"The Gingerbread Man
" by Karen Schmidt starts out just like most versions of this story...A little old woman and a little old man bake a gingerbread man for a little boy. They warn him not to open the oven before the gingerbread man is done, but he sneaks a peek. Out pops the gingerbread man and a chase ensues!This version is a little different in a couple of aspects. First, the characters are not the same as other versions. The characters in this story include the old woman, old man, three farmers, a bear, a wolf, and a fox. Second, in the traditional version of this tale, the fox carries the gingerbread man across a river and convinces him to move closer to his mouth to avoid the water. In this version, the fox feigns difficulty hearing the gingerbread man, enticing him to come closer.
Materials and activities I use with this story:
1. I created these simple pictures for a story stick using Lesson Pix. If you're not familiar with Lesson Pix, you might want to check it out. Sometimes it amazes me how QUICKLY I can create an activity with the program. Scroll down to the bottom of the Lesson Pix page and view the tutorial. It'll give you a good idea of how the program works. Also, right next to the tutorial link there is link for a free trial. Definitely give it a try!
2. I also used Lesson Pix to create a sequencing worksheet (BTW, both the story stick images and this sheet were created in less than 5 minutes!!!). You can have students cut/glue the icons in sequence, or create a reusable activity with lamination & Velcro.
3. My Gingerbread Speech and Language Unit on TPT has activities based on this story. The synonyms/antonyms are words that directly relate to the story. (I plan to use the Gingerbread Pronouns activity next week when I read "The Gingerbread Girl
" by Lisa Campbell Ernst). 
4. Gingerbread play dough. I've mentioned this before, but my district does not allow us to use food products (even if the children will not be eating them) without permission slips signed by each parent. Because of this, I don't use food products any more. However, before this change in policy occurred, I used to make gingerbread scented play dough. We would work on sequencing the steps of making gingerbread cookies in a hands-on way. (We didn't actually cook/decorate/eat them).
Here's the Recipe:
(I got this from a teacher I used to work with - thank you Maria!)
Ingredients:
- 2 C. flour
- 1 C. salt
- 1 Tbsp. ground cloves
- 1 Tbsp. ground allspice
- 1 Tbsp. ground ginger
- 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 C. water
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a large blow. Mix together well and knead until smooth.
Store the dough in an airtight container. Refrigerate when not using.
Store the dough in an airtight container. Refrigerate when not using.
5. Cookie Doodle iPad app by Shoe the Goose. ($.99 in the App Store). Follow the recipe, design your cookie, even create a puzzle from your cookie! This app is a great way to reinforce sequencing and vocabulary. You can use it to target building expressive language and following directions as well!
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| Cookie Design Puzzle |
Here are some cookies my kiddos created. They wanted to make a house for the gingerbread man, but I didn't see a simple house cookie cutter, so we used this one (I think it's supposed to be a school):
6. Don't forget the Roll a Gingerbread Man Freebie I posted on Monday!
Well, that's about it for today! Tell me, do you use Lesson Pix? What is your favorite feature?
