Gingerbread instructions

English Reception
This unit is part of Reception English Food and cooking

Active Learning

  1. Gingerbread Man recipe
  2. Muddled recipe
  3. Gingerbread Man trap
  4. Strega Nona

Creating and Thinking Critically

  1. Guided reading
  2. Sequencing words
  3. Trap the Gingerbread Man
  4. Write instructions

Exploring and Playing

  1. Role-play kitchen
  2. Sticky pasta
  3. Gingerbread baking
  4. Weigh it out

Books to Share

  1. Show ‘The Gingerbread Man’ animated tale (see websites). Children join in with repeated refrain, i.e. Run, run as fast as you can etc. Enjoy the humour. Discuss why the Fox lied to the Gingerbread Man and consider if he’s trustworthy. Identify and describe the characters the Gingerbread Man meets.
  2. Re-watch ‘The Gingerbread Man’. Consider how each character felt during the story and reflect on how that influenced their behaviour.
  3. Say that the Old Woman and the Old Man are determined to stop the Gingerbread Man from escaping. Plan to trap the Gingerbread Man, e.g. First dig a large hole; Next cover it with leaves; Then wait for the Gingerbread Man to run over it; Finally pull him out and take him back home. Rehearse saying the plan several times, until children are confident
  4. Re watch Strega Nona, enjoying the humorous ending to the story.

Poetry/Rhyme of the Week: If All the World Were Apple Pie (see resources). Share the traditional rhyme and rehearse at suitable times throughout the week, e.g. start/end of the day. Enjoy humour and ask children to add lines. If cars were…, If pencils were..., etc.

You Will Need

Essential text
A version of The Gingerbread Man

Websites
The Gingerbread Man from Hamilton Trust
Strega Nona (version 1) or Strega Nona (version 2) by Tomie de Paola from youtube.com
Gingerbread Man Counting game from topmarks.co.uk
Simon Says for the role-play kitchen from wikihow.com

Resources
Props for a role-play kitchen
Dried pasta in different shapes and sizes, black A4 card, white pencil
Ingredients for making gingerbread
Bucket scales, packaged ingredients, e.g. flour, sugar, pasta