Part Five Developing ideas—Reading for writing
Study of the Text
What:The text focuses on “The circle of goodwill”. It uses unit-opening visuals (disaster-rescue scenes, medical-help pictures) and a personal-experience story. It helps students to explore helping actions (doctors/nurses rescuing patients, people passing on help), and sets goals like using unit language to discuss help-related topics, predicting passage content, and writing a help-passing-on story.
How: The text applies a “visual+question+story” approach. Visuals (disaster rescue, medical help) spark observation and theme-related thinking; questions drive prediction and comprehension of helping behaviour; the personal-experience story illustrates the circle of goodwill. It structures learning from topic introduction (title, images) to concept exploration(reading, predicting, analysing) and skill practice (language use, story writing), blending methods for knowledge acquisition and practical language application.
Why: The goal is to help students grasp concepts of goodwill and helping-others inheritance. Through picture analysis, story reading, and follow-up tasks, it develops students’ ability to communicate help-related topics in English, master functional language for describing help actions, and understand the value of spreading goodwill, integrating language learning and social-empathy awareness.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, we will be able to:
1.activate prior knowledge of Wenchuan through a video and discussion, and master the skills of predicting a passage’s content using the title, pictures and given vocabulary.
2.accurately grasp the core content of the text by reading paragraphs and answering questions, master the skills of extracting key information and summarising with a chart, and deepen the awareness of passing on goodwill.
3.develop empathy and social responsibility by understanding and sharing real-life helping stories.
4.learn the key words and phrases, and use them in context correctly.
Teaching Process
Learning Objectives Teaching Activities Effectiveness Evaluation
1.To activate prior knowledge of Wenchuan through a video and discussion, and master the skills of predicting a passage’s content using the title, pictures and given vocabulary. Step 1: Lead-in Have students watch a video clip and discuss what happened to Wenchuan. Step 2: Pre-reading Ask students to predict the passage’s content by looking at its title, pictures, and given vocabulary. Check if students can clearly state what happened to Wenchuan based on the video and discussion. Evaluate if students can use the title, pictures and given vocabulary to put forward reasonable predictions about the passage’s content.
Purpose To activate students’ prior knowledge of Wenchuan via a video and discussion, and teach them to predict the passage’s content with the title, pictures and given vocabulary for smooth while-reading.
2.To accurately grasp the core content of the text by reading paragraphs and answering ques-tions, master the skills of extracting key information and summarising with a chart, and deepen the awareness of passing on goodwill. Step 3: While-reading 1.Ask students to read Paragraph 1 and answer questions about the writer’s experience in an earthquake. Q: What happened to the writer at school Q: How did people react Q: What does “jumped to my feet” mean Q: What did the writer see outside 2.Have students read Paragraph 2 and answer questions about rescuers’ work during the disaster. Q: How did the rescuers work Q: Why did people “race against time” Q: Why did the writer feel “deeply touched” 3.Ask students to read Paragraphs 3-4 and answer questions about the writer’s motiva-tion for helping others and Ye Man’s role. Q: Why did the writer immediately sign up to help at the hospital Q: How does the writer describe Ye Man’s role in her life Provide two roles mentioned in the text. Q: Why was the writer surprised to learn about Ye Man’s past What does this reveal about “the circle of goodwill” 4.Ask students to read the whole passage again and explain the concept of “a circle of goodwill” through the writer’s story. Q: What does “a circle of goodwill and kindness” mean in this passage Explain how the writer’s story demonstrates this idea. Q: How could you contribute to “the circle of goodwill” in your community 5.Have students fill in a chart with key words/expressions from the passage to summarise the story. Check students’ accuracy in answering questions about each paragraph and explaining “the circle of goodwill”, assess their ability to extract key information and complete the summary chart, and evaluate their awareness of participating in goodwill transmission through their responses to related questions.
Purpose To help students grasp the text’s core content (the writer’s experience, rescuers’ work, helping motivation, Ye Man’s role and “the circle of goodwill”) through paragraph-by-paragraph reading with targeted questions, master key information extraction and summary skills via chart-filling, and deepen their understanding of goodwill transmission.
3.To develop empathy and social responsibility by understanding and sharing real-life helping stories. Step 4: Post-reading 1.Ask students to answer comprehensive questions, analysing vocabulary and cause-effect relationships in the text. Q: Why did the writer decide to become a medical worker Q: What kind of person do you think she is Q: What do “jumped to my feet” and “raced against time” mean What Chinese expres-sions with similar meanings do you know 2.Help students organise ideas for a “help-passing-on” story by completing a pre-writing chart. 3.Have students write, check, and share a story about passing on help, following structured steps. Check if students can analyse the text deeper(vocabulary, character, cause-effect), organise creative writing ideas, and produce/share a structured “help-passing-on” story.
