5 Little Pumpkins

By Adele Lowen
- If you have a copy of the book 5 Little Pumpkins Sitting On A Gate, read it aloud
to the class; if you don't have a copy of the book to read, write the poem out on
the smartboard or on chart paper and then recite the poem to the class.
Remember to put dynamics, or different tonal qualities, into the expression of
your voice!
Five Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh, my it's getting late!"
The second one said, "There are witches in the air"
The third one said, "But we don't care!"
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run!"
The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"
Then Whoooooosh... went the wind,
And OUT went the lights!
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.
or
Five Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh, my it's getting late!"
The second one said, "There are leaves in the air"
The third one said, "But we don't care!"
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run!"
The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"
Then Whoooooosh... went the wind,
And OUT went the lights!
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

- teach the poem to the students a line at a time, adding expression and dynamics
to appropriate words or phrases.

- teach actions to the poem and then recite while performing the actions
- 5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate - hold 5 fingers up
- Oh, my it's getting late - tap wrist to indicate a watch
- There are witches/leaves in the air - wave hands around in the air
- But we don't care - shrug shoulders and hold hands up in the air
- Let's run and run and run - move arms back and forth and run on the spot
- I'm ready for some fun - throw hands up in the air like a cheer
- Wooooo - cup hands around your mouth
- on the word OUT, pass hands from top to bottom past each other making
a clapping sound when they meet in the middle
- Rolled out of sight - roll hands around each other
- have the students select instrument sounds that they feel match the words
example: - 5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate - tap a tambourine 5 times
- Oh, my it's getting late - tap an ago-go bell for a tick-tock sound
- There are witches/leaves in the air - play a bell chime
- But we don't care - slide whistle
- Let's run and run and run - shake a shaker
- I'm ready for some fun - on the word "fun" strike a triangle
- Woooo - blow across a pop bottle
- OUT - tap together rhythm sticks or claves
- Rolled out of sight - drum roll
- Teach the ostinato: pumpkins, pumpkins, I like pumpkins (this should be
chanted as eighth notes or ti-tis)
- Divide the class in half - one half reciting the poem and the other half
chanting the ostinato
- watch YouTube videos and compare versions discussing which one the students
like best thinking about the melody, the cartooning, the tempo, and the dynamics
(That's the wonderful thing about music, not everyone likes the same style or
genre so we have a variety to choose from!)
*click on links below
Curriculum Concepts:
Expression: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11
Listening: 5, 7, 8
Moving: 4, 7

Singing: 1, 11, 13, 15, 16

Playing Instruments: 1, 3, 6, 7
Creating: 1