Turkey Trouble

Turkey Trouble is my favorite Thanksgiving book of all time!  I teach character education lessons to every class in my school.  I don't always teach the same lesson for every grade except for my favorite lessons. This means there are occasions when I teach the same lesson 34 times!  It seriously feels like being Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day by living the same day over, and over, and over again! But, I'm happy to report, I have yet to tire from this cute book! Problem Solving is the topic I'm teaching for the month of November. Turkey Trouble is the PERFECT book to discuss this subject. In the book, Turkey has a HUGE problem....he realizes his days are numbered and he doesn't want to end up as the main course for Thanksgiving dinner! As he looks around the barnyard, he decides to disguise himself as various other animals as a solution to his problem.  Each time, he feels his costume makes him look just like the other animals...well, almost!  In the end, with no options left, he comes up with a clever solution to his problem by disguising himself as a pizza delivery guy. This is a creative solution to his problem and helps start a new fun tradition for Farmer Jake and his family.

Problem Solving is such an important skill for students to learn. Before reading this book, I discuss a 3-Step Problem Solving Model using the acronym GPS.  GPS is easy for students to remember and I always refer back to it when students come to me with a problem. GPS stands for: 

Get Calm-if you are really mad or upset you aren't in a good state of mind to solve a problem.
Plan- Making a plan means you are putting thought into what the solution may be.  Many times students avoid dealing with problems which makes the problem bigger in the long run.  Making a plan means action will be taken towards finding a solution.
Solve or Start Again-  It's great if the problem gets solved on the first try.  However, it's important to realize that doesn't happen all the time.  Students often times give up if their plan doesn't work on the first try. The book Turkey Trouble demonstrated that Turkey had to come up with several different plans before his problem was solved.

To go along with this lesson, I made a Disguise the Turkey Matching Game.  I printed 6 games to use in each classroom.  I had 4-5 students per group on the floor in small circles.  The object of the game is to try and get the most matches. One of the matching pair is a turkey in a pizza delivery disguise.  That is how turkey solved his problem in the book, so the student who finds that match gets two points. My students have LOVED the funny turkey disguises in this game.

*****Click here for a Free Copy!****

Glue turkeys on the back of disguise squares. When playing, have the glasses disguise facing up and the turkeys underneath.

Aren't these turkey disguises soooo fun???

I glued the turkeys and disguise squares on cardstock to add a little color.

My students LOVED the fun book and the hilarious disguises in the matching game.  I hope your students like it too!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!