Purpose To integrate reading into writing, reinforce language skills, and encourage reflection on spreading goodwill.
4.To learn the key words and phrases, and use them in context correctly. Step 5: Language Points Explain key words and phrases like “reach out to sb” “race against time” “make up one’s mind to do” and “by no means” with examples to help students grasp these expressive language points. Verify if students grasp the explained language points by testing their use of “reach out to sb” “race against time” “make up one’s mind to do” and “by no means”.
Step 6: Exercise Ask students to finish sentence completion exercises, translation tasks, and reading tasks, and check answers to help them practise and master the usage of the explained expressive language points. Confirm if students practise and master the targeted language usage by checking the completion and accuracy of their vocabulary, translation, and reading tasks.
Purpose 1.To systematically explain the key words and phrases, enabling students to accurately use them in communication. 2.To reinforce students’ mastery of the expressive language points through various exercises and check their learning outcomes.
Homework Basic homework: Write a short paragraph (3-4 sentences) using two of the phrases from the text. Practical homework: Write a 3-sentence story about a time you received or offered help, using the language points from the text. Extended homework: Create a “Kindness Poster”.Draw 3 connected circles (past→present→future).
Teaching Reflection
Part Three Understanding ideas—Grammar
Study of the Text
What: The text focuses on “using modal verbs to talk about helping others”. It uses unit-opening grammar-related sentences(with modal verbs like can, may, must) and practical helping-others scenarios (e.g., carrying boxes, helping a lost person). It helps students to explore the usage of modal verbs in helping contexts, and sets goals like using these modal verbs to complete sentences, make dialogues, and discuss helping actions with partners.
How: The text adopts a “grammar+scenario+practice” approach: Grammar-related sentences spark observation and understanding of modal verb usage; pictures of real-life helping scenarios drive thinking about how to use these modal verbs in dialogues; pair-work discussion on helping actions (who needs help, why and how to help) provides skill practice. It structures learning from grammar introduction (sentences with modal verbs) to concept exploration (dialogue creation with pictures) and skill practice (pair-work discussion using useful expressions), blending different methods for grammar knowledge acquisition and practical language use.
Why: The goal is to help students grasp the usage of modal verbs (can, may, must) in the context of helping others. Through sentence analysis, picture-based dialogue creation, and pair-work discussion, it develops students’ ability to communicate helping-related topics in English and use appropriate modal verbs, and integrates language learning (grammar knowledge of modal verbs) and the awareness of helping others.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, we will be able to:
1.know the grammar rules for the usage of modal verbs “can, may, must” and relevant vocabulary, and distinguish and use modal verbs properly.
2.master the functions of modal verbs “can(ability), may(possibility) and must(necessity)” by analysing sentences to summarise rules, and practising with sentence completion and picture-based dialogues.
3.use modal verbs accurately in real-life scenarios, such as offering help, giving advice, or stating rules.
4.master the language points and modal verbs “can, may, must” correctly in real-life contexts.
Teaching Process
Learning Objectives Teaching Activities Effectiveness Evaluation
1.To know the grammar rules for the usage of modal verbs “can,may,must” and relevant vocabu-lary, and distinguish and use modal verbs properly. Step 1: Lead-in 1.Display pictures in different scenarios, and ask: “What can you see in the picture ” and “What should you do if you were there ”. Ask students to describe the content using “can, may, must”. 2.Ask students to speak out what they can do using correct modal verbs, and briefly explain the reasons. Observe the accuracy of students’ description of the pictures to judge the achievement of students’ observation ability and initial language expression ability.
Purpose Through the tasks of “describing pictures”, it naturally introduces the topic related to “helping” and build a situational bridge for the subsequent explanation of the modal verbs.
2.To master the functions of modal verbs “can(ability), may(possibility) and must(necessity)” by analysing sentences to summarise rules, and practising with sentence completion and picture-based dialogues. Step 2: Grammar Focus 1.Present some examples of the modal verbs from reading texts. 2.Ask students to analyse sentences and summarise the grammar rules of the modal verbs (can, may, must). 3.Ask students to finish sentences using “can, may or must” to practise the usage of the modal verbs. 4.Have students use the correct modal verbs to complete dialogues based on pictures. Check if students master the usage of the modal verbs(can, may, must) through speaking, rule-summa-rising, sentence-completing, and dialogue-making.
Purpose To build students’ grammar foundation by practising the modal verbs (can, may, must) in varied tasks (speaking, analysing, writing).
3.To use modal verbs accurately in real-life scenarios, such as offering help, giving advice, or stating rules. Step 3: Practice Organise students to discuss “helping others” in pairs, requiring them to use expressions of the unit to talk about who (who to help), why (why to help), and how(how to help), and then invite some pairs to share their discussions. Evaluate students’ mastery of the unit’s expressions and their ability to logically express ideas about helping others by checking the fluency, accuracy of expressions, and logicality of their pair discussions and sharing.
