1.By observing the visual of the floral headdress and engaging in free association, share initial impressions of beauty and decoration to activate prior knowledge and establish a starting point for exploring deeper meanings.

2.By reading the text and extracting contrasting words and phrases, accurately categorize descriptions of the flowers and descriptions of the women’s lives in Xunpu to identify the central tension between surface beauty and underlying hardship.

3.By using a dictionary to examine the noun “flower” and analyzing the author’s choice of verbs and contrasting (“not... but...”) sentences, explore and express the symbolic meaning of flowers as an active response to hardship rather than a passive escape.

4.By integrating the text’s central idea and reflecting on personal experience, identify their own “flower” using the target sentence pattern, demonstrating the ability to connect textual themes to real-life contexts.

教学目标

学生将能够：

1. 通过观察花头饰的视觉画面并展开自由联想，分享对美与装饰的初步感受，激活已有知识，为探究深层内涵奠定基础。

2. 通过阅读文本并提取对比性词语与短语，精准分类描写花朵的语句与描写蟳埔女性生活的语句，体会外在美好与内在艰辛之间的核心矛盾。

3. 通过查阅词典研读名词“花”，并分析作者选用的动词及“不是……而是……”类对比句式，探究并阐释花朵的象征意义——它是对苦难的积极回应，而非消极逃避。

4. 结合文本中心思想并联系个人经历，运用目标句型找到属于自己的“花”，实现将文本主题与现实生活相联结的能力。

授课过程

Activity 1: Activating perception before actual reading

活动一：读前感知激活

T: Shall we begin?Are you ready?Yes,Okay.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Look, what do you notice?

Thank you.

Do you have a microphone,please?

S1: I noticed that there's a beautiful woman with flowers on her head.

T: What kind of words come into your mind when you see this kind of flowers?

S1: Beautiful and elegant.

T: Anyone else?What words comes into your mind when you see this kind of flowers? Yes,please.

S2: Graceful.

T: Why?

S2: Because the flower is beautiful and has a nice smell.

T:Nice smell, right? It's like fragrant on it. So yes, graceful.Thank you very much.

T: Look,today well um,we are going to read an article.Sorry,we are going to read an article that starts with beauty but does not stop there.

I’m going to show you 3 photos of Xunpu women. What words come into your mind?

T:You can have a little discussion.Have a look at those three photos, what words come into your mind? Think about it, or you can have a little discussion if you want.

Any volunteer?

Yes, please.

Thank you.Microphone,please.

S3: I think they are very hardworking, and with the flowers in their hair, they are also very beautiful.

T:Hardworking and sorry,what was the last word?

S3:Beautiful.

T:Beautiful.Thank you.Very hard working with the flower on their head? Also they're very beautiful. Thank you very much.Anyone else?

Yes,please.Do you have microphone please?

S4: They are doing some hard work, like cleaning seafood, but they still put flowers on their head. They have passion for life.

T:Passion for life,thank you very much. thank you,and how about you?Thank you,how do you describe them?

S5: I think they have their own lifestyles. As the girls say,although they are working, they still wear flowers on their head.

T: Yes,thank you. Thank you very much,but:

What about their appearance?

What do they look like?

Anyone?Yes,microphone please?

Thank you.

S6: They are all the elderly.

T:They are very old.

S6: They are aged elderly wear a such headdress is a tradition.

T:Well,it's a tradition right.

It's a tradition.It's a custom for them.

Yes good.Thank you very much.

Activity 2: Self-directed reading to probe into the flowers and the lives

活动二：自主阅读，探寻花与人生

T:So you see we have two sets of words I'm a Xunpu woman here.one describe flowers and the other one used to describe the Xunpu woman.

T:So look, this is kind of like the contrast we're going to talk about in today's passage.

T: And I want you,I'm going to give you some time. You're going to read through the whole passage.There will be more words more information about those two sets in this passage,so I want you to read and collect them.

What words are used to describe the women? What words describe flowers in this passage?

Okay,this is your task.Am I making myself clear?Let's read. let's read the passage.

T: Have you finished reading?Yes?

Yes.Well,you can check your answers.Check your discoveries with your deskmates.See if you have missed anything.Help each other to to find out,to collect every piece of information that you need.

走进学生，和学生互动。

T:Yes,vivid,of course,vivid and bright,memorable.

Yes,how about the second paragraph?

Yes,a distant symbol of yes,yes,elegance.

What else?Where can you find those flowers?

In the second paragraph.Those flowers were used to in...Yes,in Chinese culture. Yes,in Chinese culture like classic art,right?

