As the Thanksgiving holiday is near, it’s time for all things pumpkins, leaves, and turkeys! I don’t know about you, but as a child, I never once saw a real, live turkey in person unless my school took a field trip to a farm. I don’t think we ever did that. Turkeys are fascinating birds. They can fly but only a little. Turkeys sleep in trees in the wild. They really don’t have rainbow feathers like we color them to have. But boy, they are so neat! As you dig into the excitement of the turkey season, you may find yourself needing a turkey unit and a turkey craft project. Today I’m share four turkey craft projects for kids that are meaningful and fun!
I liked to begin learn about the bird. We’d discuss turkey facts, the turkey life cycle, and read some favorite non-fiction turkey books. After that, we would record our learning on this turkey facts writing craft! You can find this science turkey craft project HERE.
One fun way to squeeze in a fun turkey craft for kids is to use it as a visual assessment for their writing! You can create rubric with the students to focus on whatever you’d like to focus on- punctuation, spelling, complete sentences, etc. Then, they will earn a piece of their turkey for each part they use! They will see their turkey is funny if missing pieces, then they will get a chance to fix it and earn the missing parts! You can find this turkey craft project HERE.
I love a good read aloud lesson and the selection of turkey books is in abundance! From Turkey Trouble to A Turkey for Thanksgiving to The Plump and Perky Turkey to The Best Thanksgiving Ever, there are so many options! One way to squeeze in a turkey craft for kids is to compare and contrast two turkey read aloud books. Then, the students can write about how the books were similar and how they were different.
This last idea is PERFECT for your leftover Halloween candy! One year, we did this for my son’s class as a thanksgiving gift and to get some candy out of our house. Simply wrap the halloween candy with a strip of brown paper.
Begin with a piece of brown construction paper cut in half vertically. Then, hot glue the candy inside. Next, hot glue it closed and add google eyes, or make your own using paper and marker. You also can make a beak using orange paper. Finally, cut out feathers from construction paper, or grab some from the craft store, and glue them on the back.
This craft is easily done with a pack of construction paper and your left over candy, friends!
No matter what is going on in your classroom this Thanksgiving season, I hope you are able to find some time to sit with your little learners and share things you are thankful for. I hope you can squeeze in a little turkey craft project for kids, too!
I’m a K-1 teacher who is passionate about making lessons your students love and that are easy to implement for teachers. Helping teachers like you navigate their way through their literacy block brings me great joy. I am a lifelong learner who loves staying on top of current literacy learning and practices. Here, you’ll find the tools you need to move your K-2 students forward!