Purpose To enable students to flexibly apply the unit’s language points in oral communication, cultivate their logical thinking and collaborative skills, and deepen their understanding of the significance of helping others.
4.To master the language points and modal verbs “can, may, must” correctly in real-life contexts. Step 4: Language Points Explain vocabulary and sentence structures like “It+be+形容词+to do” and “have to+动词原形” with examples to help students grasp language points about feelings and necessity. Step 5: Exercise Ask students to finish exercises like sentence completion with “can, may, must”, translation tasks, and cloze tests, and check answers to help them practise and master the usage of the modal verbs. Verify if students grasp the explained language points by testing their use of “It+be+形容词+to do” and “have to+动词原形” structures. Confirm if students practise and master the usage of the modal verbs (can, may, must) by checking the completion and accuracy of their vocabulary and translation tasks.
Purpose 1.To systematically explain key vocabulary and sentence structures about feelings and necessity, enabling students to accurately use them in communication. 2.To reinforce students’ mastery of the modal verbs through various exercises and check their learning outcomes.
Homework Basic homework: Write sentences using “must, can or may” to describe rules or possibilities in a hospital. Practical homework: Create a short dialogue (6-8 lines) between a nurse and a patient, using “must, can or may”. Perform it with a partner in class. Extended homework: Interview a family member about a time he or she needed help. Write 3 sentences using “must, can or may” to summarise the story.
Teaching Reflection
Unit 4 Helping out
教材导学
课标落实
导入一:助人经历分享
Ask students to think for one minute about “one time you helped others or were helped” (It can be small, like helping a classmate pick up books.) Then divide them into groups of three. Let each student share his or her experience with one simple sentence (e.g., “I helped Lily carry her bag.” or “Tom shared an umbrella with me.”) And have each group pick one share to present to the class.
导入二:助人短语接龙
Start with “To help others, we can…”(e.g., “To help others, we can share toys.”) Let students take turns adding short English phrases (e.g., “To help others, we can share toys and listen to their stories.”) Then connect these phrases to the textbook’s helping-others theme.
导入三:助人情景排序
Write 3-4 random actions for a helping scenario (e.g., “find a box”“call the shelter”“give water”) on cards. Split students into teams. Each team gets the cards and arranges them into a logical “helping out” sequence (like helping a lost animal). Then, have teams explain their order, and discuss: “What step would you add first to the ‘Help Day’ planning process Why ”
导入四:助人表述转盘判断
Make a turntable with statements about helping (e.g., “It’s right to ignore a lost child.” or “We can feed stray birds.”) Divide students into groups. Have students take turns spinning the turntable. Each group quickly judges whether the statement is correct or not and explains the reason.
导入五:助人问题同伴分享
Write three helping-related questions on the blackboard. Give students two minutes to think. Then ask students to share their answers with 2-3 classmates around them. Finally, randomly invite some students to stand up and share their answers with the whole class.
活动设计
活动一:助人事件流程卡制作(Helping Process Card Making)
内容:学生分组,从教材中选取助人案例(如 Developing ideas 部分的“救助流浪动物”、Reading for writing部分的“善意传递故事”),梳理事件关键步骤(如“发现受伤动物→联系救助站→提供临时食物→护送至救助站”),制作流程卡。用英文标注每个步骤,搭配简易图标(如食物图标、电话图标),完成后各组展示流程卡,讲解步骤梳理逻辑。
目标:
1.Students will be able to sort and describe the process of a helping event in Chinese, and link it to English expressions about helping learned in the unit.
2.Students will improve their ability to organise event information in order and present it in a concise, visual form.
活动二:助人场景模拟扮演(Helping Scenario Role-play)
内容:学生从教材中选择助人角色(如Developing ideas部分的“动物救助者”),分组设计简短助人场景进行角色扮演(如“帮助迷路老人回家”“救助雨中的流浪猫”)。一组表演时,其他组记录其助人亮点(如“主动询问需求”“耐心安抚情绪”),表演结束后,观众组用中文提问(如“遇到老人拒绝帮助该怎么办”),表演组作答。
目标:
1.Students will be able to understand and demonstrate the responsibilities of different helping roles through role-play.
2.Students will enhance their ability to observe and analyse effective helping behaviour, and think about solutions to possible problems in helping scenarios.
