This is one of my favorite units to teach in kindergarten! We start by reading so many various versions of the classic Gingerbread Man tale, and learn to retell the stories, as well as practice comparing and contrasting characters, setting, problem, and solution.
The kids also enjoy our STEM challenges, where they have to craft a boat to keep the gingerbread man afloat. We use different materials to explore such as foil, paper, toilet paper rolls, and more. The kids always cheer when a group’s design helps the gingerbread man stay afloat.
This year I am a virtual kindergarten teacher, so our Gingerbread Week looks a little different. We still began by reading the different variations of the Gingerbread stories. Some of our favorites are:
Then, for our virtual centers we started write the room in small groups. I shared my screen during a live call in Microsoft Teams. Then, I let the kids take turns in finding a number and sounding out each CVC word together. We wrote the words on a blank sheet of paper or on a whiteboard to practice our phonics and reading skills. It was so much fun, we’ll definitely be doing more virtual write the room activities!
As part of our free time, I let my students get creative in designing their own virtual gingerbread house! This is a favorite each year, especially this year since we are fully virtual! We love to use the game from ABCya!
