There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey Activities

One of my favorite Thanksgiving read-alouds is There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey! by Lucille Colandro. This gobbling-goofy tale is stuffed with Thanksgiving vocabulary — from turkey and horn of plenty to a balloon parade! It’s the perfect story to spark laughter while building language skills. In today’s post, I’m sharing my favorite There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey activities that target sequencing, retelling, vocabulary, WH-questions, and more — all designed to make your November speech therapy sessions festive and fun!

*This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.*

I love incorporating this series into speech-language therapy sessions! Since students already know the old lady and her predictable adventures, their background knowledge boosts comprehension and engagement. This book companion (and hundreds of other resources!) can be found inside The Speech is Sweet Club, my membership for speech-language pathologists.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey Retelling Activities

To kick things off, I created two different retelling activities so students get plenty of hands-on practice. One of my favorites is the “feed granny” game — students retell the story as they slip picture cards into a granny figure. I like to pair students up for this: one holds granny while the other practices retelling. It’s an engaging way to keep everyone involved while also hearing a peer model the language.

The rest of the group stays busy too! Instead of waiting around, they work on a story map or a cut-and-glue sequencing page. Having multiple options ensures that every student is practicing at the same time. Therapy time is far too valuable for turn-taking delays, and these activities keep students focused, active, and learning!

Feed Granny Activity

This game includes flashcards (in both color and black-and-white) featuring all the items the Old Lady swallows. They’re perfect for pre-teaching or reviewing the Thanksgiving vocabulary before reading! Students can “feed” these cards to a cut-out of granny — you can attach her head to a mini garbage can, a tissue box, or simply have students take turns holding her during the activity. Kids always have so much fun feeding granny and giggling at how silly the whole idea is!

These cards can also be used to work on describing, sentence formulation, and more!

Story Maps

There are two different types of story maps included to help students strengthen sequencing and comprehension skills! The cut-and-paste version offers a fun, hands-on way to retell the story. Students cut out the scrambled picture pieces, then glue them in the correct order to show what the Old Lady swallowed first, next, and last. This activity is perfect for reinforcing story structure, sequencing vocabulary, and fine motor skills all at once!

The second story map comes in two formats — a black-and-white version for coloring and a full-color version that can be laminated for repeated use! The black-and-white option is perfect for individual practice or take-home review, while the laminated version makes a great small-group center or retelling station.

These story maps provide strong visual cues to help students recall the events in the correct order and retell the story with confidence. They also support comprehension, narrative language, and sequencing vocabulary, making them a versatile tool! I love using story maps throughout the year!

Clip Card Activities for There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey

I cooked up a batch of Thanksgiving-themed clip cards to go along with this book! Students “clip” their answers with a clothespin — an easy way to make practice hands-on and add a dash of seasonal fun.

Comprehension Activities

These clip cards focus on WH-questions from the story! Some cards include two answer choices, while others have three. This makes it easy to differentiate for your students. With varying levels of support, there’s a version for every learner.

Following Multi-Step Directions

Following directions is such a common goal, so I make sure to include it in all of my Old Lady book companions! This story is perfect for practicing temporal concepts like first, then, before, and after. To target this skill, I created 20 different direction cards with a mix of 2-step and 3-step prompts—and I also incorporated some conditional directions for an extra challenge. It’s a fun, interactive way to keep sessions engaging and goal-focused! Each card also includes visual cues.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey Worksheets

I couldn’t leave out the no-prep fun! Just print and go for pages that target why questions, rhyming, retelling, and open-ended practice. The open-ended sheets are some of my favorites because they’re super flexible—you can use them with virtually any goal! They were designed with bingo daubers in mind, but you can just as easily pull out markers, crayons, or even tiny Thanksgiving-themed erasers to cover the spots.

There are so many pages to choose from! You can use this book all month long and simply switch up the activities. Reusing the same story throughout the month not only promotes comprehension and confidence but also saves valuable planning time.

Interactive Notebook Activities

Interactive notebook activities will always be one of my favorites! They’re easy to prep and flexible, too—no notebooks required. Students can complete them on loose-leaf or construction paper while targeting story elements, describing, plurals, and so much more.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey by Lucille Colandro is stuffed with rich Thanksgiving vocabulary like parade, float, and balloon. Your students will love this pocket of vocabulary practice—and the best part is that they can revisit the puzzles and put them together again and again!

These interactive notebook activities cover so many skills including story elements, plurals, comparing/contrasting, vocabulary, and describing!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey Flip Book Companion

You’ll also find a literature flip book in this resource! It’s a versatile tool that targets comparing and contrasting, sequencing, writing, and comprehension all in one.

This engaging activity helps students build key language skills as they revisit the story in a fun, hands-on way. Flip books make learning interactive and memorable—and students absolutely love assembling them! I once had a student who was so excited every time a new flip book was ready; he couldn’t wait to show it off to his teacher! If you’re interested in more flip books, check out this blog post for November Literature Flip Books!

Conclusion

Looking for a way to add some Thanksgiving fun to your speech therapy plans? There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey is bursting with laughter, holiday vocabulary, and countless opportunities to target speech and language goals. If you’re ready to save time and make planning easier, you can find this companion (and hundreds more) inside The Speech is Sweet Club!

Need a copy of this book? Here is a convenient Amazon link for you: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey Picture Book

Where to find the book companion? There are a few options: