1-2-3 Come Do Some More 2D Shape Activities With Me

Each month I like to have a little review of all of the 2D shapes, so this information stays stuck in my students’ heads.

With that in mind, I designed the "Shape Up!" turkey-themed packet, with a variety of games and activities that provide a fun way to review these shapes: circle, oval, triangle, square, rectangle, hexagon, pentagon, octagon, rhombus, trapezoid, heart & star.

There is an assortment of (12-on-a page) cards which can be used for “Memory Match” and “I Have; Who Has?” games.

I’ve included a 3-page “tip list” of ideas and other games you can use the cards for, such as: “Flip It”, “What’s Missing?” “Speed” & “Kaboom!”

Games can be played independently or as a whole group, then put in your math center.

There are also 2 sets of black & white game cards, so that students can make a game of their own to take home for further reinforcement.

Game sheets like “I Spy a Shape” are a super-fun way to whole group assess. The same worksheet can be used 5 times!

There are puzzles, dice & spinner games, as well as 2 graphing activities.

An emergent reader booklet, packed with Dolch words, practices a variety of standards.

The booklet can remain a whole page, or students can cut in half on the dashed line, creating a "just the right size" smaller booklet for little hands. 

There are cover options for both. Students read the sentence, underline the capital letter and add end punctuation.  

You can do this as a whole group activity, with "monkey see-monkey do" directions.

Children also trace the shape word then write it, then trace the shape and draw it.  Afterwards students cut and glue the appropriate shape to the empty box, then color the "shapely turkey" at the top of the page. 

This is a fun activity for the week of Thanksgiving, where you can do one or two pages each day; or send home over the holiday, as an interesting homework assignment.

This packet pairs perfectly with last week's “Shapely Turkeys” craft. Click the LINK to take a look.

Today's featured FREEBIE is "Oh Feathers!" a turkey-themed spinner game, which is also a fun way to practice 2D shapes.    

Thank you for stopping by. 

A dusting of snow has put me in the Christmas mood, so time for a little early shopping. 

Wishing you a peaceful day filled with wonder.

 "When snow falls, nature listens." - Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Shape Actiities With Me

“Shapin’ Up With Turkeys” provides a quick, easy and super-fun “print & go” craftivity, that will help review 2D shapes in some interesting & engaging ways.

The 2D shapes included are: circle, oval, square, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, pentagon, octagon, trapezoid, rhombus, heart & star.

The packet includes patterns for the above shapes, so that children can make a “Perky Turkey Pal” of their own.

There are a variety of turkeys to choose from; for example, the “keepsake” turkey’s head is traced from your students’ shoe, which makes a nice keepsake. 

"This turkey's head was made by tracing my shoe! My way to say Happy Thanksgiving to you." 

I wrote the poem to be placed on the turkey's tummy. I discovered, that unless a child told their parents that the head was their shoe print, many of them didn't realize this!

There are also 10 other head patterns to pick from. Choose your favorites, or give children a choice.

Shape templates come in a large, full-page size, as well as a smaller, two-on-a-page pattern, allowing you to make just a “shapely head”, or a “full body” turkey. 

I recommend making just the head with little ones, as it's the easiest craftivity.

Keep things extra simple by adding just a beak and wattle. However, I've also included two, one-piece feather patterns, which can be glued to the back of the head or body. 

Feathers add an opportunity for students to color, while practicing making a pattern: AB-AB, ABC-ABC etc.

Large wiggle eyes add extra pizzazz, but I've also included several pages of other eye patters, including eyeballs where the pupils match the shape of the turkeys head/body.

Check out the photographs to help you decide what’s most appropriate for your students

To add even more variety to your turkeys, there are also 3 wing patterns.

Create different looking turkeys by placing the wings rightside up or upside down. To make the wings "moveable", instead of gluing them down, attach with brass brads. 

Hat, shoe, leg & feather patterns also add variety.  Pick your favorite pieces, or give students a choice.