活动三:助人方法海报设计(Helping Methods Poster Design)
内容:学生分组,从教材各部分提炼“实用的助人方法”(如Starting out部分的“分享物品”、Reading for writing部分的“传递善意”),设计海报。海报应包含助人方法和对应插图(如画“分享书籍给贫困儿童”的场景),并为1-2种方法添加简短说明(如“传递善意——小小的帮助能温暖他人,像故事里的善意传递一样”)。最后各组向全班展示海报,讲解设计思路。
目标:
1.Students will be able to identify and collect key helping methods from the textbook passages, and organise them systematically so as to deepen their understanding of the unit theme “Helping out”.
2.Students will improve their creative design skills and oral presentation skills in English, and connect visual design with the unit’s knowledge.
活动四:助人故事复述竞赛(Helping Story Retelling Competition)
内容:学生从教材中选取助人故事(如Understanding ideas部分的“为医院添色彩”、Reading for writing部分的“善意传递故事”),用英文复述故事。要求包含关键细节(如“医院缺乏蜡笔,涂色让儿童看病不无聊,募捐为医院买蜡笔”)和单元语法(如用“可以”“一定”提出助人建议)。教师和同学根据复述的准确性、流畅度和细节完整性评分,评选出“最佳复述者”。
目标:
1.Students will enhance their ability to retell helping stories in English, integrating the grammar and key concepts of the unit.
2.Students will build confidence in public speaking and further understand the meaning and value of helping others.
活动五:助人问题解决工作坊(Helping Problem-solving Workshop)
内容:教师给每组发放教材中的“助人问题”案例(如“想帮助他人却不知道对方的需求”“帮助过程中被误解”),学生分组讨论解决方案,结合教师给出的建议(如“应该先询问对方需要什么”“要耐心解释自己的意图”),在工作表上写下 3—4 条解决办法。之后各组分享方案,全班投票选出“最佳问题解决小组”。
目标:
1.Students will practise using the unit’s core knowledge to analyse and solve problems encountered in helping others in English.
2.Students will develop practical strategies for effective helping, and align their problem-solving thinking with the unit theme “Helping out”.
语法探究
Grammar Focus——掌握情态动词(can,may,must)在助人场景中的运用
【观察】
We can give food to stray cats in the park. 我们可以在公园给流浪猫喂食。
You may ask the teacher for help if you don’t know how to care for the injured bird.
如果你不知道如何照顾这只受伤的鸟,可以向老师求助。
We must call the animal shelter when we find a seriously injured dog.
当我们发现一只受重伤的狗时,必须给动物收容所打电话。
We can share our toys with poor kids. 我们可以和贫困儿童分享玩具。
She may need a hand to carry the books. 她可能需要帮忙搬书。
We must keep the stray animals warm in winter. 冬天我们必须给流浪动物保暖。
【探究】
用法 can may must
核心语义 表“能/可以”,强调自身具备的助人能力或可行的助人方式 表“或许/可以”,强调委婉推测他人的需求或请求助人许可 表“必须/一定”,强调助人时必须履行的责任或关键步骤
结构 情态动词+动词原形;否定式分别为can’t, may not, mustn’t
否定语义 表“不能/不可以”,指不具备某能力或不可行的助人行为 表“不被允许”,指不被允许的助人相关行为 表“禁止”,指绝对不能违背的助人原则或行为
典型场景 校园互助、社区小事等表达可行助人行为的场景(如帮同学带文具、给老人买菜) 不确定对方需求、向他人求助等场景(如询问老人是否需要搀扶、向老师请教助人方法) 紧急救助、遵守助人规范等场景(如救助重伤动物、保障受助者安全)
例句 Volunteers can help the elderly buy vege-tables every weekend. 志愿者可以每周末帮老人买菜。 Leah gave crayons to sick kids—we may learn from her to share small things. 利亚给生病的孩子蜡笔——我们可以向她学习分享小东西。 We must take the lost child to the police station. 我们必须把这个迷路的孩子送到警察局。
【总结】
1.语义定位清晰化:三者均可用于助人场景,但语义各有侧重——can聚焦“能力/可行性”,may聚焦“推测/许可”,must聚焦“责任/必要性”,需要结合助人场景精准匹配。
2.否定形式差异化:can’t表“不能/不可行”,may not表“不被许可”,mustn’t表“禁止”,不可混淆使用。如:“The library may not be open at weekends.”(图书馆可能在周末不开放,表推测)与“I can’t solve this physics problem alone.”(我自己解不出这道物理题,表能力)。
3.场景运用精准化:根据助人场景选择对应的情态动词——日常互助用can,推测或求助用may,关键责任或紧急情况用must,满足实际助人沟通的表达需求。
4.记忆口诀辅助化:助人行动有讲究,can表能做不用愁;推测许可may来凑,他人需求先猜透;关键责任不能漏,must表必须记心头;否定形式要区分,助人表达不糊涂!Part Four Developing ideas—Listening and speaking
Study of the Text
What: The text focuses on “helping animals in need”. It uses unit-opening visuals (people helping animals, animal hospital scenes) and a news-related context. It helps students to explore actions for helping animals (donating, volunteering), and sets goals such as using unit language to discuss animal-helping needs, completing the listening-based outline and a poster, and practising dialogues about aiding animals.
