Sixth Grade
Worksheets
A Letter from Your Nervous Thanksgiving Turkey
Hey, all you turkeys! Gobble, gobble! I am your future Thanksgiving turkey, and I thought you might like to know a few bits of trivia about me before you sit down for Thanksgiving dinner.
Before you chomp down on your turkey drumstick (I shudder at the thought!), you should know that Ben Franklin felt that I should be the national bird. He thought that the bald eagle was a coward. I'll admit, he did say that I was vain and silly, but he still thought I would be a better choice. I think that coins with turkeys on them would look splendid.
How I came to be called a turkey is uncertain. Some say that it comes from the word "tuka." Christopher Columbus felt that he had discovered India. When he saw the turkey, he believed it was a type of peacock. It is possible that he first called turkeys "tuka," the Indian word for peacock. Another theory is that my name came from the Native American word "firkee," the word used to describe turkeys based on a sound that they believed turkeys made. No matter how we were named, the fact remains that we are a stunning bunch. An adult male turkey has lovely plumage, or feathers, and he does a spectacular dance to attract the ladies. Only the males can gobble. A male turkey is called a tom. The female hens make a lovely gentle clucking or clicking sound.
