4 Turkey Songs
Join Donna as she shares four of her favourite turkey songs for elementary music classrooms, vocal studios and homeschools.
Watch the videos, starring some REAL turkeys and hear Donna sing and explain the game/activity instructions.
View sample pdf pages of the music and written instructions for all 4 songs.
Have Fun!
Five Fine Turkeys (a.k.a. Five Fat Turkeys)
This has been a favourite in my elementary music classroom for over 30 years! The active switching of places is always very energetic! Non-contact/non-moving adaptations are provided in the printed PDF.
This is the video where the turkeys decided to play their own run and chase game, totally upstaging my game song explanation. What fun to sing turkey songs with real turkeys!
What the Turkey Said (I Heard Mr. Turkey Say)
This is a simple finger play and it is lots of fun to sing (or say).
I tried using some long grass to entice the turkeys in this video to sing along (but they were not very cooperative). You will have more success with children adding “gobble, gobble” in all the right spots!
Driver! Driver!
Put on your seat belt for this one! The original game involves turkeys switching places and lots of dramatic hand waving from the drivers. Non-contact/stationary adaptations are still fun as you sing or chant this song.
In this video the turkeys were quite entertained by my singing and one of them even answered me (listen at the end of the video).
I'm a Little Turkey (Melody: I'm a Little Teapot)
This is a great finger play song/story for younger students. Create a turkey using your hands (instructions are in the PDF). Sing or chant and wiggle your turkey’s head until it runs away and hides!
The turkeys in this video were not at all interested in joining in the fun. No one “stepped up to the plate” to say “Gobble, gobble” for me. (Maybe saying “step up to the plate” is an unfortunate expression to use with a turkey!)
Composer, Elementary Music Specialist, Performer
Donna Rhodenizer
Donna enjoys sharing her favourite turkey songs with her students. Each song serves a specific purpose in the music classroom: a sing along song, a simple finger play, an action song, and a game that is always a great end-of class activity. Donna grew up on a family farm, but her farming background did not include any experience with turkeys. Her visit to a turkey farm was very informative and they had a few tricks to play on her! She is glad that her students are not inclined to wander off when she is explaining a game and she is happy that her students are MUCH better at participating in the turkey songs that are used in her music classroom.
Join the Newsletter and get the next post.