How: The text applies a “visual+listening+practice” approach. Visuals (animal-helping scenes) spark observation and awareness; listening tasks (news, conversations) drive thinking about animal-helping needs and methods; practice activities (poster-making, dialogues) provide skill-building. It structures learning from topic introduction (title+images) to concept exploration (listening-based info gathering) and skill practice (language use in animal-helping discussions), blending methods for knowledge acquisition and practical language application.
Why: The goal is to help students grasp concepts of helping animals and the importance of such actions. Through picture analysis, listening tasks, and follow-up activities, it develops students’ ability to communicate animal-helping-related topics in English, master functional language for discussing helping methods (donating, volunteering), and understand the value of caring for animals, integrating language learning and animal-protection awareness.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, we will be able to:
1.activate awareness of helping animals in danger through videos, and develop the ability to observe pictures and identify animals in need via discussion, laying a foundation for listening.
2.master listening skills related to animal hospitals and understand how speakers check background knowledge about helping animals through repeated listening and discussion.
3.discuss practical strategies to support local animal hospitals and reflect on personal contributions we can make.
4.learn the key language points and structures of the text and apply them in context correctly.
Teaching Process
Learning Objectives Teaching Activities Effectiveness Evaluation
1.To activate aware-ness of helping animals in danger through videos, and develop the ability to observe pictures and identify animals in need via discussion, laying a foundation for listening. Step 1: Lead-in Have students watch videos about animals in danger and answer questions. Q: What happened to the animals in the video Q: Do they need help Check if students can describe the animals’ situation in the videos and judge if they need help.
Step 2: Pre-listening Ask students to observe a picture, discuss what they see, and identify animals needing help. Q: What can you see in the picture Q: What animals need our help Evaluate the accuracy of picture observation, description and identification of animals in need.
Purpose To activate students’ prior knowledge of animals in danger via videos, Q &A and picture observation, laying a foundation for their understanding of the subsequent listening content.
2.To master listening skills related to animal hospitals and understand how speakers check background knowledge about helping animals through repeated listening and discussion. Step 3: While-listening 1.Ask students to listen to a piece of news and choose the headline for it. 2.Have students listen again to fill in the outline for the news. 3.Ask students to listen to the conversation and complete a poster on helping animals. 4.Ask students to listen again and discuss how speakers check background knowledge about helping animals. Evaluate students’ listening comprehension(main idea, details, practical application like poster-making, and analytical skills for background-checking methods) through multi-task completion.
Purpose To help students practise targeted listening skills (headline selection, detail filling and information application for posters) and understand how speakers verify background knowledge through repeated listening and discussion, supporting their mastery of the listening content.
3.To discuss practical strategies to support local animal hospitals and reflect on personal contribu-tions we can make. Step 4: Post-listening 1.Help students practise pair-work dialogues to brainstorm ways of helping animals, using useful expressions. 2.Have students talk about what they’ve learned about helping animals in this section during free talks. Check if students can use targeted expressions in pair dialogues and summarise learning about helping animals in free talks.
Purpose To reinforce oral communication skills, apply language knowledge practically, and consolidate understanding of animal-help content.
4.To learn the key language points and structures of the text and apply them in context correctly. Step 5: Language Points Explain key words and phrases like “in need”“call for sth” and “aim to do sth” with examples to help students grasp language points about animal protection. Step 6: Exercise Ask students to finish vocabulary-form exercises, translation tasks (English-Chinese and Chinese-English), and check answers to help them practise and master language usage about animal protection. Verify if students grasp the explained language points by testing their use of “in sth” “call for sth” and “aim to do sth”. Confirm if students practise and master language usage about animal protection by checking the completion and accuracy of their vocabulary and translation tasks.
Purpose 1.To systematically explain key words and phrases about animal protection, enabling students to accurately use them in communication. 2.To reinforce students’ mastery of language about animal protection through vocabulary and translation exercises, and check their learning outcomes.
Homework Basic homework: Research and list 3 real-world examples of animals needing help. Label each as “wildlife” or “domestic animals” and write 1 sentence about how people can help them. Practical homework: Interview a family member or friend about one way he or she has helped animals. Extended homework: Write a 6-sentence story about a person or an animal that overcame a challenge.
Teaching Reflection
Part Two Understanding ideas—Reading
Study of the Text
What: The text focuses on “Adding some colour”. It uses unit-opening visuals and a story about Leah. It helps students to explore Leah’s helping actions (raising money, collecting crayons), and sets goals like using language points of this unit to describe her deeds, analysing text details (e.g., why crayons were limited), and completing note-taking tasks (Solutions/Causes of the problem/Comments).
