Maggie’s
Activity Pack
Name __________________________
Date ___________________________
Tons of Turkey Trivia
Why do Americans call the main dish on Thanksgiving a turkey? Isn’t Turkey a
country? Did turkeys come from Turkey? These questions and more will be answered
as you find the subjects, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in these sentences.
A Case of Mistaken Identity
Circle the subject in these sentences.
1. Over 400 years ago, the English ate a bird that was like the turkey.
2. The bird was from Africa.
3. It was shipped to England through the country of Turkey.
4. The English thought the bird was from Turkey.
5. Then Spaniards brought back birds from America.
6. The English thought these were the same birds they called a turkey.
Is This the National Bird?
Circle the main verb (or lexical verb) in these sentences.
7. In the early days of the United States, people wanted a national bird.
8. Benjamin Franklin preferred the turkey instead of the bald eagle.
9. He wrote the turkey had courage.
10. He thought it a bird of good character.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2014. www.missmaggie.org Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
I Spy a Turkey
Circle the adjectives in these sentences.
11. Turkeys are large, fat birds.
12. They have long legs, small heads, and skinny necks.
13. The feathers can be black or brown.
14. Male turkeys have a red throat.
15. They have a red wattle stretching from the throat to the neck.
16. Female turkeys have white feathers on their heads.
17. They have a drab appearance.
18. This helps them hide in brown underbrush.
Turkey Behavior
Circle the adverbs in these sentences.
19. Turkeys see effortlessly in the daytime.
20. They constantly hunt for food.
21. Male turkeys noisily move through the forest.
22. They gobble and joyfully strut as they look for food.
23. Female turkeys quietly cluck as they search for berries and acorns.
24. Wild turkeys sleep soundly in low tree branches.
25. They cannot see easily in the dark.
26. As the sun slowly rises, turkeys fly to the ground.
27. They begin their day again, endlessly looking for food.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2014. www.missmaggie.org Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Dear Colleague,
Our online game, “Clean Up Your Grammar” is such a popular offering at
www.missmaggie.org that we thought we’d give you a ‘tasty” Thanksgiving treat and
share a way to review parts of speech while learning more about that classic American
turkey. Before sharing this activity with your children, you may want to ask them what
they would like to know about this bird. Perhaps some will wonder about the origin of its
name. Delving into this mistaken identity could make a wonderful extension for children
who are sleuths. It could also be a good assignment to give anyone who is traveling and
needs vacation work to do.
As we were writing this, we came across a question regarding the use of female
as an adjective. While we read quite a bit about the political correctness of this, we
decided that we are referring to animals in this activity and as such, the words male and
female are adjectives.
Perhaps you could use this activity on the SMART Board and have children write
the correct part of speech on an all-response board and hold it up or whisper with a
partner prior to asking one child to share the answer. This activity also makes a good
center activity in the form we are providing. Alternately, you could highlight the answers
(subject, verb, adjective, or adverb) on your copy of the activity. Then laminate the
pages, cut apart the sentences, and place them in a box. Have children sort the
sentences according to the four designations. This shows their ability to name the part
of speech of each word you circled. As you can see there are many ways to use our
activities. Your choice!
Happy teaching,
Dr. Kathy
Answer Key:
1. English
2. bird
3. It
4. English
5. Spaniards
6. English
7. wanted
8. preferred
9. wrote
10. thought
11. large, fat
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
long, small, skinny
black, brown
Male, red
red
Female, white
drab
brown
effortlessly
constantly
noisily
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
joyfully
quietly
soundly
easily
slowly
endlessly
Goals:
Students read many sentences about turkeys explaining the origin of its name, its history,
appearance, and behavior. They find specific parts of speech in each sentence and circle the
designated word(s). Ideas for alternate uses of the activity, including using it on SMART Board
and at a center are explained in the Dear Colleague letter. The activity is available on the
emergent, primary, and intermediate levels and correlates with the IRA/NCTE Standard,
“Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and
punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss
print and nonprint texts.” It is also aligned with the Common Core English Language Arts
Standard: Language, “Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar
and usage when writing or speaking.”
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2014. www.missmaggie.org Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.