Pre-K Turkey Science Unit: Animal Study

November is here and that means it’s TURKEY TIME! I love bringing fun, seasonal themes into the classroom. It is a surefire way to engage and motivate your students. The fall is full of fun themes, especially for science! What better way to learn about turkeys than by doing a science unit on them? This Pre-K Turkey Science Unit has everything you need!

We start in September by studying Apples, and then in October, we study Bats, Pumpkins, and Spiders. Now that we’ve reached November, this Turkey Science Unit for Pre-K is the perfect addition to your animal studies this fall! 

In this turkey science unit for our littlest learners, everything you need to teach a successful animal study is included – minus the turkey! This unit will give your students hands-on experience learning all about turkeys, including the life cycle of a turkey, the parts of a turkey, and so much more! This Turkey science unit is great for preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, and even your homeschool science unit studies. 

If you’re looking for other November and Thanksgiving activities, make sure to check out our collection of Thanksgiving Crafts for Little Learners and simple activities like our free I am Thankful Turkey project which is the perfect keepsake to have your students make. Another favorite of mine that fits in perfectly with this Pre-K Turkey science unit is our Turkey Name Building activity.  

Plus, you can get all of the fall science units I mentioned above and SO much more as part of our Endless Science {Growing} MEGA Bundle for Pre-K! When the bundle is complete you’ll have more than 40 engaging pre-k science units for your students, meaning you’ll never have to worry and stress about fitting in and planning science again! 

Pre-k Turkey Science Unit

With a week-long lesson plan, you’ll have no problem fitting this turkey science unit into your busy schedule!

In this Turkey science unit for our littlest learners, you’ll have everything you need to teach an engaging, hands-on, science unit study. Students will learn about the turkey life cycle, the parts of a turkey, and so many fun facts about these feathered creatures.

Our science units come packed full of everything you could possibly need to teach a successful unit. Not only does this unit come with turkey projects, turkey crafts, and everything else you need to help your students learn about turkeys, but it also comes with tons of teacher resources, just for you!

Inside you’ll find: 

This Pre-k science unit is jam-packed with resources for teaching and learning all about turkeys. The unit includes:

• Unit Overview covering all that is included in the unit
• Lesson Plans for the week
• At-Home Letter to send to families
• Teacher Guide to give you all of the background knowledge you need
• Science Center Ideas
• Science Questions to help you lead discussions throughout the unit
• Book, Video, and Song Lists 
• Turkey Facts Powerpoint and Posters
• Turkey Nonfiction Emergent Reader
• Question of the Week to pique student interest at the start of the unit
• Parts of a Turkey Posters 
• Parts of a Turkey Worksheets
• Turkey Life Cycle Posters
• Turkey Life Cycle Worksheet/Hat
• Turkey Fingerplay
• Turkey Shape Craft
• Turkey STEM Centers

Plus all of these bonus materials too!

• Writing Center Cards and Papers
• Turkey Facts or Animal Research Craft
• Definition Posters
• Word Wall
• 5 Little Turkeys Emergent Reader
• Turkey Bingo Game
• Turkeys Can, Have, Are Activity
• Circle Maps

Materials Needed: 

We know how valuable your time is, so we always try to base the activities in our science units on what you might already have handy around the classroom or at home. You’ll find more materials listed within the unit depending on which crafts and projects you choose to complete! Some of the materials you will need to prepare for this Thanksgiving Unit Study:

• Copy Paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Coloring Tools
• Construction paper
• Masking Tape
• Playdoh
• Feathers
• Googly Eyes or Eye Stickers

Using the Pre-K Turkey Science Unit: Animal Study

Once you have purchased and downloaded the Pre-K Turkey Science Unit, we recommend printing the posters on cardstock and laminating them so you can use them year after year. There are multiple activities, crafts, and projects included in this pre-k science unit, meaning preparation will vary depending on what you choose to do with your students! First, check out some of the teacher resources that come in this unit.

Turkey Unit Overview

Our unit overview shows you a small glimpse of EVERYTHING that comes in this collection of engaging Thanksgiving science activities with suggestions on when and how to use each resource.

Turkey Science Unit Study Lesson Plans

These week-long lesson plans provide you with an outline of when and how to use all of the materials in this unit. The lesson plans are merely a suggestion to help you get started since we know that everyone fits science into their school day or week differently. Choose what is best for you and your students using the lesson plans and the provided unit overview.

Turkeys Science Unit Home Letter

Parents love knowing what their child is learning about at school and students love to share with their families! Use this provided home letter to print (they come two-to-a-page,) cut, and send home with your students to clue families into the latest happenings in pre-k science.

Teacher Guide for Pre-K Turkey Science Unit

How much do you already know about turkeys? Not too much? Well, that’s okay! That’s why each one of our science units comes with a teacher guide! Our Turkey Teacher Guide is filled with facts and information about turkeys to get you up to speed before you start to teach the unit to your students. Plus, it’s always good to have extra fun facts for those kids that will be begging for more! 

Science Center Ideas and Science Questions

It’s hard to keep your science center materials new and engaging for your students. Use our suggested ideas and questions to make an interactive center that goes along perfectly with these Thanksgiving science activities! Plus, we provide you with curated lists of questions to spark discussion, creativity, and critical thinking in your littlest learners. You can use questions from our Turkey-specific questions list or our general “Science Talk” questions list.

Collections of Turkey Songs, Videos, and Books

In your download, you’ll receive curated lists of songs, videos, and books that can be used with your students throughout the science unit. You can pull from these lists anytime you need to start a new lesson, fill some time, or transition to another activity! Best of all, the lists are clickable and take you right to the link to watch, listen, or purchase the book.

