjoy the story by reading in groups.

We have one, two, three, four groups in our class. And in each group there is a word master, a character detective, two sing explorers and also two connection builders. So who do you want to be? You can choose one from the task cards on your desk.

Which one are you interested in? OK, good. So now pay attention here. You have three minutes for you to read and complete your task cards. Clear? Yes.

All right, time is up. Boys and girls. I'm so glad to see all of you work hard on your task cards. So let me ask some students. Maybe this girl,so can you tell me who are you? You are the…?Oh, word master. Thank you. So which word do you like?I love the phrase, to my surprise. A very good phrase, to one's surprise. But do you want to share it with other word masters?Yes. And do you want to learn more useful words and phrases from them?Yes. OK. Good. Maybe you can discuss it with other word masters later. And how about? Yes, I see this girl. You are not sure about something. So what's your problem? Can you tell us? I don't know how to give advice to the ugly duckling. You are not sure about your advice for the ugly duckling. So do you want to get help from other theme explorers?Yes. So you can ask for their help, right? Thank you. So now, you can change your seats like this. Take a look. So here, the word master group,  the character detective group, the theme explorer group and the connection builder group. Now go. Change your seats. Finished? Right? OK, take a look here. 

So now you are in new groups. You can read and discuss. After your discussions, you can choose one student to share in front of all the club members. And after your sharing, you are going to give stars to the other groups according to this peer evaluation form. And you can give stars on this pad like this. Clear? Yes, and you can also see this form on your worksheet here. And now I'll give you three minutes to discuss and don't forget to choose one student to share, understand?

Here is a special task for you. You need to write down the good qualities of the characters in the story. For example, friendly, polite, words like this, understand? OK, do you have a pen? Now, go. A special task for your group. You need to write down three key sentences from your advice to the characters. Write down three key sentences. Do you need any help? Talk with others. Yes, share your words and phrases. And who likes to share? You. OK. Good luck to you! So are you ready to share? Maybe practice more. OK. What do you want to say to the hen and the cat? Yes, you are right. How to write down this word, judge? Yes. And who is going to share in your group? Oh you. OK. What about your group? Are you ready to share? Who is going to share? This boy, OK. Pay attention to the time. Thirty seconds. You can bring this card, right? OK. Practice. Very good handwriting. I like your handwriting. So clear, this girl, good for you!

Now time is up. So I'm very impressed that all of you take an active part in your group discussions. Good for you! So let's welcome the four students to share in front of the club members. Big hands. Who is the first one? Please stand next to me. Oh yes, you can stand here. The girl. Yes. You are the word master, right? So maybe you can use these words to help you.

Word Master 1:S1 likes the phrase “once upon a time”. Because it means long time ago. And S2 likes the word hopefully. Because it showed that the ugly duckling didn't give up. There was always hope. And S3 likes the word…because…. That’s all. Thank you for your listening.

Thank you as well for sharing these good words and phrases! And you mentioned a phrase once upon a time? Yes. Can you spell it? You can write it down on the whiteboard. Very good handwriting. Thank you. So, as you can see this phrase is very useful when you…? Oh, tell stories. Yes. And let's welcome the second one. Yes, can you share in front of others? 

Character Detective 1:Hello everyone. I think in this story different characters have different personalities. We think the main character, the ugly duckling, he was strong-minded and brave. Because he decided to find a new home. On the way of searching a new home, he met different animals. The other birds and cats were unfriendly. They refused the ugly duckling only because he had an ugly appearance and he couldn't purr or lay eggs. The swans were friendly. They appreciate the ugly duckling. Thank you for listening.

Very good. So the character detective, right? He describes the characters very well and also explain his reasons. Now what about the theme explorer? Let’s listen to him.

Theme Explorer:After reading, we would like to give the characters some advice. Firstly, for the ugly duckling, we want to say that we should be confident at any time and find suitable solutions to difficulties. Then for the five ducklings, we want to say that we should respect other’s differences and be friendly to others. After that, for the 2 birds, we want to say that judging a person by its inner beauty is more important because we should not judge a book by its cover. Finally, for the cats and hens, we ant to say we should be good at seeing others’ talent and be friendly to others. Thank you for your listening.

