The Gingerbread Man Activities and Crafts for Kindergarten FREE Printables and Worksheets
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Download and print FREE activities to go along with The Gingerbread Man!
I share these free activities and printables throughout this blog post, including this adorable mini book.
I am so excited to finally post all of the fun activities we do in December centered around on of our favorite read-aloud classics… The Gingerbread Man.
Thematic teaching around stories makes learning the reading, math and writing standards incredibly engaging for children… they forget we are actually learning because we are having so much fun!
There are so many versions of The Gingerbread Man you can read.
Our 5 favorites have quickly become:
The activities shown on this blog post work perfectly paired with these five books.
Gingerbread Man Resources and Purchase Options:
I usually do not split up my thematic units into individual resources, however I did this time because there are so many activities.
You can purchase each component separately, or you can save with my Gingerbread Bundle HERE.
Click the photos below to purchase.
This blog post will show you how I use all of these activities, plus I am sharing freebies for you to try!
Jump to… Retelling + Comprehension
Jump to… Build a Gingerbread House Project
Jump to… Gingerbread Friends + SEL
I know you’ll love all of these resources as much as we do… so let’s get started!
Retelling the Story + Comprehension
There are a few different versions of this classic story, so just a heads up that these activities correlate with THIS version of the Gingerbread Man.
If you do not wish to purchase the book, you can show it to students right here on YouTube:
I use this story to teach so many critical reading standards in pre-k, kindergarten and first grade including:
retelling
sequencing
comprehension
characters + setting
comparing + contrasting
… and so much more!
We have SO much fun for the entire month of December with this adorable, classic story.
Everything is planned for you… I am so thankful when I can save other teachers time and energy.
Before reading the story, I activate their prior knowledge by asking if anyone has baked cookies before.
We quickly brainstorm how to make cookies including vocabulary words such as oven, ingredients, cookie sheet, etc. (tip: make sure students know what gingerbread is too!)
I show students these pocket chart cards and discuss what a setting and character are.
I stop here with introducing story elements until we read the story again, which is when I introduce the trickier words such as problem, solution, etc.
Place only the character cards in the pocket chart (little old man, little old woman, for, cow, etc.)
After reading the story, we match the setting to each character (where the characters were shown in the story.)
This really helps children understand character + setting after our first time reading the story.
To follow up after reading, send students back to their tables and they can label the characters from the story!
Labeling works on so many beginning reading skills including left-to-right directionality, phonics, and understanding that words have meaning.
To make it easy for you to provide scaffolding for you students and differentiate as you need, I include versions where students can match the words or label on their own.
Also included are both color + BW versions!
You can laminate the color versions, and THESE velcro dots are the best I have found.
This makes it easy to reuse these activities year after year!
The next time you read, place the number cards in your pocket chart.
You can place the characters spread out, but not in order, and after the story, students can place each character next to the correct number.
You can also do this as you read the book.
Stop after each page and invite a student to come find the correct character.
After reading and/or listening to the story on YouTube twice, you can begin discussing what the plot, problem and solution are.
All of the activities shown below help you teach these important concepts!
Discuss and draw the story elements on this activity page.
We also compare and contrast the characters with the vine digrams.
Picture vocabulary cards help students as well.
If your students aren’t writing yet, simply complete these activities as a whole group.
I make little story sticks by taping the picture cards to popsicle sticks.
Children also love to retell the story by wearing the character crowns.
Both color + black/white versions of both of these activities are included, and you can choose which activities to use.
Two adorable mini books are included, so each student can read, color and take home to share with their families!
One book retells the story to work on comprehension and vocabulary, and the other book practices numbers and counting.
This write the room activity is a fun way to review and practice characters, setting, and writing skills.
There are so many ways to play!
Hang the cards around the room and students walk around and find each card to write the word in the correct spot.
Or you can simply place the cards in a literacy center and students flip them over and record the words on their worksheet.
Retelling + Comprehension made easy!
Everything shown here, plus the pocket chart cards and other activities can be purchased in THIS KIT
You won’t have to find anything else on Pinterest or Instagram to enjoy this adorable version of the classic Gingerbread Man story.
A Peek a my Gingerbread Man No Prep Pack
If you don’t have a lot of time in the month of December, but still want to incorporate adorable GingerBread Man activities, then you’ll love this comprehensive, standards-based no prep pack!
These activities are geared for preschool - pre-k - kindergarten students, but they can also be used for first grade as well.
