Activities for Books by Jory John

October 4, 2021
Storie Belden

Jory John and Pete Oswald teamed up to create The Food Group series. These books are not only entertaining for kids, but they also are a great tool for SEL and character education. I want to share activities and writing crafts you can pair with The Bad Seed, The Good Egg, The Cool Bean, The Couch Potato, The Smart Cookie, The Sour Grape, and The Big Cheese.

The Food Group Series by Jory John and Pete Oswald

The Bad Seed, The Good Egg, The Cool Bean, and The Couch Potato are great books for SEL and character education. I'm sharing several activities and resources you can pair with this series.

The Food Group series includes books written by Jory John and Pete Oswald. Each book focuses on a character who faces a challenge and learns a lesson along the way. Click on any of the titles below to learn about each book.

This duo has also written these books featuring characters from The Food Group series:

And if you really want to bring these characters to life, check out this 2-sided plush for The Bad Seed and The Good Egg:

Here are all of the characters they have made (so far). You can find them on Amazon, but they are also available through MerryMakers.

The Bad Seed & The Good Egg (reversible)
The Cool Bean
The Couch Potato
The Smart Cookie
The Sour Grape
The Big Cheese

Note: Due to the popularity of these characters, they are often out of stock. Sometimes Kohl’s carries book buddies, too.

Bring the magic of The Food Group series to life with these book character stuffed animals! There are options available for The Bad Seed, The Good Egg, The Cool Bean, The Couch Potato, The Smart Cookie, The Sour Grape, and The Big Cheese!

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Activities for Books by Jory John

I have put together several activities for each story in The Food Group series. Each book companion has a large focus on comprehension and vocabulary. You’ll find a handful of questions to help guide the discussion as you read. Students can also respond to the questions in writing.

These questions will help guide the discussion as you read The Bad Seed. Students can also respond to these questions in writing. I have a set of questions for each book in The Food Group series by Jory John and Pete Oswald.

After reading each book, students can put the story back together with a sequencing activity.

After reading The Good Egg by Jory John, students can put the story back together with this sequencing activity. There are similar cut and paste sequencing activities for the rest of The Food Group series, too.

Once students have practiced sequencing each story, they are ready to retell or summarize. There are several different graphic organizers to choose from. Students can also focus on the story with a story elements spinner.

After reading The Cool Bean, students can practice retelling or summarizing the story with these graphic organizers. They can also focus on story elements with a spinner activity.

For vocabulary, I selected 12 words and phrases for each story. Each vocabulary card has a matching definition. Students can play a memory matching game or use the cards in a pocket chart center. To continue working with these words, students can complete a fill-in-the-blanks page or vocabulary match-up activity.

I selected 12 vocabulary words and phrases to focus on for each story in The Food Group series by Jory John and Pete Oswald. There are vocabulary cards with definitions, along with a match-up and fill-in-the-blanks practice page.

Each resource also includes two character pages (not shown) along with several book extension activities that match the theme of each book.

These book extension activities for The Food Group series allow your students to have fun with the characters and theme of each book.

Crafts for Jory John’s Books

After reading each book, students can put together a writing craft. I have included several suggestions for writing prompts, but you can always choose your own. If you don’t want to add a piece of writing, each craft can stand alone.

After reading The Bad Seed, students can complete a writing craft and pair it with one of the included writing prompts.

After reading The Good Egg, students can complete a writing craft and pair it with one of the included writing prompts.

After reading The Couch Potato, students can complete a writing craft and pair it with one of the included writing prompts.

After reading The Cool Bean, students can complete a writing craft and pair it with one of the included writing prompts.

Similar crafts are included for The Big Cheese, The Humble Pie, and the Sour Grape.

Digital Activities for Jory John’s Books

With many classrooms going digital, I decided to add some digital options to each book companion. In addition to the printable PDF, you will find a Google Slides link that can be used with Google Classroom. I have also included a fillable student PDF. Please note: these digital options do not include the crafts. Instead, there is a slide with an image of the book’s character and a text box for a student response.

Looking for digital comprehension and vocabulary activities to pair with The Food Group series by Jory John and Pete Oswald? I've got you covered! I have included a Google Slides link that can be used with Google Classroom along with a fillable student PDF.

You can find all of these activities in my Jory John Book Companion Bundle. This bundle also contains mini activity packs for As Cool as it Gets, The Great Eggscape, The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky, and more!