Accordion-folding the leg strips, is a fun way for students to strengthen their finger muscles, while adding to the cuteness factor of their turkey.

If your kiddos are like mine, they will enjoy the “boing-boing” effect.

Besides making a turkey with one of the more traditional heads, students can also match their turkey's head to its body shape. 

To help practice the “positional words” portion of the 2D shape standard, I’ve also included a “Corn Cob” whole group, assessment game.

Use the shape posters and pocket chart cards to introduce your lesson.

I’ve also included a “Shapely Turkeys” bookmark for your students.

Completed projects make an adorable display.

Dangle them from the ceiling as a border in your hallway.

I’ve included several posters to add extra pizzazz.

To add to the fun, encourage children to name their turkey, then fill out a "turkey tag", which can be glued to the middle of their turkey's tummy, or displayed next to their turkey on your display.

Older students can write down the attributes of the shape that they chose.

Today's featured FREEBIE is also about turkeys. 

"It's Turkey Time!" is a set of turkey-themed pocket chart cards, that will help your students practice analog and digital time to the hour and half hour. 

I've also included a whole group assessment worksheet, plus a black and white "turkey time" pattern, so that your students can make a telling time booklet as well.

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

I have to put my "Nana" hat on, as my daughter's dropping off my granddaughter for a few hours.  She's one of 10; so we are truly blessed.

Wishing you a love-filled and carefree afternoon.

Turkey Talk: "Hey turkey, what are you thankful for?" "Well, this month, I'm especially thankful for Vegans!"

I-2-3-Come Make A Thankful Turkey Craft With Me

All I ever have to do to get my kiddos highly motivated and excited to write, is put a little bit of craftiness into the project.

With that in mind, I designed this "Thankful Turkey Wheel”, which does the trick in getting them happily engaged, and right down to business.

As a pre-writing activity, students make a list of 4-6 things that they are thankful for.

When they are content with their final draft, they choose one of 3 turkey-topped worksheets to write their list on.  So that you can quickly and easily make a sample to share,

I've included options in color as well as black and white. 

Once students have finished their final list, they assemble their wheel and illustrate those “things” on it.

Students can also use stickers, pictures cut out from magazines, digital clip art, or perhaps real photographs. For example if they are thankful for their family they could glue down a family photograph.

There are 3 wheels to choose from:
A simpler 3-piece wheel for younger children who’d skip the writing portion, as well as a 4 and 6-sectioned wheel for older students.

You can keep things simple with just the head and body of the turkey, or you can add some 3D pop by adding a wattle, beak and wings.

For more writing practice, have students label their pictures.

Completed wheels and prompts make a sweet bulletin board.

I’ve included a “Let our lives be full of Thanks and Giving” poster for the center of your display.

Be sure and make your own, to help explain what you want your students to do, as well as share with them, what you’re thankful for.

Pressed for time? For your convenience, I've included my completed, full-color samples of both the wheel and writing prompt. 

Little ones can simply make a list using a few words. 

Encourage older students to include some descriptive words and a bit more than one or two-word answers. 

You can also do this as a whole group activity with preschoolers, asking what they're thankful for, then listing their answers on the colorful worksheet making a class composite of gratefulness.

Today's featured FREEBIE also has a Thanksgiving theme.

If you're students are as bananas over Pete the Cat as mine are, then I think they'll enjoy this "Color Me" dice game puzzle.

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

Mother Henderson's cupboard is bare, so time for some marathon grocery shopping.  Wishing you a peaceful and productive day.

"Forget the mistakes. Remember the lesson." - Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Turkey Activities With Me

Studying a bit about turkeys is not only super-interesting, but it helps me get in some science and non-fiction practice as well.

Turkeys are a perfect November theme, without being totally tied to Thanksgiving, which is not celebrated by everyone in our very diverse classrooms of today.

With these things in mind, I designed “Turkey Talk”. It’s chock full of a variety of activities that include:

* A colorful KWL chart which can be done as a whole group, while the BW version can be done individually.

