Printable Thanksgiving words for your thematic word wall

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Books

5 Little Turkeys

Fingerplay

**See words & big book instructions below**

Fingerplay  

Over the River

 Albuquerque Turkey

We Give Thanks

Gobble! Gobble!

Where is the Mayflower?

(tune: Where is Thumbkin?)

Where is the Mayflower?

Where is the Mayflower?

Here it is,

Here it is,

Sailing across the ocean,

Sailing across the ocean,

Long ago,

Long ago.

5 Little Turkeys

Five little turkeys sitting on a gate

The first one said, "My it's getting late"

The second one said, "Who goes there?"

The third one said, "There are farmers everywhere!"

The fourth one said, "Let's run, and run, and run!"

The fifth one said, "It's just Thanksgiving fun!"

Make Your Own 5 Little Turkeys Big Book

Materials: 6 sheets of 9 x 18 construction paper, Carson Dellosa turkey shapes, glue stick, scissors, brown construction paper, binding materials (combs, rings etc), words to fingerplay typed out and cut to fit each page. 

Directions: 

1. Cut strips of brown construction paper and glue to 5 pages to make a fence on each page. 

2. Glue one turkey to the top of each page so it appears to be sitting on the fence.  Make sure to space the turkeys out so that they will appear side by side when the book is closed. 

3. Type out the words in a large sized font, cut out, and glue to each page. 

4. Laminate pages for durability

5. Bind your book using your choice of binding method. 

Math Activities

Activity Click on the pictures below to enlarge	Instructions
Thanksgiving Board Game	Setting: Small Group, Math Centers Objective: 1:1, number sense Materials: cardstock, thanksgiving stickers, round sticker dots, playing pieces (see resources section), tape, foam die. Directions:  Take two pieces of white cardstock and tape them together in the middle to create your game board.  Be careful to leave a small gap between the two pieces so the game board will fold easily for storage.  Take thematic stickers and place them around the board for decoration. Affix the round sticky dots to the game board and laminate.  Give each player a playing piece.  The turkeys pictured are from Oriental Trading, see resources below for similar product.  Players take turns rolling the die and moving their playing piece.  If all playing pieces are the same, as in the picture at left, take different colored Sharpie markers and make a large dot on each one so players can easily identify which piece is theirs.
Thanksgiving Feast Numbers	Setting: Small Group, Math Centers Objective: 1:1, number sense Materials: one paper plate per child, crayons, scissors, grocery store flyers, glue stick. Directions:  Give each child a paper plate, scissors, glue stick, and a Thanksgiving grocery store flyer.  You can pick them up for free at your local grocery store.  Have each child cut out the food items they think they will be eating on Thanksgiving day and glue them to their plate.  In the picture to the left we were learning about the number 4 so I asked the children to find 4 things they wanted to eat at their feast. Have the child write the number of the items in the middle of plate.  These also make a great bulletin board display.  Using your glue stick, attach each plate to the middle of a large sheet of construction paper.  Glue plastic knives, forks, spoons, and paper napkins to the paper to make it look like a place setting.  Attach the placemats to the wall to create your bulletin board display and title it "Mrs. ______'s Class is Having a Feast" or similar.
	Setting: Small Group, Math Centers Objective: 1:1, Number Sense Materials:  Thanksgiving 1-5 stamping grid, Thanksgiving thematic stamps (Oriental Trading) Directions: Give each student a Thanksgiving 1-5 stamping grid.  Have students stamp the appropriate number of stamps next to each number.  This is much more difficult than it looks!

