Gingerbread
Unit
Non traditional
tales:
The Stinky Cheese
Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales
Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith 0-590-46627-5
The Gingerbread
Boy Richard Egielski 0-060-26030-0
Gingerbread Baby
Jan Brett 0-399-23444-6
Traditional Tales
The Gingerbread
Man Barbara McClintock 0-439-05772-8
The Gingerbread
Man Eric Kimmel 0-823-41137-0
The Gingerbread
Man Eric Suben 1-562-93555-0
The Gingerbread
Man Schmidt 0-590-08794-0
+++++++++++++++++++
Day ONE
Begin a chart with these headings:
Who makes the gingerbread
boy?
What kind of decorations does the gingerbread boy have?
______ eyes
______ mouth
______ buttons
Who does he run away from?
"no-no" saying
"run-run" saying
Who ate the gingerbread boy?
Read a traditional
Gingerbread Boy story. Fill in the information under the headings. I
read the first stories aloud. I pick my story based on what's available
in single copies from the library or my personal copies. I don't read
the version that I have multiple copies of to the students. I save that
one for tomorrow.
Then I read another
traditional Gingerbread Boy Story that has different information under
some of the headings. Some information is the same. After reading the
second version, we fill in more information under the headings. Sometimes,
depending on the class, I stop and fill in under the headings as they
find the information. Sometimes I put a sticky note if a child finds
something. I usually try and read straight through so the kids who aren't
familiar with the story get the flow of the story.
On Day one I have
the kids help retell the gingerbread story. I write it on sentence strips
and then give the sentence strips to partners to glue onto a big book
(12 x 18 construction paper works well) paper and draw and illustrate
a picture that goes with their sentence strip. I then put the book together.
It becomes one of the favorite ssr books.
Day TWO
I read the headings
of the chart to the class. Then I read the New York Gingerbread Boy
version to the class (The Gingerbread Boy written by Richard Egielski
ISBN: 0- 060-26030-0). Then the class helps fill in the chart discussing
things that are different between the versions.
Then I give them
all a gingerbread book for the partners to read. I have 15 copies so
my class can share the gingerbread books in partners. I give them book
marks with each heading labeled on it so they can put the bookmark where
they find the answer to our headings. The purpose for reading is to
find the differences between our newest book and what we've already
learned. After the kids read, we gather together and share answers reading
the text, finding where we found the answers.
Day THREE
I read the headings
again. Then I read The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales
written by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (ISBN: 0-590-46627-5). I don't
read the whole book, just "The Stinky Cheese Man" tale. I'll read the
rest of the book on other days. We add to the chart.
Then I give the
kids another traditional gingerbread man tale that I have multiple copies
of. This time they read alone or partners or small group depending on
how many copies of the book I have. The kids then have a paper copy
of the headings:
Who makes the gingerbread
boy?
What kind of decorations does the gingerbread boy have?
______ eyes
______ mouth
______ buttons
Who does he run away from?
"no-no" saying
"run-run" saying
Who ate the gingerbread boy?
They read the book,
fill in their paper. We gather together and share after we read.
On day three I also
start a FOCUSED WRITING assignment. The kids get a blank sheet of the
headings and we begin writing our own versions of the gingerbread boy
story. The first day, the kids pick the information that will fit under
the headings.
Who makes the gingerbread
boy?
I say, "Decide who will make your gingerbread boy. The old woman or
wife did in these two books. The boy did in Gingerbread Baby. The lonely
couple without children did in this book. Who will in your story? Write
it down next to the question. They JUST write who — NOT the details
or a sentence.
What kind of decorations does the gingerbread boy have?
______ eyes
______ mouth
______ buttons
I read the versions
we've read. Some have raisin eyes, some nuts, some icing. What kinds
of things could the eyes be made out of? Write down on the line what
you want to have your gingerbread eyes made out of. Repeat for mouth
and buttons. I also encourage the kids to branch out and get creative.
The stories are best if you guide them but don't be a dictator.
Who does he run
away from?
I only let them
pick THREE characters or the story gets too long and the kids get bored
writing it AND I get bored listening to them.
THEN for the writing
version you have to have the characters BE somewhere so at this point
you read a version and show that the gingerbread boy ran from
the butcher in front of his shop
black and white cow down the path
muddy old sow in the pigsty
dog wagging his tail by the doghouse
etc.
ALSO the writing
version has the character's doing something. Notice my examples above.
The man is a butcher sweeping in front of his store. It depends on how
guided you want to be AND what grade level. I do this with 2nd graders.
They can handle quite a bit of details if I guide them through each
step.
"no-no" saying
"run-run" saying
I read the versions
then they write what they will say when they get to that point.
Day FOUR
On day 4 I begin
practicing for the gingerbread play. The kids are divided into three
groups of 6-8 kids each. Each group performs the play. The kids decide
if they want to do it as a puppet show, as a play, as a reader's theatre.
The kids practice with their groups for a couple of days during guided
reading time. I have my class perform the plays for parents instead
of the Christmas party.
FOCUSED WRITING on day four. The kids begin writing their own versions
using the graphic organizer from yesterday. I give them blank books
to write their story in. Sometimes I type their stories. It depends
on numbers and what else is going on in the building.
MATH
The kids do the Gingerbread Glyph.
They make a graph. The kids take one bite from a gingerbread man cookie.
Then graph which part they ate first: head, arm, leg.
I give them a gingerbread
man drawn on paper. They measure the perimeter and area of the gingerbread
man with red hots, marshmallows, raisins, and jellybeans.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Mapping skills — I have the kids draw a map (poster size) of their gingerbread
boy story. They can move a little gingerbread man along their map and
retell their own version.
