Gingerbread Baby Jan Brett 4 th Grade Kim

Gingerbread Baby Jan Brett 4 th Grade Kim Mitchell

Goal: • The students will put together the culminating portfolio “The Adventures of (Name)’s Gingerbread Baby. ” They will be show at the end of the year at Parents’ Night. Objectives: • Upon completion of the unit the students will have completed a portfolio that must have at least 90% accuracy in order to receive an “A”.

Introduction to the Author: • www. janbrett. com • Jan Brett is the author of many children’s books. She tries to recreate the magic she felt when she read as a youngster by writing and illustrating her own books. In order to do research for her books Jan travels to many different countries to get inspiration. For this story she traveled to the country of Switzerland.

Introduction to the Story: • When Matti and his mother make a gingerbread boy Matti cannot resist opening the oven early. But when he does-OOPS!out pose the Gingerbread Baby. How will Matti and his family catch him before he is eaten up? How would you try to catch the Gingerbread Baby if he was running away from you?

Directions: • Pick one activity that you would like to do from each subject area and complete it. • You should complete one activity before going on to the next. Go in the order given. (Ex. Lang. Arts, Soc. Stud. , Science, etc. ) • Subject areas have 3 choices. Under each choice is 3 parts labeled a, b, and c. Each part of a, b, and c must be completed in order to get full credit. • Each subject will have it’s own activities and every subject must have at least one activity done for it.

Directions (continued): • At the end you will put together everything and make your own “Adventures of (Your Name)’s Gingerbread Baby” portfolio. Everything you have done will go in it. You will be corrected on neatness, organization, presentation, and correct information given and effort. • You will work on this all year long on your own time. I will check periodically on your progress and give you any assistance needed but you will have most of the responsibility.

Language Arts

Language Arts: • 1. A. Make up your own adventures of the Gingerbread Baby. Where will he go and who will he meet? He must stay in your own hometown, though. Also, how did he escape and how will you catch him? B. You will share your adventure in the Author’s Chair with other students. You will then put it into your portfolio. C. You will type your story using Microsoft Word. You may also use the internet for research.

Language Arts (continued): • 2. A. Make up your own adventures of the Gingerbread Baby. Where will he go and who will he meet? He must stay within the United States, though. Also, how did he escape and how will you catch him? B. You will share your adventure in the Author’s Chair with other students. You will then put it into your portfolio. C. You will type your story using Microsoft Word. You may also use the internet for research.

Language Arts (continued): 3. A. Make up your own adventures of the Gingerbread Baby. Where will he go and who will he meet? He is able to travel all over the world. Also, how did he escape and how will you catch him? B. You will share your adventure in the Author’s Chair with other students. You will then put it into your portfolio. C. You will type your story using Microsoft Word. You may also use the internet for research.

Social Studies

Social Studies: • 1. A. Make a map of your Gingerbread Baby’s adventure from your neighborhood. Make his path clear and mark any places he stopped (houses, businesses, etc. ) B. You will hang this on a wall in the classroom until it has been up for a month. After that it will go in your portfolio. C. You must first make a grid on the computer using the correct amount of blocks that he traveled.

Social Studies (continued): • 2. A. Make a map of your Gingerbread Baby’s adventure from the U. S. Make his path clear and mark any places he stopped along the way. B. You will hang this on a wall in the classroom until it has been up for a month. After that it will go in your portfolio. C. You must first find a map of the United States on the internet or computer and correctly mark his path.

Social Studies (continued): • 3. A. Make a map of your Gingerbread Baby’s adventure from around the world. Make his path clear and mark any places he stopped. B. You will hang this on a wall in the classroom until is has been up for a month. After that it will go in your portfolio. C. You must find the correct outlines of the country’s used on the internet. They must be correctly placed on the map.

Science

Science: • 1. A. Pick a major city in Switzerland record the humidity, temperature, pressure, and visibility of that city for two weeks. Graph your results after the two weeks for each part. B. Put this information into your portfolio. C. Find your information on the internet and type your graph on Microsoft Word.

