Level: Age Range: Adult
The Cover Page
Title of the
lesson
Contact Info
Level / Subject
Area
Overall goals
for the lesson
Instructional
objectives
Description of
Lesson
Time Allotted
for Lesson
Materials,
tools and
resources
What I plan to
write on the
board
Prerequisite
skills
Class layout
and grouping
of students
Anticipated
problems
Personal aims
Cooking
Aileen Acevedo, ms.acevedo.aileen@gmail.com
Intermediate – verbs, descriptions, and appliances used when cooking food
Students will learn vocabulary associated with cooking and describing food and
communicating regarding the topic of cooking
By the end of the unit, intermediate EFL students will be able to give step-by-step cooking
instructions in English by creating a mock cooking show video in which they will utilize all the
correct vocabulary regarding food texture & taste, appliances, cooking verbs, and
sequencing words
Day 1: Adjectives describing food textures, Day 2: Adjectives describing food taste, Day 3:
Vocabulary: kitchen appliances, Day 4: Cooking Verbs, Day 5: Putting it all together in the
context of a cooking show
50mins/lesson, Total for all: 250mins/4hrs & 10mins
Computer with internet access and audio capability, flashcards, worksheets, food items
Vocabulary Words and Grammar Points
Students should be very familiar with vocabulary related to food items, basic kitchen utensils,
etc.
Heterogeneous groups for paired and group work, whole class for Presentation phases
Technological malfunctions, student confidence carrying out final project
Reduce resorting to speaking in their native language (Spanish)/Provide better instructions in
English
Day 1: Food Textures
Materials – food, flashcards, worksheets
Student Teacher Interaction: T>S, S>T, S>S
Warm-up activity - 5 minutes
-Pass out a small sample of each of the following foods and instruct students to eat (Not all students need a sample of each
item, nor are they required to eat it)
gum, potato chips, pudding, orange, toast, cake
-Ask random students who ate their food how was it, if they state something like “good” or “o.k.” you say the word that
describes the texture, (i.e. – T: Ralph, how is your orange? Ralph: good T: Juicy right? (make slurping sound)) Try to get an
example of each.
Presentation – 10 minutes
Write the following words on the board: chewy, crunchy, creamy, juicy, dry, moist – under the heading “Food Textures”
-Hold up a flashcard of each of the foods the students were to sample, get students to help you figure out under which
heading each food should go (make sounds or mime to aid the meaning of the words)
-Do an echo drill of all the words as you point to them to assure correct pronunciation.
- Informal assessment:Get students to come up with other foods that can go under each heading until you have a few
examples under each (this confirms whether the students understand the meaning of the words)
Practice - 20 minutes
Activity 1:
Have students do a matching activity in which they match the words to pictures of food that could be described using the
words. The foods could be chewy candy, crackers, cream soup, any juicy fruit, meat (will need to be adapted to country)
Activity 2:
Have students write sentence examples for Activity 1.
Production - 15 minutes
-Put students in pairs and instruct them to discuss with their partner one food item they like to eat with each of the textures
and make sure to mention the texture.
Informal Assessment
-Listen in on the conversations to assure they use the words correctly in context
- Reconvene the class and get a few volunteers to share
Homework: Have students look up more words that describe food textures or come up with more food that fit the textures
that were learned today.
Day 2: Food Tastes
Materials – Computer w/internet access and audio capability, flashcards, worksheets
Student Teacher Interaction: T>S, S>T, S>S
Presentation – 15 minutes
-Write on the board the words: bland, sweet, sour, spicy, salty – under the heading “Food Tastes”
-Using picture/flashcards of plain cottage cheese, sugar, lemon, salsa, salt – hold each one up and say the word once, then
say “Food item is adjective describing taste.”, i.e., “Cottage cheese is bland.” Place the card under the correct word heading.
Do this for all the cards.
-Do an echo drill of all the words as you point to them to assure correct pronunciation.
-Informal Assessment: Get students to come up with other foods that can go under each heading until you have a few
examples under each
Practice – 20 minutes
Activity 1: Listening for the gist
-Before passing out a sheet with the following questions, inform the students that they will be listening to a recorded dialogue
and answering questions on a sheet. Commence to pass out sheets, then read all the questions out loud with the class.
1) Elaine thinks the soup is bland.
True / False
2) Elaine thinks the cake is sweet.
True/false
3) Elaine thinks the chicken is
a) spicy
b) salty
c) spicy and salty
-Play Food Tastes Podcast
-Elicit the answers to the questions.
Activity 2: Listening for more detail
-Provide the same instructions as before and play the audio again.
1) Steve cooked ______________ for Elaine.
a) breakfast
b) lunch
c) dinner
2) Elaine told Steve the soup was _______________.
a) disgusting
b) delicious
c) delightful
3) The main course is _______________.
a) Baked chicken
b) Soup
c) Cake
4) The word raw means not cooked.
True / False
5) What did Steve make for dessert?
a) Baked chicken
b) Soup
c) Cake
6) Elaine thought the meal was ________.
a) Good
b) Bad
Production – 15 minutes
-Provide the students with a transcript of the audio. In pairs, have them read through the transcript and discuss their answers.
-Reconvene the class and elicit the answers to the questions
-Display the transcript on an over head and discuss any answers they weren’t able to get on their own.
-Discuss errors heard during the activity
Homework: Have students look up more words that describe food tastes or come up with more foods that fit the tastes that
were learned.