You can use every page or simply choose the activities that work for your students and classroom.
I created activities that can be used for kiddos at many different academic levels, so differentiating is quick and easy for you.
No prep packs are truly a lifesaver!
There are so many ways you can incorporate these worksheets:
make independent work packets
use for fast finishers
sub tubs
time fillers
math and reading centers
…. and so much more!
I staple Gingerbread Man independent work packets with the worksheets that we can pull out and use whenever I need.
This makes it so convenient and easy to review the standards during this busy, sometimes stressful month.
I prefer to use the cut + paste activities in centers, for whole group activities or small groups.
Here is a quick peek at a few of the phonics, reading, writing, and math activities that are included.
However, the entire resource includes 120+ printable activities!
You will have MORE than enough activities to take you through the entire month, and these are all ZERO prep… just print and teach!
Fluency with CVC words and Fry’s 1st 100 sight words are both a major focus in kindergarten, so I included these reading passages so you can practice these important standards throughout the month of December.
I use these little reader rings all the time, and my kiddos love them.
Tip: when children are reading mini books or fluency passages, I make sure they use their finger to point to each word as we read.
I call it their magic reading finger, and this ensures they are looking at each word as they read it.
These two activities are perfect to add to your math centers in December.
Roll + Cover: two versions are included! #1-6 and #1-12 (#1-12 uses two dice, and students roll, add the dice and cover the sum).
Building Numbers 1-10: Laminate the number mats and you’re set! I give students dry erase markers and play dough for this activity.
These cute trays are available at the Dollar Store or Walmart.
We love to use both round stickers and bingo daubers for this activity.
All of the characters/pictures come in both color and BW.
A peek at my Gingerbread Friends + SEL activities
Any chance I get, I incorporate SEL lessons and activities.
I hear from teachers every day asking for ideas on how to teach friendship skills and social emotional activities.
Gingerbread Friends is an adorable book that lends itself perfectly to teaching children how to be a good friend.
Here is the book on Youtube if you do not own it.
Ask you students what it means to be a good friend. You may get some interesting answers.
Teaching specific vocabulary, examples and ideas on friendship and how to read others is incredibly important.
Don’t assume children know how to treat a friend.
Just like math, reading and writing, social skills need to be explicitly taught.
Before reading, activate prior knowledge and ask,
“What does it mean to be a friend?”
“How does a friend treat you?”
“How do you treat your friends?”
“Do you like having friends?”
Gingerbread Baby is lonely without any friends. He goes on an adventure all over town to try and find a friend.
Gingerbread baby meets other characters in the story, and no one seems to want to be his friend.
He returns home… barely escaping animals who want to eat him! Whew… what a day!
He is very sad that he didn’t find a friend.
But at the end of the story, he is surprised to find other Gingerbread Friends waiting for him!
Print this FREE ACTIVITY HERE to complete after reading the story.
Children can relate to feeling lonely without anyone to talk to or play with.
Then, after attempting to make friends, he feels so sad he still doesn’t have a friend. But finally, he feels so happy because other Gingerbread kids want to be his friend!
The emotions on this adorable gingerbread baby makes it so easy for children to understand how friends can make us feel and connect to the story.
I hope you love this freebie!
Two versions are included: tracing the words and writing the words on their own.
You may want to use these cards and sentence starters before children complete the free activity shown above.
You’ll be shocked at how many children do not know these basic emotion vocabulary words.
It is so easy to assume that children know words such as confused, proud, uncomfortable, etc. …. but many, many children do not!
Display these sentence frames and vocabulary cards in your pocket chart and refer to them all month!
I am pretty sure pocket charts will always be one of my very favorite teaching tools.
Technology cannot replace the activities and growth I see when using pocket chart sentences, vocabulary games, matching, etc.
I also cannot stress the importance of having children speak in front of their peers.
The younger they start speaking in front of others, the easier it will be for them.
Spend 3-5 minutes each day throughout December having children hold a sentence starter card and tell us about a time they felt this emotion.
This will lead to so many teaching moments that other classmates can relate to.
Then you can give children these adorable “Would You Rather” interviews and they can walk around asking their peers questions.
This helps them build connections with each other!
How do friends treat each other?
These posters show both positive and negative way friends can act.
Children are very engaged with these, because they can relate to each of these scenarios.
After showing the posters, pass out the cut and paste activity page, and students sort the pictures and behaviors under ways to treat a friend… YES or NO.
