Review the song.

The clapping pattern used throughout the song is: clap own hands, clap partner’s right hand, clap own hands, clap partner’s left hand, etc. On the words shown below, you substitute other actions for the clapping pattern. When teaching clapping games, it’s a good idea to try the game with the entire class being your "partner in the air" until they know all the movements. Then allow them to choose partners and play the game with their partners.

1. A Sailor went to Dis, Dis, Dis (three finger circles on either side of your head)
2. A Sailor went to knee, knee, knee (chop knee three times)
3. A Sailor went to land, land, land (pat floor three times)
4. A Sailor went to Disneyland (one finger circle, chop knee, pat floor)

Brainstorm 3-syllable words together as a class.
Invite students to choose one of the brainstormed words—or a different 3-syllable word—and come up with new actions to match it.
Have students share their ideas, and try out different versions of the song using the new words and actions.

Teach the Folk Dance "Seven Jumps". This is a fun add-on dance from Denmark.

Teacher Tips: Your students may have troubles staying in a circle formation. It is ok to try the dance in scattered, open space.

Fun Extension: If you have access to tubano drums, spread them out in your classroom. In the A section of the dance, keep the clap and stamp movements, but on the "wiggle", students play the nearest drum 3 times.

Watch the demo of the dance. Look at movement suggestions above for what works best in your teaching situation.

Review the game song “Shake Them ‘Simmons”

Students pick a partner and then form a foursome.

Verse 1: Clap in time, or all four join hands, and walk to the right in a circle.
Verse 2: Put right hand in center (forming a star with other students) and walk around to the left.
Verse 3: Put left hand in center (forming a star) and walk around to the right.
Verse 4: Partners take hands and swing each other.
Verse 5: Promenade to a big circle with all partner groups. Continue singing this verse until all pairs are in the big circle.

You can create and add additional verses, such as “circle right” and “circle left” before verse 4.

Have students play the notes C–D–F on the words "Shake that tree" using Boomwhackers and/or barred instruments.

Students on drums play the rhythm of the words "do oh do".

For "Shake them 'simmons down", have all students join in—those on melodic instruments play the notes, and those on drums play the rhythm of the words.

Setup Options:

Organize the class into stations so students can rotate and try each instrument.

Or divide the class into two groups and have them swap roles after practicing.

In the last lesson, students listened to the music and pointed to the dynamic level (piano or forte) they thought matched what they heard.

For this lesson:

Ask students to find a partner. Together, they choose a “statue” pose for "piano" and a different pose for "forte". Play the music while staying on the pointing page. As the music plays, point to the dynamic changes to help guide students in choosing the correct statue pose.

Discuss the answers to the questions below as a class.

Begin and lead a discussion on what food people like to eat at Thanksgiving dinner. For example: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and pie!
Ask: What type of pie is the most popular at Thanksgiving? (Pumpkin)
Say: Today we are going to learn and sing a song about Pumpkin Pie.

As you listen, please clap your hands to the beat when you hear singing voices, and pat your knees when you hear speaking voices. Play the full performance recording and students participate. Teacher evaluates students’ abilities to perform a steady beat throughout with claps and pats.

Students sit in a circle. For more student engagement, use additional (3-5) "pumpkins" or "beanbags" to pass around the circle.

Pass pumpkin (or beanbag) around the circle:
Nine little, eight little, seven little pumpkins
Six little, five little, four little pumpkins
Three little, two little, one little pumpkin
Make a pumpkin pie! (student holding pumpkin stands up)

Student(s) holding the pumpkin skips around the circle:
Make a pumpkin pie!
Make a pumpkin pie!
All it takes is one little
Pumpkin to make a pumpkin pie.

All students skip in a circle:
Ginger, Flour, cinnamon,
Sugar, eggs and salt.
Cloves, nutmeg, shortening
Will bring a nice result!

Depending on the reading abilities of your students, teach the song by rote or have the students read the solfa and the rhythms.

Have the students brainstorm a list of foods that they like to eat at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Choose 4-8 of the foods to be a word chain that the students would chant or play on instruments as an interlude between repetitions of the song.

Have the students make a circle. Choose one student to be the turkey. The turkey struts around the outside of the circle while the other students sing the song. At the end of the song, the turkey tags a student who chases and tries to tag the turkey before the turkey reaches the inside of the circle. Both the “turkey” and the “chaser” sit in the middle of the circle until all of the students have had a turn.

This is a song about what we’re thankful for. Teach the song by rote.

If you have labelled the fermata review it's function in the piece. If not, ask the students to find the fermata in the song, and have them tell
you what they should do on that note. (hold or pause)

Extension: Ask the students to suggest things that they are thankful for. Incorporate some of these into the song. Give the students the opportunity to sing their suggestion alone.