Jollof Day classroom activity pack

English-language edition | October 2026 | bernard.ink

Jollof Day activity pack

Read together. Wonder together. Make something your own.

Jollof Day book cover

Cover illustration: Annalise Barber-Opp

Free English-language printables | Ages 3-8 with adult support

By Bernard K. Mensah | Use alongside a copy of the book.

Original teaching materials. Cover artwork remains credited to the book's illustrator and publisher.

Choose your classroom journey

What is inside

  1. From kitchen to table (2 pages)
  2. Kitchen action word cards (3 pages)
  3. Colour a kitchen; draw a meal (2 pages)
  4. Simple tomato jollof (2 pages)

A simple session

  1. Read aloud (10 minutes): pause for a prediction and let children notice the pictures.
  2. Talk (10 minutes): select a few questions and accept oral, drawn or written answers.
  3. Make or write (15-25 minutes): choose one printable, not every activity at once.
  4. Share (5 minutes): invite volunteers to explain one choice or new idea.

Support and stretch

Offer oral rehearsal, adult scribing and larger print as needed. Older readers can add evidence or connected sentences. Each activity includes its own Teacher notes and suggested responses.

Print what you need

Print pupil pages in black and white. Keep teacher pages digitally. Use the web edition for selectable text and structured headings. English only; website language selection does not translate this download.

From kitchen to table

Read Jollof Day. Cut out the four cards. Arrange them in the order that makes sense in the story; check the book together. Lay the large cards on your table; write their letters in the order boxes.

  1. A. The family gets the table ready and shares the meal.
  2. B. The boy wakes his dad for Jollof Day.
  3. C. The rice cooks while the family waits.
  4. D. The boy and his dad prepare the ingredients.

Tell your sequence

  1. First - draw, say or write your response.
  2. Next - draw, say or write your response.
  3. Then - draw, say or write your response.
  4. Finally - draw, say or write your response.

First ... Next ... Then ... Finally ...

Teacher notes

Purpose and preparation

15-20 minutes. Retell four broad events using time words.

Read the book aloud first. Have one copy available to revisit words and pictures. Pupil pages are suitable for black-and-white printing.

Suggested responses

Suggested order: B, D, C, A. The boy wakes his dad; they prepare ingredients; the rice cooks; the family gets ready and shares the meal. These are broad summaries, not quotations or a card for every page.

Support and stretch

Support: Read cards aloud and act them out; younger children can point instead of cutting.

Stretch: Use the illustrations to add an event between two cards; explain where it belongs.

Teaching links

England KS1 English: discuss stories and infer from actions. US Grade 1 RL.1.3: describe characters and events; SL.1.2: answer questions about a read-aloud.

These are suggested links, not an accredited lesson or a complete curriculum. Grade 1 links do not apply automatically to younger children.

Cutting requires appropriate scissors and adult supervision. The activity assesses story sequence, not cutting skill.

Sources and teaching references

Kitchen action word cards

Cut and use these teaching words inspired by cooking. They are not an exhaustive list of words printed in the book.

  1. Wash - clean with water. Mime washing a tomato.
  2. Chop - cut into pieces. An adult does the cutting.
  3. Stir - move food around with a spoon. Mime a slow stir.
  4. Measure - find how much you need. Point to a measuring jug.
  5. Pour - tip liquid into something. Try an empty jug.
  6. Simmer - cook gently with small bubbles. This is an adult job.

Talk; match; move

  1. Taste - notice flavour with your tongue. Let hot food cool first.
  2. Share - give some to someone else. Show how you share a meal.

Play together

  1. An adult reads a card; everyone mimes safely away from a real cooker.
  2. Match a word to an ingredient or tool in a picture.
  3. Choose two words and tell a partner a cooking sequence.

Draw a tool and label the action it helps you do.

Teacher notes

Purpose and preparation

10-15 minutes. Understand and use action words in spoken explanations.

