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Pine Cone Turkeys


Subjects

  • Arts & Humanities
    --Visual Arts
  • Social Studies
    --Holidays

Grade

  • Pre K
  • K-2
  • 3-5
  • 6-8

Brief Description

Decorate your classroom or students dinner tables with pine cone turkeys.

Objectives

Students

  • follow instructions to create a pinecone turkey.
  • think creatively as they make feathers for, and add special touches to, their turkeys.

Keywords

turkey, pinecone, pine cone

Materials Needed

  • pinecones, one per student
  • acorns or pom-poms made from brown yarn (instructions provided)
  • construction paper or felt in the colors of fall (brown, red, orange, yellow)
  • scissors
  • glue
  • clay (optional)
  • plastic "wiggly eyes" -- sold in many craft stores (optional)
  • pipe cleaners (optional)

Lesson Plan

These turkeys can be used to create a fun classroom display. They make a nice Thanksgiving display piece for students to take home too.

Provide each student with a pine cone. The pine cone will serve as the body of the turkey.

Picture This!

Click here for an image of a pinecone turkey made with some slight variations, including real feathers.

Glue the turkey head to the pinecone body. Students can make the head from Use paper, felt, or googly eyes to form the turkeys eyes and its wattle (the pouchlike area that hangs at the front of its throat). Glue those to the acorn or pom-pom.

You might use a variety of approaches to form the turkeys feathers:

  • Cut feathers from paper of fall colors (red, brown, orange, yellow) and stick the paper in between "slats" at the rear of the pinecone body. Glue the colored feathers into place.
  • Use colored felt instead of colored paper.
  • Use pipe cleaners in fall colors to form the turkeys feathers. Stuff clay into the spaces between some of the pinecone slats. Bend the pipe cleaner so that it forms an upside-down "U." Bring the two ends of the U together and "bury" them in the clay. The rounded side of the U becomes the top of the turkeys feather.

    If your students turkeys will not stand up straight, use clay to form a stand on which to prop each turkey.

    Assessment

    Did students follow instructions for making their pinecone turkeys? Did they show creativity as they created their turkeys feathers and other finishing touches?

    Lesson Plan Source

    EducationWorld.com

    Submitted By

    Gary Hopkins

    National Standards

    FINE ARTS: Visual Arts
    GRADES K - 4
    NA-VA.K-4.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
    NA-VA.K-4.2 Using Knowledge of Structures and Functions
    NA-VA.K-4.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
    GRADES 5 - 8
    NA-VA.5-8.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
    NA-VA.5-8.2 Using Knowledge of Structures and Functions
    NA-VA.5-8.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines

    See more Lesson Plans of the Day in our Lesson Plan of the Day Archive. (There you can search for lessons by subject too.)

    For additional Thanksgiving lesson and craft ideas, be sure to see our special Holidays Archive.

    For additional lessons in the arts, see these Education World resources:

  • Lesson Planning: The Arts
  • The Arts Subject Center
  • Teacher-Submitted Lesson Plans: The Arts

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    Copyright© 2006 Education World

    11/09/2006