Make Your Food Activity
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Words used in these worksheets (20)
bacon and eggs
bread
cake
cereal
cheese
chicken
fish
french fries
hamburger
hotdog
ice cream
pancakes
pizza
rice
salad
sandwich
soup
spaghetti
steak
taco
Need different words? Remove words or add more from the full Food set. Your saved custom list is not changed.
More quick worksheets and games
I use these cards to introduce "What do you want to eat?" They're also great for restaurant role plays, especially when you mix in drinks and desserts.
Later I bring food back to practice "with": "I eat spaghetti with a fork, but I eat donuts with my hands." I usually start with something silly, like "Do you eat soup with a knife?" Students know right away that it's wrong, and the correct answer comes out naturally.
Useful phrases for Food
Pair the vocabulary with one sentence pattern at a time. Each level builds on the one before.
Starting out
First lessons, once students know the words- What do you want to eat? I want ___.
- Do you like ___? Yes. / No.
- I'm hungry.
Next step
Building on the basics- What would you like to eat? I'd like ___, please.
- I eat ___ with a fork / with chopsticks / with my hands.
- For breakfast, I eat ___.
Challenge
For older or more advanced students- Can I have ___, please?
- When I go to a restaurant, I order ___.
- Have you ever eaten ___?
Teaching tips for Food
Start with "want"
"What do you want to eat?" is short, useful and easy to answer with a single word. Once students are comfortable, upgrade to "What would you like?" and "I'd like..., please." for more polite speech.
Group by meal
Sort the cards into breakfast, lunch and dinner together. It's a quick way to review the words, and it opens up questions like "What do you eat for breakfast?"
Expect cultural differences
Tacos, cereal and bacon and eggs are everyday food in some homes and unusual in others. Ask students what they eat at home and add those words to your list with the editor above.
Mix in drinks and desserts
For a complete meal, add a few drink and dessert words using Edit this list. A menu with all three makes restaurant role plays feel real.
Food lesson ideas
Class restaurant
Students design a simple menu with the vocabulary sheet, then take turns as waiter and customer: "What would you like?" "I'd like pizza, please."
Fork, chopsticks or hands?
Hold up a food card and ask how students eat it. Answers differ from family to family, which makes for good speaking practice with "I eat ___ with ___."
Lunch box game
Each student draws three foods in a paper lunch box. Classmates guess what's inside: "Do you have a sandwich?"
A food week
Flashcards and the vocabulary sheet on day 1, word search on day 2, board game with "What do you want to eat?" on day 3, then a restaurant role play to finish.
More Food resources from MES
- Food flashcards large cards, game cards and a handout
- Drinks flashcards for restaurant role plays
- Speaking First Curriculum: Unit 2 how food fits into a full course
- Food listening exercises audio and worksheets
All Food images (78)
Click a picture to add it to your worksheet list or take it out. Up to 30 words. Words in your list are shown first.
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Build once. Make everything.
Planning a full unit? The Custom List Maker lets you mix words from any category, save your list, and make 19 different worksheets and games from it all week long.