Activity
Gingerbread man: First bite chart activities
Discover where students take their first bite of a gingerbread man and turn it into fun, festive data charting activities!
The Gingerbread Man First Bite Chart activities are fun and interactive holiday activities that combine tasty treats with learning opportunities! Each participant receives a gingerbread cookie and takes just one bite, deciding where to start—head, arm or leg. Afterward, participants record their “first bite” choice on a tactile chart and transferring the data to a digital bar chart, sparking a lively discussion about patterns, preferences and data collection.
This activity promotes decision-making, observational skills and introduces basic data concepts in both tactile digital formats in an engaging, festive way. It’s perfect for classrooms, family gatherings or holiday parties, blending creativity and learning with a delicious twist!
Five Yummy Gingerbread poem
Everyone knows the beloved classic story, The Gingerbread Man, but do you know the Five Yummy Gingerbread poem?
To set the stage for the following “First Bite” activities, first read the Five Yummy Gingerbread poem. Students can read or listen to VoiceOver reading the digital version of this poem.
Five Yummy Gingerbread
Five yummy gingerbread,
Sitting on a plate,
The first one said
“Boy, we smell so great!”
The second one said
“There’s a chill in the air.”
The third one said
“I see hungry children everywhere!”
The fourth one said
“I think we better run!”
The fifth one said
“Here the children come!”
Then the children each grabbed one
And with a MUNCH, CRUNCH, MUNCH,
The fire yummy gingerbreads all turned into lunch!
Gingerbread man activity: Tactile chart
Prep
- Create a tactile chart with 5 columns.
- Example: Use graphic art tape to make the column lines.
- Label the columns: Head, Left Arm, Right Arm, Left Leg, Right Leg
- At the top of each column, add a tactile image of a gingerbread man minus the desired body part.
- Example: Cut simple gingerbread man shapes out of brown foam. “Bite off” a different body part from each gingerbread man shape.
- Label the chart “First Bite”.
- Provide a print/Braille name sticker for each student, family member or participating person.
Instructions
Before handing out edible gingerbread man cookies, instruct each student or participant to take only one bite and then put the cookie down. Distribute the cookies, have everyone take a single bite, and discuss where each person bit first. The tactile chart can be created as a group project with each student placing his/her name in the correct column. Review the chart results together. If desired, students can create a tactile copy of the group chart.
Gingerbread man activity 1: Digital table
Use the Pages app on an iPad to create an accessible table – similar to the tactile chart above. Tables in Pages can be created with or without VoiceOver running.
- If the table is created by the teacher for the student, ask the student to explore and answer questions using the digital table. Or,
- If the student has or is learning tech skills, have the student create the table in the Pages app and then explore the table.
To create a table in Pages
- Open a new Pages document.
- Select the Table button (table symbol).
- Select the desired table template. (The example used the green header template.)
- To add a column, select the Format button (paint brush symbol) and under Columns, select the plus button to change from 4 columns to 5 columns.
- Select the first header (green square) in the row and type in Head, select the second header in the row and type in Left Arm, continue across the row.
- In the column under Head, type in the names of the people who ate the head in the first bite. Continue to fill in the names under each body part.
- To add a title, select the Format button (paint brush symbol) and toggle on the Title button. Exit the popup menu. Select the Title (currently Table 1) and type First Bite Table.
Image 1: First Bite Table in Pages
The student can explore the table by dragging a finger across it. Pay close attention to the initial VoiceOver announcement, which provides the table name and the number of columns and rows. When the VoiceOver focus is within the table, the student can navigate efficiently using swipes or arrow keys by setting the rotor to “Rows.” With the rotor set to “Rows,” the student can swipe up or down (or use the up and down arrow keys) to move through items within a single column.
Gingerbread man activity 2: Digital bar chart
Use the Pages app on an iPad to create an accessible bar chart using the data from the tactile bar chart above. Bar charts created in Pages can be created with or without VoiceOver running.
- If the bar chart is created by the teacher for the student, ask the student to explore and answer questions using the digital bar chart. Or,
- If the student has or is learning tech skills, have the student create the bar chart and then explore the bar chart.
To create a bar chart in Pages
- Open a new Pages document.
- Select the Insert Chart button (pie chart symbol).
- Select 2 D, bar chart.
- The example selected the blue/green vertical chart template.
- Select Edit Data. (Table format appears)
- Select Region 1 and type “First Bite” (Typing will automatically replace the original text, “Region 1”.)
- Select each header (April, May, June, July), and replace with Head, Left Arm, Right Arm, Left Leg, Right Leg.
- Select each number in the first row and replace with your data.
- The example used this data: 4, 3, 1, 0, 1.
- In the second row, select and delete the entire row. (Delete Region 2 and the numbers in row 2.)
- Select Done. The bar chart is automatically created.
- If further editing is desired, select the Edit button to go back to the chart.
Image 2: First Bite Chart in Pages
Image 3: First Bite Bar Chart in Pages
Once the First Bite Bar Chart is created, the student should explore the chart by dragging a finger from the left side to the right side to hear the name and size of each bar announced. Dragging a finger across the bar chart and up/down the bars gives the student spatial clues about its layout, offering more concrete and tangible information. The student can also use left and right swipe gestures or left and right arrow keys to navigate the bar chart.
Ask questions
- How many people ate the left leg first?
- Which body part was eaten first more than any others?
- Which body part was eaten first less than any others?
- How many people ate the head first? Represent this as a fraction.
- Hint: In this example, there were a total of 9 people who took a first bite of a gingerbread man. How many of the 9 ate the head first?
Resource
- Creating an accessible bar chart in the Pages app: iOS 11 (step-by-step instructions and video tutorial)
More gingerbread-related posts
- Gingerbread man: Sequence, copy and paste activities (tech skills)
- Gingerbread man activities: Tactile skills
- My Gingerbread House poem: Days of the week (sequencing the days of the week, select, cut and paste)
- Gingerbread Man Coding activity (OctoStudio app)
By Diane Brauner
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