Read the book aloud first. Have one copy available to revisit words and pictures. Pupil pages are suitable for black-and-white printing.

Suggested responses

Wash: clean with water. Measure: decide the quantity. Simmer: cook gently, not stir fast. Accept child-friendly paraphrases. Avoid implying that every family cooks the same way.

Support and stretch

Support: Use objects, gestures and adult modelling.

Stretch: Explain a pair such as stir and pour; use each word in an instruction.

Teaching links

England spoken language: listen, explain ideas and build on responses. US Grade 1 SL.1.1: collaborative conversation; SL.1.2: questions about a read-aloud.

These are suggested links, not an accredited lesson or a complete curriculum. Grade 1 links do not apply automatically to younger children.

Keep mime play away from knives, hot pans and electrical tools. Words are teaching vocabulary; check the printed book before claiming an exact occurrence.

Sources and teaching references

Colour a kitchen

These are original classroom outlines, not pictures taken from Jollof Day. Colour the tomato, onion, pepper and rice bowl. Tell a partner what an adult might do with each.

Printable original outlines: tomato, onion, pepper and rice bowl. You can draw your own ingredients as an alternative.

Download the PDF for this printable template.

I can see ...

A meal worth sharing

Draw a meal and the people you would like to share it with.

At our table ...

Teacher notes: allow an invented meal or family. Ask what is similar to or different from the family meal in Jollof Day. Support and stretch: label one food orally, or write a sentence about sharing. Suggested teaching links: England KS1 art; Grade 1 SL.1.5 (use drawings to explain ideas).

Simple tomato jollof

Serves 4 | About 15 minutes preparation + 35-45 minutes cooking. This is an original teaching recipe inspired by Jollof Day, not the recipe printed in the book. Adults manage the cooking.

Ingredients

  1. 300 g long-grain white rice, rinsed
  2. 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
  3. 400 g chopped tinned tomatoes; 2 tbsp tomato purée
  4. 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 tsp mild curry powder; 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  5. 400 ml hot low-salt vegetable stock; extra hot water if needed

Adult steps

  1. Blend the onion, pepper and tomatoes until smooth. An adult handles the blender.
  2. Heat oil in a heavy pan. Add tomato purée; stir for 2 minutes. Add blended vegetables, curry powder and thyme; cook gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring, until thickened.
  3. Stir in the rinsed rice and stock. Bring to a gentle boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Check near the end: add a little hot water if dry and continue until the rice is tender.
  4. Turn off the heat and rest, covered, for 5 minutes. An adult checks the rice is cooked and portions are cool enough to taste.

Adult: keep children away from heat, knives, hot liquids and electrical equipment. Check allergies and stock ingredients before cooking; wash hands and food-preparation surfaces.

Teacher notes

Purpose and preparation

20 minutes for discussion; allow a separate cooking session. Read instructions and recognise how food can bring people together.

Read the book aloud first. Have one copy available to revisit words and pictures. Pupil pages are suitable for black-and-white printing.

Suggested responses

Recipe quantities make about four portions. Rice brands, pan size and heat affect water and timing: an adult checks tenderness. This is a proposed teaching recipe, not a kitchen-tested reproduction of Bernard's family recipe. Families have many jollof variations.

Support and stretch

Support: Use a no-cook sorting activity with ingredient pictures and an empty measuring jug.

Stretch: Ask why the order matters; compare a written instruction with the story.

Teaching links

England KS1 English: discuss vocabulary and information. US Grade 1 SL.1.2: answer questions about information presented orally.

These are suggested links, not an accredited lesson or a complete curriculum. Grade 1 links do not apply automatically to younger children.

Before classroom cooking, follow your school's food hygiene and allergy procedures. Serve promptly. Cool leftover rice quickly, ideally within one hour; refrigerate, use within 24 hours and reheat only once until steaming hot throughout. Children can count ingredients or help lay the table away from cooking hazards.

Sources and teaching references