Food for Thought

Create interest, activate food vocabulary, wake the brain.

Show 3 images: a food left out too long, an extremely spicy dish, an empty fridge. Ask: "What would happen if you ate this?" / "What do you do if your fridge is empty?" Pairs discuss for 1 minute.

Meet the target language in natural use, before any analysis.

Students read a short text: a food blogger's post giving tips, e.g. "If you skip breakfast, you'll snack more later. If you freeze fresh herbs, they'll last for months." Students just read for gist — "What tips does the writer give?"

Students analyse the text and discover the form/meaning themselves.

Worksheet: students underline all "if" clauses and their result clauses in the text, then fill a table with columns "If + ___" and "___ + base verb." Teacher monitors, only helps if a pair is stuck.

• Is this a real, possible future situation?
• Which verb tense follows "if"?
• Is "will" ever in the if-clause?

Build the correct rule together as a class, fix gaps.

Pairs share table answers; teacher writes the rule on the board:

(result clause can come first, no comma). Clarify: describes real/likely future results, "if" not "when."

Practise accuracy with clear right/wrong answers.

Gap-fill about food:

Check answers as a class, correct verb forms.

Use the target language communicatively, in the student's own context.

In pairs, students play a chain game:

Chain continues for as long as possible; groups share their best chain with the class.