bodner093

Are you still teaching the week of Thanksgiving? Looking for a fun EDIBLE THANKSGIVING TURKEY CRAFT ? I mean, it is Thanksgiving week and that means eating, right?  My mother-in-law showed me this easy, cute, turkey craft about 25 years ago and I have made it with my class many times since. It does require some supplies, but the kids love it and it is very easy to put together. Add in a turkey read aloud or Thanksgiving video and your students can snack and watch (or listen). You will need the following supplies... large sugar cookies Chocolate Pinwheel cookies white icing candy corn *I also like to use some sort of Dixie cup for the icing and a popsicle stick to apply the icing- I usually have these on hand. I always go for the off brand to keep costs more reasonable. If you are planning this far enough in advance you could send a parent donation request note and ask parents to send in the supplies for the craft.  For each...

If you are looking for a Thanksgiving read aloud to spark your students' creativity and imagination- you have got to read Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet . I instantly fell in love with this book.  It is based on Tony Sarg- an artist who created puppets and the first balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  While I love all the turkey books, the book Balloons Over Broadway is a breath of fresh air in the collection of Thanksgiving read alouds!  The illustrations are perfect (the book is a Caldecott Honor Winner). After the read aloud I would suggest giving students the opportunity to read the book independently so that they can pour over the detailed illustrations. The author/illustrator Melissa Sweet uses a variety of mediums to create the pictures. I think this story lends itself really well to focusing on cause and effect. Tony is a problem solver and he demonstrates that time and again in the book. I have included a printable page that you can ...

New to the Thanksgiving read aloud scene this year is How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace and Andy E llerton. What a FUN book- your students are going to love it!  There are several books in the How to Catch a... series and this is one of the newest ones. (Look for the How to Catch a Snowman blog post after the first of the year!). There are several skills you could touch on with this  How to Catch a Turkey  Thanksgiving read aloud... I created an anchor chart that you could use for any of the word choice lessons- let your students lead the discussion with what jumps out at them with the authors' word choice.  1. Word Choice (Vocabulary): The book is written in rhyme. The authors choice of writing in rhyme really sets the upbeat, fun mood for this story.  The vocabulary and the phrases are also spot on and a great teaching point for this read aloud.  After reading the story through once, you...