How: The text adopts a “visual+question+story” approach: visuals (hospital scenes, Leah’s actions) spark observation; questions drive thinking about Leah’s deeds (e.g., “What did Leah do to help other patients ”); and the story of crayon collection illustrates helping-out practice. This approach structures learning from topic introduction (title, images) to concept exploration (text reading, questions) and skill practice(title-choosing, note-taking), blending various methods to facilitate effective knowledge and language acquisition.
Why: The goal is to help students grasp “helping out” concepts through Leah’s story. Through picture analysis, story reading, and follow-up tasks, it develops students’ ability to communicate helping-related topics in English, master functional language for text comprehension(e.g., “raise money” “get through”), and understand the value of kindness. It integrates language learning and awareness of helping others in real-life scenarios.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, we will be able to:
1.activate charity knowledge, learn related words, and think about ways to help via pictures and questions.
2.understand the text by identifying key events in Leah’s story and analysing how her actions impacted the hospital environment, and develop empathy and compassion by discussing her character traits and reflecting on ways to help others in need.
3.enhance critical thinking by interpreting symbolic language and proposing suitable titles for the passage.
4.grasp the key language points and use them in context correctly.
Teaching Process
Learning Objectives Teaching Activities Effectiveness Evaluation
1.To activate charity knowledge, learn related words, and think about ways to help via pictures and questions. Step 1: Pre-reading 1.Display the pictures related to charity and helping others. Let students observe for 1 minute. Ask questions: Q: What can you see in the pictures Q: Who are the people in them Q: What are they doing 2.Ask students to answer questions and use given words to talk about helping in charity events. Q: What can you do to help Check if students can describe picture content; evaluate if they use given words to talk about charity smoothly; assess if they put forward specific ways to help; judge if they show initial awareness of caring for others.
Purpose To activate background knowledge, practise vocabulary, and introduce the helping-others theme.
2.To understand the text by identifying key events in Leah’s story and analysing how her actions impacted the hospital environment, and develop empathy and compassion by discussing her character traits and reflecting on ways to help others in need. Step 2: While-reading 1.Ask students to skim the passage and choose the main idea of Leah’s project to help young patients. 2.Ask students to analyse and choose the passage’s structure: problem→motivation→solution→impact. 3.Have students read Paragraphs 1-3 and answer questions about reasons for the hospital’s crayon shortages. 4.Ask students to read Paragraph 4 and answer questions about Leah’s illness and how colouring helped her. Q: What was wrong with Leah Q: How did colouring help Leah 5.Ask students to read Paragraphs 5-6 and choose answers about Leah’s crayon collection. Q: How many boxes of crayons could Leah buy with her pocket money Q: How many boxes of crayons has she collected so far 6.Have students read Paragraph 7 and answer questions about changes in the hospital and why Leah is called “a kind girl”. Q: What changed the waiting room in the hospital Q: Why did the nurse call Leah “a kind girl” 7.Ask students to choose another suitable title for the passage and describe Leah with proper words. Q: What words would you use to describe Leah 8.Ask students to complete note-taking by filling in solutions, causes and comments of Leah’s story. Check if students grasp the main idea via skimming, analyse text structure, understand details, comprehend personal situations, extract numerical info, grasp outcomes and character evaluation, select titles, describe characters, and organise info systematically during while-reading.
Purpose To train skimming, develop text structure awareness, practise close reading, connect experience, retrieve precise info, understand helping impacts, refine theme understanding, practise description, and reinforce text analysis.
Step 3: Post-reading 1.Ask students to discuss the issue of crayons potentially carrying viruses(e.g., “How do crayons get dirty ” “Why is it important to keep them virus-free ”).
3.To enhance critical thinking by interpreting symbolic language and proposing suitable titles for the passage. 2.Have students work in groups to design virus-free crayons, considering aspects like material (e.g., antibacterial coatings), usage (e.g., washable surfaces), or storage (e.g., sealed cases). 3.Ask each group to organise their ideas into brief presentation, including: ·The problem their design solves; ·Key features of the virus-free crayons; ·How the design works in daily use. 4.Invite groups to share their ideas with the class, encouraging peer feedback. Evaluate students’ creativity in designing virus-free crayons, problem-solving skills, and presentation ability.
Purpose To activate thinking, apply text-related knowledge (crayon hygiene), and practise public speaking.
