Unit 10: The Peach Boy
This unit is about Japan — its costumes, customs, food, fruits, and festivals — through the folktale 'Momotaro' (The Peach Boy). Pupils learn anaphoric and cataphoric references, the prepositions 'along' and 'against', and read about Willy Wonka's winner announcement.
Pupils talk about Japanese culture by looking at the book cover of 'Momotaro':
Costumes: kimono, obi (sash), Hakama (worn over a kimono)
Customs: sitting upright on a tatami mat, bowing to greet one another
Food: sashimi (thinly-sliced raw fish), dango (Japanese sweet dumpling)
Fruits: mama (peach), ume (plum blossoms), nashi (Japanese pear), sakura (cherry blossoms)
Festivals: Takayama Matsuri (decorated floats), Sapporo (Snow Festival)
An elderly childless couple find a giant peach floating down the river. A baby comes out of the peach and is named 'Momotaro' ('Peach Boy'). Story sequence:
The old woman finds a giant peach and shows it to her husband
They place it against the wall; a baby comes out — they name him Momotaro
Momotaro grows up strong and brave; an evil ogre attacks the village
Momotaro asks permission from his parents to fight the ogre; mother prepares dango
On the way, he meets a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant, giving each a dango
Together they sail to the ogre's island and fight the sleeping ogre
Pupils read an email from Sigat's penfriend Hitomi in Japan about cherry blossoms (sakura) and Tokyo. Reference types:
Anaphoric reference: refers to a subject introduced EARLIER — 'She took the peach home.' (She = old woman)
Cataphoric reference: refers to a subject introduced LATER — 'When they landed, Momotaro and his friends saw the ogre sleeping.' (they = Momotaro + friends)
Activity: write a reply email to Hitomi about Malaysia
'Along' and 'against' are prepositions of position that show the location of an object or person.
| along | placed from one end to the other, or moving in a constant direction — 'These trees are planted along the road.' | |
| against | pressing on another object — 'The man is leaning against the wall.' | |
Willy Wonka's contest was a plan to find a successor to take over the factory. The five children's fates:
Augustus Gloop fell into the chocolate river and was sucked up by super pipes
Veruca wanted Wonka's squirrels but was thrown down the garbage chute as a 'bad nut'
Violet grabbed an experimental gum against Wonka's advice and turned into a giant blueberry
Mike tried to film himself in the Chocolate Television Room and shrank in size
Charlie obeyed instructions and listened to Mr Wonka — he was the winner
'Along' shows placement or movement from one end to the other (trees along the road). 'Against' shows physical contact or pressing on another object (leaning against the wall). An anaphoric reference points back to something mentioned earlier; a cataphoric reference points forward to something mentioned later.
📝 Kosa Kata
Momotaro is one of Japan's most famous folktales, dating back to the Edo period (1603–1867). The dog, monkey, and pheasant that help Momotaro are said to represent loyalty, cleverness, and courage — three qualities needed to defeat evil.
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