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speech and language teaching concepts for A Turkey for Thanksgiving in speech therapy
Frequent Speech Sounds:

/t/ initial
/er/ medial and final
/k/ medial
/th/ initial
/m/ initial
/st/ medial
/s/ final
Themes:

Thanksgiving
animals
kindness
Book Details:
Diverse Characters: N/A
Age Recommendation: Elementary, Late Elementary
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A Turkey for Thanksgiving

By Eve Bunting

Mr. and Mrs. Moose invite all their animal friends for Thanksgiving dinner and the only one missing is Turkey. When they set out to find him, Turkey is quaking with fear because he doesn’t realize that his hosts want him at their table, not on it.

This kind Thanksgiving book can be used in speech therapy to address twist endings! It is also great for noticing character expressions and for sequencing, predicting and for targeting figurative language! Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using A Turkey for Thanksgiving in speech therapy below:

Key Teaching Concepts

Narrative Structure:

complete episode
Narrative Concepts:

vocabulary ​
sequencing​
theme/message  ​
inferencing​
problem solving   ​
predicting​
figurative language ​
prepositional phrases
verbs (regular past tense)
verbs (linguistic)
Sequencing:

order of animals that help find Turkey and bring him back to Moose’s house
Vocabulary:

share, pilgrims, nuzzled, mist, wander, bare, perch, bellow, quills, peer, blundered, lumbered, sheen, hoof, insist, promise, stammered, acorns, alfalfa sprouts, willow

Figurative Language:

similes (black as a puff of smoke)
imagery (Moose’s warm breath hung white in front of him, snow crunched, the earth smelled of ice and moss as they crunched along, etc.)
Grammar:

verbs (regular past tense)
verbs (linguistic)
prepositional phrases
Text Features:

italics
dialogue
ellipses
Inferencing:

What do you think is going to happen to Turkey when Mr. Moose finds him?
Why do you think the Mooses invited all the other animals to dinner?
Why does Turkey try to run away?
Why did Moose call for Turkey in a sweet voice?
How did Turkey feel when Moose called for him?
What do you think Turkey is thinking when he sees them?
How does Turkey feel when he is caught?
What is Turkey thinking as they walk to Moose’s house?
How does Turkey feel when he is in the house? (facial expression)
What clues tell you the Mooses do not want to eat him?
Why did Turkey “stammer” when a chair was brought out for him?
How did he feel after talking to Mrs. Moose?
So how to you feel about the book title now?
Predicting:

Where do you think Mr. Moose will go to find a turkey?
What do you think the Goats will ask Mr. Moose?
Where do you think they will go next?
Do you think the Goats will come with them?
What do you think Sheep will do?
Do you think Porcupine will go with them? Why or why not?
What do you think they will do with Turkey when they get home?
Problem Solving:

Mrs. Moose really wants a turkey for Thanksgiving so Mr. Moose and friends set out out to help find one.

If you are interested in seeing other Thanksgiving books to use in therapy, then check out the Seasonal Teaching Points Book List for a printable copy.