Fun Lesson #3

So, this is another lesson that turned out pretty fun but requires quite a bit of preparation (and probably funding from the teacher - ie: me/you).  It takes two and a half classes to three classes to complete.    

First class:  Talk about cooking!  Vocabulary and recipes!  Western food!  Things that you miss that you can't find in China (maybe your students can tell you where it can be found!)!  For homework, have them get into groups of four and translate a favorite Chinese recipe into English and bring it to class.


Next Class/Half Class:  Talk about everyone's recipes and have them choose their favorite.  Also, have them choose which ones would be easiest/best to make in class. Vote!  Say that everyone will cook the winning recipe in the next class.  Just make sure it isn't too complicated, relatively quick to make and the ingredients are easy to find.


Third/Second Class:  Cooking Day!  I brought in a frying pan, the ingredients and my hot plate to do all the cooking.  I opted to just buy all the ingredients myself because I could easily afford it (getting enough food to feed 30 kids cost about 100 yuan in the first class and only 50 or so in the second class. It just depends on the recipe, but it wasn't a whole lot).  I had them come up in groups to cook the recipe according to the English directions.  While one group cooked, I had the rest of the class work on an elaborate cooking vocabulary crossword puzzle that I crafted on the board.

My elaborate crossword puzzle (God, I wish my school had easily accesible copiers/printers)

The first class made Coca-Cola Wings.  Delicious!

I let them work as a class to solve my elaborate puzzle.  

The second class made xi hong shi chao ji dan, which essentially scrambled eggs and tomato (and some random spices).

It was a good class.  Preparation was a pain on my part, but the students loved it.  The lesson required them to translate reciples and than follow English directions to make food.  Everyone also got to get something to eat, which is always a winner.

Winning!

- Andrew