This
page is all about Gingerbread Boys and Girls, and the many different ways
to use them in your classroom. You'll find fun Back to School activities
and Holiday ideas, as well as lots of great songs and poems, science and
art activities, suggested books and follow-up activities, plus links to
other websites.
Run, run, as fast as you can,
You can't catch me,
I'm the Gingerbread Man!
I
begin my G is for Gingerbread
unit by reading one or more versions of the traditional Gingerbread Man
tale. There are many excellent versions of the story currently available,
from easy to handle board books, to versions written specifically for emergent
readers, to traditional Shared Reading picture books, to gorgeous Big Book
editions (I use the Big Book edition from The Wright Group, which is available
through their catalog).
After
reading the Big Book several times -- until the children are chanting along
with the Gingerbread Man as he runs away -- we do one or more follow up
activities that involve decorating our own Gingerbread Men. You'll
find many of these activities below.
The
following day, I reread the Big Book, and then begin introducing books
that tell the story in a slightly different way. My current favorite
is Jan Brett's brand new book, Gingerbread
Baby, published in 1999. Scholastic had it in the September 2000
SeeSaw and Firefly bookclubs in a paperback edition, perfect for the Listening
Center or your Browsing Baskets. They also now have it in a Big Book
edition, through the bookclubs, for under $20. I just got it and
it's great! I also have my own hardcover
copy for Shared Reading.
Jan
Brett's newest story is filled with her gorgeous illustrations and beautiful
borders that tell a story-within-a-story. In this adaptation of a
classic tale, a little boy named Matti opens the oven too soon and out
pops a Gingerbread Baby!
A
chase ensues and everyone but Matti is trying to catch the runaway cookie.
We see Matti in the page borders, building a gingerbread house to trap
the spirited Gingerbread Baby .
Children
will love the richly detailed lift-the-flap gingerbread house on the final
page, where Matti catches the Gingerbread Baby at last. This is a
must-have book to add to your Jan Brett library. Amazon has it in
a durable hardcover
edition, for 30% off the
publisher's price.
The Perfect Reading Buddy! 20% off List Price $7.99
After reading the book
two or three times (children love and need repeated readings to build fluency
and comprhension, as well as to simply enjoy the language and pictures),
we make a Venn Diagram contrasting Gingerbread Baby with the more traditional
Gingerbread Man story.
Visual representations
and graphic organizers are authentic Shared Writing activities, where children
can see that writing has a purpose. Sharing these activities also
helps them learn different ways of organizing information, which helps
their developing brains to form connections and new paths, while storing
background knowledge for future reading experiences.
Next, I introduce two
more stories, one per day, allowing time to discuss how each story is like
and unlike both The Gingerbread Man and Gingerbread Baby.
A contemporary version of a traditional tale, this runaway cookie
is chased all over New York City by subway musicians, construction workers,
a rat, and other delightful characters. A fun addition to your class
library. New for 2000 ~ Now available in an inexpensive paperback
edition.
A fresh telling of the story set in Louisiana, where the cookie boy
is eaten by a crocodile. Children use a die-cut gingerbread boy to
tell the story. 1996 Children's Choice Award recipient.
We make another Venn Diagram
to compare the New York City Gingerbread Man with the Louisiana Cajun Gingerbread
Man. It's fun to contrast the settings, characters, and events in
the two stories. Because we read these stories about halfway through
our school year, I also make a story map or character map, showing the
sequence of events, who's in each story, etc.
All of these graphic organizer
activities are excellent for integrating Language Arts with Math, and for
modeling and encouraging thinking about literature. We also do predictable
chart writing about these stories, with each student creating the sentence "I liked it when _______."
For information on doing
think-alouds that model making connections, read Mosaic
of Thought by Ellin Oliver Keene. It's an excellent addition
to your professional bookshelf that will change the way you present information
to your students. You'll learn ways to model creative thinking that
accesses prior knowledge and teaches them how to make connections between
literature and themselves, other stories, and the world around them.
After reading the three
innovations on The Gingerbread Man, plus at least one version of the traditional
tale, we make a graph showing which story was our favorite.
Which
Story Do You Like Best?
Gingerbread Man
Gingerbread Baby
Cajun Gingerbread Boy
New York Gingerbread Boy
Jan Brett Author Study
I do an Author Study on
Jan Brett in December and January. Here are some more Jan Brett stories
that my class really enjoys:
Based on a popular Ukranian folktale, Brett's story comes to life
with her beloved hedgehog and his animal friends, all trying to fit inside
a lost mitten. The border illustrations help children to predict
what will happen next. You can print out full color masks of the
characters at http://www. janbrett.com. Also available as a durable
boardbook,
and in a gift
package that includes the book and a child-sized pair of mittens with
a Hedgie decal. This is a great story for teaching sequencing and
also for dramatic play.