* 4 realistic and lovely clip art posters featuring a male, female and baby turkey along with a nest of eggs.
* I’ve also included a set of “Match Game” picture and word cards.

* A “color me” Turkey Talk emergent reader, that’s packed with Dolch sight words, as well as a “trace & write” version for younger kiddos.

* A “Let’s Talk Turkey” vocabulary building poster, with a matching...
* “Define These Words” worksheet.
* A “Turkey Time” word search as a fun way to practice these new words.
* A labeled turkey head, photo-poster, with an accompanying definition one, plus
* 2, “Label the Turkey” worksheets.

* 20+ interesting turkey facts. Pick your favorites, share with your students, then use this background information to check their comprehension.

* A follow up “Some interesting facts I learned about turkeys” writing prompt worksheet.

* 10 photo-posters of wild and domestic turkeys.

* 2 Venn diagrams, which come in color to do as a whole group, as well as BW to be done individually or with a partner.

* 3 photo-posters of a peacock for a comparison-contrast activity.

* A “Turkeys Are Can Have” worksheet in color and BW
* A “Would you like to have a turkey as a pet?” writing prompt worksheet.
* A “Describe a Turkey” worksheet for adjective and descriptive writing practice.

* 2 life cycle of a turkey crafts. One's a slider the other a "Turn & Learn Wheel" Plus several matching worksheets & a game.

All come in BW as well as color, so that you can quickly & easily make samples to share; and finally,

* 2 “We learned about turkeys today! Ask me what I know.” color-me bookmarks. 

Renee over in Virginia, asked me if I had any Thanksgiving-themed  "Fix The Sentence" cards, as her students have enjoyed a few of my other seasonal "pocket chart punctuation" packets. 

Just finished them, so I thought I'd include them in this blog post as well.   

These 28, Thanksgiving-themed sentence cards, are a quick, easy and fun way to practice capitalization and end punctuation, while reinforcing some factual information about the first Thanksgiving.

Choose your cards, then read them together as a whole group to practice lots of Dolch sight words.

Pick a student to come up and using a dry erase marker, circle letters that should be capitalized and then add end punctuation. (period, question mark & exclamation point).

You can do this on a whiteboard, with a pocket chart, or pass a card out to each child to correct.

For more practice, as an individual activity, have students choose X number of mini cards and rewrite the sentences correctly on one of the 7 worksheet options.

Afterwards, students can swap their paper with a partner to correct.

I've included 2 sizes of mini "fix the sentence" cards for this, which makes a nice Daily 5 word work activity too.

There are 28 mini cards on one sheet of paper. Simply print, laminate and trim several copies, for a class set. 

The featured FREEBIE today is a collection of fall-themed, 2D shape matching games.  Students place the colored shape tile on to the matching shape on the leaf, spider, bat, owl, or turkey card.  

I've included a blank template for each theme, so you can program with more shapes or whatever. Hope your kiddos enjoy them as much as mine.

Well that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by. Time to hit the road and do some grocery shopping for turkey day.

Lots to do when our crowd of 20+ gathers.  Feeling very blessed.  Wishing you a warm-fuzzy kind of day.

"When I was growing up, and other people I knew were getting into trouble, I was somewhere in a deer stand or going to bed early, so I could be up before dawn to hunt turkeys. My love of the outdoors kept me solid.  - Donald Trump, Jr.

1-2-3 Come Do Some Thanksgiving Writing Prompts Craftivities With Me

It never failed, that no matter what grade I taught (PK, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, and even a college lit class), if I introduced a writing assignment that had a little bit of craftiness to eat, my students couldn't wait to get down to the business of writing.

An added bonus, was that completed projects made an awesome bulletin board that they were proud of.

The two writing prompt craftivities that I'm featuring today, are very simple, and can be done in a really short amount of time.

The first one is "Loopy". He's a creative alternative to the ever-popular "I'm Thankful For..." writing prompt.

Students write something that they are thankful for on strips of colored paper, then bend them into a loop and glue their writing prompt "feathers" to the top of their turkey.

