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ASL Food & Drink

Fourth graders learn food and drink signs in ASL — EAT, APPLE, BREAD, DRINK, WATER, MILK — and sort them into things you eat and things you drink. Many signs act out the action!

Grade 4Food & Drink40 minutes1 class periodACTFL / Visual LanguageExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Sign food & drink.
  • ✓Tell eat from drink.
  • ✓Sort the signs.
  • ✓Ask for a snack.
Essential Question

Are you hungry or thirsty? Let’s learn food and drink signs in ASL — and sort what you eat from what you drink!

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Eat or Drink?

Project this and sort each sign into EAT (food) or DRINK (drinks).

🍽️ Sort each — something you eat or drink?Try it
🍴 EAT (food)
🥤 DRINK (drinks)
Tap a sign, then tap a box.
The Lesson · Visual-Language Flow (Warm-Up · Present · Practice · Sign · Reflect)

40 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Hungry or Thirsty?

4 min

Let’s learn food and drink signs — and sort what you eat from what you drink!

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Mime eating.
  • Ask how to sign it.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Mime.
  • Guess.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Food & Drink

10 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Model each sign.
  • Note EAT at the mouth, DRINK tips a cup.
  • Have students copy.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Watch.
  • Note it.
  • Copy.
3

Practice — Sort Them

11 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Eat or Drink?
  • Sort each one.
  • Sign along.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort.
  • Sign.
  • Explain.
4

Sign — Sign

10 min

Students sign.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Sign a food you like.
  • Sign a drink.
  • Sign to a partner.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sign it.
  • Sign it.
  • Sign.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Sign a food or drink.
  • Say which it is.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sign one.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Novice).

ACTFL
Communication 1.2

Interpretive: understand food signs.

ACTFL
Connections 3.1

Connect to meals.

ACTFL
Comparisons 4.1

Compare iconic signs.

ACTFL
Communication 1.1

Interpersonal: ask for a snack.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Food sign photo cards.
  • Model each sign.
  • Use a mirror.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with EAT and DRINK.
  • Sort one at a time.
  • Copy together.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add BANANA and TEA.
  • Sign your lunch.
  • Role-play a snack.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🍽️Food picture cards
  • 💻Eat or Drink?
  • 🪩A mirror (optional)
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

foodsomething you eatEATfingers tap the mouthAPPLEtwist knuckle on the cheekBREADslice on back of handDRINKtip a “C” hand at the mouthWATER“W” taps the chinMILKsqueeze a fisthungry / thirstyhow you feel before eating/drinking
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
How do you sign EAT?
Tap your fingers to your mouth.
QUESTION 2
Is WATER something you eat or drink?
Drink.
QUESTION 3
How do you sign DRINK?
Tip a “C” hand at your mouth, like a cup.

Reflect: food & drink.

Have students sign EAT and DRINK, and one food they like. A printable ASL food sheet is in the World Languages library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 ASL Food & DrinkFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 ASL Food & DrinkQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ ASL Food & DrinkPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: APPLE, BREAD, DRINK, EAT, food, hungry / thirsty, MILK, WATER
  1. twist knuckle on the cheek
  2. slice on back of hand
  3. tip a “C” hand at the mouth
  4. squeeze a fist
  5. how you feel before eating/drinking
  6. “W” taps the chin
  7. fingers tap the mouth
  8. something you eat

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. How do you sign EAT?
  2. Is WATER something you eat or drink?
  3. How do you sign DRINK?
Answer key — Part A: 1) APPLE · 2) BREAD · 3) DRINK · 4) MILK · 5) hungry / thirsty · 6) WATER · 7) EAT · 8) food
Part B: 1) Tap your fingers to your mouth. 2) Drink. 3) Tip a “C” hand at your mouth, like a cup.