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Easy and Fun Hansel and Gretel Activities for Kids: A 4-Day Fairy Tale Lesson Plan

Two kids face away as they are looking into the forest toward a gingerbread house with candy.

The classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel is a wonderful story for practicing listening, sequencing, and storytelling skills. This simple four-day lesson plan allows children to experience the story in multiple ways—through reading, play, storytelling, and hands-on baking.

About Hansel and Gretel

The story of Hansel and Gretel is one of the most well-known fairy tales in the Western world. It was first published in 1812 by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm in their famous collection Grimms’ Fairy Tales. The brothers were German scholars who traveled and collected traditional folk stories that had been passed down through generations. Many of these tales were originally shared through oral storytelling long before they were written down.

Hansel and Gretel likely grew out of stories told in medieval Europe during times when famine and poverty were common. In the tale, two children become lost in the forest and discover a mysterious house made of sweets, only to encounter a dangerous witch. Like many traditional fairy tales, the story reflects the fears and challenges people faced in earlier times, while also highlighting themes of courage, cleverness, and the importance of family.

Over the years, Hansel and Gretel has been retold in many forms, including books, plays, and operas. Despite its age, the story continues to captivate children and families today, making it a popular choice for storytelling, reading lessons, and creative activities like the gingerbread baking inspired by the famous candy house.

Throughout the week, students revisit the story several times using different activities that strengthen comprehension and memory. By the end of the week, children are able to retell the story, recognize key vocabulary, and connect the story to a fun cooking activity.

Monday: Story Introduction

Begin the week by reading Hansel and Gretel. Encourage your child to listen carefully and talk about what is happening in the story. After reading, discuss the main characters and what they remember most about the story.

Recommended Versions:

Tuesday: Story Play

Read the story again, but this time bring the story to life with simple props. Use a cut-out gingerbread house and small dolls or figures to act out the story while reading. This helps children visualize the events and understand how the characters move through the story.

My personal favorite book companion for this fairy tale is from The Mega Bundles. This bundle includes sequence cards, background images and finger puppets, tracing booklet, math activities, and more. The artwork for this booklet is beautiful and the organization of the resource makes it easy to print out and divide activities out over the next few days.

This is the second day of reviewing this story so it’s a good time to introduce that there can be different retellings of a fairy tale. They have the same elements, characters, and plot line but some things might be slightly different. A great example is introducing the Super Why Hansel and Gretel, episode 102 from PBSKids.

Wednesday: Story Sequencing

Use story sequence cards to help your child retell the story. Students can place the cards in the correct order or use them to narrate the story in their own words. Sequencing activities strengthen comprehension and help children recognize how stories have a beginning, middle, and end. The sequencing cards I use are from The Mega Bundles but there are others available on sites like Etsy and Teachers Pay Teachers.

Thursday: Story Writing and Cooking

On the final day, review the story again, this time encourage your learner to tell the story back to you as best they can (for older readers, have them read the story). To celebrate the story, end the week by baking gingerbread cookies together. This hands-on activity connects the story to a memorable real-life experience and makes the lesson even more fun. The Mega Bundles has a Gingerbread Cookie recipe but here are some others that I we enjoyed: