If you’re planning a Gingerbread Week this year, you’ve come to the right place! Inside this post, you’ll find gingerbread week literacy activities for comparing favorite versions of Gingerbread Man stories, playing gingerbread-themed phonics games and centers, creating an escape prevention manual and so much more! Many of these activities can be found in this Gingerbread reading unit.
15 Gingerbread Week Literacy Activities
Grab the free printables and try these gingerbread classroom activities and see why I think Gingerbread Man books are comprehension gold!
1. Compare Versions of The Gingerbread Man
Dive into the delightful world of Gingerbread Man stories, perfect for exploring various reading standards. With a wealth of enchanting versions to choose from, these tales provide an excellent foundation for comparing and contrasting elements such as characters, illustrations, settings, and plot.
Using Gingerbread read-alouds allows students to experience problem-solving approaches, character responses to challenges, compare story elements, and the nuances of non-literal language, making learning both engaging and meaningful.
Before planning your Gingerbread Week, visit this blog post to see a list of my favorite versions of The Gingerbread Man and activities to do with them for comparing story elements and so much more!
2. Gingerbread Story Elements Charts
Use these Free Gingerbread Story Elements Charts to compare the characters, settings, problems, and solutions of all your favorite read-alouds!
3. Determine the Central Message
Teaching primary students to determine the central message of a text can be tricky, especially with gingerbread man stories. Young children lack the life experiences needed to easily identify the morals of fables, the lessons in fairy tales, or the central themes in fictional narratives. However, there are effective strategies that can help your readers grasp these big ideas.
Read more and find tips for teaching students how to determine the central message in a story. In the blog post, I’ve shared some guiding questions and approaches that can assist you in helping students understand the core messages and themes the author wants to convey.
4. Analyze Illustrations in Gingerbread Books
Teach students to focus on illustrations to gain more information about a story. Discuss the following questions using one of your gingerbread books.
- “What do the illustrations tell us about the setting that the words do not?”
- “What do the illustrations tell us about the character?”
- “What are their facial expressions, body language or actions telling us?”
- “How do the illustrations help us understand how the character feels?”
Another option is to pass out books to small groups of students to look for clues that give them information that the words do not. Write the following questions on the board.
5. Explore How Authors Use Repetition
The repeated chants the Gingerbread Man character says in each version give the stories a rhythm that children love. They act as transitions propelling the stories forward while providing key insights into the main character.
Encourage your students to delve deeper and think about why an author might use repetition by asking questions such as:
- “Why do you think the author chose to repeat these words?”
- “What insights does this repetition give us about the character?”
- “What does the gingerbread man want from the other characters?”
Choose three versions of the story to compare the phrases the Gingerbread Man repeats. Make a simple flap book for students to write them in or use the flap book found in this gingerbread reading unit
Gingerbread Week Writing Activities
6. Fractured Fairy Tales
A fractured fairy tale is a retelling of a traditional fairy tale where some of the story elements are changed in unexpected ways. The main goal of a fractured fairy tale is to teach an updated lesson or convey a more modern moral message.
A fun way to incorporate writing into your Gingerbread Week Activities is to have students rewrite a fractured Gingerbread Man story from the fox’s point of view. These fractured fairy tales start with the question, “What if the fox was a cookie?”
7. Create an Escape Prevention Manual
The gingerbread man is determined to escape in every version we read. Another fun writing activity to include in Gingerbread Week is to have students create an Escape Prevention Manual! It’s good practice activity for procedural writing and the ways students try to prevent the Gingerbread Man from escaping are priceless!
You can use a folded sheet of copy paper or use the writing templates in this Gingerbread Reading Unit.
8. Free Gingerbread Following Directions
Practice following multi-step directions with this Gingerbread recipe! Download the free printable for your students to do during Gingerbread Week!
9. Gingerbread Girl Nonliteral Language
The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers is an adorable follow-up to the first book, The Gingerbread Girl. It’s always a big hit with my students. Both books lend themselves well to identifying the difference between literal and non-literal language.
I used the prompt, “Is the Gingerbread Girl a smart cookie or a tough cookie?” (Actually, she is both!) I then made animal cracker cutouts, or you can use plain sticky notes, to have students give their opinions and why.
Next, students stuck their animal crackers onto our class chart.
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10. Identify Character Traits
The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School lends itself very well to identifying character traits. The plot is a departure from most other versions and the events in the story reveal some character traits you wouldn’t find in other versions the The Gingerbread Man.
I had groups of students decide on a character trait to add to a class chart. Next, they explained what evidence or clues they found in the story that helped them determine the trait they chose.
One of the easiest ways I’ve found to help students identify character traits is again using guiding questions. Place students in small groups or with a partner to list character traits of the main Gingerbread Man character and other characters as well.
Direct students to look for clues in the story that tell the characters’ thoughts, actions, and feelings. Next, ask students to think about and discuss:
- What is the character thinking?
- What is the character saying?
- What is the character doing?
- What adjectives would describe what the character is thinking, saying, or doing?
Another fun Gingerbread week literacy activity is to make missing posters and gingerbread men with character traits glued around them.
11. Paper Bag Gingerbread House
Make easy lunch sack gingerbread houses to wrap parent gifts or to create a gingerbread village in your classroom.
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12. Gingerbread Phonics & Grammar Games
Incorporate gingerbread-themed phonics and grammar games into your literacy centers during Gingerbread Week. The word ”gingerbread” lends itself well to sorting the two sounds /ea/ makes. This “Sweet Treats” phonics game is a fun way for students to determine the short or long sound that /ea/ makes.
This clever game has students sorting sentences on gingerbread cookies onto cookie sheets!
13. Gingerbread Cowboy Cactus Ornaments
Learn how to make easy candy cane cactus ornaments and download the FREE cactus templates in the blog post.
14. Free Gingerbread Spelling Booklet
Download this FREE Gingerbread Spelling Booklet to add to your Gingerbread Week activities. Use it in your spelling center for students to illustrate their spelling words and use them in sentences.
15. Caught Being Kind Coupons
Grab these gingerbread “caught” coupons to hand out to your students during your Gingerbread Week!
Before you do your December lesson plans grab these Gingerbread Week literacy activities and freebies!
Happy teaching!
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