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

/gr/ initial
/g/ medial

Themes:

Thanksgiving
family
kindness
animals (turkey)

Book Details:
Diverse Characters: Yes
Age Recommendation: Elementary, Late Elementary

Gracias The Thanksgiving Turkey

By Joy Cowley

When Papa sends a turkey to be fattened up for Thanksgiving, Miguel takes a liking to the friendly bird. Soon, Miguel and Gracias are going everywhere together. But Gracias isn’t a pet-he’s supposed to be a meal! With a little help from Abuelito, Abuelita, and Tia Rosa, will Miguel be able to keep Gracias off the Thanksgiving table? This heartwarming tale will inspire readers to give thanks for family, community, and friendship.

This heartwarming Thanksgiving book can be used in speech therapy to address problem-solving and story plot. It is also great for predicting and for targeting sequencing! Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using Gracias The Thanksgiving Turkey in speech therapy below:

Key Teaching Concepts

Narrative Structure:

complex episode

Narrative Concepts:

vocabulary
problem-solving
sequencing
inferencing
social-emotional concepts
predicting

Sequencing:

order of the townspeople that helped Miguel

Vocabulary:

squawking, confetti, and Spanish words (Abuela, hijo, la misa, loco, tia)

Social/Emotional:

Discuss family members who may not be able to celebrate holidays at home.
Discuss Miguel’s feelings towards the turkey and why he didn’t want to eat it.
Discuss humor of Miguel’s family and how humor impacts our lives.

Grammar:

verbs (linguistic)

Inferencing:

How did they feel about the turkey?
Why do you think he wanted to call the turkey gracias?
Why do you think the folks in the neighborhood helped collect essentials?
What do you think people thought when they saw him walking the turkey?
Why do you think he worried about the talk of the ovens?
Why does the family think the turkey is a problem?
How does Miguel feel running after the turkey?
Why did he not like Mr. Chatterjee’s offer?
What do you think about Officer Deveraux’s personality?
What does she mean by ”next time she’s gravy”?
Why was Miguel embarrassed?
Why did they decide to eat chicken instead?
How does Miguel feel about giving the turkey to the zoo?

Predicting:

What do you think Miguel’s dad does for a living?
What do you think will happen to the turkey?
Where do you think the turkey is?
Do you think they will put Gracias back outside? Why or why not?
What do you think will happen to Gracias?

Problem Solving:

When Miguel’s dad sends Miguel a turkey to plump up for the holiday, Miguel tries to keep the turkey safe but runs into some obstacles.

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.