Science (continued): • 2. A. Make a Gingerbread Baby trap with anything you can find in the classroom junk drawer. Use force and motion to make your trap. B. You will leave your trap out to try to catch your Gingerbread Baby and put a picture of it in your portfolio. C. Take a picture of your trap using the digital camera and type out how it works on Microsoft Word.

Science (continued): • 3. A. Identify the habitats of Switzerland recognize how humans and animals depend upon the habitat. Observe any significant loss or change in the habitat in terms of people and wildlife. B. You will hang this on an area of the classroom wall and then put it into your portfolio. C. You will type your observations up on Microsoft Word and do our information on the internet.

Math

Math: • 1. A. Measure how many feet are in a block. Then figure out how many feet your Gingerbread Baby traveled in your neighborhood. B. You will compare this with others who did this in the class and then put them in your portfolio. C. You will type your measurements out on Microsoft Word.

Math (continued): • 2. A. Find a recipe for a Gingerbread Man/Baby. Then give me the list of ingredients. I will bring them to class and you will measure out the ingredients and mix them together. After rolling out and making your baby we will bake it. B. A picture of your Gingerbread Baby will be in your portfolio and you will share the actual one with the class. C. We will take a picture of our baby with a digital camera and you may look for recipes on the internet.

Math (continued): • 3. A. Make a Gingerbread Baby board game that uses math problems. B. You will play this in a small group and present it in your portfolio. C. We will take a picture of your game with the digital camera and put it in your portfolio and you will type your directions and rules on Microsoft Word.

Art

Art: • 1. A. Make a title page for your book. It should be well decorated and neatly done. B. You will show the class your page for sharing. It will also be in your portfolio. C. You may find designs on the computer or internet and type your page.

Art (continued): • 2. A. If you make a Gingerbread Babyyou can choose to decorate it. B. A picture will go in your portfolio and you will show the class. C. We will take a picture of your Gingerbread Baby with a digital camera.

Art (continued): • 3. A. You may decorate all the pages in your portfolio. B. It will be shown at Parents Night in your portfolio. C. You make take pictures from the internet.

Music

Music: • 1. A. Make up a song about your Gingerbread Baby’s adventures. B. This will go in your portfolio. C. You will type you song using Microsoft Word.

Music (continued): • 2. A. Find Swiss songs that children sing. B. Share these songs with the class and then put them in your portfolio. C. Type your songs on Microsoft Word and do your research on the internet.

Music (continued): • 3. A. Make up a song to go with Jan Brett’s version of the Gingerbread Baby. B. This will go in your portfolio. C. Type your song on Microsoft Word.

Health

Health: • 1. A. Look at the ingredients to make a Gingerbread Baby. Are they healthy? What make them healthy or unhealthy? How can you make them healthier? B. We will share this with everyone in class and put it into your portfolio. C. Type your answers on Microsoft Word.

Health (continued): • 2. A. How did this book make you feel? Have you ever had something run away from you? What were your feeling at that time? What did you do to feel better? B. You will put this in your portfolio. C. Type your answers on Microsoft Word.

Health (continued): • 3. A. Find information on the Swiss cultural traditions and compare and contrast them to our own. B. You will share this with the class in the Author’s Chair and later put it in your portfolio. C. Type your comparisons and contrast on Microsoft Word. Research your information on the internet.

Physical Activity

Physical Activity: • 1. A. Make up a dance to go with your Gingerbread Baby song. B. Show either me alone or the class as a whole your dance. C. We will videotape your dance and set it with your portfolio.

Physical Activity (continued): • 2. A. Make up an active game that has the Gingerbread Baby’s characters in it. B. Share with the class your game and put the rules and direction in your portfolio. C. Type the rules and the instructions to your game in Microsoft Word.

Physical Activity (continued): • 3. A. Find games that children in Switzerland play B. Share your games with the class and then put them in your portfolio. C. Type your games and rules on Microsoft Word and do your research on the internet.

Culminating Activity: • Throughout the year the students will make hard copies of their activities. They will put them all together and make a portfolio of their own “The Adventures of (Name)’s Gingerbread Baby” portfolio. The book will be set out during Parents’ Night at the end of the year so parents, siblings, and peers can look at all of them.