Unit 2 Lessons in Life Developing ideas 课件-2025-2026学年高中英语外研版选择性必修第四册

The Blue Bird Learning objectives Understand the elements of a play and the development of the plot. Perceive the essence of happiness. Learn to express the understanding of the play with the words and phrases you have learnt in this lesson . Lead-in Do you know the symbolic meaning of the Blue Bird in Chinese and Western cultures? How about in western culture? Read the introduction in activity 1 蓬山此去无多路，青鸟殷勤为探看 In Chinese culture, it is a symbol of the messenger. How about in western culture? In Western culture, the Blue Bird symbolizes happiness and it brings good luck and health to people. What are the elements of a play? Acts Scenes Actions/plots Characters Settings The development of a plot 1.What’s the play The Blue Bird about? It tells the tale of brother and sister, Tyltyl and Mytyl, as they are sent by a fairy to search for the Blue Bird of Happiness. Where do you think the children find the Blue Bird? In a most unexpected place: a magic place or a common place? Read ACT IV and find out the information Actions Try to find out the conflicts Conflict 1 Tyltyl doesn’t recognise them, but the Happinesses tell Tyltyl that they are the only things he knows and they are all around him. Conflict 2 Tyltyl wonders whether there are Happinesses in his home, and at this moment, all the Happinesses burst out laughing. One Happiness tells him that his home is filled with Happinesses. Conflict 3 The Happiness of Being Well introduces all of the Happinesses to Tyltyl. However, Tyltyl just wants to ask the Happinesses one thing: the whereabouts of the Blue Bird. Summarize the plot The children come to the Palace of Happiness and are welcomed by a troop of Happinesses. The children do not recognise them, but the Happinesses tell them that they are the only things the children know and they are all around them. Tyltyl wonders whether there are Happinesses in his home, and at this moment, all the Happinesses burst out laughing. The chief of the Happinesses tells him that his home is filled with Happinesses. The chief introduces himself to Tyltyl as the Happiness of Being Well, and then introduces him to other Happinesses: of Pure Air, of Loving One’s Parents, of the Blue Sky and of the Forest. Tyltyl just wants to ask the Happinesses one thing: the whereabouts of the Blue Bird. Think and share Why do Tyltyl and Mytyl fail to recognize the Happinesses? 幸福不是远方的青鸟，而是藏在日常里的爱与善意。 Because they don’t realise the fact that happinesses are all around them and they lie in some common little things. Read ACT VI and find out the information Actions Find the climax Climax Berlingot is telling Mummy Tyl that Tyltyl’s bird is the one thing that will cure her sick daughter. Tyltyl then sees that his bird is blue—much bluer than when he went away. Tyltyl gives his bird to his neighbour. Think and share What happens to Tyltyl’s bird when he returns home? A. It is dead. B. It has turned completely blue. C. It has flown away already. D. It is given to Mytyl as a gift. Why does Tyltyl give his bird to the sick girl? A. He does not like the bird anymore. B. The girl is his best friend. C. He wants to help cure the girl and learns the meaning of sharing. D. His mother asks him to do so. What can you learn from here about the happiness? True happiness comes from giving and sharing with others. Resolution The little girl comes along and thanks Tyltyl, but as Tyltyl goes to take the bird to show the little girl how to feed him, the bird flies away. The little girl lets out a cry of despair. Tyltyl comforts her and turns to the audience. The children return home without finding the Blue Bird. The neighbour Berlingot, a little old woman, enters Tyltyl’s home, leaning on a stick. Berlingot is telling Mummy Tyl that Tyltyl’s bird is the one thing that will cure her sick daughter. Tyltyl then sees that his bird is blue – much bluer than when he went away. Tyltyl gives his bird to his neighbour. The little girl comes along and thanks Tyltyl, but as Tyltyl goes to take the bird to show the little girl how to feed him, the bird flies away. The little girl lets out a cry of despair. Tyltyl comforts her and turns to the audience. He asks the audience to return the Blue Bird if they see him, for the bird is needed for their future happiness. Summarize the plot Why does the author let the bird fly away at the end of the play? The bird flies away to show that true happiness cannot be owned or kept forever. It only stays alive when we share and pass it on. I think the author probably wants to remind people that Happiness, just like the blue bird, will disappear if we don’t cherish it. 只有学会珍惜当下的美好，幸福才会一直留在身边；一旦忽视或试图独占，它就会像青鸟一样飞走。 What does Tyltyl’s final line mean to you? When Tyltyl asks the audience to “return the Blue Bird if you see it”, he is not just talking about the bird. He is asking us to cherish and share the happiness in our lives. The “Blue Bird” is the love, kindness, and joy around us. If we see these small happinesses, we should not take them for granted, but pass them on to others. In this way, the “Blue Bird” will never disappear. What’s true happiness? happiness=better/best? Happiness=free of trouble? Happiness=others’ recognition? What’s your understanding of happiness? Be content and cherish what you have Keep inner peace and emotional stability The Blue Bird is not a story about finding happiness, but about learning to see happiness. Homework Write down the lessons you have learnt from the passage (at least 2 points) $