Classroom Reflections on 'Loyal Bones Lie Buried Everywhere Under the Green Hills'

《 Loyal Bones Lie Buried Everywhere Under the Green Mountains 》 Classroom Reflections

Primary School   Kuang Yuan

《 Loyal Bones Lie Buried Everywhere Under the Green Mountains 》 This is a cursory reading text from the eighth unit of the fifth grade, first semester, People's Education Edition. It tells the story of Mao Anying, Chairman Mao's beloved son, who gloriously sacrificed his life during the Korean War. Faced with the question of his son's remains, Chairman Mao made a difficult decision, ultimately leaving Anying's body in Korea. The key and difficult points of this lesson are to guide students to understand Chairman Mao's ordinary and great sentiments.

During teaching, I used Chairman Mao's emotional changes as the main line. In class, I created a scenario, allowing students to discuss in groups and then give feedback collectively, using reading to promote understanding and emotion,

Through multiple readings and familiarization with the text, the emotions the article expresses naturally embed themselves in the students' hearts.

For example, when studying Chairman Mao's feelings upon receiving the bad news, the decision-making process, and his feelings after the decision, I divided the students into three groups to study and discuss. The questions to be discussed were clearly defined, and a learning method was provided: first read (the text content), second think (Chairman Mao's feelings), third find (character portrayal), fourth discuss (inner feelings), and fifth read aloud (emotional expression).

If this segment is considered a channel for children to explore problems, then the learning method I provided is their roadmap. Approximately 5 minutes later, representatives from each group successfully provided feedback on the questions.

（ "Anying! Anying!" The Chairman pressed his index finger against his tightly furrowed brow, muttering involuntarily.

When students answered that the sentence used language, action, and expression descriptions to express Chairman Mao's grief, I followed up by asking: "What did you understand when you read this sentence?"

"I understand that Chairman Mao was calling for Mao Anying, involuntarily calling him just like he did when Anying was alive; he really wanted to call him back."

"Yes, this is his heartfelt call for his son; he seems to have a lot to say to Anying. What does he want to say?"

Then, I created a scenario to guide students to deeply understand the pain of losing a son in old age:

"Anying, Anying—why did you leave me so cruelly?"

"Anying, Anying—are you really gone? I still have so much to say to you."

"Anying, Anying, we father and son have spent little time together, I owe you so much. I was going to entrust you with important responsibilities when you returned victorious this time, but—"

Students recited and reflected on their own. I seized the opportunity: "Who can read this with the right emotion?"

The first student read it flatly. Another student evaluated the reading, believing that the sorrowful tone wasn't conveyed. He read it with the emotion he understood, deeply and with great sorrow. His reading was excellent, so I had the whole class read the sentence again. Their solemn tone conveyed Chairman Mao's grief over the loss of his son.

In the following teaching, the students found key sentences based on the group feedback.

By reading sentences, discussing understanding, and using their own language and tone to understand and express the Chairman's emotions, the vast majority of students were able to understand Chairman Mao's "ordinary sentiments" and "great sentiments."

In this teaching model, the teacher takes a backseat, giving students more opportunities to express themselves. This cultivates reading and expression skills, stimulates thinking, gives students a sense of accomplishment, and significantly improves teaching effectiveness.