Sing Together: “A Pig Lives in a Pen”

Speaking and Listening: SL.PK.MA.1a Observe and use appropriate ways of interacting in a group (e.g., taking turns in talking, listening to peers, waiting to speak until another person is finished talking, asking questions and waiting for an answer, gaining the floor in appropriate ways).

Head Start Outcomes:

Social Emotional Development/Self-Regulation Follows simple rules, routines, and directions.
Language Development/Receptive Language Attends to language during conversations, songs, stories, or other learning experiences.

PreK Learning Guidelines:

English Language Arts/Language 1 Observe and use appropriate ways of interacting in a group (taking turns in talking; listening to peers; waiting until someone is finished; asking questions and waiting for an answer; gaining the floor in appropriate ways).
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 12 Listen to, recite, sing, and dramatize a variety of age-appropriate literature.

Sing Together: “A Pig Lives in a Pen”

ELA Focus Skills: Genre (Fantasy), Listening and Speaking, Phonological Awareness (Rhythm and Repetition), Vocabulary

Remind children that The Three Little Pigs is a folktale. Reinforce that a folktale is a make-believe story. Ask, Do pigs talk? Do they live in houses? Point to the picture of pigs in their environment and ask children if they know where real pigs live. Explain that they live on farms. Then use gestures to clarify as you say, Pigs live in a fenced area called a pen. It is an enclosed space where an animal can wander around but not get lost.

Tell children they are going to learn a song about different places that animals live. Demonstrate for children.

Sing the first verse of “A Pig Lives in a Pen.”
Then repeat it and invite children to sing along with you.
Prompt children with the additional verses by saying, Next we will sing about a bird. Where does a bird live? Help children learn the names of animal habitats, such as nest, hive, shell, and cave.
Encourage children to add their own verses to the song.

A Pig Lives in a Pen
(sung to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”)
A pig lives in a pen,
A pig lives in a pen,
It’s home for this animal,
A pig lives in a pen.

Additional Verses
A bird lives in a nest, …
A bee lives in a hive, …
A snail lives in a shell, …
A fish lives in the water, …
An ant lives in the ground, …
A bear lives in a cave, …

English Language Learners: Hold up pictures of the animals as you name the animals and their home in the song. Have children repeat them after you.

Sing Together: “A Pig Lives in a Pen”

Vocabulary

Standards

Sing Together: “A Pig Lives in a Pen”