Lesson Plans

Compère Lapin Party Game

Gumbo Zydeco Recipe Collecting

Je veux marier
Cajun Wedding Traditions

Louisiana Animals
Scavenger Hunt/Matching Game

Fais do dos and Dancehalls

Resource Links

Lapin Lapin Album Details

Lapin Lapin ­
Cajun & Creole Children’s Program

Lesson 2
Gumbo Zydeco recipe activity

Open sample recipe card here.

“First you make a roux” is the way many Cajun and Creole one-pot main dishes start.  And there is no further explanation of making a roux.  Making roux and all the dishes that start with one is a hand-me-down tradition.   

Activity 1: Children listen to the song Gumbo Zydeco and then write a recipe card for the gumbo recipe described in the song.  After that, the children are ready to collect their own hand-me-down family recipe.  And documenting the story behind the recipe is just as important as collecting the recipe itself.  

Activity 2: Children collect recipes and stories from a family or community member.  Preparing food together is a great way to encourage inter-generational communication and shared experience. This activity is great for all ages because it requires good listening, sequencing of information, retelling, and writing. Younger students may need some help and extra guidance. Student worksheets for this activity include a recipe card you can print and a list of questions children can use to ask family members.   

Activity 3: After the recipes are collected and the recipe cards a completed, students can write a new verse to Gumbo Zydeco using their own recipe for ideas for the verses.  It could even be in English!  Here’s an example:  

Let’s go to see Nanan and she will bake an apple pie. She chops her apples small and sugars one and all. Let’s go to see Nanan and she will bake an apple pie. She knows just how it’s done, with a touch of cinnamon.  

Now cook for your friends and family, then sing your heart out!

This lesson is adapted with permission from Louisiana Voices Folklife in Education Project Foodways lesson ­ Unit 7, Lesson 3.  For a copy of the lesson, go to www.louisianavoices.org and click on Lesson Outline ­ Unit VII.