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I’m sharing ten turkey songs and fingerplays in this tutorial video with movement, actions, games and how to teach them.
These songs and fingerplays are just perfect for 3-8 year olds. The are sung to familiar tunes like “Twinkle Little Star” so that you can learn them easily.
Sing these songs in your circle time, literacy circles, morning meetings and play groups and in music class.
The activities are adaptable across these ages. 3-8
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(Sung to the of Tune of “Twinkle Little Star”)
Turkey, turkey what do you see?
I see some beautiful feathers on me.
Turkey, turkey what can you do?
I’ll wiggle my feathers and gobble for you.
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble.
This is a fun circle game you can play with or without scarves.
The children make a circle.
Choose several children to be the turkeys in the middle of the circle. If you have a large group, you may want to divide them into 2-4 groups. Give the turkeys a scarf to use as their feathers.
The children on the outside call: Turkey, turkey what do you see?
The turkeys reply: I see some beautiful feathers on me.
Children: Turkey, turkey what can you do?
Turkeys: Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble. I can gobble for you.
Play some fun barnyard music for the turkeys. When the music stops, the turkeys freeze.
After the turkeys finish their “gobbling”. They take their scarf and pass it to someone in the outside circle.
Some music suggestions are:
Aaron Copland – Appalachian Spring
Vivaldi – The Four Seasons (Autumn)
Sing Play Create Movement Background Tracks
“FIVE FAT TURKEYS” EASY LISTENING
“I’M JUST A TURKEY” SLOW TEMPO
“THE TURKEY POKEY” BLUES MED TEMPO
“TURKEY SENORITA” LATIN MED TEMPO
“TURKEY IN THE STRAW” FAST TEMPO
“TURKEY STEW” FAST TEMPO
“WHERE’S THE TURKEY?” MED TEMPO
November Movement Activities Bundle:
Five fat turkeys are we.
We slept all night in a tree.
When the cook came around,
we couldn’t be found.
So that’s why we’re here, you see!
Fingerplay or Action song.
Hold up hand with five fingers wiggling.
Clasp hands and pretend to be sleeping.
Look for the cook with hands above eyes.
Shrug as you say “so that’s why we’re here…”
Fluffy feathered turkey struts ‘round the yard.
He complains that his life is hard.
All he does is gobble that he wants to get away.
Fluffy feathered turkey hates Thanksgiving Day.
Fluffy feathered turkey flew to Hong Kong.
All the way he sang this song.
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, I got away!
Now fluffy feathered turkey loves Thanksgiving Day!
Line 1: strut like a turkey.
Line 2: pretend to complain.
Line 3 : gobble
Line 4: frowny face
Verse 2
Line 1: fly
Line 2-3: pretend to sing like a turkey, gobbling loudly.
Line 4: celebrate
(Sung to the Tune of “Lou, Lou, Skip to My Lou”)
Run away turkey run, run, run!
Run from the farmer, run from everyone.
Run away turkey run, run, run!
2 Skip through the wheat fields skip, skip, skip. . .
Skip from the farmer, skip, skip, skip!
3 Fly to the tree! Fly, fly, fly!
Fly from the farmer, fly, fly, fly!
4 Hop across the barnyard, hop, hop, hop!
Hop from the farmer, hop, hop, hop!
5 (use hands to hid behind)
Hide behind the hay, hide, hide, hide.
Hide from the farmer, hide, hide, hide!
Do the actions for each verse in the song.
(Sung to “Where is Thumbkin?”)
(Fingerplay)
Where’s the turkey?
Where’s the turkey?
Here I am!
Here I am!
Gobble, gobble, gobble.
Gobble, gobble, gobble.
Run away!
Run away!
Line 1: hands behind back
Line 2: bring each hand around with fingers spread like a turkey
Line 3: scrunch hands open and shut
Line 4: Each hand goes back
GET THE COMPLETE LITERACY RESOURCE
(Fingerplay)
Five little turkeys by the barn door.
One waddled off and then there were four.
Four little turkeys by the barn door.
One waddled off and then there were three.
Three little turkeys by the barn door.
One waddled off and then there were two.
Two little turkeys by the barn door.
One waddled off and then there was one.
One little turkey-better run away!
Soon will come Thanksgiving Day!
Use your hand and fingers to show the number of turkeys.
Hold up hand with five fingers wiggling.
As each turkey waddles away show the number of turkeys
with fingers.
(Sung to the tune of “Did You Ever See a Lassie?”)
Did you ever see a turkey, A turkey, a turkey,
Did you ever see a turkey run this way and that?
Run this way and that way and that way and this way.
Did you ever see a turkey on Thanksgiving Day!
This song is a fun directional movement song.
Once the children know the song, then they can play the game.
Choose a leader. The leader stands in front of the group.
The leader will move on the words this way and that way. They will only move four times.
They can move forwards, backwards, sideways.
Practice the movements before choosing a child to lead the game.
(Sung to “I’m A Little Teapot”)
I’m a little turkey,
My name is Ted.
Here are my feathers.
Here is my head.
Gobble, gobble, gobble,
It’s Thanksgiving Day!
Time for me to run away!
After learning the song, play the game.
Choose one child to be the farmer.
Everyone else is in the middle of the circle pretending to be turkeys. The children sing the song.
As they sing “time for me to run away” have them run to designated places in the room where they can hide.
The farmer then tries to find the turkeys. After three are found, begin the game again. The three turkeys must stay in the barn. Designate a spot for the barn. Then, choose a different farmer from any of the rest of the children. Play continues until everyone has been found and is in the barn!
At the end of the game there will be one farmer left. The farmer can chase all of the turkeys out of the barn and back to their spots.
(Sung to “If you’re Happy & You Know It”)
Mr. Turkey gobble, gobble, gobble, gobbles.
Mr. Turkey gobble, gobble, gobble, gobbles.
Mr. Turkey gobble-gobbles
And his head goes wobble-wobble!
Mr. Turkey gobble, gobble, gobble, gobbles.
Children can move like turkey’s as they sing, wave scarves or follow the leader around the circle.
Sung to The Farmer in the Dell
The turkey on the farm,
The turkey on the farm,
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble,
The turkey on the farm.
Play this fun turkey game. It’s like Duck, Duck Goose.
Have the children stand in a circle.
One child is the turkey. The turkey struts around the outside of the circle pretending to be a turkey as the rest of the children sing the song. When they sing the last line “The turkey on the farm,” the turkey taps the shoulder of the child in front of them. That child chases the turkey around the circle. If the turkey gets tapped during the chase, then they go to the barnyard which is the center of the circle. They get to pretend to be a turkey for the rest of the game. Then the new turkey starts the game again.
If the turkey is not tapped during the chase, then they can choose to get one more turn as the turkey or to go ahead and go to the barnyard.
The chaser becomes the next turkey.
You can set up some rules about how you want to do the chase.
You can have the children skip, walk or even strut like a turkey and not be able to run if you want to slow the pace down a bit.
Turkey songs and poems can be a wonderful way to help children through the month of November continue to work on singing, moving, coordination, literacy skills.
I hope you found some valuable activities in this post.
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Hi there! I’m Sandra, one of the authors behind Sing Play Create. My goal is to provide teachers with interactive resources and activities to improve the effectiveness of their teaching and enhance student learning.
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