Fish Fry Friday,

Learning Goals

• Identify the characters, setting, and key events in Fish Fry Friday, using details from the words and illustrations.
• Explain how preparing, sharing, or enjoying food can help people connect, citing an example from the book.
• Sequence three important moments from the story and explain how they connect.
• Create a drawing or short written response connecting the book’s gathering to a real or imagined gathering, respecting differences in family traditions.

Activity Steps

1. 1.Introduce Fish Fry Friday by Winsome Bingham. Examine the cover and title, and ask: “What might happen on this Friday? What clues do you notice?” Record predictions without confirming them.
2. 2.Read the book aloud, pausing to examine the illustrations. Ask students to identify who is present, what people are doing, and how characters appear to feel. Have students support answers with a word, action, or visual detail.
3. 3.Discuss the role of food in the story: “How does the fish fry bring people together? What details show people connecting?” Invite students to revise their initial predictions using evidence from the book.
4. 4.Have students fold paper into three sections and depict three important story moments in order. Grades K–2 can draw and dictate captions; grades 3–5 can write captions explaining how one event leads to another. Partners retell the story using their sequences.
5. 5.Create a “Gathering Together” class display. Each student draws or writes about a real or imagined gathering and adds one sentence explaining its connection to Fish Fry Friday. Invite voluntary sharing, then close by asking students to name one detail that helped them understand the story.