Teaching English language learners about food and nutrition can be very beneficial. It provides a meaningful context for learning new vocabulary, grammatical structures and expressions while also providing them with opportunities to explore food according to different world cultures. Focusing on food as an educational tool also increases student engagement and motivation, as it addresses a topic that is relevant and interesting to many learners. Food activities can also spark discussions about healthy eating habits.
1. Compare nutrition labels
Reading nutrition labels is a skill that all students should learn. As they learn to speak and understand the English language, nutrition labels can be difficult at first, but being exposed to and deciphering a variety of labels is great practice.
Learn more: Homeschool Scientist
2. Food charades
For this game, divide students into teams. Each player will take a turn enacting a scene relating to food and eating. For example, a student may act as if he is biting an apple and his classmates will try to guess what he is doing.
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3. Food vocabulary relay
After dividing students into small groups, write the letters A to Z on a board and post them around the room. Students will write a word for each letter of the alphabet relating to food. The first group to correctly complete all 26 letters wins a prize!
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4. Food sorting
Students will use printable flashcards to sort each food into a category. You can use any food category of your choice, such as meat, fruits, vegetables and desserts. You can use a graphic organizer to guide students in sorting.
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5. Food tasting
Bring different types of foods for students to taste and describe. This can be a fun way to introduce new vocabulary and food-related adjectives. Encourage students to tell a classmate what food they liked the most.
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6. Recipe exchange
Invite students to share their favorite recipes from their home country with the class. Award bonus points for students who can bring in the finished product for their classmates to try. This will allow students to learn more about the cultures of their classmates.
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7. Design a food truck
Students will design their own food truck using this printable template. Encourage students to name their food truck and create a menu of dishes they would like to serve. They can work individually or in small groups to encourage teamwork.
Learn more: Do and take
8. Grocery Shopping Challenge
This activity can be done by physically shopping at the grocery store or by visiting an online grocery ordering website. Students will be tasked with finding specific items based on their descriptions.
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9. Food debate
Divide the class into two teams and ask them to discuss different food-related topics. For example, ask students, “Should macaroni and cheese be eaten with a spoon or a fork?” » and encourage them to use specific vocabulary words in their answers.
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10. Food Memory Game
This game is similar to the traditional “memory” game. You will place all the food cards face down. Students will turn over one card at a time and announce the food as they discover it. The goal is to find a matching pair for each element.
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11. What foods go together?
This activity focuses on food word associations. Give students a word related to food and ask them to find as many related words as possible. For example, say “peanut butter” and students will likely respond with “jelly” or “jam.”
Learn more: ESL safe
12. Food Journal
Food journaling is beneficial in helping students become more health conscious in their consumption choices. They will write down the foods they eat that are specific to breakfast, lunch, and dinner before sharing their journal with their classmates at the end of each day or week.
Learn more: The Homeschool Scientist
13. Dinner Conversation
Students will observe lively dialogue that models acceptable dinner conversations. The video is designed for English language learners and provides learners with the opportunity to repeat the sentences throughout the video. After the video, have students share an approved story at the table.
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14. Cooking Questions and Answers
Culinary vocabulary is important for everyone to know. This resource includes a variety of terms and questions you can use when teaching students about nutrition. I would recommend that students work in pairs to improve their cooperation skills.
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15. Food crosswords
Food-themed crosswords are fun and educational. Students will use the clues to indicate the appropriate food for each answer. This activity encourages them to learn the names of specific foods and practice accurate spelling.
Learn more: ESL safe
16. Food Bingo
Create bingo cards with different types of foods and have students mark each item as you name them. The first player to identify five correct items in a row will win the round. I would recommend incorporating food-related prizes for winners.
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17. Pastry vocabulary
This video reviews the vocabulary associated with baking. I would recommend using a graphic organizer for students to fill in the blanks while watching the video. A great follow-up activity would be to have students record themselves baking cookies at home.
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18. Menu planning
Provide a list of healthy food options and ask students to plan a balanced menu for a day or week. Give students guidelines from the resource, such as ensuring that the vegetable portion makes up the majority of the meal.
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19. Food Vocabulary Quiz
Have students take an online quiz to test their knowledge of food names. They will use the drop-down menu to select the appropriate name for each displayed image. Allow them to work in pairs to promote each other’s understanding.
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20. What food doesn’t belong?
Students will identify foods that do not belong to each food group. For example, a card might show pictures of a strawberry, an orange, a banana and an egg. The element that does not belong is the egg because the other elements are fruits.
Learn more: Etsy
21. Practice of dialogue in restaurants
Ordering at a restaurant can be intimidating for an English learner. We can help students feel more prepared for this experience by having them explore a restaurant menu and practice asking relevant questions. Students can take examples from each other to reinforce their learning.
Learn more: ESL flow
22. Write a conversation about food
Give students a list of food-related expressions and challenge them to write a scenario of a conversation between two people talking about food. An example is provided for students to use as a guide. Possible expressions include “smells good” and “favorite food.”
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23. Tips for Describing Foods
There are specific adjectives used in English to describe foods. Write sentences and cut them out on pieces of paper. Next, distribute sentences to students along with various pictures of food and invite them to associate the sentence with a picture.
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24. Food pyramid activity
This resource includes interactive books to teach students about the food pyramid. The food groups studied are cereals, vegetables, dairy products, fruits and proteins. There are also digital versions of the books to use with online English learners.
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