The Best Gingerbread Man Sequencing Printable, Activities, Ideas, and More!

Aw! The holiday season in the classroom is pure magic? Before I had my own three little children, I really loved the way my students transported me to when I was a child. They are so excited about the upcoming holidays. Now I still see it from their eyes plus my own little ones. During the months of November and December, our classroom is full of glittery crafts and cozy read-alouds. It’s such a great time of year when young children are excited, a little wiggly, and ready for fun activities that keep them learning through all the sugar cookie chaos. Ha!

f you’re planning your December lesson plans, you know that weaving in a gingerbread man story or two is a great way to teach sequencing skills, story elements, and writing skills — all while keeping your kindergarten, first grade students, and even your second graders completely engaged. That’s where a gingerbread man sequencing printable comes in. This fun activity helps your students retell the story of the gingerbread man in correct order while building an important skill they’ll use across English Language Arts, social studies, and beyond.

The Sequencing and Summarizing Struggle

Teaching sequence of events or chronological order isn’t always as simple as “first, next, last.” I’ve noticed when working with kindergarten and first graders that they often struggle to retell the events because it’s difficult for them to summarize them into the beginning, middle, and end. They may spend forever talking about every detail of one character or the first scene and then struggle to pull it all together. I love to work on this skill with the Gingerbread Man story, because it lends itself perfectly to retell.

Sometimes our young readers can recite the old man and old woman bake the gingerbread boy but forget what happened after the gingerbread man met the old lady or the sly fox! In the middle of winter months, when your thematic unit is bursting with holiday activities, it can be hard to fit in engaging activities that reinforce literacy skills, fine motor skills, and critical thinking. Of course, you’re doing this all while managing small groups, independent work, and ESL printables. That’s why having a ready-to-go sequencing printable is a great way to save prep time and make sure your students master this essential skill before winter break.

The Gingerbread Man Retell Activities

Say hello to your new holiday lesson lifesaver: the Gingerbread Man Retell Activities!

This PDF file includes everything you need for sequencing cut and story sequence practice — think sequencing cards, clip cards, mini books, and writing pages.

It’s designed for PreK, Kindergarten, 1st grade, and even 2nd grade students, but can easily be adapted for ESL, special education, or even occupational therapy settings.

Here’s what’s inside this fun activity pack:

Simple Cut + Sequence Pages – Students retell the story of the gingerbread man by arranging picture cards in sequential order.
Writing Page Prompts – Perfect for students to rewrite the tale in their own words, building writing skills and comprehension.
Mini Books & Easy Reader Books – Ideal for young readers who are learning chronological order while improving fluency.
Set of Printable Cards – Great for independent work, small groups, or interactive whiteboard lessons.
Gingerbread Craft Templates – Add a visual arts or fine motor skills component to your holiday lesson plans!

You can even use these sequencing cards in sensory bins, tactile graphics, or as a stick activity with down arrows to reinforce straight lines and visual organization.

How to Use It in Your Classroom

1. Whole-Group Retelling with Story Cards

Start by reading the classic one page Gingerbread Man story or class book that is included aloud. You could also play the audio of this digital version on Google Slides or Boom Cards. Then, display the sequence cards on your interactive whiteboard. Have students come up and move the cards into correct order. These Gingerbread Man worksheets are included in the resource. This simple activity checks comprehension and helps students the sequence of events in a fun way that’s active and engaging.

You could also use the included masks to practice summarizing and retelling strategies.

2. Small Group Practice

Set up small groups and compare different versions of the story — The Gingerbread Girl, Gingerbread Baby, Gingerbread Cowboy, or even The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School!

Each group can work together to arrange their sequencing cards, then write their retell in their own words using the writing page. This comparison builds critical thinking and connects beautifully with story elements.

3. Independent Work or Centers

Print the set of simple black and white pictures and let students color and sequence independently. Perfect for early finishers or independent work time. Students can color, cut out, and assemble the popsicle puppets to practice retelling on their own or with a friend. The Beginning-Middle-End printable would be perfect for helping the students with retell as well. If children have time, they can write or create the included crafts!

You can even create a classroom display of everyone’s gingerbread craft to decorate your room through winter break!

4. Cross-Curricular Extensions

Turn your gingerbread man sequencing printable into a full thematic unit:

Math Activities: Use number cards to order math problems related to gingerbread cookies.
Vocal Music & Physical Education: Act out the story with easy role-play pages and masks!
Social Studies & Native Americans: Connect to lessons on folk tales and storytelling traditions.
Graphic Arts & Visual Arts: Let students design their own gingerbread men in different ways!
Fine Motor: Let students lace the Gingerbread Man and house for extra fine motor practice.

Finish up your unit with the included gingerbread salt dough recipe. Your kids will have so much fun!

The Gingerbread Man Retell Activities, Masks, Puppets & Writing Crafts

This set has everything you need to turn the gingerbread man story into an interactive storytelling adventure!
You’ll get everything we mentioned like the sequencing cards, puppets, masks, and simple cut pages that make retelling easy.

This set is perfect for small groups or a festive classroom display and it’s aligned with English Language Arts standards too.

The Gingerbread Man, The Night Before Christmas, The Elves and the Shoemaker, & Frosty the Snowman Retell Set

Do you want to take your fairy tales and holiday stories even further? You all know how much I love folder games and ways to use file folders to retell a story. This story set is a great way to keep your winter months full of literacy-rich, engaging activities. You can compare story elements, characters, and sequence of events between the classics.

I sit on the floor with my students in a big circle around me. Then I use the pieces that fit into the front pocket to tell the stories. Most of my folder retells have a section to put the setting and characters and even a star for the main character. They also include a mat or background for students to use during the retelling. After I’ve told them the story, this folder goes in a box at the front of the room for them to grab whenever they want to. You will hear your students retelling the stories throughout the day, even during recess!

I’ve even borrowed two hula-hoops from our gym teacher and laid them on the floor like a Venn diagram so students can compare the characters in various stories using the characters from the folder.

Many of these materials can double as test prep, ESL printables, or writing center prompts throughout the year — not just during the holiday season.

Gingerbread Man Google Slides Digital Retell (PreK, Kindergarten, &1st)

If you want your students to work on this independently, you can also let them use the Google Slides resource or play it yourself on an interactive board. First, you can listen to the audio. Then you can let the kids move the characters around like puppets to retell the story. Finally, they will answer comprehension questions. Kids love this! This digital Google Slides version is perfect for distance learning or independent digital work. Students can drag and drop pieces to show the correct order right on-screen. This really is a unique and different way for students to interact with the story.

These are also available as a Boom deck set.

Save Big with the Christmas Retell Bundle

If you love digital retells, grab the bundle for a better deal!
This includes the Gingerbread Man, Frosty, Elves and the Shoemaker, and Night Before Christmas retells — perfect for keeping lessons fresh all season long.

Prefer interactive options? You can even grab it as Boom Cards:
Boom Cards Bundle

Pro tip: You don’t have to laminate your folder retells. I typically print them on cardstock and after I explain to the kids how special they are to me, they take good care of them. I do the same thing with clip cards to get long-term use out of them.

Favorite Resources Recap

Looking for a free resource for the holidays? You’ll love this one! I just wrap a chocolate bar with the snowman paper and put a pair of gloves on the top as his hat. It makes the perfect useful but inexpensive student gift!

Looking for more ways to practice essential skills, like fluency? Head here!

Happy Teaching & Parenting this week, friends!