Interactive Cooking Class

Overview

In this 14th lesson of 25, students learn and practise Japanese procedural language while participating in an interactive cooking class. They will first listen and respond during a teacher demonstration, then create and share a short recipe procedure using culturally appropriate language for familiar contexts.

Learning intentions

WALT: Learn how to make a simple Japanese dish and use procedural language to interact in Japanese.

• Students will understand key steps in a short Japanese cooking model text.
• Students will use appropriate procedural phrases to request, confirm, and sequence actions.
• Students will create a simple recipe sequence for a familiar dish and share it with a partner/group.

Success criteria

Students can…

• describe cooking steps using basic procedural language (e.g. next, then, after that)
• use polite request/interaction language to negotiate meaning during the cooking task
• contribute to a group recipe that is ordered and understandable
• respond appropriately to questions during the practical activity

Curriculum links

• MLLS-INT-01: Students communicate with others in familiar contexts using gesture, actions, and/or culturally appropriate language (Interacting)
• ML4-INT-01: Students exchange information and opinions in a range of familiar contexts by using culturally appropriate language (Interacting)
• ML4-CRT-01: Students create a range of texts for familiar communicative purposes by using culturally appropriate language (Creating texts)
• ML4-UND-01 or MLLS-UND-01: Students interpret and respond to information, opinions and ideas in texts to demonstrate understanding (Understanding texts)

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Arrival + objective. Teacher displays the day’s WALT and a visual “cooking steps” sequence (picture cards) and models 3–4 target phrases; students chorally repeat and match a gesture to each step.

2. 5–15 min · Cooking demonstration (listening + responding). Teacher demonstrates making the dish (e.g. onigiri filling wrap or miso soup option depending on resources) while speaking Japanese for each step; students use mini response cards (e.g. “はい/いいえ”, “もう一度”, “次は…”) to show understanding.

3. 15–25 min · Procedural language focus (micro-teach). Teacher writes a simple step frame on the board and anchors it with sentence stems and actions. Students complete a quick guided practice: pair up to order four shuffled step strips and read them aloud together, using gestures and choral support.

4. 25–45 min · Interactive cooking in groups (meaning-making). Students work in skill-differentiated groups (e.g. Support / Standard / Challenge) to cook the simple dish.

• Support group uses a partially completed recipe script with word bank and picture prompts.
• Standard group uses a sentence stem scaffold to sequence steps.
• Challenge group includes extra interaction language (asking for clarification, confirming steps). Teacher circulates, prompts interaction, and checks pronunciation and sequencing while students use the step frame to communicate during cooking.

5. 45–55 min · Recipe creation (text building). Groups create a short “Recipe Procedure” in Japanese (4–6 steps) and attach a matching picture for each step. Students rehearse it once with their group and then one pair shares to another group for quick peer feedback based on the success criteria.

6. 55–60 min · Exit ticket (quick assessment). Students complete a 3-part exit ticket:

• Choose and order two step phrases correctly
• Fill one blank: “次は＿＿です/そのあと＿＿します”
• Circle the best response to a question during cooking (e.g. “もう一度お願いします”, “はい、できます”)

Resources

• Recipe picture cards for step order (printed)
• Sentence stems on strips (e.g. “まず…”, “つぎに…”, “それから…”, “さいごに…”)
• Word banks (procedural verbs, common polite requests)
• Prepared cooking materials and safe handling instructions
• Response cards for understanding checks (はい/いいえ, 次は…, もう一度, できます/できません)
• Group task sheets for Support / Standard / Challenge
• Student whiteboards or scrap books for writing rehearsals
• Dyslexia-friendly options: colour overlays, text-to-speech-ready printed sentence frames, reduced text worksheets

Assessment

• Formative: observation checklist during the demonstration and cooking (uses procedural language, responds to prompts, sequences steps)
• Formative: teacher listens during group recipe rehearsal for correct ordering and intelligible pronunciation
• Exit ticket: checks understanding of step sequence and ability to use one procedural frame

Differentiation

• Group tasks by skill level (Support / Standard / Challenge) using the same dish but different language scaffolds and step requirements.
• Support students: use picture prompts, partially completed scripts, and a limited word bank; allow gesture-only first, then short spoken phrases.
• Standard students: provide sentence stems for each step and require 4–6 steps in correct order.
• Challenge students: require addition of at least two interaction moves (request clarification, confirm an action, respond to “いいですか/大丈夫ですか” type prompts) and one optional opinion phrase (e.g. おいしいです).
• Dyslexia-friendly reading options: provide large-print sentence frames, colour-coded sections (step vs action vs connector), allow audio support via teacher read-aloud, and permit oral responses instead of extended writing during drafting.