And even the photo I showed you in a very beginning in a town dynasty painting.Yes.

...

T:Sorry to interrupt.I have to stop you right there.Okay,so let's share what we have found in this text,Okay?Any volunteers from the first para? WOW!Thank you microphone for her pleaseYes.Thank you.AH one by one.Lady first.OKay?You're gonna be the second part. Yes,please.

第一段文本

S7:According to paragraph one.

T:Yes.

S7:I saw bright flowers on hair.

T:Yes.

S7:And part of daily life.

As for labor,as for the labor of Xunpu women,yes,and they fished, farmed oysters, gathered seafood on the tidal flats.

T:Yes.

S7:And and the significance of flowers and carry memory carrying memories,and it's a feeling,feeling a way of seeing the world.oh oh，and also I found Xunpu women,they are positive.

T:They're very positive.

S7:Yeah.Although their life was pretty hard and they have to supported their family and managed home,they're still positive because they wear some flowers on their hair.

T:Yes.It's a visible form,yeah,to show their attitude.

S7:And it is also a symbol of hope.

T:Yes.

S7:Yeah,that's all of it.

T:But you found a lot of information.Just from the first paragraph?

S7:Maybe...

T: The whole passage.

S7:Yeah.

T:The second or third.Yes.Thank you very much.

T:So look.In the first paragraph,some information,well,you already mentioned. It's beauty,it's bright.right right.You mentioned,the the visual way to describe flowers and um.

Can you find any like other information in the first paragraph?to describe their life.

S7:Um,maybe...

T: Is their life special?

S7:Not.

T:Not.which word?Yeah.

S7:Ordinary life.

T:Thank you very much. You see in the first paragraph they said, well, the flowers are vivid, memorable, bright, it's like a decoration, but their life is very ordinary. Thank you very much Sir, please hello, now it's your turn. How about the second paragraph? What have you found?

第二段文本

S8:During the second paragraph, I found that the flowers were very significant.They were not distant symbols of elegance.They also became a part of Xunpu women's daily life.

T:I have a question, you mentioned a distant symbol of elegant, right? What does this "distant" mean in this paragraph?

S8:Maybe...

T:Where can you usually find those flowers? Back to the old times in the second paragraph.

S8:It always appears in classical arts, including Tang dynasty paintings, in which women adore themselves with flowers.

T:Exactly, so you see.They always appear in a classic art, especially like the Tang dynasty paintings. Do you still remember the first? The first painting I showed you in the very beginning? S8:Yes.

T:Yes.Do you know the name of this painting?

S8:No.

T:No?It's called "唐代仕女图".So what kind of people can be called "仕女"? Any ideas? Have a guess.

S8:Pretty.

T:Pretty young woman.Okay, yes, it's a good guess.Any anyone else? Can you have other guess what kind of people? They can wear big flowers on their head and they dress very nicely. Yes, yes, thank you very much.

S7:Maybe they're rich.

T:Yes.

S7:Wealthy.

T:Yes,wealthy,rich people,with high social standards.With those, girls come from those kind of family,we can call them a "仕女"right.?

S7:Yeah.

T:Yeah,so now let's look back at this distant symbol of elegance.Now,do you have like refreshed idea of this distant? What does this distant mean?

S7:Chinese？

T:No,no,no,we're in this context.

Why it is called distant.yes,yes,well,well,let let him finish well. you've,you've done great,yes.

S8:Because it has a long history.

T:It has a long history.

S8:It is historical.

T:It's very historical,yes and?But it's the first layer of the meaning. How about the second layer?

T:Try to focus on the information about Xunpu women in this paragraph.

T:In Xunpu fishing village near Quanzhou,it lived on among ordinary women whose lives were shaped by the sea.

T:Yes,thank you very much.So you see,they live in a fishing village,their ordinary women and their lives were shaped by the sea.Any information related to wealthy?

S8:AH.

T:Well,I mean the information you already collected.Do you think those three phrases related to wealthy?

S8:Yes.

T:Yes,how,how come?

S8:This love of flowers did not remain inside paintings or being belong only to the wealthy.It is striking in Quanzhou.

T:Yes.Well,so you said,does not only belong to wealthy.AH,yes,right? So look,you see this distant symbol of elegance,first of all,it means it has historical,it has long history.The second layer of this distance might be.the reason that.it the the different social status,don't you think so?

S8:Yes

T:Okay,thanks for sharing. Thank you very much. Anyone else have about the third paragraph.Yes yes please.Okay,there you go.

第三段文本

S10:I see that flowers appear at festivals,weddings and other important moments，

T:Yes.

