Here We Go 1 Unit 8 Analysis for Teachers

Self-Assessment Questions for Students (Teacher’s Perspective)

These questions can help students self-assess their understanding, knowledge, and progress in Unit 8. Teachers can use these in class, as homework, or for periodic checks of student learning progress.

Vocabulary

• Party Preparation Vocabulary: Can students correctly use vocabulary related to party preparations when speaking, such as “ready,” “choose,” “decorate,” “get ready,” “baking a cake,” “setting the table,” and “washing dishes”?
• Impression Adjectives: Can students use new adjectives like “fine,” “special,” “wonderful,” “pretty,” “cool,” “funny,” “cute,” “delicious,” “nice,” and “excited” to express impressions of things?
• Party-Related Nouns: Can students explain the meaning of nouns related to parties and presents like “album,” “cake,” “balloon,” “cup,” “shirt,” “glasses,” “photos,” “table,” “dishes,” “message,” “yukata,” and “omikuji”?
• Situation Adverbs: Can students use adverbs like “now,” “so far,” “inside,” “out of ~,” “far,” and “in line” to describe situations and locations?
• Action Verbs: Can students use verbs like “help,” “see,” “speak,” “look,” “think,” “wear,” “decorate,” “put up,” “get ready,” “choose,” “bake,” “dance,” “eat,” “look out,” “show,” “wait,” “wash,” “write,” “talk,” and “set” to describe actions and states?
• Conversational Expressions: Can students enrich conversations by using expressions like “That’s right.”, “Wow!”, “See you later.”, “Hello?”, “How’s everything?”, “Cool.”, “Come to ~”, “It looks wonderful!”, and “It’s very pretty.”?

Grammar

• Can students explain actions in progress using the Present Continuous tense (be verb + verb-ing form)? Example: “I’m baking a cake now.”
• Can students ask questions about actions in progress using the Present Continuous question form (Be verb + Subject + verb-ing?)? Example: “Are you baking a cake?”
• Can students use “What” questions, such as “What are you doing?” to ask what someone is doing?
• Can students answer Yes/No Present Continuous questions appropriately, e.g., “Yes, I am. / No, I’m not.”?
• Can students express impressions of appearance using “look + adjective,” such as “It looks wonderful.” and “Kota looks funny.”?

Communication

• Can students describe in English what situation a picture represents?
• In pairs, using textbook pictures, can students ask each other what they are doing using the Present Continuous tense?
• Can students express their opinions and feelings about party preparations and presents in English?
• Can students respond to teacher and peer questions using the grammar and vocabulary learned in the unit?
• Can students have simple English conversations with friends about party plans and preparations?

Mapping Learning Objectives to Bloom’s Taxonomy – Revised

Here’s how Unit 8 learning objectives map to Bloom’s Taxonomy:

Remembering (Knowledge)

• Recall and identify specific vocabulary related to party preparations, situation descriptions, and expressing impressions, including words from “New Words” and “Word Boards” lists (e.g., “ready,” “choose,” “decorate,” “wonderful,” “baking a cake,” “setting the table,” “dancing,” “cute,” “cool,” “funny”).
• Understand and recall the basic form of the Present Continuous tense (“be verb + verb-ing form”) and the “look + adjective” structure.
• Remember basic phrases and expressions introduced in the unit (e.g., “That’s right.”, “See you later.”, “What are you doing?”, “It looks wonderful!”).

Understanding (Comprehension)

• Explain the meaning of new vocabulary words within the context of party preparations and birthday parties.
• Understand that the Present Continuous tense describes actions happening “now” and differentiate it from the Simple Present tense (habitual actions).
• Understand that “look + adjective” is a structure for expressing appearance or impression, not just a factual statement. Specifically, understand that “look” here means to appear or seem, not the action of seeing with one’s eyes.
• Comprehend the overall meaning of dialogues, including the context, speakers’ intentions, and conversational flow.

Applying (Application)

• Apply learned vocabulary, especially from both “New Words” and “Word Boards,” when describing pictures, discussing party preparations, and expressing personal preferences.
• Apply Present Continuous grammar rules to create grammatically correct statements and questions.
• Apply the “look + adjective” structure to describe how things appear in pictures and generally.
• Apply understanding of English instructions to complete various unit activities (listening, speaking, and writing exercises).

Analyzing (Analyzing)

• Analyze pictures to identify specific actions depicted and match them with correct English descriptions.
• Analyze audio content to understand the sequence of events in a story and correctly order pictures.
• Analyze the distinction between Simple Present and Present Continuous by understanding their contrasting uses (habitual vs. present action).
• Analyze and understand multi-step instructions given in English to effectively perform tasks (Implicit Skill).

Evaluating (Evaluating)

• Judge the appropriateness of adjectives (like cute, cool, funny, delicious) for items based on context or implied meaning from audio.
• In speaking activities, evaluate whether a partner’s guesses about actions in pictures are correct.
• Evaluate and judge the importance of different elements in party preparations based on unit content (Implicit Evaluation).

