What’s
more childhood Christmas than GINGERBREAD houses? Next Saturday I’m starting a new tradition, inviting some friends over for a cookie exchange and
make-your-own-gingerbread-house
party. Time to get out the graham
crackers, frosting and candy!
This
week my class will be making “gingerbread houses” too—using LOTS of math! The kids had so much fun with this activity
last year, and took a lot of pride in their paper house creations. I loved it because this simple activity had
them multiplying, adding, subtracting, and doing real-world math!
So
just how can a simple gingerbread house connect to math? I give each student a gingerbread house
template and the challenge to decorate it beautifully—with one twist. They have a candy-spending budget, and each
peppermint, gumdrop, and candy cane has a cost. Students have to plan which candy
decorations they will use, total their cost on a “receipt” worksheet, and solve
for their change. Real-world,
right? Then, after they’ve done the math
they take out crayons, markers or colored pencils and start decorating! It’s LOTS of fun.
I’ve
put this file, My Gingerbread House Multiplication Activity Pack,
on my TPT store. There are two different
versions included, one for learners just starting out with multiplication
(facts 3-11) and one for more advanced students (double-digit
multiplication). Directions, the
gingerbread house template, and a rubric are all included!
My
kids will be creating these math masterpieces this week, and who knows? Maybe their teacher will bring in some
gingerbread cookies to munch on while they work…. J
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