Sound Unit Plan

Alyssa Rumsey 1/28/09 2nd grade Science

Considering the Content of Learners:

I plan on teaching the sound unit of Science Companion . The unit builds on the natural curiosity that students have about sounds that they encounter on a day to day basis. The unit encourages them to investigate sounds in the world they hear. Students use their knowledge of where specific sounds come from, how they are produced and vary to design and build musical instruments. There are four clusters to the unit. The first cluster consists of lessons one and two and focuses on vibration. In the vibration cluster students act as “sound detectives” to investigate sounds around them. They experiment with their lips, voices, rulers, rubber bands, metal pans, spoons, plastic bottles, and other materials as they learn that sounds are produced by vibrations. The next cluster consists of lessons three, four, five and six. This unit is about how sounds travel. Students tests and compare sound transmission through various materials. They also explore how sound travels. The third cluster is about changing sounds. This unit consists of lessons seven and eight. Students learn that changing the rate of vibration changes the pitch of a sound, and the changing size of vibration changes the volume of the sound. The fourth cluster consists lessons nine, ten, eleven and twelve where students make their own instruments. Students use what they learned to produce instruments. As they produce their instruments they focus on problem solving, invention and technological design. I expect my students to have some experience with sound and instruments. I expect them to know that sounds are produced from sources around us and beable to describe sounds using descriptive words. I expect my students to know that sounds travel through air and other materials through their life experience. The students know that observation is important in learning science and that they are expected to use detailed and accurate descriptions to help them communicate their observations. I expect my students to learn that sounds are made by vibrations, sounds travel through some materials better than others, sound travels by causing vibrations in the air or in other materials, the shape and parts o the earl allow sounds to travel through it so we can hear, changing vibrations change sounds, and apply what they learn about sound and vibration to design and build a musical instrument that can change pitch and volume. This unit will be two to three weeks long. The unit will be in March. Students begin the school year with the life cycle unit, then move on to the rock and mineral unit. The sound unit will follow the rock and mineral unit. The school year ends with returning to the life cycle unit where they will observe plants and animals they observed in the fall to record growth and development. Articulating Objectives:

Students will develop an understanding that scientific inquiry and reasoning involves observing, questioning, investigating, recording, and developing solutions to problems as they investigate the sounds around them and experiment with their lips, voices, rubber bands, metal pans, spoons, plastic bottles, and other common materials to learn that sounds are all produced by vibrations. (S.IP) Students will inquire and generate questions, conduct investigations and develop solutions to problems through reasoning and observations as they act as “sound detectives” and investigate sounds around them. (S.IP.E.1) Students will make purposeful observation of the natural world using the appropriate senses as they act as “sound detectives” and investigate sounds around them. (S.IP.02.11) Students will generate questions through observation as they investigate sounds around them. (S.IP.02.12) Students will plan and conduct simple investigations as they act as “sound detectives.” (S.IP.02.13) Students will manipulative simple tools such as rulers, rubber bands, metal pans, spoons, and plastic bottles as they act as “sound detectives” (S.IP.02.14) Students will use what they inquires about to design and make an instrument using an analysis of findings and investigations. (S.IA.E.1) Students will demonstrate scientific concepts through models of the ear that show how it’s design help humans hear (S.RS.02.11) Students will use evidence when communicating scientific ideas as they investigate sound (S.RS.02.15) Students will identify technology used in everyday life as they explore instruments that demonstrate sound vibration and pitch. (S.RS.02.16) Assessment At the end of the sound unit students will apply what they learned about sound and vibration to design and build musical instruments that can change pitch and volume. Students will design, build and refine their musical instruments before sharing it with their peers and parents. I will assess student’s musical instruments on whether they can explain what vibrates to produce the sound, demonstrate how to change volume, demonstrate how to

change pitch, explain how to change volume and explain how to change pitch.

Assessment Criteria for Musical Instrument (Check-off) Student Name

Student can explain what vibrates to produce sound.

Student can demonstrate how to change volume.

Student can demonstrate how to change pitch.

Student can explain how to change volume.

Student can explain how to change pitch.

Assessment Criteria for Musical Instrument (Check-off)

Student Name

Student can demonstrate how to change volume. X

Student can demonstrate how to change pitch.

