Materials
pictures of people working in restaurants
chefs' hats and aprons
plastic dishes and bins or trays
menus
serving trays
toy food
Instructions
l Hang the US map on the bulletin board.
What To Do
1. Introduce the children to the turtle puppet, calling him Trevor the Traveling
Tortoise. Explain that Trevor lives in the same state as the children, but likes to
travel, because his home is on his back.
2. Using Trevor, show the children the location of their state on the map.
3. Attach a small picture of Trevor to the state.
4. Invite one child forward to put on the puppet, playing Trevor.
5. With the rest of the children in the class, ask, "Trevor, where are you traveling
today?"
6. Invite Trevor to point to a state on the map and say, "I'm traveling to
_________."
7. Give the child playing Trevor a sticker to attach to that state. Invite Trevor and
the other children to chant the state's name while Trevor attaches the sticker.
8. Repeat the activity each morning, allowing a different child to choose a state
to mark on the US map.
Teacher - to - Teacher Tip s
l Make a quick and easy turtle puppet by pasting a turtle picture to card stock
and then attaching it to a tongue depressor.
l Use any puppet in place of a turtle and give the puppet a different name.
Assessment
To assess the children's learning, consider the following:
l Can the children identify their state on the map?
l Can the children say the names of other states, or identify them on the map?
