Covering Content Using There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey

Thanksgiving is a crazy but fun time in lower elementary school. Teachers strive to make their activities content rich, while students are in dire need of a break. If you school is like mine, we also have progress reports due before the students leave for the holiday! So how to do we as educators cover content while letting our students have fun learning? Let’s dive in so I can show you how I cover content and even grab some assessments all while students have a blast.

First Things First

This week I am using the book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey as my fictional piece of literature. This is an excellent book by Lucille Colladro that has tons of repeating words in it, which help build confidence for my little learners to readers. Another reason I love this book is because it also shows tons of actual Thanksgiving traditions like parades and floats.

Sequencing the Story

After we read the story together, we break the story down to sequence the events. Students love using these picture rich cards for sequencing. They also can follow up with ordering the events with their own printable sequencing sheet. Since this sequencing sheet also using ordinal numbers to 10, you are covering two standards with one activity! We like to using the sequencing cards in whole group, but we can easily complete the sequencing sheet independently.

Reading Comprehension Game

We also love to play this reading comprehension game. It is the ideal way to see which students understand what they are listening to or reading on their own. Your students think they are playing a game and you are instantly assessing tons of reading comprehension skills. I take a class list, then use a check mark or an X by their name to indicate how many questions they get correct.

When I say my students RUN to this game, I am understating their enthusiasm. This activity is never quick nor quiet, but it is a TON of fun. We use a die and unifx cubes for the game pieces. This game is perfect for parent volunteers and can even be used for a take home activity for parents and students to play together.

Integrating Writing

Getting students to write about what they read is an ideal way to integrate multiple subjects and have a blast while doing so! You can see this word wall and multiple writing prompts for this activity. You do not have to use the word wall, but it is a resource you can provide if needed.

Building Word Mats

One of my main educational focuses for this grading period is using letters to make words. Sounding out letters to build words can be fun and differentiated! I took these building word mats and made a quick video showing you how I can make this seemingly simple activity easily leveled to reach all my learners. And so can you!

What About Math?

One of our favorite games to play is called fill the ten frame. Students use this foam die (or the printable one provided) to roll. Next, students graph the image that lands on top onto their record sheet. They keep rolling and graphing until they fill a ten frame. This game is fun, but also so educational. Student can write their numbers in the spots as well. Comparing numbers is huge in this game and your students will never get tired of playing.