Introduction:

This lesson is about the final preparations for the meal/observation — and then the moment of truth: actually eating it. (Time required: varies by meal length, with planning)

 

Objectives:

1.     Introduce students to key concepts of this unit:  a dossier, a press conference, public figure, news story

 

Materials:

1.     Appendix B:  “A reviewer’s checklist”

 

Activities:

1. Review Appendix B:  “A reviewer’s checklist” with the class.
2. Encourage students to do the following:

o      Order a wide variety of food or drink.  Sample bits of everything.

o      TAKE NOTES (so take a pen and notebook !) on the small details that they couldn’t possibly remember later (the color of the paint on the wall, the unusual shape of the forks, the waiter’s endearing dimples, the oddly crunchy texture of the mashed potatoes).

o      Practice writing surreptitiously so the server won’t realize what you are doing. If students are confronted, they should not lie.  “We’re working on a school assignment” may be enough information to satisfy queries; if not, it is OK if students explain entirely what they are doing.  They are entirely within the law in doing so.

o      Explain to students that they should share notes and thoughts with meal-mates and make the restaurant the subject of their meal conversation.  Say: “Don’t short-change yourselves by wasting your time talking about school.  Focus on the task at hand.  Take additional notes as your conversation progresses or you’ll be sorry once you sit down ALONE to write.”

o      At this point, you’ve done all the preparation you can; students need to go to their meals/conduct their observations.

 

Homework:

Assessment Questions:

1. Are students motivated to proceed with the rest of the unit?
2. Did students return from their meals/observations with enough details (and opinions) to write their reviews?
3. Do students have an increasingly confident view of how they might write and publish their own reviews?

 

 

Connections to Standards:

Teacher Notes:

1. It’s a good idea at this point to check in with all of your groups.  You want to be able to help with students whose schedule changes mean they may suddenly find themselves group-less and confused about what to do next.  Keep the non-restaurant observation as a handy option to offer.

 

Time needed to teach:

1 Session

Tags:

Writing Activity