I made my sample out of rainbow colors, but you'll have a wonderful variety if you let your students come up with their own designs. 

You can also reinforce AB-AB or ABC-ABC color patterns as well.

I've included 6 different options for a center circle; from as simple as "Happy Thanksgiving!" to several quotes, as well as a poem.

Include a blank, brown loop behind the head of the turkeys, so you can suspend them back-to back from the ceiling.   Click on the link for this "funtastic" Dollar Deal: Loopy the Thankful Turkey Writing Prompt Craftivity.

Next up is the Thankful Tree.  Like Loopy, it's a nice alternative to the "I'm Thankful For"  writing prompt. 

I designed this craftivity, so that I could reinforce the 4 seasons, which we were learning about. It's also a great opportunity to practice the use of adjectives, to make writing more descriptive.

Here, children complete the prompt: "I'm thankful for (winter, spring, summer, fall) because..." 

There's a cover page, 4 seasonal tree top writing prompts: (I'm thankful for winter, spring summer, fall because...) plus an ending prompt that says: "Most of all I'm thankful for . . ."

Students work on one tree top "page" each day. When everyone is done, have students share one of their favorite pages.

I've included a blank tree top pattern for older students. 
For more pizzazz, students can add small seasonal stickers or drawings to the tree tops. i.e. snowflakes for winter, blossoms for summer etc.

Adding a school photo to the "hollow" of the tree adds that finishing touch. 

Since scarecrows continue to be one of my top November downloads, the featured FREEBIE today is Pete the Peeking Scarecrow craftivity. 

Well that's it for today. Time to straighten up my organized chaos, and replace it with some "crafty clutter". 

I'm watching my grandchildren today; Kaiden's 3 and Kaitlyn's 1. We're going to make shoe print turkeys today.  Wishing you a day filled with special memory-making moments.  

 "Grandchildren fill a place in your heart you didn't even know was empty." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Make a Venn Friend With Me

Venn diagrams are a quick, easy & fun way to introduce the concept of comparison-contrast writing.

Years ago, I came up with the concept of students choosing a partner to make a "Venn Friend" with, as an interesting way for students to get to know each other.

I designed the fall "Venn Friends" packet, which feature apples, pumpkins, leaves, turkeys, Pilgrims & Native Americans.

Introduce the lesson with the "What's a Venn diagram?" poster.

To help them do a thorough job completing their Venn diagram and jump start the writing process, I've included a list of 40 questions that they can choose from to discuss with their partner.

Each student does their own "different" portion of the "circle", and then, once they glue their "circles" together, they take turns recording the similarities that they have with their Venn Friend, using the middle "same" section.

I used a "pumpkin seed" for the middle of the Pumpkin Venn Friends, and an acorn for the leaf ones. 

You can see little boy & girl "toppers" in the pumpkin photo. 

These are black & white so kiddos can color them.  Use them on the pumpkins, leaves or apples. 

I encourage students to do a boy/girl Venn friend, not only so they have an extra "difference" but so they can see how much they truly have in common with eachother.

Doing a Name Venn with a classmate, is another option, and practices upper & lowercase letters, along with name recognition & counting. 

I also incorporate the concept of “greater & less than” with this activity, as students decide who has the most or least number of letters in their name.

I’ve made a sample using an apple, as I do this in September, for a “Getting to Know You” activity for “Back to School”.   There are 3 sets of letter tiles for your kiddos to choose from.

My Y5s enjoy this activity so much, I repeat it in October with pumpkins, and see quite a bit of improvement.

As you can see by the photograph, colorful paper plates (smaller 8” size) provide a nice 3D effect.

I pre-cut these to expedite the activity. Besides yellow & red, I also buy lime green plates, giving my students an option. 

Besides using paper plates, I've also included a wormy apple pattern.

There’s also more than one option for November. Students have 3 choices for their Venn friend topper: a turkey, a Pilgrim boy or girl, or a Native American boy or girl.

