1. 5 ideas for teaching words for food anddrink using apps and mobile devices Kim Ashmore, Director and Co-Founder, LearnAhead Ltd Copyright 2011, LearnAhead

2. 5 ideas for teaching words for food and drinkusing apps and mobile devicesHere are some ideas for teaching words for food anddrink or about the topic of food using apps andmobile devices. The ideas are aimed at the EFL/ESLyoung learner classroom but can be adapted to othercontexts.1. Flashcards2. Spell words for food and drink3. Learn more about food and drink4. Whats for lunch?5. Cooking apps 2 Copyright 2011, LearnAhead 3. 1. FlashcardsThere are plenty of flashcard apps on the market includingFlashcards for Kids First Food Words. This app gives youaccess to flashcards of food items relating to breakfast, dinner,drinks, fruit and vegetables. Other sets can be bought (candy,desserts, herbs and spices, nuts and seeds), along with othergames, so this app is probably best controlled by the teacher using an IWB perhaps. It is possible to customise the cardsincluding: audio on/off; images/words only; editing of fonts etc,and you can also favourite cards to select the ones that youwant children to learn. Despite the name of the app, theseflashcards are suitable for all ages.App: Flashcards for Kids First Food WordsPlatform: iOSCost: Free 3 Copyright 2011, LearnAhead 4. 1. FlashcardsThe items of food and drink included in the app relate to theUS, but teachers/learners can upload their own photos andrecordings to make their own sets - older learners would enjoymaking their own cards (a set called My favourite foods, orhealthy foods for example). A really interesting feature of thisapp is that you can easily share sets of flashcards that you makevia email or Dropbox.Here is an idea for one activity that youcould do using this app. Take some photosof some items of food but take close-ups, or unusual views (see photos on left).Now show the cards (or photos) to yourlearners. Can they guess what the item offood is? 4 Copyright 2011, LearnAhead 5. 2. Spell words for food and drinkWord Carrot is a game that will help learners of allages spell ten words for food and drink. Learnerssee the word, hear the word, and choose the rightletters to spell it. Here is an activity you can printfor learners to practise the words further.Worksheet Food and drinkApp: Word CarrotPlatform: iOSCost: Free 5 Copyright 2011, LearnAhead 6. 3. Learn more about food and drinkABC Food is a more interactive flashcard app, though perhaps better suited to youngerlearners. Items of food and drink are presented in alphabetical order, and once anitem is touched then you get to see and hear the word. What is nice about this app isthat many of the items link to child-friendly videos related to the item of food or drink if you touch carrot for example, you get a video of somebody digging up carrots;cucumber links to a video of somebody making cucumber pickle; touch watermelonand you can listen to a song about fruit these videos have great potential for theclassroom. In the watermelon song for example, children could listen out for all thenames of fruit mentioned in the song.6 Copyright 2011, LearnAhead 7. 3. Learn more about food and drinkABC Food is a very full app with great-looking photos and videos, and willhelp children learn more about food than just the names. One thing to notethough you need to be online to be able to connect to the videos. Thefood items and videos are also US-focused.App: Little Explorers ABC FoodPlatform: iOSCost: 1.99/$1.99 7 Copyright 2011, LearnAhead 8. 4. Whats for lunch?Here is an idea from Kathleen Morris great blog Integrating Technology inthe Primary Classroom.Children take a food-related photo it might be their lunchbox, their dinneror breakfast, or typical local food for example and then describe (inEnglish) what is in the photo. Take a look at this example:http://collaboration-corner.blogspot.com/2010/02/australia-brookes-lunch.htmlWith Fotobabble, learners can take or upload a photo, and record text tomake their own talking photos. Photos can be shared on a school blogperhaps.App: FotobabblePlatform: iOSCost: Free 8 Copyright 2011, LearnAhead 9. 5. Cooking appsThere are many cooking apps, some of which are free. Install and try thefree ones to make sure that they are suitable for your learners and not fullof ads. Here are some paid-for cooking apps that are suitable for youngerlearners. Get children to suggest ingredients and how to cook them (shallwe boil this?) and prepare meals for different characters. Will they like thefood or not? A great way to talk about likes and dislikes too!App: Toca Kitchen App: Little CookPlatform: iOS Platform: iOSCost: 1.49/$1.99 Cost: 2.49/$3.999 Copyright 2011, LearnAhead 10. 5 ideas for teaching words for food and drinkusing apps and mobile devicesHave you got any more ideas to share? Then sharethem at :http://wordcarrot.com/5-ideas-for-teaching-words-related-to-food-and-drink-using-apps-and-mobile-devices/Thank you! 10 Copyright 2011, LearnAhead