This game or lesson is intended for small children in phonics level, or just above. The drama of pretending stimulates imagination and the children build up their foods vocabulary. They like the physical action of using their hands in a pile with their classmates (see "potato song" in Hand Piano Game, eslteachersboard.com).

Teacher puts one hand down on the table or desk and says PIZZA BREAD

Then children, in turn, add their hands and say things that go on a pizza, words like meat, ham, cheese, tomato or pizza sauce, hot sauce, corn, onions, olives, pineapple, chilli. Kids don't know all the English words so teacher has to be quick to give the translation as reinforcement.

The Hamburger or HANDburger (great joke) is another variation and we use additional words: lettuce, mustard, ketchup, sauce, mayonaise, pickles etc. Children know some of these words so thay are not baffled at all.

Japanese and Korean children are very familiar with sushi rolls or gim-bab roll and they like to make this variation. The typical gim-bab has black seaweed outside, sprinkled with sesame seed, sticky rice inside, spinach, raddish, fish or crab or ham, egg.

Before or after playing this game give the children an exercise to draw, color and label these foods with paper. They like to cut out things and paste them in the pizza. Put some of the finished work on the wall as learning reinforcers. This series of food games-lessons is a winner. You can bring in real food if you like as a concrete/authentic reinforcer.

Copyright Robin Tim Day