THE GINGERBREAD MAN
Cast List Narrator 1 Narrator 2 Mr. Smith Mrs. Smith Gingerbread Man Snake Mouse Cat Rat Dog
1
Gingerbread Man
Rat
Snake
Dog
Cat
Moose Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Mr. Smith
Mrs. Smith
The Gingerbread Man
Scene 1: Setting:
A Couple Want a Child A house in the countryside
Narrator 1:
Once upon a time, there was an elderly couple named
Mr. Smith:
Mr. Smith and
Mrs. Smith:
Mrs. Smith
Narrator 2:
All their children had grown up
Narrator 1:
And started their own families
Mrs. Smith:
Leaving us all alone.
Mr. Smith:
If only we could have a new child...
Mrs. Smith:
But we are too old.
Mr. Smith:
What if you baked one?
Mrs. Smith:
Baked one!?
Mr. Smith:
Yeah! You know how you bake those gingerbread cookies?
Mrs. Smith:
Yes.
Mr. Smith:
What if you baked one of those in the shape of a man?
Mrs. Smith:
And then that man could be our child! 2
The Gingerbread Man
Mr. Smith:
We would keep him here forever.
Mrs. Smith:
Great idea! I’ll get to baking right now.
Narrator 1:
So Mrs. Smith started mixing ingredients
Mr. Smith:
I’ll help!
Mrs. Smith:
A cup of flour
Mr. Smith:
A spoon of sugar.
Mrs. Smith:
An egg.
Mr. Smith:
A dash of cinnamon..
Mrs. Smith:
A pinch of salt.
Mr. Smith:
And mix!
Mrs. Smith:
Mix, mix, mix!
Mr. Smith:
Mix, mix, mix!
Mrs. Smith:
Now, I’ll mold the dough into the shape of a man.
Mr. Smith:
And I’ll place two seeds on it for eyes.
Mrs. Smith:
And a raisin for a mouth.
Mr. Smith:
And now it’s time to bake it! 3
The Gingerbread Man
Mrs. Smith:
In twenty minutes, our new child will be here!
Mr. Smith:
Put it in the oven! Put it in the oven!
Mrs. Smith:
I did! I did!
Mr. Smith:
Bake, bake, bake!
Mrs. Smith:
Bake, bake, bake!
Mr. Smith:
We can’t wait, wait, wait!
Mrs. Smith:
Wait, wait, wait!
Narrator 1:
In twenty minutes, the gingerbread man was baked.
Narrator 2:
Mrs. Smith took the cookie tray out.
Narrator 1:
He came out perfect.
Mrs. Smith:
Welcome to the world, Gingerbread Man!
Mr. Smith:
You’re going to live with us forever!
Narrator 2:
The Gingerbread Man sat up on the cookie tray.
Gingerbread Man:
Forever?
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The Gingerbread Man
Mr. Smith:
He speaks!
Mrs. Smith:
We’re your owners.
Gingerbread Man:
Owners?
Mr. Smith:
And you’re going to live with us forever.
Mrs. Smith:
In our cute little cupboard.
Gingerbread Man:
Cupboard?
Mrs. Smith:
It’s cozy and cute, just like you.
Narrator 1:
To her surprise, the Gingerbread Man ran off the tray.
Mr. Smith:
Where are you going?
Mrs. Smith:
Stop! Wait!
Narrator 2:
But the Gingerbread Man did not stop.
Narrator 1:
The Gingerbread Man did not wait.
Narrator 2:
Instead, the Gingerbread Man ran
Narrator 1:
And ran,
Narrator 2:
And ran,
Narrator 1:
And ran, singing 5
The Gingerbread Man
Gingerbread Man:
Run and run As fast as you can You can’t catch me I’m the gingerbread man!
Mr. Smith:
We’ll see about that!
Mrs. Smith:
Quick! Run after him!
Narrator 2:
So Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Mr. Smith:
Run as fast as they can
Mrs. Smith:
But we can’t catch him....
Mr. Smith:
Cause he’s the Gingerbread Man!
Mrs. Smith:
We called on our cat
Mr. Smith:
To give us a boost!
Mrs. Smith:
We called on our dog, our rat and a moose.
Mr. Smith:
Run!
Narrator 1:
They shouted
Mrs. Smith:
Run!
Narrator 2:
They begged.
Mr. Smith:
Catch the gingerbread man! 6
The Gingerbread Man
Mr. Smith:
It’s time for his bed!
Narrator 1:
The cat said
The Cat:
Meow! I’m running as fast as I can But I can’t catch him He’s the gingerbread man!
Narrator 2:
And the dog raced Until he just sighed And then he gave the Smiths His sorry reply
The Dog:
I’m chasing after the cat Who’s chasing after your guy But I can’t catch him And I don’t know why!
Mrs. Smith:
Come on, rat! Get in the game! If we lose our cookie We‘ll never be the same!
Narrator 1:
But the rat said:
The Rat:
I’m chasing after the dog Who is chasing after a cat Who is chasing after a cookie Who would ever think of that?
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The Gingerbread Man
The Rat:
And I’m running fast As fast as I can But I can’t catch him He’s the gingerbread man!
Mrs. Smith:
Look! He’s nearly at the gate If the moose doesn’t catch him He’ll make a full escape!
Narrator 1:
So the moose pulled a sprint And raced around a bend And for a moment it looked Like the race would now end
The Moose:
I’m a moose on the loose And I don’t care who knows it I’m the fastest for miles And I’m going to show it
Narrator 2:
The moose was racing forward There was no way he could fail Then he passed by the cat And he tripped on its tail
The Moose:
Ow!
