Plan a class picnic: much, many, some and any
Children sort food words into things we can count and things we cannot, read two friends planning a picnic, then plan their own group picnic with a shopping list.
At a glance
- From
- Level 2, Moving Up English: Week 9, Food and cooking
- Grammar
- countable and uncountable; much / many; some / any
- Key language
- sandwiches, apples, eggs, biscuits / juice, water, bread, cheese, rice / How many...? How much...? / some, any / a bottle of, a packet of, a loaf of
- Children make
- A group picnic plan and shopping list.
- Class size
- Works with 10 to 50 children; pair and group steps say how to scale.
Objective
Children name picnic foods, tell countable from uncountable nouns, and use how much, how many, some and any to plan a picnic.
Success criteria for children
- I can name twelve picnic foods.
- I can say if a food is countable or uncountable.
- I can ask "How much...?" and "How many...?" correctly.
Timing: 60 minutes
| Minutes | Stage | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | Warm-up: picnic alphabet | Chain game: I went on a picnic and I took... |
| 5 to 15 | Food words | Teach twelve foods with quick drawings and containers. |
| 15 to 25 | Countable or uncountable? | Sort foods: can we count them? How much or how many? |
| 25 to 35 | Reading: Planning the picnic | Read the dialogue; find some, any, much and many. |
| 35 to 50 | Group task: plan your picnic | Groups of four agree on food and write a shopping list with amounts. |
| 50 to 60 | Practice and exit ticket | Tasks 1 and 2; exit ticket. |
Materials
- Board drawings or real items: an apple, bread, a bottle, a packet
- Worksheet, pencils
- Cooking flashcards (free, linked from Week 9)
- Countable and uncountable (free, linked from Week 9)
- Much and many (free, linked from Week 9)
- Oat biscuits recipe (free, linked from Week 9)
Step by step, with teacher talk
0 to 5 minWarm-up: picnic alphabet
- Start: "I went on a picnic and I took an apple." Next child repeats and adds a food. Go along one row.
5 to 15 minFood words
- Draw and teach the foods. Add containers: a bottle of water, a packet of biscuits, a loaf of bread, a piece of cheese.
- Rub out pictures one by one; children say what is missing.
15 to 25 minCountable or uncountable?
- Ask "Can I count it? One apple, two apples... One water, two waters?" Children laugh and decide.
- Draw two baskets on the board: countable (many) and uncountable (much). Children come and write words in the baskets.
- Show that countable nouns have a plural: apples, sandwiches. Uncountable nouns do not: juice, bread.
- Can we say "three breads"? (No. Three loaves of bread.)
- Juice: how much or how many? (How much.)
25 to 35 minReading: Planning the picnic
- Pairs read the dialogue aloud and answer the questions. Then ask: "When do they use 'any'?" (questions and negatives).
- "Have we got any juice?" Is this a question? (Yes, so we use any.)
35 to 50 minGroup task: plan your picnic
- Each group has a picnic for eight people. They must agree on four things to eat and two things to drink.
- They ask each other questions: "How many sandwiches do we need?" "How much water?"
- One person writes the list in task 3. Another reports to the class.
"You have a picnic for eight people. Talk in English! Ask: how much, how many?"
50 to 60 minPractice and exit ticket
- Children complete tasks 1 and 2, then see the exit ticket below.
Differentiation
Support
- Use only "How many" with countable foods first.
- Give the picnic list a ready-made frame: "We need ___ sandwiches."
Stretch
- Add "a lot of", "a few" and "a little".
- Work out a budget with prices for the list.
- Write a short recipe for one picnic food.
Dialogue
Ana: Let's have a picnic on Saturday! What do we need?
Tom: How many people are coming?
Ana: Six. So we need some sandwiches. How many?
Tom: Twelve. Two each. Have we got any bread?
Ana: Yes, we've got a loaf. But we haven't got any cheese.
Tom: OK, I can buy some. How much juice do we need?
Ana: Two big bottles, and some water too. It's going to be hot.
Tom: And some fruit. How many apples?
Ana: Six, one each. And a packet of biscuits!
Tom: Perfect. I'll write the list.
Questions
- How many people are coming to the picnic?
- How many sandwiches do they need? Why?
- What haven't they got?
- How much juice do they need?
- Why do they need water?
Printable worksheet
Prints on its own A4 page. Use Print the worksheet above, or print the whole plan and the worksheet starts on a new page. One copy per child, or one per pair to save paper.
Our picnic
1. Countable or uncountable? Write the words in the right box.
| Countable (How many?) | Uncountable (How much?) |
|---|---|
2. Circle the right word.
- How much / many apples do we need?
- How much / many water have we got?
- We need some / any bread.
- Have we got some / any cheese?
- We haven't got some / any biscuits.
3. Our picnic for eight people. Write the shopping list.
| Food or drink | How much or how many? |
|---|---|
Answer key
Dialogue questions
- Six.
- Twelve, because everyone has two.
- Cheese.
- Two big bottles.
- Because it is going to be hot.
Worksheet
- 1: countable: apple, sandwich, egg, biscuit, banana. Uncountable: juice, bread, water, cheese, rice.
- 2: many; much; some; any; any.
- 3: answers will vary. Check plurals for countable foods and a container or "some" for uncountable ones.
Exit ticket
Write one "How much...?" and one "How many...?" question about food in your house. Swap with a partner and answer.
Homework
Look in your kitchen. Make two lists in English: five things you can count and five you cannot.
Teaching this to a whole class?
Litlings lets you plan lessons like this one, set photo and voice homework, and see who needs help. Free for up to 40 pupils.
Start free with LitlingsMore lesson plans
- Level 2, Week 9: Food and cooking (the curriculum week this plan comes from)
- All reading texts, dialogues, scripts, worksheets and answer keys on this page are original to Litlings and free to copy for classroom use.