Early Years Learning With The Gingerbread Man

If you are teaching early years children about trust in others then at one time or another you may be giving some thought to the story of The Gingerbread Man and in particular being careful who you trust. You will need comprehensive key stage 1 resources, material about issues of personal safety as well as the very best teaching resources looking specifically at the story of The Gingerbread Man.

The Gingerbread Man is one of several classical fairy tales that engages children from the outset. This is an especially favoured story for children in the age range of three to 6 years of age.

To achieve the desired results with The Gingerbread Man you will benefit from teaching resources for The Gingerbread Man. This tale is one of a series of very useful foundation stage resources.

The story tells the tale of a gingerbread cookie made in the shape of a man who comes alive and elects to make his escape. He evades countless pursuers, taunting them as he goes. He meets his demise by the hands of a cunning fox who manipulates The Gingerbread Man into relaxing his guard. The tale makes extensive use of rhythm and repetition. In some versions The Gingerbread Man cries out as each quarter of him is devoured.

The Gingerbread Man can be used to draw out standard features such as story language, characters, plots and offers many options to cover objectives for speaking and listening. Little ones can re-tell the story orally using photos as visible cues. As children become acquainted with the text and repetition of The Gingerbread Man they are going to be in a position to re-tell the tale themselves after having had it read to them a considerable number of times.

It is good practice to provide puppets and other interactive objects related to the story so the children can re-tell or re-enact the tale using using footage, puppets and story props in little groups. Kids could make use of masks and act out the story out of doors or in the role-play area. Young children are frequently enthusiastic to perform this kind of activity independently, without adult intervention.

Allowing children to re-tell stories themselves helps to develop their story telling abilities, builds their self-confidence and develops the social skills for working in a tiny group. To create additional interest, the story might be recorded, filmed or asserted in some other way to the rest of the class.

Fairy tales are useful tools for identifying basic story elements the start, the middle and the end. There are several versions of The Gingerbread Man and they can form the foundation of an exercise in comparing one with another.

There are numerous creative exercises that early years children can partake in. Collages and paintings can be made and once displayed the lecture room will look lively and full of color. Every child will be in a position to have their work displayed.

One particular activity that is inspired by this story is for children to cook their own real gingerbread men following a time-honoured recipe and decorate their culinary masterpieces using a selection of icing and fruits.

The Gingerbread Man inspires many different concepts for creative writing. The process of making different versions and endings could be a valuable exercise. Telling the story of The Gingerbread Man from a different character’s perspective may also be challenging and a good stimulus for giving vent to further creative story writing skills.

It is typically useful to act out and use drama ahead of creative writing and hot seating some of the characters gives a good understanding of character portraits. The children can create their own versions using alternative locations, characters and props. All of these practical ideas and activities inspire young children to think in a creative way and act as a stimulus when preparing for writing. It is widely assumed that men in waiting particularly gain from lively drama and role-play activities before being asked to commit to the written word.

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