You can have a turkey find a turkey partner, a boy Pilgrim find a girl Pilgrim, or a boy Native American find a boy Pilgrim, mixing and matching however you or your students wish.

I designed the Venn friends, specifically so students could get to know a classmate better, but you could certainly have students pretend to be "real" Pilgrims and Native American children, and then compare and contrast historical information as well.

Each seasonal Venn, comes with a graphing extension, so you can get some math practice in as well.

For that finishing touch, add a school photograph. Students could also make a green hand print "leaf" for their pumpkin.

Completed projects make awesome fall bulletin boards. Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to check out the super-fun, 51 page, Fall Venn Friend packet. 

Since Halloween is just a week away, I thought a "Halloween Boo Boos" worksheet would be a fun FREEBIE. Students make corrections to the sentences that have mistakes in them.

Click on the link to grab a copy.  It's certainly a little something fun, yet educational for party day.

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

The winds have knocked a lot of leaves off the trees, so this afternoon the hubby, pup & I are going for a relaxing drive to see what's left of the gorgeous fall colors, before they become  a distant memory, as barren trees dot the landscape.

I am so not ready for winter. Wishing you a pretty and peaceful day.

"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days." - John Burroughs

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Math Core With Me

Yesterday, I published a huge 70-page Common Core Thanksgiving Math packet.  It met with rave reviews and became one of my top downloads this month.  If you want to read that article, simply scroll down to yesterday's blog post. 

As with most of my ideas, I have a zillion going on at the same time.  When a packet starts to get pretty big, I try to sort through items that can be used as a separate file, such as a particular craftivity, game or assessment. 

Such was the case with today's posting.  Initially, these activities were going to be part of the Common Core Thanksgiving Math packet, but didn't quite fit that worksheet and game format, so I pulled them to make the following separate activities that I hope you'll enjoy.

Mayflower Mayhem is a quick, easy and fun counting game.  The mayhem comes in, because in order to win the game, you need to use critical thinking skills and a bit of strategy, as there are several "routes" your Mayflower can take.  Some of them include shortcuts, so there's that to consider as well. 

Children pick a partner and take turns rolling the dice.  A roll of 1, 2, 3, or 4 moves your ship forward, where as a roll of 5, has you going backwards one space. A roll of 6, puts your sails in "irons" and your turn is skipped.

There's more fun to be had, if you land on the same square as your opponent; one of the perils of going in the same direction as your partner chose.

This simple and quiet game, is perfect for that crazy last day before Thanksgiving break.   Click on the link to view/download the Mayflower Mayhem Math game.

Fact Family Feather Fun, is a cute turkey craftivity that your students will enjoy making, while they practice fact families, writing them on the turkey's feathers. 

I added a "real" feather to the top of the turkey's head for that finishing touch. 

Turkey Talk, is a quick, easy and fun way, to whole-group assess: listening and following directions, numbers, number words, ordinal numbers and colors.

Because the teacher reads the directions, you can omit various steps for younger students, who may be at different levels.

Completed worksheets are really quite cute.   Click on the link to view/download the Turkey Talk Whole Group Assessment Tool.

Finally, I had a request for some Thanksgiving sliders.  Cindy, from Virginia, has used a few of my other seasonal ones, with her young kinders, and wanted to know if I had any with a Pilgrim or turkey.  (Didn't - - but do now.)

Sliders, are also a quick, easy and fun way to whole group assess a variety of standards. 

I call them "sliders" because children slide the paper strip up or down, to locate an answer in the "window" of their manipulative.

I've included a boy and girl Pilgrim, a boy and girl Native American, as well as a turkey slider pattern in the packet. 

I made black line ones so your kiddos can color them, but also included ones in color, so teachers can easily make samples to share. 

There are slider strips for upper & lowercase letters, counting to 30, counting backwards from 10 to 0 and 20 to 0; skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's, plus one for shapes.

The packet also includes a 10 frames spinner game.  These completed projects, make a nice bookmark.

Click on the link to view/download the Thanksgiving Sliders & 10 Frames Game packet.

