To support our November focus on the Zones of Regulation, our 2nd and 3rd graders read the story The Turkey With the Terrible Temper. This fun, colorful story introduces students to emotional awareness by following Tom Turkey, who loses his temper throughout the week, turning a different color each time.
Each color he turns represents a different emotional “zone,” giving students a memorable and engaging way to understand big feelings and how our reactions affect others.
Throughout the week in the story, Tom experiences a variety of strong feelings:
Red – Anger and rage
Blue – Sadness and low energy
Purple – Frustration and intensity
Green – Envy and jealousy
Yellow – Anxiety or embarrassment
Each time Tom loses control, he turns a new color and then hides, sulks, or blames someone else. This helped students identify what different feelings look like, feel like, and how they might show up in our bodies.
We discussed how emotions are normal, but how we express them matters.
Using Tom Turkey’s color changes, students connected each moment in the story to a Zone of Regulation:
Intense feelings: anger, rage, explosive reactions
Tom lashes out, yells, and turns bright red.
Low energy: sadness, tiredness, disappointment
Tom sulks and feels discouraged after losing his temper.
Heightened emotions: frustration, stress, jealousy, silliness
Tom turns purple with frustration, green with envy, and yellow when overwhelmed.
Calm, ready-to-learn, controlled
When Tom reflects, thinks, and tries again, he moves back toward calm.
Students learned that all feelings are okay, but we need strategies to help us move back to the Green Zone.
Students explored questions that helped them connect Tom’s feelings to their own experiences:
What zone was Tom in during each part of the story?
Have you ever felt like Tom? What color would YOU be?
What tools could Tom have used to calm down?
What tools help YOU calm your body and mind?
These questions supported emotional self-awareness and built empathy for others.
We also reviewed tools students can use when they start to feel like Tom Turkey:
Deep breaths, counting, taking space, talking to an adult
Movement break, positive self-talk, stretching, asking for help
Water break, talking to a friend, taking a short walk, asking for a job to do
Staying focused, participating, being a role model, helping others
Students identified tools that work for them personally — just like Tom Turkey began learning to do.
What We Learned
By the end of the lesson, students understood:
Feelings come and go, just like Tom's colors
We can recognize when we are moving into a new zone
We are responsible for how we react
Using tools can help us return to the Green Zone
With practice, we can manage even BIG emotions
Like Tom Turkey, students discovered that self-control grows stronger when we slow down, think, and practice our calming tools.
Ask your child:
“Which zone would Tom Turkey be in right now? What zone are YOU in?”
or
“What tool helps you when you start feeling like Tom?”
This helps students carry their Zones of Regulation strategies into daily life.