The Gingerbread Man was one of my favorite units to teach in second grade. I loved exposing my students to different versions and having them compare and contrast. My favorite culminating activity was having my students write their own versions of The Gingerbread Man. I always started my unit by sharing all different versions. Here are 10 of my favorite!
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The Gingerbread Pirates is a fun version of the story, but it isn't like the traditional versions. In this story, the pirate gingerbread men are trying to escape from Santa, who they've heard eats cookies like them on Christmas Eve. A funny twist on the typical tale!
Gingerbread Friends is a sweet story where the Gingerbread Baby tries hard to make new friends. After being chased home by different characters, he has a big surprise waiting for him.
Gingerbread Baby is a twist on the original tale, where the Baby jumps out of the oven and as he is running through town with all the characters chasing him, a surprise gingerbread house is waiting at home to entice him and trap him.
The Gingerbread Boy is one of my favorite versions because it is a modern version where the Gingerbread Boy is running through New York City. The story ends with a hungry fox waiting in Central Park.
The Gingerbread Boy is what I think of as the "traditional" version of the story. I usually read this one first and have students compare the other versions to this one.
The Gingerbread Man is similar to the "traditional" version as far as the characters he meets, but the chant he says as he runs away is different and a fun one for kids to catch onto and read along.
The Gingerbread Cowboy is another one of my favorites because it introduces completely different characters and a different setting than what the traditional version includes.
The Gingerbread Girl is a fun feminine twist on the classic tale. This is the Gingerbread Boy's smarter sister and my students always LOVED seeing a girl as the main character!
The Gingerbread Bear is a different version with a bear main character who runs away from a cast of characters through a National Park.
The Library Gingerbread Man is a funny version that has a Gingerbread Man running through a library and meeting other characters throughout the Dewey decimal system.
Do you have a favorite version? What would you add to this list?