How it works
This gingerbread word scramble covers baking, the decorated house and the old tale of the runaway cookie. The opening sheet has medium words with a hint under each, and the answer key prints on its own page.
Read the full guide
Baking, decorating and the tale
The easy list is short words: Dough, Whisk, Fox, Roof. Medium, the opening sheet, holds Nutmeg, Gumdrop, Rooftop and Runaway. The hard list reaches Molasses, Rolling pin and Cookie cutter.
After the story
Hand it out once the class has read a gingerbread tale: Runaway, Clever, Tricky, Fox and Riverbank come from it. Each press of New scramble deals the letters again, so neighbors need not share a sheet.
- In the first printing, from 1875, the cookie outruns an old woman, an old man, threshers, mowers, a cow and a pig before the fox.
- Nutmeg, Cloves, Cinnamon and Allspice make a spice set: ask pupils which ones they can find in a kitchen at home.
Questions and answers
Where does the gingerbread man story come from?
A tale called The Gingerbread Boy was printed in St. Nicholas Magazine in May 1875. A fox catches and eats the cookie at the end. In some later tellings the fox carries him across a river first.
Does it have Christmas words?
No. There is no tree, gift or carol word, so the sheet fits a gingerbread week at any point in winter. Gingerbread is the only word it shares with the Christmas word scramble.
Does the gingerbread word scramble have an answer key?
Yes. The answer key prints on a second page after the sheet. To print the puzzle alone, switch off Print the answer key under More options, below the sheet.
What grades is it for?
The easy list (Fox, Roof, Dough) suits kindergarten and grade 1 with hints on. Medium suits grades 2 and 3, and the hard list (Licorice, Cinnamon) suits grade 4 and up.