4.To grasp the key language points and use them in context correctly. Step 4: Language Points Explain words and phrases like “patient” “get through” “plan to do” and “enough for/to do” with examples to help students grasp help-related language points. Step 5: Exercise Ask students to finish vocabulary-form filling exercises, English-Chinese and Chinese-English translation tasks, and check answers to help them practise and master help-related language usage. Verify if students grasp help-related language points by testing their use of the explained words and phrases. Confirm if students practise and master help-related language usage by checking the completion and accuracy of their vocabulary and translation tasks.
Purpose 1.To systematically explain key words and phrases about helping, enabling students to accurately use them in communication. 2.To reinforce students’ mastery of help-related language points through vocabulary and translation exercises, and check their learning outcomes.
Homework Basic homework: Write sentences using the following phrases from the text: provide sth for sb/must be thrown away/get through. Practical homework: Work with a partner to recreate Leah’s conversation with the nurse (asking for crayons). Extended homework: Investigate how hospitals in different countries support children’s mental health (e.g., art therapy in the US, toy libraries in Japan).
Teaching Reflection
Part Six Presenting ideas & Reflection
Study of the Text
What: The text focuses on “planing a day of help”. It uses a step-by-step guide (group discussion, plan organisation, practice/presentation, voting) and reflection prompts. It helps students to identify people in need, design helpful activities, and reflect on the value of helping others, with goals like using unit language to discuss helpful plans and practising collaborative presentation.
How: It applies a “task+reflection” approach. Group tasks (discussing people in need of help, designing plans) spark practical thinking; structured outlines (basic info, activities, challenges, results) guide organised expression; and reflection prompts deepen the understanding of the theme. It structures learning from idea generation(group discussion) to plan execution(organisation, presentation) and self-assessment (reflection), blending collaborative practice and language application.
Why: The goal is to help students grasp practical steps of offering help and deepen the understanding of the significance of helping others. Through group work, plan-making, and reflection, it develops students’ ability to communicate help-related topics in English, master functional language for organising activities, and foster social responsibility, integrating language learning and community-care awareness.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, we will be able to:
1.activate awareness of helping others via pictures of people in trouble.
2.make a helpful plan (in groups, using unit language) and present it, and improve language and cooperation skills.
3.deepen the understanding of the meaning of helping others and promote self-assess language skills.
4.learn the new structures and expressions, and use them in context correctly.
Teaching Process
Learning Objectives Teaching Activities Effectiveness Evaluation
1.To activate awareness of helping others via pictures of people in trouble. Step 1: Lead-in Have students look at pictures of people in trouble and answer questions about their difficulties and possible help they need. Check if students can identify others’ difficulties from pictures and propose basic helpful ideas.
Purpose To activate students’ awareness of helping others through pictures and questions.
2.To make a helpful plan(in groups, using unit language) and present it, and improve lan-guage and coopera-tion skills. Step 2: Presentation 1.Help students work in groups to think about people in need, discuss methods, and vote on who to help. 2.Ask students to organise ideas with an outline and make a helpful plan, using unit language. 3.Have students practise and present their plans. 4.Let students vote on the best plans. Assess students’ collaborative skills(group work), ability to organise ideas, and language application(unit expressions) in creating/presenting plans.
Purpose To help students to practise group cooperation, use unit language to make/present plans and vote, laying a foundation for mastering relevant language skills.
3.To deepen the understanding of the meaning of helping others and promote self-assess language skills. Step 3: Reflection 1.Ask students to reflect on the meaning of helping others and complete a “helping out” mind-map. 2.Ask students to assess their ability to talk about helping others, use modal verbs, and describe the value of helping others. Evaluate students’ understanding of the meaning of helping others via mind-map completion and self-assessment of their language skills and value-describing skills.
Purpose To deepen theme comprehension and encourage self-awareness of language proficiency in helping contexts.
4.To learn the new structures and expressions, and use them in context correctly. Step 4: Language Points Explain vocabulary and sentence structures like “There+be+not enough+名词” “couldn’t afford+名词/动词不定式” and “It might be difficult+动词不定式” with examples to help students grasp language points about quantity, affordability and difficulty. Verify if students grasp the explained language points by testing their use of “There+be+not enough+名词”“couldn’t afford+名词/动词不定式”and “It might be difficult+动词不定式” structures.
Step 5: Exercise Ask students to finish vocabulary translation exercises and sentence completion tasks, and check answers to help them practise and master language usage about daily actions and problems. Confirm if students practise and master the targeted language points by checking the completion and accuracy of their vocabulary and translation tasks.
Purpose 1.To systematically explain key vocabulary and sentence structures about quantity, affordability and difficulty, enabling students to accurately use them in communication. 2.To reinforce students’ mastery of the language points through vocabulary and translation exercises, and check their learning outcomes.
Homework Basic homework: Review and copy all the key expressions about helping others from this unit. Practical homework: Interview a community worker (or a neighbour) about a time he or she helped someone, the challenges he or she faced and what he or she learned from the experience. Extended homework: Create a “Helping Action Plan” poster.
