Food Lesson Plan for Beginner ESL Students

This food lesson plan is designed for kids and beginner English learners. Students will practice common food vocabulary and use simple expressions to talk about their likes and dislikes, such as “Do you like pizza?” → “Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.” All the materials and activities you need to teach this lesson are included below.

Warm-Up Activity – Guess the Food

A great way to start your lesson about food is to play a fun food guessing game. This hidden picture video is perfect for introducing food vocabulary. Simply play the video in class and ask students to try to guess what the food is.

If they don’t know the English word at this point, it’s fine for them to use their native language. The purpose of this activity is just to introduce the topic in a fun way and to activate students’ existing knowledge about food and food vocabulary.

Next, ask students what other foods they already know in English and write those words on the board. Once you have a few examples, survey the class to see whether students like or dislike those foods. To do this, you can ask students to give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to show their preferences. This simple activity helps to introduce the concept of likes and dislikes to students so they are ready to learn how to talk about them in English.

Practice Food Vocabulary and Key Expressions

Use a set of food flashcards to introduce the key vocabulary. Show each card, say the word clearly, and have students repeat after you. Then go through the cards again, this time encouraging students to say the words on their own. Continue until they are confident recognizing and pronouncing the new vocabulary. Once students are familiar with the words, begin practicing the target expression: Do you like (salad)? → Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.

If this pattern is too easy for your students, you can instead practice with other expressions, such as:

• I like / don’t like (chicken).
• What’s your favorite food? → My favorite food is (pizza).
• What do you want to eat? → I want (salad), please.
• Do you want some more (pizza)? → Yes, please. / No, thanks.

Activity 1: Food Vocabulary Bingo

Now that students have learned the key words and expressions, it’s time to practice with some fun activities. This first activity is a simple bingo-style game that helps students with listening and word recognition. To play, each student (or pair of students) will need a set of small food flashcards. Ask them to place their cards in a horizontal line in any order they like.

How to Play:

1. The teacher chooses one of the foods and says it aloud using the target expression. For example: “Do you like steak?”
2. Students check their line of cards.
   • If the card is on the left or right end, they turn it over and answer, “Yes, I do.”
   • If the card is in the middle, they leave it in place and answer, “No, I don’t.”
3. The aim is to turn over all the cards. The first student (or pair) to do so shouts “Bingo!” and wins the game.
4. Tell students to rearrange their cards into a line and play again.

Tip: To make this game even more fun, have the winner come to the front and call out the food words for the next game.

Activity 2: Food Board Game

This next activity is a fun board game that gives students lots of speaking practice as they make dialogues about what foods they like or dislike with their partner. Each pair of students will need a copy of this board game, a die, and a counter (such as an eraser or coin).

How to Play

• Both players place their counters on the Start square.
• Students take turns rolling the dice and moving their counter.
• If they land on a food picture, they make a short dialogue based on that picture:
  • Student A: “Do you like pizza?”
  • Student B: “Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.”
• The aim is to reach the center star to score a point. The only way to enter the star is by landing on one of the arrow squares.
• After scoring, the student returns to the start and play continues. The game ends after a set time (e.g., 10 minutes), and the student with the most points is the winner.

Tip: Before starting, model one or two turns with a student so the class clearly understands the rules and the target language to use.

Activity 3: Find Somebody Who

This final activity encourages students to use the target language in a communicative way to find out what foods their classmates like and dislike. For this game, give each student a copy of the Food Find Somebody Who worksheet.

How to Play

• Students walk around the classroom asking their classmates the target question:
  • “Do you like pizza?”
  • “Yes, I do.” / “No, I don’t.”
• When they find a classmate who matches the statement on the worksheet (for example, “likes ice cream”), they write that person’s name in the table.
• Once students have completed their table, they can sit down.

Tip: Once all students have completed their worksheets, you can use them to introduce how to ask and answer about likes and dislikes in the third person. For example, ask, “Does Kelly like pizza?” and students can check their worksheets and reply, “Yes, she does,” or “No, she doesn’t.”

End-of-Class Review Activity

To end the class, do a quick door-check activity to review the food vocabulary and expressions. Line students up at the door and tell them they cannot leave until they ask you a question about what food you like, such as, “Do you like chicken?” You answer each question with “Yes, I do” or “No, I don’t.” This simple routine not only reinforces the target language but also lets you quickly see which students are confident and which might need more support in the next lesson.

More Resources for Teaching ESL Food Lessons

• Food Vocabulary Games for the Classroom
• Food Worksheets
• Printable Food Flashcards
• Food PowerPoint Lesson
• Guess the Food by Emoji Game