That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  Winter has hit Michigan earlier this year and everything is blanketed in the sparkly white stuff this morning. 

About 8 inches, so it's time to trudge outside to try and unbury my car.  Wishing you a snuggly, warm-fuzzy kind of day.

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. ~W.T. Purkiser

1-2-3 Come Do Some Fun November Math Activities and Games With Me

This whopping 70-page "print & go" packet has a lot of quick, easy and fun math activities, covering a variety of Common Core standards.

The activities are pretty versatile, so you can differentiate, making the lesson easier or more difficult to fit your needs and grade level. (PK-1st)

For example, here's a sample of all of the options you have for the "Hats Off"  worksheet.

Because students get to play a game using dice or one of the spinners, they really enjoy the math practice.

I think you'll also like the "Show Me the Number" worksheets. 

I have one for numbers 1-10, 1-20, and 1-30. 

Simply run off an entire week or month's worth and pick a different number each day. 

Because you've already explained it once, there's no need for continuous directions and your kiddos can get right down to business. 

Use the packet throughout the month for early finishers, extra help for strugglers, brain breaks, centers, review, table top lessons, assessments, homework, "just for fun" plug-ins, when you have a few spare minutes, or tuck a few in your sub folder. 

If you're required to send something home over your school breaks, pick and choose what's appropriate and put together a Happy Thanksgiving packet.

There are worksheets, as well as dice, spinner and paper-pencil games for the following:

• Counting
• Sequencing
• Ordinal numbers
• Counting to 100 and 120
• 100 chart activities and games
• Skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's
• Sorting odd and even numbers
• "What's Missing?" worksheets
• "I Spy a Number" worksheet-games, for numbers 0-10 and 10-20, with a blank worksheet to program with higher numbers

• Telling digital & analog time to the hour with this cute little "Turkey Time" Itty Bitty booklet.  Great as an assessment tool too.
  
• 10 frame activities
• Fill in the missing ad ends
• Addition worksheets and games
• Subtraction worksheets and games
• Tally marks
• Greater than, less than, and equal to
• +1 more worksheets
• +10 more worksheets
• Dots and Boxes game

As you can see, I did a ton of work, so that you don't have to!  Click on the link to grab your copy of the Common Core Thanksgiving Math Packet, and let the educational fun begin! Would love your feed back, as I'm thinking of making one of these packets for winter.  diane@teachwithme.com or you can leave a comment below. 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  It's time for a much-needed break.  I'll be braving this snowy day (Yes here in Michigan we are already blanketed in white.) My daughter is treating me to a pedicure, so I'm off to go pamper myself.  Wishing you a relaxing day!

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it, is like wrapping a present and not giving it. ~William Arthur Ward

1-2-3 Come Do Some Comparison-Contrast Writing With Me

Venn diagrams are a quick, easy and interesting way to introduce and practice comparison and contrast writing.  I designed Venn Friends, as an especially fun way to do that.  These are also a great way for you and your students to get to know each other better. 

I've made Venn friend packets for almost every month, but hadn't gotten around to do one for November.  Laurie, who's done several other packets with her kiddos, e-mailed me to ask if I was going to make one specifically for November.  Of course, and another thing was added to my "to do" list.

I'm never one to procrastinate, so I got right down to business.  Unlike the other monthly Venn Friends, I have more than one option for November.  Students have 3 choices for their Venn friend topper: a turkey, a Pilgrim boy or girl, or a Native American boy or girl. 

You can have a turkey find a turkey partner, a boy Pilgrim find a girl Pilgrim, or a boy Native American find a boy Pilgrim, mixing and matching however you or your students wish.  

As a way to get to know each other, I've included a list of 40 questions that they can ask their partner. 

From there, they choose what information they want to record on their Venn diagram. 

Each student does their own "different" portion of the circle, and then, once they glue their circles together, they take turns recording the similarities that they have with their Venn friend, in the middle "same" section.  (See completed sample.)

