Lesson Title: You Can't Catch Me!
Curriculum Area: English Language Arts
Technology Strand: Uses technology but does not address a technology strand
Grade Level: 1
 
Essential Question: How can I retell a story in order and create products?
 
A Activity Summary Students will engage in two Gingerbread stories and create various products to retell a story in order.
C Curriculum English Language Arts
2.05 Predict and explain what will happen next in stories.
4.06 Compose a variety of products (e.g., stories, journal entries, letters, response logs, simple poems, oral retellings).
T Technology Uses technology but does not address a technology strand
 
 
Activating Strategies
Prior to this lesson, we (as a class) have read a Gingerbread story from our reading basals, so that students will have some prior knowledge of gingerbread stories.
Have pictures available (openingpictures.doc), showing characters/actions known from the story of the Gingerbread Man (running shoes, oven, Gingerbread man, woman, etc.).
  • Give each team of students a picture.
  • Students will use given "think time" to think about what the picture is showing; talk within team about picture: "What does the picture show? What do you think it means?"
  • Teams share picture and idea about their picture.
  • Now that each team picture is seen by the class and ideas have been shared, how do we think the pictures fit together?
  • Allow for student responses, then help students see how the pictures tie together to tell about the story of the Gingerbread Man.
  • Today we're going to work on Gingerbread activities to retell a story in order and create different products.
 
Technology Vocabulary: 
Detailed Technology Instructions:
 
Cognitive Teaching Strategies
**Classroom Organization: Students will be divided into two groups (see below for further explanation).
  • Group A will work in a teacher directed station (25-30 minutes)
  • Group B will begin at a listening station (about 5 minutes), then split into two groups (one to do a computer activity, one to do a mapping activity for 10-12 minutes, then switch).
  • After allotted time, the groups will switch places so that teacher will meet with both student groups and all students have opportunity to work on each activity.
**I found that it was very helpful to have nametags on the children. Label these tags with A or B, and a color (green or blue). This way, you will have the two groups: A and B, and when it is time for a group to split further, use the colors: green and blue.

A. Teacher Directed Station (25-30 minutes):
  • Teacher will use the story Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett, using Elmo if possible.
  • Before beginning the story, set purpose for students: Listen carefully and pay close attention to "who" the Gingerbread Baby runs from. We will need to tell the order of characters after we finish reading.
  • Read and discuss the story.
  • Orally--have students help retell who the Gingerbread Baby ran from in the story.
  • Pass out bags of pictures of characters from the story (gbbabypictures.doc) to students; students will lay out the pictures to sequence the story.
  • Students will raise hands when finished to have teacher come and check over.
  • Once teacher has looked over the sequence to "ok" it, students can fill in a graphic organizer entitled "You Can't Catch Me!"(gbsequence.doc) to retell the story.
  • Students will draw the character picture and sound-spell the word/name to label each box.

B. Listening: (5 minutes)
  • Students will listen to a tape (teacher-recorded) of portion from Gingerbread version:
    "I am the Gingerbread Boy. I am, I am. First, I ran away from the little old woman."
    "I am the Gingerbread Boy. I am, I am. Second, I ran away from the little old man."
    "I am the Gingerbread Boy. I am, I am. Then, I ran away from the cow."
    "I am the Gingerbread Boy. I am, I am. Next, I ran away from the pig."
    "I am the Gingerbread Boy. I am, I am. I can run away from you. I can, I can."
    When making the tape you will want to read SLOWLY and include prompts:
    "Open your bag. Lay out the picture cards in front of you. While you listen, move the pictures into the right place on your workmat." At the end, "Put the picture cards bag in the bag. Now, we will split into groups. If your nametag has green on it, go to the computer station. If your nametag has blue on it, go to the mapping station. Please stop the tape now."
  • While listening, students will use a workmat (listenworkmat.doc) and character cards (listenpictures.doc) to manipulate/act out the story.

After listening, this student group will split into two groups; one for Computer Station (seen below as B-Green), the other for Mapping Station (seen below as B-blue). 10-12 minutes will mark the rotation time.

B-Green. Computer Station: (7-10 minutes)
  • Students will probably need to work in pairs (this depends on your class size); be sure to have headphones available so that every child at a computer can hear as well as see the screen.
  • To help students easily use the PowerPoint, you may want to put a yellow sticker on the "page down" key to let them move to the next page. Also put a red sticker on the "esc" key to help students exit.
  • A PowerPoint (gingerbread.ppt) has been developed to allow students to retell the story in order. By double-clicking the speaker icon the story and directions can be heard, (e.g. "Look at the pictures to the right of your screen. Find what the gingerbread man ran from and drag it to the blank.")
  • Upon completion, students' work can be printed by going under "slides" and choosing the "print handouts", with 6 slides per page.
  • When students finish, they may share their PowerPoint handouts with others in their group to "retell" the story.

B-Blue. Mapping Station: (12-15 minutes)
  • Students will create their own version showing: "Where will your Gingerbread Baby run?"
  • Map papers (mappingstation.doc) at the station will provide an outline of a path for the Gingerbread Baby to follow. There will be empty boxes along the path.
  • "Where will your Gingerbread Baby run?" Draw pictures to show where the Gingerbread Baby might go. Students may invent a path for the character.
  • When students finish, they may share their maps with others in their group to "retell" this new version of the story.
 
Summary Strategies
Come back together as a whole group to close the lesson.
  • Use animal masks from Jan Brett's website: http://www.JanBrett.com to retell Jan Brett's Gingerbread Baby in order. (You will want to have a mask for every student.)
  • Show each animal mask and have the class make the sound of that animal. Practice this a couple times until students know them. *For the gingerbread baby use "You can't catch me!" or "Run, run as fast as you can!."
  • Give each student a mask, then have students sit in their character groups (i.e., all dogs sit together, goats sit together, etc.)
  • Teacher will reread or retell the story Gingerbread Baby (I chose to retell the story in a shortened version due to time).
  • While students listen to the story, they are to hold up their mask and make their sound when they hear their character in the story.
  • This closing activity was fun for students and allowed them all to actively take part in the story retell.
 
Resources
For directions on how to download files choose: Mac (Kid Pix or Microsoft  Works), Windows (Kid Pix or Microsoft Works or Office), or Mac/PC (AppleWorks).
 
  • picture book Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett - ISBN: 0-399-23444-6
  • Elmo, if possible, to share the read aloud (Gingerbread Baby)
  • headphones and tape player for listening station (enough headphones for 1/2 of the class)
  • recording of Gingerbread story (teacher-made)
  • computer headphones (enough for 2 at each computer)
  • animal masks located at Jan Brett's website: http://www.JanBrett.com
Microsoft Works for Windows Files
Microsoft PowerPoint File
 
Re-teaching and Enrichment Activities
Use KidPix to create a response to this prompt: "You are the Gingerbread Baby. Where will you go?"

The concept for this lesson plan was submitted by

Leslie  Gallaher

 Bessemer Elementary, Data last modified: 4/1/2005