W. Clement Moore's classic poem, combined with Jan Brett's luscious
illustrations, makes a gorgeous gift for kids and kids at heart that's
bound to become a fmaily keepsake read every year. This version has
stow-away elves and a pig frolicking in the nighttime snow. Also
available on
audio
cassette.
Hedgie the Hedgehog is the star of this wonderful companion volume
to The
Mitten. Winner of the 1998 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.
Brett says she wrote the story based on this advice: "Write what
you know about." She knew about two things, she says, "knitting and
hedgehogs," and she added a third thing she wanted to know about, the country
of Denmark, which she visited to research the illustrations. Also
available in a
boardbook
edition that comes with a
stuffed
Hedgie toy to cuddle.
Annie tries to make friend with Winter woodland animals after losing
her cat. Under $5. Also available in
hardcover
and in a book-and-cassette
edition.
A wonderfully fun story about a mishap on the way to the Village
Ball. Brett says she based Berlioz on on her husband Joe, who plays
a large double bass with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She also
draws herself as a bear. Jan and Joe went to Bavaria to research
the illustrations Brett drew for this beautiful book. Under $6 in
paperback.
Also available in a durable
hardcover
edition.
An enchanting story about a little girl named Treva, and how some
trolls tried to steal her Christmas. Everyone's favorite hedgehog
is in this beautifully illustrated book.
Young Teeka is in charge of getting the wild reindeer ready to fly
on Christmas Eve. Beautiful illustrations of Santa's Winter Farm.
Under $6. Also available in
hardcover.
This time, the trolls try to steal a little girl's dog to make him
their pet. In the border illustrations, Hedgie is making himself
at home in the troll's home. Under $5 . Also available in
hardcover.
Don't forget to visit
Jan Brett's wonderful website for lots of great activities, coloring pages,
character masks, and even a full-color alphabet frieze featuring her favorite
characters http://www.janbrett.com
Gingerbread Children
Gingerbread children Stand in a row. Very good children Always you know.
They never will jump Or kick or leap, Or start to cry when It's time to sleep.
They never run off Or look around. And no one has heard Them make a sound.
Gingerbread children Are fine to meet, But, much better still, They're good to eat!
A contemporary version of a traditional tale, this runaway cookie
is chased all over New York City by subway musicians, construction workers,
a rat, and other delightful characters. A fun addition to your class
library. New for 2000 ~ Now available in an inexpensive paperback
edition.
A fresh telling of the story set in Louisiana, where the cookie boy
is eaten by a crocodile. Children use a die-cut gingerbread boy to
tell the story. 1996 Children's Choice Award recipient.
A simple retelling of the Gingerbread Boy story, perfect for young
children. Under $6. Also available in a hardcover
edition. Author Margaret Hillert's version of the Hansel and
Gretel Story, The
Cookie House, would be a good literature tie-in with your Gingerbread
Man theme.
A cute lift the flap book about a surprise party for Santa, with
guests including Goldilocks, Snow White, and the Easter Bunny. Kids
love this one! Under $5.
Gingerkids tune: Ten Little Indians
One little, two little,
three little Gingerkids, Four little, five little,
six little Gingerkids, Seven little, eight little,
nine little Gingerkids, Ten little Gingerbread
Kids.
Your students will ask
for this book over and over, and will roll on the floor giggling ... mine
always do! An irreverent look at many classic stories, by the author
of The True Story of The Three Little Pigs. A Caldecott Honor Book,
and winner of many awards.
Gingerbread Man School
Tour
Many
teachers begin their school year by reading The Gingerbread Man to their
kindergarten or first grade class, then going on a school-wide search for
the missing cookie. Here is a wonderful explanation of how it's done,
contributed by KinderKorner subscriber Jenni Biggins:
On
the first day of school, we prepare a large Gingerbread man (I use boxed
GB mix that I bring mixed and already rolled in a ball). We roll
it out and cut the cookie, then we take it to the oven to bake. When
we return to class, I read them the traditional version of the Gingerbread
Man. it's fun to see if anyone makes the association and worries
about ours in the oven! After the story, we go to recess.
After
recess, we return to the oven to pick up our GB man and of course he's
vanished! We sadly return to the room and do a 1st day of school
paper with an outline of the GB man on one side for the kids to decorate
and a note explaining what happened to parents. On the other side,
they draw a picture of themselves.
