ONE GOOSE, TWO GEESE

VOCABULARY:

goose,             geese,             chicken,         flock,              egg,               feather,           goose down,   

pluck,              poke,              pinch,              compare,        silly,                wild,                 tame,               pet,                 skin,                goose bumps,             afraid,             march, Mother Goose

QUESTIONS:

1.      A goose (gacho) is a bird.  A chicken (niwatori) is a bird too.  Is a goose bigger or smaller than a chicken?

2.      More than one chicken is called chickens.  What do you call more than one goose?

3.      A group of many geese is called a flock of geese.  Have you ever seen a flock of geese?  Where?

4.      Geese lay eggs.  A goose egg (tamago) is very big. Which is bigger, a goose egg or a chicken egg?

5.      You can eat goose eggs.  What could you make with a goose egg?

6.      “Goose egg” also means a big bump or swelling on the head (kobu).  For example:  “I fell down and bumped my head.  Now I have a goose egg.”  Have you ever gotten a bump on the head?  How did this happen?

  1. Birds have feathers (hane).  Goose feathers are called goose down.  Goose down is soft and warm.  What other materials are known for their warmth?
  2. Winter coats are sometimes made with goose down.  What else is made with goose down?
  3. A goose can be eaten.  First, you must pluck (no hane wo mushiru) the feathers.  Pluck means to pull out.  How do you pluck goose feathers?
  4. When it is very cold, our skin can look like the skin of a plucked goose.  This is called goose bumps (torihada).  When have you had goose bumps on your skin?
  5. Some people get goose bumps when they are afraid. Do you get goose bumps when you are afraid (kowagatte iru)?  What things are you afraid of?
  6. How would you cook a goose? Would you fry it?  Would you roast it?
  7. What else would you like to eat with goose?
  8. If we say, “His goose is cooked,” that means, “He is in trouble.”  It means he has done something wrong and someone has found out.  Has this ever happened to you?
  9. Many English expressions compare (hitteki suru) a person to a goose.  We say a person acts like a goose or looks like a goose.  Do you know a person who looks like a goose?
  10. A foolish person is called a silly (baka na) goose.   Have you ever done something that would make you a silly goose?
  11. Do geese seem silly to you? What makes geese seem silly?
  12. Geese can be wild (yasei no) or tame (nareta).  Wild geese take care of themselves.  Who takes care of tame geese?
  13. Tame geese are not afraid of people.  Where have you seen tame geese?
  14. Where have you seen wild geese? 
  15. What would a wild goose do if you tried to pet (aibu suru) it?
  16. To be on a wild goose chase (muda na sosaku) means to go to many places without finding what you are looking for.  Has this ever happened to you? 
  17. A tame goose will poke (tsutsuku) you in the legs with its beak.  Have you ever seen a goose do this? 
  18. To goose someone means to poke or pinch (tsuneru) someone.  Describe how it would feel.
  19. To goose step means to march (ashioto mo takaku aruku) with the legs straight.   Have you ever seen people march in a strange or funny way?
  20. Maza-gusu is Mother Goose.  Mother Goose wrote many stories for children.  Children all over the world like Mother Goose stories.  Have you ever heard a Mother Goose story?
  21. What is your favorite children’s story?
  22. When the weather gets cold, geese like to go somewhere warmer.  Where do geese in Japan go during the winter?
  23. What shape do geese form when they fly south for the winter?
  24. In America some people go to homes in the south during the winter. Do you prefer warm or cold weather?

IDIOMS/ EXPRESSIONS

1.      Birds of a feather flock together.

2.      A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

3.      We saw a movie that was a love story.  It was a chick flick. 

4.      You are afraid to go into the dark alley.  You are chicken!

5.      Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

 

Written by BF

Edited by HTS