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Gingerbread Man Theme Ideas

 

Run, Run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man! - famous last words by an arrogant cookie!

The Gingerbread man is a fun and motivating theme with many possible related learning activities.There are many versions of this famous fairy tale. Students may compare the different versions and even write a completely new ending. This is a great theme for the beginning of the year for getting to know you or to use during the Christmas Holidays.

Every year, my class focuses a week or two on the Gingerbread Man Fairy Tale. We make gingerbread cookies, decorate gingerbread houses, make paper gingerbread men, gingerbread ornaments, etc.

Here are some fun Gingerbread Man Classroom Ideas. For even more activites, check out Gingerbread in the Sharing Center

Version Comparisions: Read and compare different versions of this delicious fairy tale. 

There are also many fun sequel versions such as: The Gingerbread Girl, Gingerbread Man Loose in the School, Gingerbread Friends, and The Gingerbread Cowboy

Retelling: Use puppets or dress-up clothes to act out your favorite versions of the Gingerbread man. 

  

Here is an adapted book for retelling

Vocabulary: Here are some vocabulary and characters from the story. 

 

Prepositions: In the beginning of the week, I introduce the theme with a home-made, laminated, paper gingerbread man. I hang him up on his decorated bulletin board. I tell the students how he loves to hear his favorite story... except the ending. The students use descriptive prepositions to tell me where to place him on the bulletin board display. ("Above" the tree, "behind" the snowman, "under" the present...)  Every morning when the children arrive, the gingerbread man has moved to a different spot on the bulleting board and the children tell me where he had moved from and to (teaching concepts of time, recalling, prepositions, etc).

Here is a story, picture cards, and writing to focus on prepositions with The Gingerbread Man.

  

School Tour: On Friday, the children arrive and comment on the Gingerbread man's location. But while the students are at P.E., the Gingerbread Man is removed from the bulletin board and is replaced by a note... "Run Run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread Man!" When the kids return, I look surprised that the Gingerbread Man is gone! It is time for the hunt around the school for the gingerbread man.

Because my class consists of 18 students, we make a plan to split in to two groups to search around the school for the gingerbread man. (This is prearranged and scripted.) We bring walkie talkies to coordinate the timing of the 2 groups as they look around the school for the Gingerbread Man. We ask the principal, the nurse, the cafeteria, our reading buddies, the media center, etc. The lesson objective involves asking questions ("Have you seen the Gingerbread Man?"), listening to the answer, and following the clues. The two groups meet up at the playground as they continue to search for the Gingerbread man. (While out looking, a designated person places the paper Gingerbread man on the playground along with a plate of individually wrapped Little Debbie Gingerbread Man Cookies.) Finally, the students arrive at the playground and discover the Gingerbread Man and cookies.

I take pictures during the hunt, and put together a class book of the experience. 

Recalling Experience: After looking for the Gingerbread Man around school, the students write a class story on large chart paper recalling where they looked for the Gingerbread Man. We'll create a map of the school and sequence the areas where the gingerbread man had gone (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc).

This mapping experience can be used with just the book or to track him around the school. 

Writing: Fun writing pages to go along with the story theme. 

 

Rhymes and Songs: During the week we sing or say our favorite Gingerbread Man Songs and Rhymes. Here are some of our favorites:

5 Litttle Gingerbread Men

Homemade Gingerbread Man

Gingerbread Man song by Jack Hartmann

 

More Gingerbread Man Class Activities

Gingerbread Man Coloring Sheets

 

Gingerbread Man Lacing Cards

Memory Game using Gingerbread Man Feelings

 

Making Gingerbread Cookies....

 

 

More Ideas Ready-To-Use from the Sharing Center

        

LessonPix has so many Gingerbread Themed Templates. Customize your own activities easily and have fun learning!