Search form

 

 

 


Turkey Hunt Math

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

Subjects

  • Mathematics
    --Applied Math
    --Arithmetic
  • Social Studies
    --Holidays

Grade

  • Pre K
  • K-2
  • 3-5

Brief Description

Stage a turkey hunt that reinforces number sequence and other math skills.

Objectives

Students

  • use math concepts they have learned to arrange turkeys in order from smallest to largest.

Keywords

turkey, Thanksgiving

Materials Needed

  • papers with printed turkeys on them, one per student (see source and instructions below)

Lesson Plan

This activity includes variations so it can be used across the grades.

Before the Lesson

Print out enough copies of a turkey image such as this one or this one so there is one turkey per student. You might copy the turkeys on colored printer paper. Trim around the turkey shape, or trim to a simple rectangular shape.

On the back of each turkey, write a different number from 1 to 20.

Variations Across the Grades
If you teach students who have mastered basic number sequence, instead of writing the simple numbers 1 to 20 on the back of each turkey you might
--- write basic math facts that students are learning;
--- draw pictures of combinations of coins for students to tally;
--- write fractions and mixed fractions;
--- write math computation problems that reinforce grade-appropriate skills; or
--- paste math word problems cut from an old math book/workbook
and have students arrange those turkeys from smallest to largest.

When students are out of the room, hide the turkeys.

The Activity
When students return to the classroom, let them know their classroom has turned into a turkey roost. Tell them there are turkeys hidden all over the classroom and it is their job to find them all. Instruct students to hunt for the turkeys and to sit down as soon as they find one. When all the students have found a turkey, have them look at the numbers written on the backs of their turkeys. Have students arrange themselves in the order of those numbers. You might give a special reward to the student who found the turkey with the highest number value.

More Turkey Games

  • Replay the game, except this time let students find a turkey and put it in their desks. Once a student has "captured" a turkey, s/he is free to try to capture more of them. Which student captured the most turkeys?
  • Select a student to be the turkey hunter. That person puts his/her head down on the desk while another student hides a paper turkey (or a stuffed turkey toy, if you have one). Once hidden, the turkey hunter must wander the classroom to search for the turkey. Classmates gobble quietly as the student wanders the room, but the gobbling gets louder as the student gets "hotter," or closer, to the actual location of the turkey.

    Assessment

    Provide students with a quiz that reinforces the skill taught in the activity. You might use Education Worlds turkey work sheet template to create the quiz; just click on each turkey shape and type a math problem into it. Then print out the work sheet for students to use.

    Lesson Plan Source

    EducationWorld.com

    Submitted By

    Gary Hopkins

    National Standards

    MATHEMATICS: Number and Operations
    GRADES Pre-K - 2
    NM-NUM.PK-2.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
    NM-NUM.PK-2.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates
    GRADES 3 - 5
    NM-NUM.3-5.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
    NM-NUM.3-5.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates

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

    See more Thanksgiving lesson and teaching ideas in our Thanksgiving Holiday Archive.

    For additional math lesson plans, see these Education World resources:

  • Lesson Planning: Math
  • Math Subject Center
  • Teacher-Submitted Lesson Plans: Math
  • Calculator Lessons from Texas Instruments
  • Math Cross Puzzles
  • It All Adds Up Puzzles
  • Work Sheets from Teacher Created Materials: Math

    Education World®
    Copyright© 2006 Education World

    11/12/2006