Teaching Reflection
Part One Starting out
Study of the Text
What: This text centres on “Helping out”. It uses unit-opening visuals(silhouettes of people, “Lending a hand” image with hands and hearts) and quotes about helping. It leads students to explore the meaning of lending a helping hand, covering aspects like sharing helping stories and understanding the value of kindness. Goals include using unit language to talk about helping others, expressing willingness to help with “can, may, must”, and planning a day of help.
How: It adopts a “visual+question+quote” approach. Visuals (silhouettes of people, “Lending a hand” image) inspire observation; questions prompt thinking about helping stories and quote meanings; quotes illustrate the philosophy of helping. It structures learning from topic introduction(title+images) to concept exploration (questions+quotes) and skill practice (planning help, using language), combining various methods for knowledge and language acquisition.
Why: The aim is to help students understand the concept of “helping out” and the significance of offering assistance. Through picture analysis, quote interpretation, and follow-up tasks, it develops students’ ability to communicate helping-related topics in English, master modal verbs for expressing willingness, and recognise the value of helping, integrating language learning and the awareness of helping others.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, we will be able to:
1.activate and expand vocabulary related to helping others and kindness.
2.analyse the value of helping others through discussions about personal experiences and inspirational quotes.
3.apply reflective thinking by using narrative (e.g., “I helped…”“Someone assisted me when…”) to share meaningful stories of assistance.
4.master and apply the key language points and use them in context correctly.
Teaching Process
Learning Objectives Teaching Activities Effectiveness Evaluation
1.To activate and expand vocabulary related to helping others and kindness. Step 1: Lead-in 1.Invite 2-3 students to share a short English story (1-2 sentences) about a time they helped others (e.g., “I helped my classmate carry books yesterday.” or “I helped my friend with English homework last week.”) Q: Who did you help What did you do Q: How did you feel after helping others Q: Do you think helping others is important for getting along with people Check if students can smoothly share helping-others stories and communicate in English.
2.Summarise briefly—“Helping others is often part of working together”—and then naturally lead to the lesson’s focus.
Purpose To activate students’ prior experience of helping others and practise oral English.
2.To analyse the value of helping others through discussions about personal experiences and inspirational quotes. Step 2: Presentation 1.Have students discuss questions about helping, like choosing between helping strangers or friends and the impact of small acts of kindness. Q: Is it better to help strangers or friends Why Q: Can small acts of kindness change the world 2.Ask students to observe the picture, describe its content, and understand the meaning of helping others shown in it. Q: What can you see in the picture Q: What does the picture tell you 3.Help students understand the meanings of Lei Feng’s, Martin Luther King Jr.’s and Aesop’s quotes about the value of helping others. Assess students in the following three areas: Their depth of thinking and ability to express views on helping strangers or friends, as well as the impacts of small acts of kindness; Their observation skills and understanding of the helping-related meaning conveyed by the picture; Their grasp of the essence of quotes about helping from Lei Feng, Martin Luther King Jr. and Aesop.
Purpose To let students think critically about helping situations and values, build their ability to understand pictures and connect them to the unit’s helping topic, and share cultural and thoughtful views on helping to make the topic clearer.
3.To apply reflective thinking by using narrative (e.g., “I helped…”, “Someone assisted me when…”) to share meaningful stories of assistance. Step 3: Practice Ask students to choose the quote they most agree with and explain the reason. Q: What do the quotes mean Q: Which quote do you most agree with Why Evaluate students’ ability to analyse quotes and justify their agreement with clear reasoning.
Purpose To deepen the understanding of quotes and practise opinion-giving with logical explanation.
4.To master and apply the key language points and use them in context correctly. Step 4: Language Points Explain the meanings of help-related vocabulary, analyse the structures of two key sentences, and reinforce application through interactive exercises like sentence-making. Step 5: Exercise Ask students to finish vocabulary-form exercises and translation tasks, and check answers, helping them practise and master helping-related language usage. Check students’ accurate mastery of help-related vocabulary and sentence structures through in-class inter-active sentence-making and quizzes. Confirm if students practise and master help-related language usage by checking the completion and accuracy of their vocabulary-form exercises and translation tasks.
Purpose 1.To improve students’ language application ability, infiltrate the awareness of helping others and cultivate language learning methods. 2.To reinforce students’ mastery of help-related vocabulary through vocabulary-form exercises and translation tasks, and check their learning outcomes.
Homework Basic homework: Review and write 10 key words about helping others from this unit. Practical homework: Interview a classmate about a time he or she helped someone or received help. Take notes in English. Extended homework: Research a tradition of helping others in another culture.
Teaching Reflection