Creating (Creating)

• Create original captions to describe pictures, using learned vocabulary and grammar.
• Imagine and create a concept for a photo for Tina’s album’s last page and write a caption.
• Create original dialogues in speaking activities by imitating actions and asking/answering questions, demonstrating spontaneous language use.
• Express basic information about Japanese cultural elements encountered in the unit (like omikuji, yukata) in English (Cultural Awareness – nascent Creation).

This unit emphasizes remembering, understanding, and applying new vocabulary and grammar, and cultivates analytical and evaluative skills through various activities. Creative tasks are also integrated, and the unit aims to develop not only linguistic competence but also broader learning skills and cultural awareness.

Complete List of New Vocabulary Words

Here is a complete list of new vocabulary words introduced in Unit 8, including words from both “New Words” sections and “Word Boards”:

Page 155: New Words

• ready rédi – 用意ができた
• choose tʃúːz – ～を選ぶ
• line láin – 列, 行列
• get ready – 準備をする
• in line – 並んで, 列になって

Page 155: Word Board – Party Preparation Actions

• baking a cake (ケーキを焼くこと)
• choosing photos (写真を選ぶこと)
• setting the table (食卓の準備をすること)
• talking on the phone (電話で話すこと)
• waiting in line (並んで待つこと)
• washing dishes (皿洗いをすること)
• writing a message (メッセージを書くこと)

Page 156: New Words

• fine fáin – すばらしい, 満足できる
• special spéʃəl – 特別な [の]
• album ǽlbəm – アルバム
• and ænd/ənd – そして
• kitchen kítʃən – 台所, キッチン
• now náu – 今 (では), 現在 (では)
• help hélp – (人) を手伝う, 助ける
• o’clock əklάk – ～時
• see síː – (人) に会う

Page 157: New Words

• right ráit – 正しい, 間違いのない
• ice cream áis kriːm – アイスクリーム
• window wíndou – 窓
• class klǽs – クラス, 学級
• speak spíːk – 話す
• wear(ing) wéər(ɪŋ) – ～を身に着けている, 着ている
• That’s right. – そのとおりです。
• out of ～ – ～の中から外へ

Page 157: Word Board – Descriptive Actions

• dancing (踊っている)
• eating ice cream (アイスクリームを食べている)
• looking out of the window (窓の外を見ている)
• showing her omikuji (彼女におみくじを見せている)
• speaking in the class (授業で話している)
• wearing a yukata (浴衣を着ている)

Page 158: New Words

• so sóu/sə – この程度まで, これくらいまで
• far fάːr – 遠く, はるかに
• decorate dékərèit – ～を飾る, 装飾する
• pretty príti – かわいらしい, 魅力的な
• put up ～ – (壁に絵など) を取り付ける

Page 160: New Words

• wow wáu – (感銘、喜びなどを表して) うわあ, やあ
• no nóu – 少しの～もない
• inside insáid – 内側に, 内部に
• all ɔːl – [主語・目的語の同格に用いて] 全て, みんな
• think θíŋk – ～と思う
• look lúk – ～に見える
• wonderful wʌ́ndərfl – すばらしい, すてきな, 見事な

Page 161: New Words

• shirt ʃə́ːrt – シャツ
• cup kʌ́p – カップ, (コーヒー、紅茶用の) 茶わん
• glasses glǽsiz – 眼鏡

In addition to the above, throughout the unit, various words already learned in textbooks are used in new contexts. It is important for students to understand the meanings of these words in context and be able to use them appropriately.

Grammar Points and Patterns to Master in Unit 8

The key grammar points and patterns for students to master in this unit are as follows:

Present Continuous Tense

• Using the “be verb (am, are, is) + verb-ing form” to express actions in progress.
• Differentiating the use of be verbs according to the subject (I – am, You/plural – are, Third-person singular – is).
• Understanding and using affirmative, negative, interrogative, Yes/No short forms, and “What” question forms.
• Examples: “I am baking a cake now.”, “Are you baking a cake?”, “What are you doing?”

“look + Adjective” Structure

• Using the “look + adjective” form to express appearance or impressions as “~ looks like.”
• Understanding that “look” functions like a be verb, connecting the subject and adjective. It is important to note that ‘look’ here means to appear or seem, not the action of seeing with one’s eyes.
• Examples: “It looks wonderful.”, “Kota looks funny.”

Supplementary Notes

• The unit also practices questions using question words (What, Where, How).
• “That’s right.”, “Wow!”, “See you later.”, “How’s everything?”, “It’s very pretty.” and other expressions to facilitate conversation are also learned.
• The unit implicitly introduces elements of Japanese culture such as Omikuji and Yukata, fostering cultural awareness.
• Activities implicitly encourage development of skills in following multi-step instructions in English.

By understanding and practicing these grammar points and patterns, students can achieve the learning objectives of Unit 8 and enhance their English communication skills, while also developing important learning skills and cultural awareness.