The Elementary Entourage: Turkey Time Traditions with Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten

From the day after Halloween I just LOVE the holiday season. Warm cozy sweaters, hot chocolate and lots of time with family, make November a special time of year. Here at the Elementary Entourage we want to share some of our favorite traditions both in and out of the classroom.

First up I thought I'd share some of my favorite Thanksgiving picture books. Teaching about Thanksgiving in the primary classroom can be tough, but to help my students understand tough concepts I always find that a great children's book can work wonders.

Next I want to share an easy math activity that is low prep and great for both geometry and number sense.

These are great for practicing symmetry, shape id and counting and are really easy to make. All you need to do is cut out a few turkey bodies (I wasn't feeling my freehand turkey drawing, so I used some adorable Creative Clips clip art). Tape the bodies to the table so they don't drive your kids crazy moving all over the place. Next give your students pattern blocks to create feathers. You can discuss symmetry and have them make symmetrical feathers or not, its up to you. Then you can have students count how many of each shape they used and record on the sheet below.

You can grab the printable sheet and turkey bodies here for FREE. If you really want to test your students' geometry skills you can even have them draw their turkey on the back of the page. They always turn out a little off, but it is great for really paying close attention to shape attributes and positions.

If you are looking for more Thanksgiving activities for math and literacy I have a few resources that you may want to check out:

Turkey Trouble Task Cards

This set includes 20 full color task cards, 20 black and white task cards (in case you're trying to save on ink), a response page for students, and an answer key for easy grading.