Let's Get Cooking!

Hi, I am Laura Parra and I have designed a writing activity in a wikispace. The main learning objective of that activity is that students learn how to write a recipe. In order to do this, not only will they have to remember some of the vocabulary they have worked on in previous lessons (such as to brown, to fry, to drain…), but they will also need to learn how to use some sequence adverbs (such as then, after that, finally, etc.) and how to structure a recipe. Thus, in order for students to learn these aspects so that they are able to write a good recipe, they will have to do some previous exercises (presented in the wikispace), which will act as scaffolding.

To begin with, in the first step of the wikispace, students will work in pairs to do a matching activity related to the vocabulary done in previous lessons so that they activate the words they will be exposed to in the following exercise. In the second step, students will have to work individually to do some exercises about a listening, which will act as a model for them to notice how to explain how a dish is prepared. They will be allowed to compare answers with a partner. In the third step, in order for students to become familiar with the use of some sequence adverbs that may be necessary to sequence the steps to be followed to prepare a dish when explaining how to cook it, students will work in pairs to complete a text with some of these adverbs. In the fourth step, students will be shown a video in which Mr. Bean is preparing a sandwich. To practice the use of the sequence adverbs in a more meaningful context and to have some practice on what will be done later, students will be expected to write the recipe for this sandwich. Firstly, individually, students will note down the uncommon steps that Mr. Bean follows to prepare his sandwich. Then, they will put things in common with a partner and will try to write the recipe for the sandwich. Finally, in the fifth step, students will work in pairs to write a recipe of their favourite dish. They will have to mention the ingredients, describe the process of making the dish trying to use the adverbs they have just seen in the previous exercises so that the steps to do the dish are much clearer, and show a picture of the dish. A model on how they have to do this task is provided.

To create the set of activities presented, I have used different technological tools. First of all, I have decided to use a wikispace to present the different activities. Secondly, in order to create the matching and cloze exercises, I have used the programme Hot Potatoes. Thirdly, I have created the listening by using Voki and Audacity. Since I realized that Voki provided the possibility of having your message be uttered by a “native speaker”, I used Voki to record what I wanted students to listen to, so that they could be exposed to a more native pronunciation. Then, I used Audacity to manipulate the record and add the music. Finally, in order to be able to collect all the recipes written by students and in order to have a space where students can see each others’ work, I have decided that they will be writing their recipes in a Padlet’s wall.

Click on the following link to see my wiki: Wiki – Let's Get Cooking!