Day 3: Vocabulary: kitchen/cooking appliances
Materials – Flashcards, worksheets
Student Teacher Interaction: T>S, S>T, S>S
Presentation – 10 minutes
-Write on the board the words: pan, oven, stove, blender, spatula, mixer, pot, strainer, whisk, measuring cup – under the
heading “Kitchen Appliances”
-Using picture/flashcards of each item – hold each one up and say the word once then have the students repeat the
word. Place the card under the correct word heading. Do this for all the cards.
-Do an echo drill of all the words as you point to them to assure correct pronunciation.
-Informal Assessment: Get students to come up with foods that can go under each heading until you have a few
examples under each
Practice – 20 minutes
Activity 1:
-Put students in pairs or groups and pass out pictures of cooked items, i.e. rice, sunny-side-up eggs, cake, etc. and have
students come up with a list of appliances that will be needed to make the food items.
Activity 2:
-Use the following vocabulary words to fill in the blanks: pan, stove, blender, spatula, mixer, pot, whisk, measuring cup
On the weekends I like to make a hot breakfast. Today I made hard-boiled eggs, pancakes, and a fruit smoothie. First, I put a
_________full of water and the eggs on the ____________ and let it boil. Next, I started on the pancakes. I used a
_____________ to measure the pancake mixture and water needed. I put them in a bowl and used a ___________ to mix it
together. It was coming out too lumpy, so I used a __________instead. When it was smooth, I poured the mixture into a
_________ I had set on the stove. I flipped it a few times with a __________ as it was cooking. Finally, I made a smoothie
with strawberries, bananas, and orange juice in the ___________.
Production – 10 minutes
-Put students in pairs and give them pictures of the appliances.
-Have the students describe the appliance without letting their partner see and have them guess which appliance it is.
Homework/Assessment: Have the students complete and print the following on-line quiz:
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-15061.php
Day 4: Cooking Verbs
Materials – Flashcards, worksheets
Student Teacher Interaction: T>S, S>T, S>S
Presentation – 15 minutes
-Ask students to think about their favorite dish/recipe and have them share with a partner what it is and how to prepare it.
-Inform the students that they probably had a little trouble using the correct verbs to describe how to prepare certain foods
and today’s lesson is to teach them just that.
-Write on the board the words: boil, bake, heat, sauté, fry, chop, slice, season, flip, stir – under the heading “Cooking Verbs”
-Using picture/flashcards that represent each verb – hold each one up and say the word once then have the students repeat
the word. Place the card under the correct word heading. Do this for all the cards.
-Do an echo drill of all the words as you point to them to assure correct pronunciation.
Practice – 20 minutes
Activity 1
-Pass out several different food preparation instructions from food packages (i.e. oat meal) or print some from a website like
Food Network. Put students in pairs and have them read the instructions and highlight all the cooking verbs and decide what
they mean.
-Go over the answers together as a class
Activity 2
-Put the students in pairs have them summarize in their own words how to prepare the dishes from Activity 1.
Production – 15 minutes
-Have students write the instructions for a recipe of their choosing
-Get volunteers to share with the rest of the class
-Homework: Have students complete this cooking verbs activity by printing the pictures and labeling with the correct verb.
Day 5: Putting it all together
Materials – Worksheets, computer with internet access and audio capability
Student Teacher Interaction: T>S, S>T, S>S
Presentation – 10 minutes
- Show this cooking video to your class.
-Inform your students that they will be putting together a similar video of their own using all they’ve learned during the
previous days.
-Use the explanation provided in this video to teach the sequencing words: Next, Finally, Last, To begin with, First, Then,
After that, Second
Practice - 20 minutes
Activity 1
-Use the example instructions from the video she writes on the board in a cloze/gap activity with a sequencing words word
bank.
-Play the video again and have the students correct any mistakes
Activity 2
-Give students the recipe instructions from the day before (instructions on recipes shouldn’t feature sequencing words) and
have them rewrite the instructions with the correct sequencing words.
-Go over the answers as a class
Production – 20 minutes
*Final Summative Assessment*
-Put students in groups of three and inform them that they now have to write a script for the cooking show. They can pick any
dish they desire.
-They will need to incorporate everything they learned in the previous days and incorporate correct speaking grammar.
-They will be graded on the following rubric:
Speaking/Writing Rubric: EFL Cooking Show
Teacher Name: Ms. Acevedo
Student Name:
________________________________________
CATEGORY
Food Texture
Adjectives
4
Used 4 adjectives
correctly
3
Used 3 adjectives
correctly
2
Used 2 adjectives
correctly
1
Used 1 adjective
correctly
Food Taste
Adjectives
Used 4 adjectives
correctly
Used 3 adjectives
correctly
Used 2 adjectives
correctly
Used 1 adjective
correctly
Kitchen Appliances
Vocabulary
Used 4 vocab.
words correctly
Used 3 vocab.
words correctly
Used 2 vocab.
words correctly
Used 1 vocab.
word correctly
Cooking Verbs
Used 4 verbs
correctly
Used 3 verbs
correctly
Used 2 verbs
correctly
Used 1 verb
correctly
Sequencing
Words
Used sequencing
words correctly
100% of the time
Used sequencing Used sequencing Used sequencing
words correctly 90- words correctly 80- words correctly 7099% of the time
89% of the time
79% of the time
-They will use this class time to begin writing the script as the teacher assists as necessary
-They will complete the project during their personal time and turn in the videos to the teacher next class(It is intended that
the unit will be done Mon-Fri and students will have the weekend to complete the project.)