Well, thank you for sharing as well. The theme explorer shared what he had learned from the story and also gave very useful advice to the characters. And don't forget to give stars to the three groups, OK? And let’s welcome the last one, the connection builder.

Connection Builder:Hi, everyone. I’m the connection builder. And after our discussion, we connect the story with providers. S1 thinks that the story is similar to the writer's life. The writer had experienced lots of difficulties just as the ugly duckling. And S2 connects the story with our own life. We should try hard before we find our beauty. I think if I meet the ugly duckling, I shoud say that we should always be hopeful. Thank you for your listening.(学生先组内分角色，然后再同一角色的同学重新组合，最后让每组一位代表上台分享。这是学生发现理解并内话表达的创新实践活动，做到了“学为中心”）

Thank you for your sharing. First of all, I love your pronunciation. Secondly, I think you make the writer’s idea very clear. And also, you connect the story with your own life. Thank you. And thank you again for your sharing. Please go back to your seats. 

Now, how many stars do you want to give to the other girls now?

Show me your stars. Yes. OK, let me take a look. The girl. Yes. So let me ask you. Why do you give three stars to this group, the character detective group? Because I think they help me to better understand the story. I like the way he describes the characters. Oh, yes, you really like the way that he described the ugly duckling , strong- minded, right? Thank you for your encouragement. And what about this girl? I see that you give two stars to this group, right? So why do you give two stars to this group? Next time, maybe he can speak more loudly and clearly. Thank you. So the boy, so what do you want to say to her? She gave you some advice and she cheered you up, right? So maybe you can say…? Thank you for your suggestion. Yes. And also thanks for cheering me up, right? Yes. OK, please say again to the girl. Thank you for cheering me up. Thank you and what do you want to say to the boy he said thank you to you. You're welcome, right? Yes, you're welcome. OK good, thank you. It's very important to be polite, right? And just like the Chinese saying goes, do you remember?良言一句三冬暖,恶语伤人六月寒. Keep that in mind. (学科融合，育人价值落地）

Activity 6 Think and Explore.

And now do you remember at the end of the story, the ugly duckling saw that he was a beautiful wise swan. But was he beautiful only because he was a swan, yes or no?

No. Was there anything else beautiful about him? Of course yes. So you say of course, right? So he was beautiful because…? Brave. Oh, he was very brave. What else?

The girl. Oh, he was strong-minded. We just learned that word. Thank you. What about you? Friendly. Good. And the girl? Kind. Another good word. Do you have something to share? And polite. So many good words. Yes. So that makes the ugly duckling beautiful.

So what is “True Beauty” about?

The character detective has something to share with us. Let's welcome. Yes, please put this on the whiteboard. Thank you. Oh, put it down and share it. OK, I stand here, please. I think it’s about brave, strong-minded, polite, kind and friendly. Do you think so? Yes, thank you. Go back to your seat. Big hands for her. And also the theme explorer has something to share. Let's welcome. The boy. Yes. Also put this on the whiteboard. According to our discussion, we think we should respect other’s difference. Listen to the teacher, they all love your voice. Big hands for the boy. You have a very beautiful voice.

OK. So I agree with all your ideas and I think if we keep friendship in our hearts, then the world will be in harmony. Yes, that makes the true beauty. Thank you as well for cheering me up, right? OK. And if everyone is beautiful, the ugly duckling can feel at home anywhere. Understand? Yes, so this is what we hope.(灵魂拷问，育人价值再次体现；同时板书设计上的创新--将汉字美与主题意义探究相融合，学生们“哇塞”的惊叹是对这节课的最佳褒奖，不愧是一节既有温度又有育人情怀的课）

And how time flies! So much for today's lesson. Did you have a good time? Of course. Me, too. And are you looking forward to our next meeting? Sure.

Activity 7 Homework.

So to get ready for our next meeting, you must complete this form and also retell the story and share what you have learned from it. And don't forget to make a reading report like this. And the most importantly, make a Beautiful Me Award for yourself and some Beautiful You Awards for people you admire and remember to give the words to them in person.

So that's all for today. It’s hard to say goodbye, but class is over. Goodbye, boys and girls. Goodbye. See you next time and let's turn around and say thank you to the teachers. Thank you, teachers, three, two, one, go. Thank you, teachers. OK, let's take a break.