This is a quick and easy way to check for understanding, and children can reflect upon their own behavior and how they treat others around them. This leads to wonderful classroom discussions!
Children love to create their very own Gingerbread Friend. They turn out so cute!
Then I ask students to self reflect and give 3 specific ways they can be a good friend.
You can use all of these activities or just choose the ones that work well for your class.
The little gingerbread toppers shown below can be used to turn any of these projects into bulletin board displays.
Print these FREE Bulletin Board letters HERE
The writing/drawing activity shown on the right is made to fit perfectly on the gingerbread people.
Multiple versions are included so children can draw, color and write about how they are a good friend.
These turn out so cute!
People will stop in your hallway to read what the kiddos write.
I refer back to these lessons and what we learned about how to be a good friend for the entire month.
You can never spend too much time teaching children how to treat others.
Every kiddos absolutely loves to make crowns, and these are so easy to make!
These come in both Gingerbread Boy and Gingerbread Girl options, and they print on one page!
This template will fit most preschool, pre-k and kindergarten students, but if you need to adjust the strap, simply add a strip of construction paper to the back to make the hat a little bigger.
They can color and make their hats, and then wear them home to tell their families how they can be a good friend to others.
A peek at… how to build a gingerbread house
My first year teaching kindergarten, I attempted to have each student build a gingerbread house using graham crackers.
It looked adorable and easy on Pinterest… but it was a massive, disastrous fail!
Most of the houses would not stand up, there was candy and frosting everywhere on tables and the floor, I had many kids so overwhelmed and frustrated that they were in tears.
If you’re wondering… I now decorate “trees” with my kiddos. Simply turn a sugar ice cream cone upside down, make green frosting and students spread the icing and decorate their tree with candies and sprinkles. This is WAY easier!
Children do love gingerbread houses though… so THIS UNIT is what we do now instead!
Read students The Plan for the Gingerbread House.
We discuss the parts of a house including a roof, walls, a door, windows, etc.
I prefer to show the video on Youtube rather than read this story.
Students use so many skills to follow directions and construct a house with a variety of pieces.
You can laminate the patterns and create a book of templates for the students to follow and build.
There are both easy houses to build and more challenging templates to follow!
My kid ask for these time and time again.
Now students are super excited to make their very own gingerbread house!
It is so fun to see what pieces students choose to create their house.
Some want to use ALL of the candy and decorations, while others keep their houses very simple and plain.
I formatted the gingerbread house templates so they are easy to make copies and cut apart to pass out to students:
house
two roof options
snow to add to the roof
door, windows
wreath
holly
candies
These make adorable bulletin board displays.
This craft incorporates math standards as well, so it would be a fun activity to complete together in class during your math block in December. If your school has those large, colorful construction papers, the house and counting page will both fit.
Or just use regular construction paper, and the counting page can hang off the edge and still looks cute!
The activities shown above for these two stories are BONUS FREEBIES only included in my Gingerbread Man Bundle.
Have you read the Ninjabread Man and The Gingerbread Girl?
If your kids are like mine, they will ask you to read Ninjabread Man over and over again.
It is the cutest twist on the original Gingerbread Man stories.
The Gingerbread Girl is also a cute story (however, it says a word I don’t allow in class that is name calling, so I just skip that word.)
Print these free resources and see how much fun it is to incorporate The Gingerbread Man into your December routine!
This little reader is only available inside my freebie library, and I’ll email you the link right away!
Note: I suggest using your personal email as many school districts will block your freebies.
If you’ve already signed up and received your password, CLICK HERE to access the library!
You’ll get a password to access four pages of free resources for pre-k, kindergarten and 1st grade.
Join 300,000+ teachers, educators and homeschool families who use my freebie library!
This mini book follows the same pattern of a classic favorite “Brown Bear, Brown Bear.”
Children love the pattern and predictable text throughout the book, plus they’re reading sight words, practicing retelling the story, sequencing events, building fluency and more!
Check your email inbox in a couple of minutes!
Ready to get started with these engaging activities for the entire month of December?
Teaching the required standards can truly be so much fun with thematic units.
I know you’ll love these activities as much as we do!
All of the activities shown on this blog post are included in my Gingerbread Man K-1 Bundle!
Book companion activities: retelling, comprehension, etc.
Friendship + SEL resources
Build a gingerbread house activities
Pre-K - 1st grade no prep activities + worksheets