Each
day that week, we go to a different area of the school
to look for our runaway. At each place, there is a note/poem on a
cut out GB man 'hiding'-- as we meet the person associated with that area
(i.e., the Principal, etc.), one of the children will spot the note.
This continues until Friday when he returns to us (after recess, 'sitting'
in my chair), with a new poem and a take home note to save.
During
the week I read many versions of the GB man, including a new Cajun
version I LOVE and we do many related activities across the curriculum.
The poems are as follows:
Note
in Oven
Dear
Boys and Girls, Tomorrow
look for me around________. And
inside of books, I'm
famous for running away And
for my delicious looks!
School
Office
The
office is a busy place. The
secretary has a friendly face. She
types with her left, Writes
notes with her right. When
the phone rings, She
takes the call Without
using any hands at all!
Principal's
Office
This
is the Principal's office. ___________
is nice you know. She
told me not to run anymore, But
to walk wherever I go!
Nurse's
Office
The
nurse is our friend And
I'll tell you why. She'll
check your ears And
she'll check your eyes. She'll
fix the hurt that makes you cry. I
have to run now -- can't say good-bye!
Custodian
This
is ________'s room. Do
you see the mop and broom? He
empties the basket And
locks the door. ________
is kind and good. Can
we help him? We
should!
Cafeteria
This
is the lunch room. _______
likes us a bunch! She
always makes sure We
have a good lunch. If
we're very polite and help
keep it clean, And
use soft voices Our
school will be keen!
Here's
the poem/note that is with the GB man when he 'returns' to
the classroom and it also goes home on the last day with
the note to Mom and Dad:
Dear
Boys and Girls, I've
run and run I
need some rest I
think this room is the best! Love,
The Gingerbread Man
Dear
Mom and Dad, The
Gingerbread Man found me today, but
I couldn't bring him home because I
ate him! Instead I brought this little paper
one home to remind me in later years
how hard I hunted for him this week
in Kindergarten at ___________________school,
Date.
Many
thanks to Jenni for sharing this activity!
Another
teacher sent in these additional suggestions for
"spicing up" the Gingerbread Man hunt and using the activity to
introduce the sense of smell:
How
about reading The Gingerbread Boy and then searching
for the gingerbread boy around the school? You
could talk about what kind of clues can help you find
him. Have someone spray cinnamon air freshener on the
path that leads to the Gingerbread Boy. You could also
have the gingerbread boy drop clues ~ red hots, marshmallows,
etc.
And
here's one more great idea to make this activity extra fun:
Leave
a trail of white flour footprints for the children to follow around the
school. They can be sponged on with thinned white tempera paint that
will wash or wipe off easily afterwards.
Follow Up Activities For The Gingerbread Man
Creative Writing / Shared Writing
Have students brainstorm
HOW they think the Gingerbread Man escaped from the oven. Write their
sentences on chart paper to make a Predictable Chart, then copy sentences
to the bottom of pages they're illustrated for a class book.
My class enjoys making
a Predictable Book with each child's name in it, using the following writing
frame:
"Stop, stop!" said (student
name). But the Gingerbread Man
said: "Run, run, as fast as
you can, You can't catch me, I'm
the Gingerbread Man!"
I send the book home with
a different student each night, to share with their families. It's
a great way to help them learn to read each other's names.
Gingerbread
Man Song tune:
The Muffin Man
Oh, do you know the Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Man, the Gingerbread
Man? Oh, do you know the Gingerbread Man, Who ran and ran and ran?
He said, "Catch me if you can, If you can, if you can." He said, "Catch me if you can," Then ran and ran and ran.
I can run like the Gingerbread Man. The Gingerbread Man, the Gingerbread
Man. I can run like the Gingerbread Man, Now catch me if you can.
Sequencing
Reread
your favorite version of the story. Make a Language Experience chart
of who chased the Gingerbread Man first, second, third, and so on.
Make simple cards to use in the Pocket Chart to retell the story.
Make
your own Gingerbread Man cookies. While they are baking, make a Language
Experience chart about how to bake cookies: what did you do first
(made the dough -- add details for older children), what did you do next,
etc. Write the steps on sentence strips for the Pocket Chart, and
make a class Big Book with illustrations of each step done by pairs of
students. Older students can write and illustrate their own books
about making a Gingerbread Man.
After decorating their
own cookies (real ones or coloring a blackline paper Gingerbread Man),
have students describe how to decorate a Gingerbread Man. What goes
on first ... eyes? nose? buttons? squiggly lines?
Make individual books or a class Big Book called How to Frost a Cookie.
Graphing
Make a picture graph with
columns for all the characters in the various versions of the story.
