A “How to Make a Milkshake” Procedure Text

If your students have mastered basic procedures for common everyday tasks (think teeth brushing, bed making and hand washing) then they’re likely ready to tackle a procedure that is a little more involved. It’s time to make a milkshake!

This procedural writing activity has been designed to help your students better understand the purpose, structure and language features of procedures by engaging with a well-structured and well-written example text. This two-page text explaining how to make a milkshake models all the features of a successful procedure text, such as an introduction, required ingredients and a sequence of steps (with accompanying visuals, of course!). After reading the example procedure, the students are required to write a procedure for a milkshake of their own creation using the template provided.

Turn This Procedural Writing Worksheet Into a Procedural Writing Lesson!

The beauty of this resource is that you can easily build an entire lesson on procedural writing around it. Here is how one of our experienced teachers would use this resource:

1. Distribute the resource to the students. To save paper, you might like to project the example text on your interactive whiteboard.
2. Read through the “How to Make a Milkshake” procedure as a class.
3. Discuss the effectiveness of the procedure. Did the steps seem easy to follow?
4. Spend some time analyzing the language used in the text. Have students color-code grammatical features such as action verbs, adverbs and adverbial phrases.
5. Brainstorm time! What type of milkshake would the students choose to make? Create a mind map of the students’ wild and wonderful milkshake ideas.
6. Have the students write a procedure for their own milkshake creation using the template provided in the resource.
7. Once complete, have students take their procedures home so they can make and test their milkshakes. Have them report back to the class: Was their creation delicious or a disaster?

Download This Procedural Writing Example

This resource downloads as a black-and-white printable PDF. Use the Download button above to access.

For sustainability purposes, please consider printing this resource double-sided.

More Procedural Writing Activities for Your Classroom

Teach Starter has a wide range of procedural writing resources to help your students master this important text type. Click below to explore more time-saving, curriculum-aligned resources!

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