1-2-3 Come Do a Place Value Turkey With Me

November is fast approaching, so I've been working on some interesting turkey activities.

You can put some “Woo Hoo!” into studying place value, by creating a super-cute PVT (Place Value Turkey).

This is an especially fun activity for your students, and a nice alternative to worksheets; making it that “extra special something” you can do for the entire month of November.

Completed projects turn out absolutely adorable, and make an outstanding fall bulletin board or hallway display.

I’ve included 2 posters to help decorate.

You’re sure to get lots of compliments, as the results definitely have that “Wow!” factor.

The packet is very versatile, with lots of creative options for your students to choose from; which not only results in a nice variety of turkeys, but allows you to diversify your lessons.

These place value turkeys appeal to a variety of ages and abilities.

The versatility allows younger kiddos, as well as older students, to create a turkey that will have a one, two, three or even 4-digit number value!

Keep things simple for little ones by limiting the number of pieces and options, while challenging older students to create a bigger value for their turkeys, by gluing on more place value blocks and rods. 

Students can draw in their own face or pick one of the "head patterns" with a variety of eyes.

To add some 3D pop, add a beak and wattle, and bend the wings up a bit.

Children can also add a Pilgrim hat or bonnet or a bow.

There are also 2 patterns for the legs; one with regular turkey "feet", as well as one with Pilgrim shoes.

There are pattern pages with 2 sizes of "ones" and one hundred "blocks", as well as 2 sizes for the "10s" rods.

Students color and trim, then use the pieces to decorate their turkey with. 

After they have arranged the pieces to their satisfaction, they glue them down. 

Look at the photographs and you can see how I glued some "ones blocks" to the turkey's legs, his Pilgrim shoes, and on the back of the feathers. 

I tilted the 100s blocks to make a diamond-shaped design on one sample. You can also see a 100s block inside the buckle on the hat, as well as on the bow tie. 

For other examples, I glued 10 rods to the wings, hat, and legs.

There are also a variety of "belly" options.

I had an absolute blast making my samples and hope your kiddos enjoy creating their own place value tureky too. 

You can also opt to use the feather patterns that have a variety of place value pieces already on them. 

I thought using a 10s rod for the shaft of the feather looked terrific. This will save time cutting and gluing. 

Shading and adding highlights with crayons gives a splash of extra pizzazz and makes the turkeys more vibrant. 

I made my turkey's bodies with shades of brown paper, then did a rainbow color pattern of feathers on one of my turkeys, plus showed an AB-AB pattern, as well as an ABC-ABC color pattern, on two of my other examples. 

You can get a bit more creative, and print the turkey's body patterns on a variety of neon colors like hot pink, turquoise, purple and lime green, which will make for a wild and whacky turkey display.

Wiggle eyes, and a splash of glitter on the tips of the feathers, are more fun options.

Once children have created their place value turkey, they figure out how much it is “worth”.

I’ve provided several worksheet options for students to complete, which helps break things down.

Several will help students show how they came up with their total; as most students get carried away with decorating, and will have to make "conversions". 

For example if a student has glued on 14 ones blocks, they'll have to convert 10 of them (on their worksheet), then add one more to their 10s place, to correctly figure out the value of their turkey.

Choose which worksheet is most appropriate for your students.

They are different enough, so that you can actually do all of them.

If you're displaying the turkeys, you can also hang up students' worksheet(s), which will show the math.

There are also several whole-group activities for data collection and analysis.

Limited time?

Place value turkeys make a super-fun homework assignment, or another idea is to have students work with a partner or create one PVT in a small group of three, which will divide up the work.

Here's a fun challenge: Give the small group a total turkey value, and see how close they can get to hitting that number. 

The featured FREEBIE is something you can have students color, then send home the day before Halloween .

This "color me" Trick or Treat list of Halloween safety tips, is loaded with Dolch sight words, so take a moment to read it out loud, calling on students to take a turn to read a tip, then send it home as a reminder for parents.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.

The sun is shining and there's nary a whisp of wind, so nature is beckoning me.  Wishing you a fun-filled day.

"The truth is, the Super Bowl long ago became more than just a football game. It's now part of our culture, just like turkey at Thanksgiving and lights at Christmas; and like those holidays beyond their meaning, a factor in our economy." - Bob Schieffer