Reread each story, then graph the characters from each. Compare and
contrast the characters in each version, then write descriptive / comparative
sentences ... i.e., All of the stories had a little old lady and a little
old man, more stories had a fox than a crocodile.
After your students have
decorated their own cookies, let them take one bite only then STOP!
Make a graph showing which part of the cookie was eaten first ... head,
right foot or arm, left foot or arm, etc. Ask children why they bit
the part they did ... you'll get some crazy answers!
Have children decorate
Gingerbread Man cookies. Use real cookies or tagboard cutouts (the
Ellison diecut is good for this). Offer a variety of real foods to
decorate with ... raisins, chocolate chips, red hots, squiggly colored
frosting in tubes, etc. When children finish decorating, make a graph
for each part of the Gingerbread Man, showing what items were used to make
that part, like the sample below:
Gingerbread
Man Eyes
Raisins
Chocolate Chips
Red Hots
Cut out miniature Gingerbread
Men from several colors of construction paper, using a handheld Pretty
Punch / craft punch. Mix them in a box or bag, then give each student
a small pinch of Gingerbread Men. Make individual graphs and group
graphs of the different colors, and write comparitive sentences:
Lisa has more red Gingerbread Men than Jose. Alison has the most
red ones. Rebecca has the same number of purple and pink ones.
Measuring
Cut a large number of
tagboard Ellison Gingerbread Men (the short ones, about 4 to 5 inches tall).
Allow 3 to 5 per student. Working in groups, have students estimate
and measure the following:
How
tall is my Gingerbread Man? Measure with raisins,
marshmallows, red hots, unifix cubes, teddy bear counters, etc.
How
tall is the _______? Use multiple Gingerbread
Men to measure how tall various things are: a student, a desk, a
book.
How
long is the _______?
How
many Gingerbread Men is it to the _______?
Make a master sheet with
an outline of a Gingerbread Man and lines for estimating the following:
My Gingerbread Man is
___ ________ around (perimeter) and ___ _______ inside (area).
The first blank is for the number and the second blank is for the measuring
object: marshmallows, goldfish crackers, or other objects.
Math Workjob Mats
ForGingerbread
Men, use either large Ellison diecuts or cut 9 inch tall Gingerbread Man
shapes from light brown construction paper. Glue one cutout to each
of ten sheets of 9 x 12 construction paper, leaving a two inch border at
the bottom of the sheet. I use two different colors of paper, so
my set forms an ABAB pattern when laid out on the table or floor.
In the upper left hand
corner of each sheet, write one numeral in bold black marker, numbering
the sheets from one to ten. Along the bottom of each sheet, place
the correct number of stickers (use cute seasonal stickers if you have
them) to correspond with the number written on the page. Laminate
and cut out.
Make a collection of cute
items for decorating your Gingerbread Men, and place them in a small plastic
box with a lid, so they won't get lost. Use buttons, tiny seasonal
erasers, small bits of ribbon or rickrack (for frosting squiggles), etc.
You need 55 items in all to decorate the entire set. Store in a shoebox
or plastic bag, and use as a math center. Children will put the cards
in numerical order, then use the items to decorate each Gingerbread Man
card with the number of items listed at the top (and represented for non-number-readers
by the number of stickers along the bottom). If done correctly, all
the items will be used.
You can make a similar
workjob using a Gingerbread House cutout, and providing various decorations.
I use laminated Gingerbread Men (colored by my students) and Christmas
Trees, plus other seasonal goodies, to help "decorate" this set of
workmats.
Gingerbread Men Fingerplay &
Chant
Five little gingerbread men lying on a tray, One jumped up and ran away. Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can ... I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
Four little gingerbread men lying on a tray, One jumped up and ran away. Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can ... I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
Three little gingerbread men lying on a tray, One jumped up and ran away. Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can ... I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
Two little gingerbread men lying on a tray, One jumped up and ran away. Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can ... I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
One little gingerbread man lying on a tray, He jumped up and ran away. Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can ... I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
No more gingerbread men lying on a tray, They all jumped up and ran away. Oh, how I wish they had stayed with me to play. Next time I'll eat them before they run away.
It's fun to do this fingerplay using the left
hand open, plam up, as the "tray," and lying the other fingers on the tray
until each runs away.
Art Activities
Gingerbread
Man Ornaments I
Make Gingerbread Men from
sandpaper, either with a large Ellison diecut or by tracing a pattern on
the back of the sandpaper (don't use your good scissors for these).
Sprinkle with cinnamon, rub with a cinnamon stick, or spray with cinnamon
room freshener. Make icing from colored glue.
