1

The Minnesota Literacy Council created this curriculum with funding from the MN Department of Education. We

invite you to adapt it for your own classrooms.

MASTER

Food and Cooking - Week 2 of 2

Unit Overview:

This is a 2-week unit focusing on food vocabulary with an emphasis on count/non-count

nouns, packaging, nutrition and the food pyramid.

During the first week, students will focus on learning food words and talking about

grocery stores and other places to buy food. They will also learn about food quantities and

packaging and practice using count and non-count nouns.

During the second week, students will focus on talking about nutrition. They will read

nutrition labels and learn about the food groups and the food pyramid. They will also

practice reading a recipe and preparing nutritious meals.

Throughout both weeks teachers should make sure they are planning lessons which

require the students to use reading, writing, speaking and listening skills equally.

Unit Objectives:

After this unit students will..

● ...speak, write, read & identify food vocabulary.

● ...know where to find the food that they need in grocery stores.

● ...be able to compare prices and use coupons to recognize good consumer spending

habits.

● ...be able to use the count and non-count food words

● ...be able to correctly use food packaging terms with count and non-count food words

● ...understand how to use “How much” and “How many” to ask about food quantities

with count and non-count nouns

● ...understand nutrition labels, the food groups and the food pyramid

● ...be able to interpret the layout of recipes as well as typical measurements and

cooking verbs

2

Unit Outline:

Week 1: The Grocery Store

Monday: Going to the Grocery Store

Tuesday: Finding the Best Value

Wednesday: Food Quantities - count and non-count

Thursday1: Food Quantities - quantity/food packaging

Week 2: Nutrition & Cooking

Monday: Nutrition Information - food nutrition labels

Tuesday: Nutrition Information - food groups/food pyramid

Wednesday: Reading a Recipe

Thursday: Review

MATERIALS

SE2 - Survival English

LP2 - LifePrints 2

LP3 - LifePrints 3

SO2 - Stand Out 2

SO2 RWC - Stand Out 2 Reading and Writing Challenge

GIA1 - Grammar in Action

RLE2 - Real Life English 2

RLE3 - Real Life English 3

LSTW - Life Skills for Today's World

ETB - Expecting the Best

3

Food and Cooking: Monday, Week 2 of 2

Nutrition Information - Food Nutrition Labels

Lesson Objectives: Materials

● Students will interpret nutrition information

on a food label, especially serving size, servings

per container, calories, carbohydrates, fat,

sugar, sodium, vitamins, etc.

● Students will understand typical quantity

words found on food labels, such as (g) grams,

(mg) milligrams, (oz.) ounce, (lb.) pound, (pkg)

package, etc.

Nutrition Information:

● Real food labels

● Food realia

● SE2: 60

● ETB: 4-4, 4-5, 4-6 (found

below)

Quantity Words:

● Teacher-generated materials

Activity Ideas:

Warm-Up: Journaling

● Put a writing prompt on the board, for example, "How do you decide what food to

buy eat?" Spend the first 10 or so minutes of class in quiet writing. This is a great

way to start on time even when many students are running late.

Food Labels

● Use ETB 4-4, 4-5, 4-6 to practice comparing nutrition labels

● Hand out real food containers with labels and have students determine which food is

the healthiest. (for lower level classes, create simplified yet realistic-looking food

labels) If possible, bring in a few varieties of the same food with different nutritional

info. (for example, 3 different cans of tomato soup, with varying amounts of

calories, fat, sodium, vitamins, etc.)

4

5

6

7

Food and Cooking: Tuesday, Week 2 of 2

Nutrition Information - Food Groups and the Food Pyramid

Lesson Objectives: Materials

● Students will demonstrate an understanding the

food groups and the food pyramid by

showing what foods belong in each section

● Students will interpret typical measurements

found in recipes, such as cup (c), teaspoon

(tsp.), Tablespoon (Tbsp.), (lbs.) pounds, (oz.)

ounce, etc.

Food Groups & Food Pyramid:

● SO2: 50-51

● SO2: 41-42, 50-52

● RLE3: 69

● ETB: 1-3 to 1-8

● Food Pyramid (found below)

Measurements:

● Real measuring cups &

spoons

Activity Ideas:

Warm-Up: Journaling:

● Put a writing prompt on the board, for example, "What are three foods you think are

unhealthy? Write about why you think they are unhealthy." Spend the first 10 or so

minutes of class in quiet writing. This is a great way to start on time even when

many students run late.

Food Groups and the Food Pyramid:

● Use ETB pg. 1-3 and have Ss explain why we have a “pyramid” instead of a square or

other shape. (i.e elicit that the largest proportion of our diet coming from grain

groups, and the smallest from the sweets/oils group.)

● Ask students to name some of the foods that you find in each category of the food

pyramid and practice/check comprehension with ETB pg. 1-8.

● Have Ss complete their own food pyramid based on their eating habits (ETB pg.1-6

and 1-7).

● Put large pieces of paper throughout the room, each labeled with a different food

group. Pass out several food pictures to each student and have them go around and

glue the pictures onto the appropriate poster and label the food item. If possible,

leave the posters up in the classroom.

● Split class into 2 teams. Each team lines up single file at the blackboard and works

as a relay. Give students 2 minutes (or as appropriate) to write as many food words

as they can. Afterwords, Ss categorize foods according to their food group.

● Have students to visit the food pyramid website and learn their own, tailored

nutrition recommendations http://mypyramid.gov

● Have students discuss the size of meal portions in their home country vs. in the US.

8

9

Food and Cooking: Wednesday, Week 2 of 2

Reading a Recipe

Lesson Objectives: Materials

● Students will practice reading nutrition labels.

● Students will discuss recipes and talk about

how recipes are shared with friends and families

in their culture.

● Students will demonstrate knowledge of

cooking verbs typically found in recipes (add,

stir, mix, boil, chop, bake, cook, peel, drain,

whip, etc.)

● Students will read basic recipes and understand

the format of a recipe (all ingredients listed first,

then cooking instructions)

Nutrition Labels:

● Real food packages

● LSTW: 20, 22-23

Recipes:

● SO2: 53-55

● SE2: 67-70

● RLE2: 60-63, 65, 70

● SO2 RWC: 26-29

Real Cooking Items:

● bring in bowls, spoons, pans,

etc. (fake or non-sharp

knives!)

Activity Ideas:

Cooking Verbs, Measurements and Recipes

● Bring in simple recipes and have students act out how to make the food, using real

cooking items if possible!

● Have students write a simple recipe for a food they like. Then have students share

the recipe with the class, or collect the recipes and put them together into a packet

to hand out.

10

Food and Cooking: Thursday, Week 2 of 2

Review

Lesson Objectives: Materials

● Students will select a balanced diet

● Students will show comprehension of the unit

material by:

○ Reading recipes

○ Selecting recipes to plan a 2-day menu of

breakfast, lunch and dinner.

○ Creating a shopping list from the foods

they selected to put on the menu.

○ Using grocery ads to find good prices for

the foods on their shopping lists.

○ Presenting the information to the class

Sample recipes:

● SO2 RWC: 26, 28

● SO2: 54-55, 58

Menus:

● SO2: 53, 54

Shopping lists:

● SO2: 48 - 49

Grocery Ads:

● Real grocery ads from local

stores

Activity Ideas:

Wrap up

● Have students follow the steps listed above for a complete review of the unit. If

there isn’t enough time to do everything, choose those steps that seem the most

relevant for the class.