Unit6 Fantastic friends - Understanding ideas (Reading - Pigeon surprise)教学设计2026-2027学年外研版七年级英语上册

6.2 Fantastic friends - Understanding ideas (Reading - Pigeon surprise)

【Teaching Objectives (aligned with core competencies)】

1. Language competence: Students can read Henry's blog "Pigeon surprise", follow his changing feelings from bored and scared to amazed, use words (boring, dirty, scary, surprising, clever, amazing), and notice the present continuous tense "I'm watching... They are flying...".

2. Cultural awareness: Students learn not to judge animals too quickly, and to respect and understand animals through observation and research.

3. Thinking quality: Students identify Henry's feelings on each day, find evidence from his words, and understand people's thoughts and feelings from the way they speak.

4. Learning capacity: Students read a blog in order, track a character's changing attitude, and retell the story day by day.

【Key and Difficult Points】

Key Points:

① Understand Henry's changing views: boring and dirty on Day 2, surprising on Day 3-4, amazing on Day 5.

② Master feeling words: boring, dirty, scary, surprising, clever, amazing.

③ Notice present continuous sentences: "I'm watching pigeons in the park now." "That pigeon is looking at itself in the water."

Difficult Points:

① Understanding how Henry's feelings change and why he was wrong about pigeons.

② Finding evidence of feelings from the words and tone of the blog.

③ Understanding the facts: pigeons recognise themselves in mirrors, there are over 200 kinds, and they can fly over 100 km per hour.

Trial Lecture Verbatim Script：

Welcome Remarks

Hello, everyone! Last class we met many amazing animals and started our picture-book ideas. Today we will read a real blog by a boy named Henry. At first, Henry thinks pigeons are boring, dirty and even a little scary! But something surprising happens over five days of watching and researching. Will he change his mind? We are going to read "Pigeon surprise" and find out how a boy learned to really see the pigeons he once disliked. This is a warm story about not judging too quickly. Put on your reading caps, everyone. This is going to be a surprising journey!

Ⅰ. Lead-in and prediction

Before we read, look at the picture. It shows pigeons in a busy city park, and a little girl is feeding them pieces of bread. The question is: choose words to describe pigeons. Boring? Fast? Scary? Clever? Dirty? Amazing? What words would YOU choose? Think for a second. Let me see. Yes, please, tell us!"

Students: "I think pigeons are boring and a little dirty."

Teacher: "Interesting! That is exactly what Henry thinks at the very beginning of our story. Let us read and see if he changes his mind by the end. Remember, a good reader predicts first, then reads to check. I wonder what will surprise Henry."

Students: "Maybe the pigeons can do something amazing!"

Teacher: "What a good guess! Let us read and find out together."

Ⅱ. While-reading: follow the days

Now read the blog day by day, like a little diary. Day 1: We are studying birds for Bird Week at school. Some lucky kids got penguins to write about, but I have to write about pigeons! Poor Henry, he is not happy at all! Day 2: I am watching pigeons in the park now. They just knock around the whole morning, and they leave droppings here and there. Pigeons are boring and dirty! A girl is feeding them, and suddenly the birds are flying madly to her. They are scary!

Day 3: I am doing some online research. Guess what? Pigeons can recognise themselves in mirrors! How surprising! Are they really so clever? Day 4: I am back at the park. Oh! That pigeon is looking at itself in the water! Maybe I was wrong about pigeons. Day 5: I am reading in the library. There are over 200 kinds of pigeons! Some can fly thousands of kilometres and never get lost. They can fly at over 100 kilometres per hour — that is as fast as my dad's car! Well, pigeons are not boring or scary. They are amazing — I just did not know enough about them!

Now my first question: how did Henry feel on Day 2, and why? Yes, please!"

Students: "He thought pigeons were boring, dirty and scary because they just walked around and left droppings."

Teacher: "Right! He really did not like them at first. And what changed his mind on Day 3 and Day 5?"

Students: "He found they can recognise themselves in mirrors, there are 200 kinds, and they can fly very far without getting lost."

Teacher: "Excellent! Research and close observation changed his whole idea. That is the real power of learning new things."

Ⅲ. Reading details

Let us look at the flow chart of Henry's changing views. Stage one: boring, dirty and scary. The evidence: they knock around all morning, leave droppings here and there, and fly madly to the feeding girl. Stage two: surprising. The evidence: they recognise themselves in mirrors, there are over 200 kinds, they never get lost, and they fly at 100 km per hour. Stage three: amazing! And the ending line says it all: "I just didn't know enough about them." Henry travelled from a frown to a smile in just five days, all because he watched and learned.

Think and share: how can we tell that Henry didn't like pigeons at the beginning? Yes, please, you look confident!"

Students: "Because he used words like boring, dirty and scary, and he wrote Argh!"

Teacher: "Exactly! We can tell people's true feelings from their words and the way they speak. That is a super reading skill — we are not just reading words, we are reading feelings."

Students: "And his face in the picture on Day 2 looks unhappy!"

Teacher: "Great observation! The pictures help us read the story too. Henry's face changes from a frown on Day 2 to a big smile on Day 5. Now, which fact surprised YOU the most? Yes, please!"

Students: "I was most surprised that pigeons can recognise themselves in mirrors — just like us!"

Teacher: "Me too! Only clever animals like humans, apes and dolphins can do that. Pigeons are much smarter than we think. Now, think and share one more question: what other surprising facts do you know about pigeons or other birds? Yes, please!"