To make it easy for students to match up and glue their circles together, I've included both left and right circles.

I designed the Venn friends, specifically so students could get to know a classmate better, but you could certainly have students pretend to be "real" Pilgrims and Native American children, and then compare and contrast that way as well.

However, I do that sort of thing in the Thanksgiving Children's Packet with other Venn diagrams.

When everyone is done, have students come up with their partner to share their Venn Friend. This will give children some public speaking practice, as well as enable everyone to get to know each other a little better. 

Completed projects, look awesome hanging in rows on a hallway wall.  Click on the link to view/download the November Venn Friends packet.  For more Venn diagram activities, click on the link to pop over to that section of my site.

Thanks for visiting.  It's an overcast rainy November day; perfect for pouring over Pinterest boards, in search of some "pinspiration". 

As if my pile of "make this" projects is not big enough!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE making homemade Christmas gifts though.  Wishing you a snuggly day.

 "Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." ~W.J. Cameron

1-2-3, Come Play A Quick, Easy and Fun Turkey-Math Game, With Me!

As a child, I enjoyed playing the game Battleship. This pencil-paper game, has been played in various forms since the 1930’s. In 1967, Milton Bradley made the first plastic pegboard version, which is my personal favorite.

When Online games became popular, visitors were able to play against the computer, with no need for an opponent. If you're looking for a kid-friendly game site that makes a nice independent computer center, Primary Games does a nice job and has a Battleship option.

Since all sorts of math skills are practiced while playing the Battleship game, I decided to adapt the concept for the classroom, and designed Turkey Battle.

This quick, easy and fun Thanksgiving turkey game, will help students practice strategy, coordinated pairs, skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s, as well as addition and tally marks.  

However, younger children can also play the game, by simply capturing turkeys. They'll be practicing the life skills needed to play games, as well as simple counting, number recognition from 1-5, plus uppercase letter recognition from A-E.

Students choose a Pilgrim opponent. Their mission is to capture all of their rival’s turkeys before they capture all of theirs.

So there's no peeking, use file folders as a privacy screen. (I've included a cover for these, if you want to decorate them.)  Hidden behind the screen, Pilgrims position the turkeys on their “battle board”. There are two different sizes to choose from.

Older students record their hits via tally marks then add up the point values of each hit via skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s. A point poster is provided, that you can hang up to assist in this.

If you want to give the game an extra twist and make it a bit more exciting, students can use the "Kaboom!" bomb cards. This gives kiddos another way to win.  Here’s how: Students get 3 bomb tiles to scatter on their battle board.   If their Pilgrim opponent sets off all three land mines, then they have lost the game.

The turkey battle board consists of 25 boxes on a grid. There are 15 turkey tiles for students to place on their battle board. There are 5 turkey tiles for each of the following point values: 2, 5 and 10 points.

Children decide how to win the game. Set a timer for 5-10 minutes; the Pilgrim who captures the most number of turkeys is the winner or the Pilgrim with the highest point value when the timer rings, is the winner.

To play, students alternate turns and get only one guess to capture a turkey. The first Pilgrim calls out an ordered pair (i.e. A5) and his Pilgrim opponent informs them if they have captured a turkey, and if so, its point value.

Pilgrims mark an X on their recording sheet of where they have guessed and make a tally mark on their paper in the appropriate point value place when a turkey is captured.

So that children know when all of their turkeys have been captured, the captured turkey tile is removed from their battle board.  Have students put the captured turkey tiles back in their Snack Baggie as they play, so they won't lose them.

The game is done, when the timer rings.  I’ve included certificates of praise that you can pass out. (There are ones in color as well as black line.)  I find these mini certificates are a simple, yet effective way, to build self-esteem and good sportsmanship.

Click on the link to view/download the Turkey Battle November Math Game.   Thanks for visiting today.  My daughter Kelli, had baby Kaitlyn Monday night, so I'm off to do some super-fun "tickled pink" shopping.  Wishing you a blessed day.

"We may all have come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now." -Martin Luther King Jr.