S10:I think it's very important.

T:Very important for their daily life.Yes.So what does the text say about flowers in this paragraph?

S10:AH,.It gave visible form to an invisible wish: that life, however uncertain, might still open toward joy.

T:Thank you very much. so we answered both both columns.First of all,it's a hope for happiness and good fortune.like you said,

it's a wish right,so it might invite joyful things into life and it appeared usually in the occasion like he also mentioned.like festivals,weddings and other important moments,although life is uncertain right?Thank you very much. Thank you.

How about the fourth paragraph,anyone?Yes,please.um,Okay.Thank you.

第四段文本

S11:Um,I found that in the fourth paragraph um about the information of floral headdress.um,Its appearance seemed um almost unexpected um,but it shows that um,there's a kind of a positive um attitude from.the shingle woman yes,I asked the first girl said.

T:Yes,yes,but what,what did the text say?

S11:Okay.um um,the flowers did not deny hardship,they answered it.

T:They did not deny hardship,they answered it right.Yes,good.

So you see,it's a way of enduring it,and the flowers did not deny hardship,they answered it.Very good.And what about their life?S11:Um,about the Xunpu woman,he said,um,they were not for their hard work.

T:Yeah.

S11:They fished, farmed oysters, gathered seafood on

the tidal flats, managed the home, and supported the family.

T:A lot of words and phrases used to describe their lives right?

So you see yes there are a lot hard work:

fished, farmed oysters, gathered seafood on

the tidal flats, managed the home, and supported the family.

Everything is about hardship.Thank you very much.Thank you still.

Please so look.Have a look at this column,this table.The first column and the second column.They don't match,do they?They don't right?So the first column it seems like something light,something delicate and beautiful. And in this column tell us something heavy,something hard,something tough.

Activity 3: Analyze words and sentences to uncover the author’s meaning

活动三：析词品句，探寻作者深意

T:So now this is like the central puzzle of this text.But author probably will tell us the answer in the end of the story.But my question is:

What is the significance of flowers?What is the significance of flowers towards Xunpu women?

For example,I'm going to give you one example.Look in the first paragraph,we probably will think.I'm,sorry it's stuck.

Like in the first paragraph,probably like it described its appearance,it's very beautiful. it's vivid,right?And their life is very ordinary,so in this sense in this case they might be the decoration of those women's life.Yes,can you understand? Yes,can you follow?

Okay,then how about the rest of the table? How about the rest of those columns?What might be the significance of flower towards Xunpu women?Do you need some time to have a little discussion?Yes.Okay,take your time.Let's talk.

学生讨论。

T:Right? Any volunteer? How about the second paragraph?How about?Yes,please thank you.

S12:First,I think it has deep roots in Chinese culture.

T:Yes,it has deep roots.Thank you.

S12:Then I think AH.It was not distant symbols of elegance.They became part of daily life.

T:Sorry,would you please repeat it? I didn't catch it,sorry AH.

S12:There, flowers were not distant symbols of elegance.They became part of daily life.

T:Yes,yes,so it became part of the custom,became part of the tradition,right?Thank you yes,part of the daily life.Thank you very much. so the second part is that deep roots probably tradition in custom.Something related with history. Thank you. How about the third paragraph? Anyone? Yes,please.Do you have microphone?

S13:In third paragraph,the flower.well,the flower is linked with the hope for happiness and good fortune.

T:Thank you,so it is hope.Anything else,any other words that you want to?

S13:And it gave visible form to an invisible wish.

T:Thank you.It also carried some invisible wishes.Yes,thank you. Good.

S13:And it also appears at every significant thing in these women's lives.

T:It appears in every significant events in those women's life,right? Why?Why do you think so?

S13:Because in these women's life,their significant events include weddings and festivals,and all these events are accompanied with a wish of good life.

T:Exactly.

S13:And the longing towards joy.

T:The longing right towards joy. The desire,the anticipation.

S13:Yeah.

T:Thank you very much.I agree I cannot agree with you more desires,anticipation.Thank you.Oh,something's wrong with this pen but anyway,anticipation.Okay.

How about the fourth paragraph?Yes,please.

举手的学生太多啦！马老师安慰另一个举手的学生：

T:You will have a chance later on.

Microphone for him.Thank you.How about this paragraph?

S8:In the four paragraph,the flowers have become the answers to the hardship,to the hard life of of the Xunpu women.

T:Yes.I love this word answer.

S8:They were also become a expectation for the future.

T:Expectation,good.

S8:For the future of their life.

T:Yes.expectations the answers.Yes,sorry.What's more?

