Turkey Time – A Celebration in the Classroom

Fascinating Facts about Turkeys

I’ll confess! I am not a turkey expert. Although I eat a lot of turkey, especially on Thanksgiving, there is not a lot I know about them. I did a little Internet search to discover some facts I think students might find fascinating! Did you know turkeys are skilled swimmers! Really?? How far can they swim exactly?? During the mating season, turkeys will strut around each other and perform a little dance. Maybe that’s where the idea of a turkey trot came from! Boy turkeys are called Toms or gobblers while girl turkeys are simply called hens. That’s not too exciting! It’s hard to believe that a gobbling turkey can be heard up to a mile away but only on a very quiet day! There has always been a myth that Ben Franklin wanted our national bird to be a turkey but he really just thought the first eagle design they came up with looked like a turkey.  Thank goodness they went back to the drawing board on that one! Turkeys are fun to learn about but even more delicious to eat! Here are some of our best selling Turkey-themed products to add to your classroom November studies!

Turkey Reader

This Beginning Reader is perfect for adding to your students’ studies of turkeys. It comes in 2 levels of difficulty and color and black and white. Also included is Resource page of facts to read to them before and/or after they read their practice book. Several Interactive printables will extend their learning. Find it HERE at our TPT store.

Thanksgiving Song

This is one of our best-selling products as it tells a brief story of how the Pilgrims came to America, made friends with Native Americans, and had a big feast! It is easily sung to the tune Do You Know the Muffin Man! If you aren’t familiar with that tune, don’t worry! We have included a mini-movie where the pages of the book turn while we sing the lyrics! There are also lot of additional goodies like Beginning Readers, writing papers and take-home papers to trace and color. Click THANKSGIVING SONG to link to it!

Writing Activity – The Art of Persuasion

This is a fun writing project that introduces the concept of Persuasive Writing. Students must try to convince their readers to eat anything BUT turkey on Thanksgiving! There are some teaching activities to clarify the ideas of one’s Opinion and how to persuade someone to side with your opinion. It is so much fun to read what your students come up with as alternatives to turkey and their reasons of persuasion! Display their writing on a Bulletin Board with our Sign or use it as a class book cover with their writing inside! Click Persuasive Writing to find this fun product.

A Thanksgiving Packet of Resources

Here is a packet that would make a wonderful addition to your Thanksgiving study. It is loaded with pocket chart cards, Beginning Readers, a poetry page to teach with under a document camera or from a computer as well as a Take-home version. Themed writing papers come in color & b/w to inspire lots of holiday writing! Click 1-2 A Land So New to see it at our TPT store.

Here’s a FREE Song that will be a hit in your classroom!

This song is all about a turkey that DOESN’T get eaten BUT gets invited to the feast! When my brother was little he never ate turkey. Rather than fight with him about it with family and guests, she indulged him by letting him just eat rolls! That inspired us to write this fun song. Turkey Feast comes with Beginning Readers and writing papers! Be sure to grab this FREEBIE and start singing!

How about a BONUS Freebie?

Here is a Free Game to add to your November classroom learning! It is a path game using lots of “ip” words. Simply print either the colored or B/w version and glue it into a file folder. Players roll the dice and move along the path reading the word when they land on a space.! Find it on our FREE Resources page here at our website!

Hope you have a great November and a Happy Thanksgiving!