Amy M. Burns

Elementary Music Technology and Integration

Amy M. Burns has taught PreK-grade 4 general music for over 25 years at Far Hills Country Day School (FH) (https://www.fhcds.org/). She also teaches grade 5 instrumental class, directs the FH Modern Band, is the Performing Arts Department Manager, and teaches privately in the after-school conservatory, having served as director for over 20 years. She has authored four books and numerous articles on integrating technology into the elementary music classroom. She has presented many sessions on the topic, including four keynote addresses in TX, IN, St. Maarten, and AU. She is the recipient of the 2005 Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) Teacher of the Year, the 2016 New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) Master Music Teacher, the 2016 Governor’s Leader in Arts Education, the 2017 NJ Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year, and the 2026 NJMEA Distinguished Service Awards. Her most recent publication, Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches (2020), is available from Oxford University Press (OUP) and Amazon. Burns is also the Community Coordinator for Midnight Music (MMC) at https://midnightmusic.com/, the General Music Chair for NJMEA Board of Directors, and the Elementary Music Consultant for MusicFirst (https://www.musicfirst.com/), a company built by music educators for music educators, dedicated to helping music teachers and their students make the most of technology in the classroom.

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#techtiptuesday Using Canva's Magic (AI) Tools for Five Little Pumpkins - Song/Embellished Story/Play-Along

October 14, 2025  /  Amy M. Burns

In the past, I researched Canva's AI tools and had it rewrite the song, Five Little Pumpkins, and turn it into a whimsical tale. It was amusing, to say the least. I had fun using Canva to illustrate and record that tale. Most of this video was produced in Canva, with the recording of the song done in Soundtrap, and the final edits to put the three videos together in Final Cut Pro.

0:00-1:00 Song (I recorded myself singing it very lightly in the background)

0:52-4:37 Whimsical Tale of Five Little Pumpkins

4:37-end - Steady Beat or Boomwhacker Play-Along Uses in the classroom:

This could be used in the following ways:

  • Video for a sub when you are out this month

  • Sing-along - Steady beat play-along

  • Boomwhacker play-along

  • Ask your students to create a story like this one about the 5 little pumpkins as a writing assignment

  • Reinforce reading in your classroom by having them read the video before singing the video

  • With the new template in Canva, you can edit the slides to your or your students' liking. You can rewrite the story, or change the Boomwhacker steady beat, or use it to practice before using the YouTube video found on the last slide.

  • I hope you and your students enjoy this one.

Want the Canva Template?

Use this link or go to the Extras Page to record your own voice or edit the story so that you and your students can create a new story for Five Little Pumpkins!

Need the PDF version of the Slides? They are included in the Extras Page as well!

Don't Have Canva?

Get a free educator's version of Canva by clicking here and using your school email!

Comment
categories / #elmusedtech, Boomwhackers, Elementary, Kindergarten, Play-Along Videos, Preschool, YouTube
tags / #elmused, #elementarymusicteacher, #edtech, #kindergarten, #playalong, #preschool, #elementarymusicteacherlife, #elementary, #elmused tech

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