Robin Adamopoulos

ENG 539 Second Lang Acquisition

Dr. Vila
March 16, 2004
Lesson Plan: The Class Party/Food/Shopping Vocabulary
Subject: English as a Second Language
Level: Adult Beginner, Low Intermediate
Secondary, grades 9-12, Beginner, Low Intermediate
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
1.) Recognize and use food vocabulary.
2.) Gain understanding of food quantities and units of measure, in terms of food
pricing.
3.) Create a shopping list within an assigned budget.
4.) Prepare a menu, following a standard format.
5.) Become familiar with American customs: celebrations and food.
Materials:
Sales flyers from supermarkets
Shopping List Handout (see attached)
Menu-planning Handout (see attached)
Calculators for figuring out prices
Conversation Questions: written on an overhead transparency or handout
Pictures of food items posted in the room with food vocabulary for quick
reference.
Procedures:
A. Warm up/ Conversation (15 minutes)
1.) Place questions on overhead or hand out questions to students so that
students can see the words.
2.) Read the conversation questions aloud:
Questions:
What is a big holiday in your country? What foods do people
typically eat?
What do you think about American food? Do you like crabs?
Do you like corn-on-the-cob? Do you like fried chicken?
What is your favorite food? Pizza? Hamburgers? Etc.
3.) Allow students to answer with yes or no, gestures, head nods, or facial
expressions anything to confirm comprehension. In a class of
beginners, the instructor will need to do most of the talking.

B. Guided Practice: Supermarket Flyer Activity (35 minutes)

1.) Write the key vocabulary words on an overhead or chalkboard:
Abbreviations used in the sales flyers:
Lb. = pound
Ea. = each
Oz. = ounces
2.) Read the words and point to the abbreviations so that the students can see
the connection.
3.) Hand out the shopping list and sales flyers. Talk about the activity: We
are going to plan a dinner party for the class. You have $100.00 to spend.
Go through the sales flyer and pick foods that you would like to buy for
our party. Write them on the paper with the price of the food.
4.) Break the class into groups of no more than three to a group.
5.) Circulate the room and check on each groups progress: checking for
comprehension and offering assistance as needed. Students may need
assistance with quantities and calculating prices. Offer individualized help
for this.
C. Summary/closure
1.) At the end of the group activity, invite students to share what they found
and what types of foods they would have at the party.
2.) For beginners, the teacher should ask the group to see the list. The teacher
can then read the groups list with expression:
Examples: Yummy! Shrimp with linguine! Sounds delicious! That
would make a great dish for the party!
D. Independent Practice
1.) Design a Menu Handout. Ask students to use the shopping list from class
today to plan a menu for the class party.
2.) The Menu handout should have examples with a sample menu. For
example: a typical Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner menu.
Evaluation/Assessment:
A. Informal/Formative Assessment
1.) Teacher observations during conversation. The teacher should check
for the level of comprehension quality of responses: Can the
students answer with target vocabulary? Can they answer yes or
no?
2.) Teacher observations during supermarket flyer activity. Did the
students comprehend the activity? Could they follow the directions?
How successful were the students in completing the activity?
B. Formal/Summative Assessment
1.) Shopping List Handout How close did the students come to
achievement of the objectives? Variety of food vocabulary used
understanding of quantities and pricing of foods.

2.) Menu Design Variety of foods, organization, following the model,

presentation/neatness.
3.) Both of the above assessments would be placed in a portfolio of
student work. Students will be asked at a later date to assess these
activities and to demonstrate their progress in the course in a reflection
statement.
** A possible culminating activity for this unit: Students will bring in foods from
their countries to share with the class. Students will bring in the recipes for their food
items and the cost of preparation as a final project.
Sources:
Karins ESL Partyland. Ideas for Using Authentic Texts with Low-Level ESL Classes.
<http://www.eslpartyland.com/teachers/reading/authentic.htm>
Accessed on March 1, 2004.

Supermarket Flyer Activity

Shopping List
Name:
Date:
How to calculate prices:
Ground Beef -- $2.49 a lb. When you buy 3 lbs. or more.
3 lbs. X $2.49 = $7.47

price of 3 lbs. of ground beef.

SHOPPING LIST:
Food Item
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Price ($)
$_________

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__________ = $100.00
Total Budget

Menu Planning Activity

Name:
Date:
EXAMPLE:
Thanksgiving Dinner
Appetizers: Sausage-Cheese Balls
Salad: Lettuce with Ranch Dressing
Main Dish: Turkey with Stuffing and Gravy
Side Dishes: Mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, corn bread
Dessert: Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Cake
Beverages: Coffee, Iced Tea, Sodas
ASSIGNMENT:
Create a menu for our class party from the foods on your shopping list. Follow the
example above.
Appetizers:
Salad:
Main Dish/Entre:

Side Dishes/Vegetables:

Dessert:

Beverages/Drinks: