Before introducing 11 new words to the students, it's always good to start class with a hello. A longer and more complicated greeting conversation would be even better, with the teacher asking, "How are you?" so that the students respond, "I'm fine, thank you."
Vegetables Introduction
The teacher should begin the introduction of the new material so that the students first get familiar with the word "vegetables." The teacher says, for example: "Today we will learn about vegetables. Vegetables. (Repeat after me.) Vegetables. Ready, go." And the class responds, "Vegetables."
- With the expectation that the students have never studied vegetables in English, bringing out the visual aides – large, individual pictures of the vegetables, laminated and magnet-backed, with the English spellings – will be a good way to explain.
- If possible, though, it's also good to check with the students in their native language, to ask them to translate "vegetables." Once an accurate translation has been given, and everyone is on the same page, the lesson continues. It's safe to begin teaching the individual vegetable names.
Teach the words broccoli, carrot, corn, cucumber, cabbage, lettuce, pumpkin, green pepper, onion, tomato, and potato, though depending on the students' native (food) culture, this set can easily be amended.
- As a class, students should repeat after the teacher, mimicking native pronunciation.
- A good way to introduce the vegetables is in sets of 3, holding up the cards one-by-one for the students to see, and afterward placing them on the board.
- After every 3 words, the teacher should review each previously introduced word, grabbing one at random and asking the class (in English) "What is this?" at least once for each word.
- Asking the class to answer together, immediately following the teacher's vocal cue–"Ready, Go," for example – will keep the class orderly.
- The teacher teaches 3, reviews 3, teaches 3, reviews 6, teaches 3, reviews 9, teaches 2, and reviews 11 to end the vocabulary introduction.
"What Vegetable Do You Like?"
At this point, it is expected that students can understand and produce "What do you like?" / "I like X." conversations. (See ESL Basic Colors Lesson.)
- The teacher should be able to successfully point to the 11 vegetables on the board and and have volunteer students respond appropriately to the question, "What do you like?"
- After 2 or 3 students respond appropriately, saying "I like (a vegetable)," the teacher can introduce the more grammatically complicated question, "What vegetable do you like?"
- First, the students should be able to pronounce the question. Prompting them to first repeat, "What do you like?" the teacher should remind the students of the category word "vegetable" before having them say, "What vegetable do you like?"
- Perhaps the best way to explain the grammatical and practical difference between the two questions is by translating both into the students' native language.
Conversation Practice
- Responding to the teacher's question "What vegetable do you like?" students raise their hands to announce their favorite vegetables.
- A chosen student should stand, and the whole class should ask, "What vegetable do you like?"
- If the student answers, for example, "I like corn," then the whole class should mimic the student's pronunciation.
- As a reward, the student volunteer gets to hold the Corn card.
- The process continues once the teacher returns to the chalkboard, gestures toward the remaining vegetables, and asks, "What vegetable do you like?"
- The remaining vegetables should be distributed to other volunteers; students practice the question and answer patterns in a "real-life" scenario.
Ideally, the students should say "Thank you," upon receiving cards.
- Once all the cards have been given out, the students holding the cards should give them to students who have not had the chance to speak.
- A time limit to give away the cards, such as 30 seconds, can keep kids excited and interested, while making the most of class time.
- The class then asks the individual card holders, "What vegetable do you like?" The kids hold up their cards, one-by-one, and announce "I like (a vegetable)," until all the children have had the chance to speak.
Mingle Game
- The class is rewarded for participation and concentration with the announcement of a game.
- Students push desks and chairs to the back of the room; everyone stands in the space at the front.
- The object of the game is to use only English to form groups in which everyone’s (most) favorite vegetable is the same.
- For example, the teacher prompts the students to ask him, "What vegetable do you like."
- The teacher then responds, “I like carrot(s),” and all students who like carrots should join up with him, until there is only one group of carrot-lovers.
- The full explanation is best done in the students' native language, after the first all-English example. Each student needs to decide on one favorite vegetable.
- The teacher then gives the students 2 minutes or so to make their groups, encouraging the hesitant students by walking around the room asking them, “What vegetable do you like?” and helping them with pronunciation. At the same time, the teacher should be telling fully-formed groups to sit, after checking to see if there are any other people who should join that vegetable’s group.
- Once all groups are formed and seated, the teacher then picks one group to answer the whole class's question, “What vegetable do you like?”
- The selected group answers together and loudly, "I like broccoli," for example.
- The process continues through the rest of the groups, until the end of class.
If time remains, however, after all the groups have spoken the same game can be repeated with a different (previously studied) category question, such as, “What color do you like?”
Class ends with the teacher telling the students goodbye, and having the class return the goodbye.
The teacher should then be able to leave the classroom with the satisfaction of thoroughly teaching the students 11 very useful words using simple games that can be fun for both elementary school students and teachers alike. The vegetable vocabulary is an excellent base to build from, to be used and expanded upon in subsequent lessons.
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