The story of Yertle the Turtle was a favorite of the children. Yertle is the king of the pond, but he wants more. He demands that other turtles stack themselves up so he can sit on top of them to survey the land.

Mack, the turtle at the bottom, is exhausted. He asks Yertle for a rest; Yertle ignores him and demands more turtles for a better view.

Eventually, Yertle notices the moon and is furious that anything dare be higher than himself, and is about ready to call for more turtles when Mack burps.

This sudden movement topples the whole stack, sends Yertle flying into the mud, and frees the rest of the turtles from their stacking duty. The students loved the story and requested that we read it over and over again. For this activity, we recreated Sal-ma-Sond, the pond in which Yertle lived. Using green water, plastic plants, and turtles we recreated the story with sensory materials!