Linguistics 577 - Lesson Plans: Reading

Reading Lesson Plan

Reading and Using a Recipe

Teacher: Connie Glissmeyer
Date of Presentation: November 7, l996
Proficiency Level: Intermediate or advanced Age Level: Teen-agers to adults
Estimated Time of the Lesson: 30 - 45 minutes
Number of Students: Best for small group activity - 12 or less

Objectives:

The students will be able to understand the format for following a simple recipe.
The students will be able to read and follow the directions of a simple recipe.
The students will be able to explain the directions of a simple recipe to another person.
The students will engage in a hands-on experience of performing a simple cooking lesson.
The students will experience a new food from the target culture.

Materials:

Pictures of simple recipes from magazines
Overhead projector
Sample recipe for overhead for demonstration
Packaged food items with simple recipes on the back of label
Enlarged recipe on chart paper for students to follow Food for the cooking lesson ( cream puff shells, pudding, frosting)

Learning/Teaching Activities:

Warm-up:

Have closure activity set-up for observation. Students will want to know what is going to happen - what is this all about, etc. This will generate conversation about food, recipes, etc.

Introduction: Pass out magazine pictures of simple recipes to generate ideas and conversation about food, how to prepare it, what looks good to eat from the pictures, etc.

Instructional Input: Show a sample recipe on the overhead. Indicate and explain recipe format. Have students help generate key words that they might read in a recipe such as:

Ingredients
Directions
Stove/microwave/oven
Cook/Bake
Mix/beat/stir
Sift together/add

Have students help define what they mean.

Guided Practice:

Put another recipe on the O.H. Also give each student a copy of the same recipe. They are to read the directions and tell what to do. This is a group discussion with mostly student in-put. The teacher can guide the discussion to check for understanding and make sure of correct interpretations.

Independent Practice:

Students are to work in pairs. Each student is to get a "real" item to read and follow the directions. These items need to have very simple recipes. Complicated recipes should be avoided. Simple recipe items can included such things as:

Various kinds of soup Pudding Punch Hot chocolate Macaroni and cheese Etc.

Each person is to read and explain to his partner how to make his recipe. The teacher can monitor the room to check for understanding.

Closure:

The students are to read the "Cream Puff" recipe from the wall chart. They are to prepare a single serving for themselves by reading and following the written instructions. The students can then discuss as a group the food preparation process as well as if they like the new recipe.

Evaluation of Learning:

Verbal in-put
Reading and explaining recipe to partner
Reading and following the recipe from the wall chart.
The report on the homework assignment

Assignment:

Find a packaged food item at home or the store. Read the label to decide if you might like to prepare/cook that item to eat. Come to class prepared to discuss your findings.
Extended activity: Students can discuss and decide on recipes they could bring to share and cook from their own culture. This could be an on-going multiple- time's experience. This could become very detailed as a reading activity depending on how carefully the teacher designs and executes future lessons to both include the recipe format and well as the appropriate reading requirements.

Contingency Plan:

This lesson requires advanced preparation. If there was an emergency, the success of the lesson would depend on if all the supplies and materials had been collected and made ready ahead of time. Also, a clear explanation would need to be made to the substitute teacher.

Self-Evaluation:

In presenting this lesson format, I received a lot of enthusiastic support and positive feedback on the cooking idea. As part of this lesson the new food to be eaten as part of the closure activity is intended as a cultural exposure to a new food, hopefully with appealing taste and acceptance.

My original intent was to just present this lesson as a single lesson, however, the members of my group overwhelmingly wanted to see this idea extended to multiple uses and days as an on-going activity. (Not necessarily several days in a row, but intermittently throughout the semester). They are the ones who suggested that the students bring their favorite recipes and use them as reading/writing/cooking lessons in several different ways. Each student could present his own recipe as I have done in the above lesson. This would be a very good cultural activity as well as integrating listening/speaking, reading, and translating activities.

In explaining my lesson, it was suggested that the questioning strategies demonstrated in the videos be used for student-generated in-put. I thought this was an excellent suggestion.

The sample recipes on "real" items of food could easily be collected over a period of time from the teacher's own family supplies without additional cost by simply planning ahead and saving the empty boxes and cans, etc.

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