S8:It's also a way of enduring their life.It's not an escape from reality.

T:Right?It's a way of enduring the life.

S9:It's the endurance of their life.

T:Yes.Thank you very much.

S8:That's all.

T:Thank you.How about you,the girl?You would like to say something?What's your answer?

S14:Um,I totally agree with the boy and um,I think the flower also um carries a kind of attitude.

T:Yes.

S14:From Xunpu woman and it also shows their resilience and theri hardwork.Maybe their way to admire and enjoy beauty,enjoy life.

T:Yes,their attitude of admiring those beauty enjoy their life. Thank you very much. It's attitude so look.Have a look at those form.It completed.It completed the form.

Let's say well from the very beginning of the text,the author started to tell us about the flower in a visual way,right?The author tells us,how does this flower look like?

Then furthermore,you can read something about what it carries in special festivals,so it become deeper.The meaning of this flower become deeper right?

What what kind of things we can say?About the second layer?Any idea?We'll probably will learn this kind of things in Chinese class.Yes.

Symbolic meaning,very good.

Here so,it moved from visual to symbolic.

Now my question is.Have a look at this third paragraph and fourth paragraph,do you think they are in the same level of meaning?No,then how different?How different?Any volunteer?Do you think this third paragraph and the fourth paragraph?Yes.Thank you.Microphone?Anyone?Yes,thank you.

S7:I think there become more，there become deeper，and the first paragraph and it talks about the surface of the flowers and he fourth paragraph,it talks about the meaning of headdress.

T:Yes.

S7:Yeah,it became deeper.

T:Deeper and deeper,right?

S7:Yeah,and express the meaning of the flowers.I think the flowers is the meaning of power of flowers.

T:Yes,the power of flowers,yes,

And like the girl said,it's the attitudes,right?

S7:Yeah.

T:The power,the strength,the attitude they hold towards their life.yes,and you said it's become deeper.

So it moved from visual to symbolic to a deeper way,probably we can call it philosophical.

Do you agree?

S7:Yeah.

T:Yes,it's definitely deeper,right?

S7:Yeah.

T:If this is a new word for you,then you can use your dictionary to check the meaning.

Anyway,like the girl explained,it means a way deeper way of the explanation of flowers.Thank you.Thank you very much.

So very good,we are very close to the core of this passage and you can see,you can see from this table.

The contrast the author give us the first contrast the author arranged for us. It's the word choice.

Now,um,I want you to closely feel the word choice of author like like author arranged for us. So let's have a look,I want us to look closely at one word.A word that you might think you know well.

Let's use turn on your dictionary.Let's check one word called flower.

I want you,I want you to use the dictionary and search,find out all the example sentences.that flower used as a noun.

Okay,and you can collect all those sentences later on. I want someone to share those sentences with all of us.

T:Okay,what have you got from dictionary? I think it's an easy task.What have you got?Okay?Yes,please.

S8:The sentence I got is that:

The plant has a beautiful bright red flower.

T:Yes,keep going.

S8:The roses are in flower early this year.

T:Yes?

S8:He wasted the flower of French used on his dreams of empire,okay?

The crocuses are late coming into flower.

T:Okay? So it's:waste and come into.Good.Look.Anything else?

S8:That's all.

T:That's all.

Okay.Thank you very much. Have a look at those verbs appeared in this example sentences:has,be in,waste,come into.

T:And now focus on the verbs used to describe flower in this text：rest,turning something into,brighten,carry,live on,appear,give,answered,carry.

Now you're going to have a little discussion.

What are the flowers like in this text?

Do you think those two groups of flowers,are they the same?

Or are they different?Then how different?

Now let's have a little discussion.

T:All right,anyone?Anyone would like to share your understanding or discovery?Yes.Yes,thank you.

S14:Um,I think in the text the flowers become like a person.They could answer the questions.They have their own meanings.

T:They can answer the questions and...

S14:They can become other things.They are like a people.

They're like,AH,like a people.

S14:Yes.

T:Like they have the ability to act,right? They become like a people.They act,right?Good.

S14:They could invite appeared,could live like.us and they have the person.

T:They have the what?

S14:They have the personification.

T:Personification,right?It's like personification.It can act right?It can answer questions.Who give us the question?Who give them the question?

S14:The writer.

T:And the writer and the life right?

Thank you very much. Thank you.

So you see they act the answer. Anyone else?Yes,please.Thank you.

S15:I think the verbs in the passage is more vivid.

T:Yes.

S15:Um,just as Tengxing said, it use maybe personification like rest and carry.It's a more vivid than a plant.