Gingerbread
Man Ornaments II
Make a dough from applesauce,
adding enough cinnamon to thicken it into a thick paste. Press flat,
about 1/8 inch thick (thicker slabs crack more easily while drying).
Cut with a cookie cutter, and use a straw to punch a hole near the top.
Lay flat to dry on wax paper (takes several days). Glue on decorations,
if desired. Hang with shiny red ribbon.
Gingerbread
Twins Matching Game
Give each student a sheet
of construction paper with two Gingerbread Men outlined on it. Have
them color the two as twins, so that they match exactly ... same color
eyes, same color icing, etc. They can be as creative as they like,
as long as both look the same. Laminate and cut out, and use in a
center to play various matching games like concentration. Make "cookie
sheets" from cardboard covered with aluminum foil (or use real cookie sheets)
for each student to collect their matching pairs. We do a smiliar
activity with Mittens during our Snowmen and Mittens unit in January, hanging
the mittens on a mini clothesline.
Stir a bowl of gingerbread, Smooth and spicy brown. Roll it with a rolling pin, Up and up and down. With a cookie cutter, Make some little men. Put them in the oven Till half past ten!
More Gingerbread Ideas
Who Stole the Cookies from the
Cookie Jar?
Sit
in a circle and chant "Who
stole the cookies from the cookie jar?" Everyone gets a cookie
when the game is done.
Who stole the cookies
from the cookie jar? Mrs. Smith stole
the cookies from the cookie jar! Who, me? Yes, you! Couldn't be! Then who?
Put the poem in the Pocket
Chart on sentence strips, leaving a blank where
the person's name goes. Make a class set of names
(plus your name, the principal, etc.) for the kids to use in
reading the chart.
Gingerbread Man Glyph
Create your own glyph
for the Gingerbread Man. (That means I couldn't
find one online). A glyph is a blackline
drawing that the children color following a specific set of instructions,
something like the following:
If you are a girl, color
his nose red. If you are a boy, color
his nose brown.
If your favorite dessert
is ice cream, color his eyes blue. If your favorite dessert
is cookies, color his eyes brown. If your favorite dessert
is cake, color his eyes green.
Design your glyph with
at least six different things to color, then have the children
cut their finished Gingerbread Men out and put them on a bulletin board,
with a key that explains what the different colors mean. Everyone's
glyph will be unique!
Weighing Gingerbread Men
After baking cookies,
estimate how much each cookie weighs, how much two cookies
weigh together, etc.
Use a balance scale and
non-standard units like unifix cubes, counting bears, chocolate
chips, and marshmallows.
Read this wonderful story
about sharing a batch of chocolate chip cookies, then use real cookies
or paper cookies to re-enact the story.
Follow up by having a
cookie taste test of several brands of cookies and graphing each child's
favorite kind.
Baby
Blue Cat and the Whole Batch of Cookies
Another delightful cookie
story, about Baby Blue cat who eats "not one, not two, but the WHOLE batch
of cookies." When his loving mommy offers to bake another batch of
cookies, he no longer wants even one.
According to Amazon, it's
out of print, but you might be able to find a copy at the library.
My own boys loved this story, and we've had it for 6 or 7 years now.
The author is Ainslie Pryor.
Gingerbread Houses
If you can get parent
helpers, making Gingerbread Houses from Graham Crackers and frosting is
a fun thing to do. To make it easier, have the parents build the
houses in advance, "gluing" them to paper plates with frosting.
Students get to add fancy
colored frosting squiggles, attach cookies for windows and doors, frost
the roof, and add candy decorations. Tons of fun, but sometimes
exhausting!
A great book for beginners
and experienced bakers alike, with lots of tips for making your creations
extra-special. How to make mailboxes, snowmen, candy glass windows,
and all the other extras. This makes a terrific holiday gift!
An easy to follow book
with instructions for six different Gingerbread Houses, perfect for beginners.
Comes with a helpful checklist so you don't forget anything!
208 pages with over 220
color photos of Gingerbread Houses collected all over the United States.
A wonderful addition to your kitchen library, as well as for your classroom
-- the photos make great Story Starters!
Visit Carol's Website
-- The
Kindergarten Connection -- for information about these wonderful integrated
thematic units for Language Arts and Math. Terrific activities and
information for teaching the California Content Standards using Child-Centered
lessons your students will love.
My bookstore
pages have lots of information on how I use various materials in my classroom,
and on activities you can do with your students. The thematic pages
are complete unit resources, with lots of poems, songs, and links on each
page. Make yourself comfortable and take a look around!
Choose from the
categories below. Underlined subjects
are links, the other ones are coming soon!
Watch
an online video