Literacy Activities

Activity	Instructions
Gobble Game	Setting: Small or Large Group, Literacy Centers Objective: Alphabet Recognition Materials: Carson Dellosa turkey cut-outs, ABC stickers OR Sharpie marker, plastic tub or basket to put die-cuts in. Directions:  This game is a modified version of the Bang Game.  Write one letter of the alphabet on each turkey using the Sharpie marker or place one letter sticker on each turkey.  On the 27th turkey write the words "Gobble Gobble!" with the Sharpie marker.  Place all the turkeys in a basket or plastic tub.  This game can be played in large or small groups.  Have the students sit in a circle and pass the basket around.  Each student closes his eyes and removes one turkey, then "reads" the letter on the turkey aloud.  If the student can read the letter he keeps the turkey.  If not, then he may ask a friend to help read the letter.  If a student gets the turkey that says "Gobble! Gobble!" all the students stand up and gobble like turkeys.  After the gobble turkey is chosen the person who selected it must put all of his turkeys back in the basket.
Turkey Fishing Game	Setting: Small Group, Literacy Centers Objective: Alphabet Recognition Materials: turkey die-cuts or Carson Dellosa turkey cut-outs (see below), ABC stickers OR Sharpie marker, paper clips, recording sheet, Do-A-Dot markers- one per child, fishing poles Directions:  Laminate several sheets of brown construction paper and die-cut 26 turkeys.  If you do not have a die-cut machine or a turkey die at your school then you can use a turkey shaped notepad.  Write one letter on each turkey using the Sharpie marker or place one letter sticker on each turkey.   Place paper clips on each turkey and put turkeys in a plastic tub or container of some sort.  Students use their fishing poles to "catch" the turkeys and highlight the letters on the recording sheet.  The recording sheet has a large turkey outline on it with all the letters of the alphabet written inside.  Students use Do-A-Dot markers to mark the letters they have caught.  Fishing poles:  12 inch dowels, string, hot glue gun, round magnets Tie the string to the end of the dowel and use the hot glue gun to secure it to the dowel.   Next, hot glue the round magnet to the end of the string.
Thanksgiving Path Game	Setting: Small Group, Literacy Centers Objective: Alphabet Recognition, 1:1 Materials: turkey die-cuts or Carson Dellosa turkey cut-outs (see below), ABC stickers OR Sharpie marker, recording sheet, Do-A-Dot markers- one per child Directions: Give each child a recording sheet.  Write the letters of the alphabet on turkey cut-outs with a Sharpie or use ABC stickers.  Place the turkey cut-outs in a basket or container in the middle of the table.  Each child takes turns selecting one turkey from the container.  When they select a turkey they identify the letter and mark it on their recording sheet with a Do-A-Dot marker.  The objective of the game is to fill all the circles on their paper.

Pumpkin Pie

Copy circles on orange construction paper and let the children cut them out.  Next, "paint" glue on the circle and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice on top of the glue.  Finally, glue a cotton ball to the middle of the pie to represent the whipped cream and pull it out a bit to puff it up.  If you cannot find pumpkin pie spice you can mix nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon.

Coffee Filter Turkey

Handprint Turkey

Paint each student's palm and thumb brown and brush red, yellow, and orange across the other four fingers.  Press the painted hand onto the white paper and you have an instant gift that parents will treasure for years to come!

Sharing Salad

(alternative to Thanksgiving Feast)

Cut the apples and bananas into bite size pieces.  Mix the Cheerios, raisins, and all the fruit in bowl.  Have the children come to you in small groups and help you stir the "Sharing Salad".  Put a scoop of the salad into each "cornucopia" (cone) and place on a  plate.  If you think your students won't eat the salad you might want to try mixing it with strawberry yogurt first.  I have found that most of my students will eat it if the fruit is covered in strawberry yogurt :)   If your students are able to bring the ingredients for the salad it is even more meaningful.   We use this activity in place of the more traditional and controversial Thanksgiving Feast.

Pumpkin Pie in a Cup

Materials:  1 can Libby's Pumpkin Pie filling, 2 boxes vanilla instant pudding, milk, 1 container of Cool Whip, graham cracker crumbs, 3 oz size paper or plastic cups 

Prepare the vanilla pudding according to directions and refrigerate.

Mix the can of Libby's pumpkin pie filling (not plain pumpkin) with the chilled pudding.

Fill a 3 oz. cup with a layer of graham cracker crumbs or vanilla wafer crumbs

Spoon pumpkin/pudding mixture into each cup

Top each cup with a spoonful of Cool Whip

Favorite Thanksgiving food graph

(alternative to Thanksgiving Feast)

This is a great activity to do after reading The Little Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie.  Prepare the mashed potatoes and stuffing at home the night before, buy one cheap pumpkin pie, and use sliced deli turkey for the Thanksgiving "turkey".  Glue the clip-art of each food at the top of the graph and divide the rows using the markers.  Heat the potatoes and stuffing in the microwave.  Have the students come individually and taste the items.  "Taste" is the key word here, just one small bite per child will make your supplies last and you won't go broke, especially if you have two classes.  If you have any vegetarians (Hindu's) in your class have them skip the turkey, and make sure not to use chicken broth in the stuffing or mashed potatoes.  Have the children write their name on the graph under the picture of the food that was their favorite. 

Turkey Family Project

Copy a large outline of a turkey onto white cardstock.  Attach a letter explaining the concept of a "Family Project" to your student's families.  They may use materials commonly found at home such as cereal, corn, etc...  You can even give awards for the most creative turkey, or yummiest turkey :)

We Are Thankful

After reading Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks have each student write/draw something they are thankful for on their paper.  When everybody is finished, bind the pictures into a class book.