Not only is a potluck a great time to try some delicious new recipes, it's also a great time for practising English!
Speaking
1. Present a short description of your dish including the main ingredients or why it is a special dish for you. This includes a lot of vocabulary, presentation format, and allows you to share your own experiences!
2. Make small-talk with a friend about the food on the table or about your favourite dish. This year, before the potluck, we talked about sources of local news - radio, TV, websites. I encouraged them to try to find one news item a week and to take the time to understand it. That way learners will have something to talk about with old and new friends.
Reading
1. Read and follow a recipe or two as a class! The class can create a dish or a series of dishes to share with the larger group. This builds on reading and understanding the genre and format. It also builds on the concept that reading has meaning.
Also, look here for a teacher's guide to Potluck published by http://grassrootsbooks.net. The link to the book is here: http://www.grassrootsbooks.net/ca/potluck.html
Writing
1. Write out the recipe for your dish. Recipes could be added to a class or site cook book. Students could also take photos to include in the cookbook. This can build on sequencing skills, using the imperative verb tense, format, and genre. It can also build on the concept that print is permanent and consistent each time you look at it.
2. Make a food label for the table so that people know what it is. This can be very important for individuals with food allergies or restrictions. This builds on the concept of the importance of labelling and reading labels for restrictions or allergies.
3. Write invitation cards (or an email) for the potluck celebration. These can be for students, teachers, or administration. This also builds on understanding genre, format, and numeracy skills.
But most importantly...
Enjoy eating the food!
