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Japanese Describing People

Eighth graders learn to describe people (ひと, hito) in Japanese — both how they look (せがたかい, se ga takai, tall) and what they’re like (やさしい, yasashii, kind). They sort appearance words from personality words.

Grade 8Describing People50 minutes1 class periodACTFL / World LanguagesExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Describe people.
  • ✓Tell looks from personality.
  • ✓Sort the words.
  • ✓Describe a friend.
Essential Question

How do you describe a person in Japanese — their looks AND their personality? Let’s find out.

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Appearance or Personality?

Project this and sort each word into Appearance (looks) or Personality (character).

👤 Sort each — appearance or personality?Try it
👔 Appearance (looks)
😊 Personality (character)
Tap a word, then tap a box.
The Lesson · Language Flow (Warm-Up · Present · Practice · Speak · Reflect)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Who Is That?

6 min

How do you describe a person in Japanese — looks AND personality?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Describe a character.
  • Ask the Japanese words.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Look.
  • Guess.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Describing People

12 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Appearance or Personality?
  • Sort each one.
  • Say them aloud.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort.
  • Say.
  • Repeat.
3

Practice — Practice

13 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Describe a friend’s looks.
  • Describe their personality.
  • Say yasashii.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Describe.
  • Describe.
  • Say it.
4

Speak — Speak

13 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say “Tomodachi wa yasashii desu.”
  • Describe someone.
  • Ask a partner.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Describe.
  • Ask.
5

Reflect — Reflect

6 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name an appearance word.
  • Name a personality word.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Name one.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Novice-High).

ACTFL
Communication 1.2

Interpretive: understand descriptions.

ACTFL
Communication 1.3

Presentational: describe people.

ACTFL
Comparisons 4.1

Compare descriptive words.

ACTFL
Communication 1.1

Interpersonal: describe & react.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Description cards with romaji.
  • Sentence frame: “___ wa ___ desu.”
  • Use pictures.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with takai & yasashii.
  • Sort one at a time.
  • Use pictures.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add descriptions of a family member.
  • Write a description.
  • Guess who.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 👤Description cards
  • 💻Appearance or Personality?
  • 🖼️Picture prompts
  • ✏️Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

ひと (hito)personせがたかい (se ga takai)tallかみ (kami)hairめがね (megane)glassesわかい (wakai)youngやさしい (yasashii)kindおもしろい (omoshiroi)funnyしずか (shizuka)quiet
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
How do you say “tall” in Japanese?
せがたかい (se ga takai).
QUESTION 2
What does やさしい (yasashii) mean?
Kind.
QUESTION 3
Is しずか (shizuka) an appearance or a personality word?
Personality (it means quiet).

Reflect: describing people.

Have students describe a friend in Japanese, using one appearance word and one personality word. A printable Japanese people sheet is in the World Languages library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Japanese Describing PeopleFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Japanese Describing PeopleQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Japanese Describing PeoplePrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: おもしろい (omoshiroi), かみ (kami), しずか (shizuka), せがたかい (se ga takai), ひと (hito), めがね (megane), やさしい (yasashii), わかい (wakai)
  1. person
  2. funny
  3. hair
  4. young
  5. quiet
  6. glasses
  7. kind
  8. tall

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. How do you say “tall” in Japanese?
  2. What does やさしい (yasashii) mean?
  3. Is しずか (shizuka) an appearance or a personality word?
Answer key — Part A: 1) ひと (hito) · 2) おもしろい (omoshiroi) · 3) かみ (kami) · 4) わかい (wakai) · 5) しずか (shizuka) · 6) めがね (megane) · 7) やさしい (yasashii) · 8) せがたかい (se ga takai)
Part B: 1) せがたかい (se ga takai). 2) Kind. 3) Personality (it means quiet).