How to Study the Pizza Restaurant in Your Classroom

Kids love pizza, so they go bananas when I turn the classroom into a "pizza restaurant" for three weeks! I have been doing a "restaurant" thematic unit in my classroom since 1995. The kids love it and the unit addresses most of the major state standards during the spring. Here are some ideas for creating your own classroom pizzeria.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Go to your local restaurant supply store and buy some checkered table clothes and candles to decorate the classroom. These are very inexpensive and can be used for many years. Just buy the thin plastic ones; not the padded kind; those are hard to write on.
2. Buy the food version of "Photo-Bingo." This is not only a great reading activity (once you make your own flash cards), but it exposes the kids to some foods they have probably never seen before. Play both cards of food bingo at once and always make it blackout bingo.
3. Play Mystery Word, but have them guess "today's special." For example, I tell the kids: "Today's special is something you eat for breakfast" or "something you drink."
4. Buy Pizza Pile-Up; this is a great fine motor game that teaches the kids balance. Split them up into small groups of no more than five.
5. Buy Alfredo's Food Fight, another great fine motor activity that your students will love!
6. Have the kids do pizza paintings!
7. Have the kids draw pictures of their favorite foods and restaurants.
8. Line up plastic food and have the students write the name of each item on a numbered list. Have them do this writing assignment in small groups and change the food everyday.
9. Make some cutting exercises for the kids to do.
10. Have the kids become waiters and waitresses for their parents. Give each student an order pad to take their parents' orders and create a maze for them to navigate through while carrying the food on trays. This teaches balancing skills, and boy, do they love this station.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy some food server hats for the kids to decorate and wear.