This is an activity to teach some common idioms and expressions related to food.
You will need the handout below, which contains photos of various food items.
You will also need this quizlet set:
http://quizlet.com/72332476/food-idioms-2-flash-cards/
- Divide the class into pairs or teams of 3.
- Give each team a set of the 10 food pictures.
- Project the quizlet set onto the board.
- Give students a few seconds to decide which food item completes the expression, then countdown from 3 to 0 on zero all the groups hold up the card they think completes the sentence (this way they can’t copy each other) award 1 point to each team that guesses correctly.
- Award extra points for teams that can correctly define the expression.
- Winning team is the one with the most points.
- Then challenge students to write a story containing as many of the idioms as possible in 5 minutes.
Expressions:
A piece of cake – very easy
A couch potato – a lazy person who watches too much tv
The apple never falls far from the tree – like father/mother like son/daughter
To bring home the bacon – support a family financially
….is not my cup of tea – not my thing/something I like
Salt of the Earth – a genuine, charitable, down-to-earth person
As cool as a cucumber – very calm and relaxed
Spill the beans – reveal a secret/sensitive information
There’s no point crying over spilt milk – a problem has happened and there’s nothing you can do, so don’t worry
To butter somebody up – to compliment/treat someone nicely in order to get something