T: Than a plant.

S15:Just like the verbs in the dictionary.

T:Yes.

S15:um and it seems like the flowers are like.AH through this passage. it seems like um flowers are more than plants and they're like friends to Xunpu women.

T:Yes,they're like a friends to Xunpu woman.It's not only a plant anymore.right? So they have the ability to answer to act and probably they like they carry right?Carry stuff washing for women,probably they hold something.Thank you very much.

So you see author is giving flower a kind of power,like they're responding to something.right?to the hardship to the life.to the sea?

Yes,so um.the flower has this power like it's a way of saying I'm here. I'm living.right? I'm always being here and and it's a way of being in the sea. So yes,this is the heart of this text and author give us this heart or explain this heart in a very particular kind of sentence.In a very special sentence structure.

Do you know what is that?A very special,a very particular kind of sentence structure.Yes,yes,microphone.Okay.Have you noticed that sentence is structured?

S7:The flower headdresses of Quanzhou are not only ornaments, but signs of memory, resilience, and identity.

T:Exactly.So she told us one example of this sentence pattern,it's not...but...

Yes,thank you.

So like author employed a lot of constructing sentences likenot...but...in this text.

Now this is our last task.

I want you to underline all those sentences and find out which one do you find the most powerful in this passage and share your reasons.

T:OK.Do you want some time to have a little discussion in your group?

Get yourself prepared for the little presentation.Yes,do you need my help?No.Okay.

If you need my help,just raise your hand,so okay?

Okay,sorry.We have one,we have several volunteers.One by one. Okay,you first.Yes,microphone please.Which sentence?

S16:I think the last paragraph:

The flower headdresses of Quanzhou are not only ornaments, but signs of memory, resilience, and identity.

I think these words were more deeper.

T:Yes.

S16:Um,because I think this address maybe was not only the ornaments and but also the more powerful things for the Xunpu people.

T:Yes,it's not delicate,right? It's not light or delicate? It's powerful for the people.

Yes,good,thank you very much.Anyone else?Okay,

One by one,well,microphone for her,please.Do you have a microphone?

T:Yes,yes,oh,i'll take this one,thank you.

S17:the last paragraph,the last paragraph,the last sentence.

T:OK

S17:They may seem light and delicate, but what they carry is

unexpectedly strong.

T:Yes.

S17:Because the light and delicate and the strong.The meanings are so different.

T:the meanings are so different.Yes.

S17:Yes,um uh,so say,um,I think the sentence told us the flowers, the symbol of the strong will.

T:the symbol of the strong will,yes.

S17:And the people's hope.

T:People's hope.Thank you very much,It represents a strong will.represent people's good wishes towards life,hope.

Thank you.So any other volunteer?Okay.WOW so many hands later.Yes.

S18:In the fourth paragraph:

They did not choose flowers because life was easy. They chose flowers because life was hard.

T:Yes.yes.

S18:It shows that it shows that the flower not just an ornament of easy life，but a way to face to the reality.They struggle the hard life and sing for it with their own love.

T:Yes, yes. I agree so they are struggling.Yes,right indeed,but also they're choosing. They're acting,they're answering this. Thank you very much.Anyone else?Yes,please.

S19:The sentence I found the most powerful is in paragraph four.

T:Yes.

S19:Beauty, in this context, was not an escape from reality, but a way of enduring it.

T:Yes.

S19:First of all,the contrast between escaping from reality and end enduring reality is stuck.Turn the critical attitude into admiration.

In addition,the pause and supplement of the sentence beauty in this context was not play an prominent role in emphasizing it.

Last but not least,its significance is distinctive.It not only shows us the reason why they choose flowers.but also tells us the truth of living is to end endure it.

T:Thank you very much. Please,he deserves that.Thank you very much and he also mentioned the pass the pause.right?Sometimes in a language or or in a passage in a sentence pause is very important right.Beauty in this context right?is not an escape from reality.Thank you.

So you can see,flowers are not escape,and it's not a denial right?So they are a way of being in the sea,like I said.

Activity 4: Connect the central idea to personal experience

活动四：联结主旨与个人体验

Now,what about you?

总结：

We have spent the whole class looking at the flower in the hair of Xunpu woman,and we also have seen those flowers,how those flowers carry things heavy,but I believe.that in your life or in the lives around you,when things are getting heavy,you will also find your flowers.

Assignment

So this is the assignment for you.

I want you to try to find your own flower in this case.Okay,well.

You can use this sentence pattern. You have practiced,or you have discovered in this passage.All right,so here's the assignment.