Narrator 1:
Said the moose
Narrator 2:
As fell on his side.
Narrator 1:
The Gingerbread Man kept going
Narrator 2:
Beaming with pride 8
The Gingerbread Man
Gingerbread Man:
I’ve raced past the dog, the rat and the cat Now I’ve raced past the moose And he’s fallen. Kersplat!
Narrator 1:
Meanwhile the Gingerbread Man Passed the dog, the house and the gate Till he was free at last And it sure felt great
Narrator 2:
He looked back At the dog, the moose The cat and the rat And he gave them a smile And shouted right back
Gingerbread Man:
Run and run As fast as you can You can’t catch me I’m the gingerbread man!
Narrator 2:
But as he slowed down To take a short break Along slid by A wily, shrewd snake.
Snake:
Hi Gingerbread Man! You look pretty zapped Why not lie in the grass And take a wee nap?
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The Gingerbread Man
Gingerbread Man:
Great idea!
Narrator 2:
Said the Gingerbread Man
Narrator 1:
And he fell right asleep
Narrator 2:
For hours he slept And then he awake And found his new friend The wily, shrewd snake
Snake:
Why were you so tired? Asked the snake with a shake.
Gingerbread Man:
I ran past the cat, the rat and the dog I ran past the moose, I ran past the fog I ran past the house, the land and the gate I now have my freedom and it sure feels great!
Snake:
I missed that Said the snake with a sway. Come closer and tell me
Gingerbread Man:
I’ll tell you once more Then I’ll be on my way.
Narrator 1:
So the Gingerbread Man took a breath And repeated his tale.
Gingerbread Man:
I ran past the cat, the rat and the dog I ran past the moose, I ran past the fog I ran past the house, the land and the gate I have my freedom and it sure feels great! 10
The Gingerbread Man
Snake:
“I’m hard of hearing,” said the snake with a snore Come closer and tell me once more
Gingerbread Man:
This is the last time I’ll tell you Then I’ll be on my way So listen and learn. Pay attention, okay?
Snake:
I’m listening said the snake And he slithered up close Tell me how you escaped All your terrible foes.
Narrator 2:
So the Gingerbread Man took a breath He repeated his tale.
Gingerbread Man:
I ran past the cat, the rat and the dog I ran past the moose, I ran past the fog I ran past the house, the land and the gate I have my freedom and it sure feels great!
Snake:
Let me see if I got this straight You ran past the cat, the rat and the dog You ran past the moose, You ran past the fog You ran past the house, the land and the gate You have your freedom and it sure feels great!
Gingerbread Man:
YES And then I took a nap, and now I’m awake 11
The Gingerbread Man
Snake:
And now you get eaten By a very tricky snake. YUM!
Narrator 1:
And the snake ate the cookie He ate it all in one bite And so to all listeners Good luck and good night!
Draw an illustration of the scene below.
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Story ManMan Story Elements Elements with with Gingerbread The Gingerbread Name
Date
Writing Activity Fill in the chart about Gingerbread Man.
Characters
Problem
Events
Setting
Solution
1
Summarizing The The Gingerbread Gingerbread Man Man Summarizing Name
Date
Writing Activity Write a summary of the story in your own words.
2
Make Inferences with The Gingerbread Man Character Traits with The Gingerbread Man Name
Date
What are some character traits in the Gingerbread Man? Use details from the play in your answer.
Adjective Bank
kind
funny
silly
wise
smart
lazy
mean
wild
fast
sad
brave
happy
slow
bossy
gentle
friendly
tricky
selfish
shy
honest
3
CloseReading Readingwith in The Close TheGingerbread GingerbreadMan Man Name
Date
Question: Read this from the play: “I’m listening,” said the snake And he slithered up close “Tell me how you escaped All your terrible foes.” Who is the snake speaking to and why? Use details from the play in your answer.
4
Character Traits in The Gingerbread Man
Name
Date
What character traits does the snake have? Use details from the play in your answer.
Adjective Bank kind
funny
silly
wise
smart
lazy
mean
wild
fast
sad
brave
happy
slow
bossy
gentle
friendly
tricky
selfish
shy
honest
6
Number Number and and Operations Operations withwith The Gingerbread The Gingerbread ManMan
Name
Date
1.
The Gingerbread Man runs for three miles. Then he runs for two miles more. How many miles has he run in all? __________
2. It takes one spoon of dough to make one Gingerbread Man. If Mr. and Mrs. Smith want to create five Gingerbread Men, how many spoons of dough do they need?
3. Mr. and Mrs. Smith go to the store to buy some ingredients. They need to buy two eggs. If an egg costs a quarter, how much does two eggs cost?
4. Five cinnamon sticks cost one dollar. Figure out how much one cinnamon stick costs.
5. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have many animals: one dog, two cats, three moose, four snakes, five mice and six rats. How many animals are there in all?
8
Subtraction with The Gingerbread Man
Name
Date
Mr. and Mrs. Smith have many friends. They want Gingerbread Men, too. Figure out how many Gingerbread Men can give away and how many they can give away. If Mrs. Smith has this many Gingerbread Men
And her friends want this many Gingerbread Men...
7
3
6
2
4
2
9
8
10
7
10
5
12
4
20
3
18
7
16
2
19
9
15
4
12
9
9
Number and Operations with The Gingerbread Man
Name
Date
10
Number and Operations with Cinderella
Name
Date
The two pictures look exactly the same, but there are ten differences between them! Find the ten differences between the two pictures.
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