Turkey Facts PowerPoint and Posters

Our Turkey Facts PowerPoint can be displayed on your screen/board. Also included are the Turkey Facts Posters that match the PowerPoint and can be printed, laminated, displayed, and saved for years to come. Students will love learning fun facts about turkeys. And don’t forget, if you need some more background knowledge or have kids that want to know even more about turkeys, make sure to check out the teacher guide in the unit for more information!

Nonfiction Turkey Emergent Reader

After introducing turkeys to your students with the Turkey Facts PowerPoint and Posters, use this “What Can Turkeys Do?” emergent reader to help students identify the most important facts about turkeys. Filled with real-life pictures, this emergent reader can be used in whole-group or small-group settings and is perfect to place in your reading center for students to explore on their own. Kids love taking their turkey emergent readers home to read to their families. 

Parts of a Turkey Posters and Worksheets

Teach students all about the different parts of turkeys with these posters and worksheets. The posters include both real-life and clipart options and come with matching labeling worksheets, plus fun glyphs to have students review the parts of a turkey while also practicing their listening skills!

Life Cycle of a Turkey Posters

These posters are perfect for teaching your young students all about the life cycle of a turkey. With real-life and clipart options you can use the different stage definition cards to have students put the life cycle in order after reviewing the posters that show the entire cycle. Students will especially love getting to make a fun hat to show what they know after learning about the turkey life cycle. Your students will have so much fun making this turkey hat/worksheet activity, they won’t even realize that they’re learning.

Turkey Fingerplay 

Our youngest learners love songs and rhymes! This turkey fingerplay will have your students singing, dancing, and smiling each time you do it! I love to use fingerplays as transitions throughout the day after the kids get the hang of them. 

Question of the Week

With your Pre-K Turkey Science Unit download, you’ll also receive a Question of the Week header. I love to start every unit off with a question that piques the interest and curiosity of my students. The kids also love to go home and ask the same question to their families and report back the next day. The question of the week is a great discussion starter and can also be a good way to tie in graphing!

Turkey Shape Craft

With simple directions and materials, students will love making this turkey shape craft to go along with the turkey science unit! You will love how cute these crafts come out, perfect for a November bulletin board or to send home as a Thanksgiving decoration. You’ll also love that you can squeeze in a quick lesson about 2D shapes while making this craft.

Turkey STEM Centers

After learning about turkeys all week, give students a chance to explore and create on their own with these turkey STEM challenges. Students can make a “turkey trap” with materials like empty boxes, pipe cleaners, and tape. Students can also explore whether or not they think a feather will sink or float. These centers come with detailed instructions, including critical thinking questions to ask your students and recording sheets.

Definition Posters

It is always important for students to gain an understanding of the different vocabulary words that they’ll be hearing throughout the unit when we introduce a new topic, which is why I love these posters! Use these definition posters to teach students the simplified definitions of words related to turkeys that you’ll be referring to during the week. With real-life photos, these posters are one of the first things added to my “print, laminate, and save” pile! 

Word Wall Cards

Display the words that you’ll be using while discussing turkeys in different places around the classroom. These word wall cards can be hung up on the board, put in a pocket chart, or put on a ring to allow students to review and familiarize themselves with them.

Turkey Facts or Animal Research Craft

If you’re interested in a craft that has more steps and takes a little bit more time to make, or you’re looking for a way to tie research into this unit, then this Turkey Facts or Research Craft is for you! Use our provided template and directions to help students create this turkey project. Then, if you have students that need a bit more of a challenge, you can use one of the turkey facts or turkey research options for students to add to their craft. With several different options, this project has a little something for everyone!

Five Little Turkeys Emergent Reader

Students will love counting down from five with this fun emergent reader. You can use this as a whole group activity or in your small groups, and it’s a great way to squeeze some math in as well as reading. It’s also a great little chant/song to use during transition times or downtime throughout the week.

Turkey and Turkey Facts Circle Maps

Circle maps are a type of graphic organizer and can be used with drawings or words. I love to make one as a whole group at the start of the unit and then again at the end to see how much the kids have learned. They are also great for your older students to use as a starting point when collecting facts and information about turkeys.

Turkeys Can, Have, Are Activity 

After learning about turkeys, have students complete this Turkeys Can, Have, Are activity by identifying what turkeys can do, what turkeys have, and what turkeys are. This can be done as a whole group activity, as individual work, or a mix of both. 

Writing Center Cards and Paper

After purchasing the unit, you’ll find writing materials to place in a center throughout the week-long unit or to even use as a whole group activity. You’ll receive horizontal and vertical papers with and without lines, plus writing cards in both lower and uppercase letters, with pictures so that your young students can identify the words. This is a great way to spark creativity and practice vocabulary and I love to see the drawings and stories (verbal or written) that the students come up with! There are so many different ways to use and incorporate these writing materials into your classroom.

Turkey Bingo Game

Need an easy and fun Thanksgiving activity for that short holiday week? Look no further than this Turkey Bingo Game! With a life cycle option and a sillier “turkey jobs” option, use these bingo games to reinforce what students have learned about the turkey life cycle or to have some fun in the classroom! The bingo boards and cards come in color and black & white. I love using bingo as a fun Friday activity, during my holiday parties, or just because! Bingo is also easy to have a parent volunteer come in and run. I love to use counters as the pieces to cover up the pictures on the bingo cards, but lots of people use paper or anything else they have on hand.

Download the Pre-K Turkey Science Unit Now!

If you think this is the perfect science unit for your littlest learners, purchase now and get access to it immediately!  Grab it from one of our stores: 

A Dab of Glue Will Do Store 

A Dab of Glue Will Do Teachers Pay Teachers 

We hope your students enjoy this exciting Pre-K Turkey Science Unit during this Thanksgiving season.