Early Childhood Technology Literacy Grant Literacy Activity

Title: Creating a Class Book of Making Gingerbread Cookies
Developed By: Julie Miller, Washington Grove Elementary School

Student Level: Early Emergent/Emergent Readers (First Grade)

Time Frame: This lesson can be done in one 30-minute session or can be broken into two writing sessions, depending on the interest and ability levels of the students.

Objectives: The students will:

• Use Interactive Writing to write directions for performing a task.
• Use environmental print, sight words, and graphophonic cues when writing.
• Sequence the events for making gingerbread cookies.

Materials:

• Computer with Kid Pix or other paint and draw program
• Digital camera
• Printer
• Large copy of the gingerbread cookie recipe found at <www.cookierecipe.com/az/gingerbread.asp>

Background:

After reading and extending the tale of The Gingerbread Man, our class found a recipe for gingerbread cookies on the web at <www.cookierecipe.com/az/gingerbread.asp>.

The following day, I brought in the ingredients and utensils. Using a large copy of the recipe, I read each direction and the children followed the steps to make the cookie dough. While each step was in progress, I used the digital camera to capture the action.

Before the next day's lesson, I viewed, edited and sequenced the digital shots and put each picture into Kids Pix and saved them.* When the students came in, we were ready to add text to each picture using Interactive Writing

*See the Kid Pix manual for instructions on pasting digital photographs into Kid Pix and inserting text into a document.

Procedures:

1. Instruct the students to gather around the computer that is set-up with Kid Pix and already showing the first digital photo. Ask them to predict what you are going to do with them.
2. Explain to the students that today we will be creating our cookbook entitled "How to Make Gingerbread Cookies." Let them know that we will be writing the book together so that others can use it to make gingerbread cookies or to see how our class made them.
3. Take the students on a visual walk through the pictures. Encourage oral discussion using vocabulary from the recipe to describe what is happening in each of the pictures. Refer to the large recipe chart as you go.
4. After viewing all of the pictures, return to the first one. Ask the children to orally describe what is happening in the picture. They may tell what ingredient is being added, what action is taking place, etc. For example, "We added ginger."
5. Once an appropriate text for the picture has been decided, choose a student (or 2 students depending on the number of photos and students in your group) to help with the typing. Position the keyboard on a chair so that it is more accessible to the students.
6. Remind students of the tools for writing before you begin the actual Interactive Writing. Encourage students to use Word Walls, any known basic/sight words, environmental print (such as the large copy of the recipe), and letter sounds to create the text. Also, since this is Interactive Writing, the teacher will edit as the writing is being done and help with difficult sounds or words.
7. Give everyone a job during the lesson! Students who are not typing for the particular picture are Editors or "Word Watchers". You may also want to give these students dry-erase boards so they are able to do their own writing. Emphasize the importance of their support to the writers.
8. Repeat for each picture until all pictures have text.
9. When the writing is complete, show the slides in a slideshow and do a shared reading of the text.
10. If necessary, go back and add information or resequence pictures.

Additional Resources:

A Different Ending the The Gingerbread Man Lesson Plan

Extension:

• Print out the slides and bind them as a book to keep in the reading corner, to share with other classes, or to use as a take-home book .
• Print out the pictures with or without text and have students sequence the steps involved in making the cookies or match text to the pictures.