Student can explain how to change volume.

Adam

Student can explain what vibrates to produce sound. X

Student can explain how to change pitch.

X

X

X

Charlotte

X

X

X

X

X

Kennedy

X

X

X

X

X

George

X

X

X

X

X

Layla

X

X

X

X

X

Hayden

X

X

X

X

X

Kayla

X

X

X

X

X

Ryan

X

X

X

X

X

Gabi

X

X

X

X

X

Nina

X

X

X

X

X

Chloe

X

X

X

X

X

Owen

X

X

X

X

X

Jacob

X

X

X

X

X

Te’von

X

X

X

X

X

Grace

X

X

X

X

X

Paul

X

X

X

X

X

Atalaya

X

X

X

X

X

Alex

X

X

X

X

X

Jack

X

X

X

X

X

Zack

X

X

X

X

X

Mon, Feb 9 Tue, Feb 10

Lesson 1: (30-40 minutes) Searching for Sound Objective: Heighten awareness of and attention to sounds, recognize how sounds originate from a source, and develop detailed and accurate descriptions of sound. Overview: Children focus on listening carefully and making detailed descriptions of sound as they become “sound detectives” who search for, identify, and describe their surroundings. Materials: Heavy book to drop, chart paper to make list of sound related terms, pencil to tap to produce sound demo., science notebook pg 2 and 3.

Wed, Feb 11

Thu, Feb 12 Lincoln's Birthday

Lesson 2: (30-40 minutes) What makes sound? Objective: Understand that vibration is a regular back and forth motion, identify that sounds are produced by vibrations. Overview: During a science talk, children explore their ideas about how sound is produced. They learn what a vibration is, and that all sound areproduced by vibrations. They generate a variety of sounds by making different materials vibrate. Materials: Center 1: roasting pan and spoon Center 2: 5 rubber bands (assorted sizes) Center 3: plastic bottles (one per student with names on them) Center 4: 2 rulers Other materials: chart paper to make a sound is vibration chart, 1 meter/yard sticks for sensory observations, class set

of class safety goggles, sound science notebook pg 4

Fri, Feb 13

Mon, Feb 16 President's Day

Tue, Feb 17

***Professional Development Day

Lesson 3: (30-40 minutes) Sounds travels through many things Objective: Recognize that sound travels through air and other materials. Deduce, as a result of experimentation that sound travels through some materials better than others. Overview: Children establish that sound travels through air. They experiment with sound traveling through many different materials. They conduct tests to discover that sound travels through some substances better than others. Materials: For Pencil experiment- foam pad, plastic lid, roasting pan, slide whistle, chart paper to record results, pencils, pillow, desk, science notebook page 5 and 6

Wed, Feb 18

Thu, Feb 19

***Field Trip: Hands on Museum: Will focus on sound centers and information during field trip.

Fri, Feb 20 ***Mid-winter

break begins

Mon, Feb 23

No School

Tue, Feb 24

No School

Wed, Feb 25

No school

Thu, Feb 26

No school

Fri, Feb 27

Mon, March 2 Tue, March 3

No school

***School

Resumes

Lesson 4: (30-40 minutes) How sound travels. Objective: Learn that sound vibrations can cause vibrations in other materials, recognize that sound travels by way of vibrations in the air or in other materials. Overview: Children do an activity that demonstrates how the vibration of a sound source can cause vibrations of other materials. They use this activity as the basic explanation and discussion of how sound travels. Materials: 22 medium paper cups, 11 pepper packets, plastic wrap, rubber bands, pencils to tap on cups, sound science notebook pg 7,

Wed, March 4 Thu, March 5

Lesson 5: (30-40 minutes) Sound through a string. Objective: Discover that sound vibrations can be transmitted through a cup-and-string telephone, find ways to affect the transmission of sound vibrations. Overview: Children continue to explore sound vibrations and sound transmissions as they send secret messages to one

another using cup-and-string telephones. While experimenting with their telephones, the children find several ways to affect the transmission of their messages. Materials: cotton string (cut into 5 meter lengths), 22 medium paper cups, 22 paper clips to secure string to cups, science notebook pg 8 and 9

Fri, March 6

***Kids Fair

Mon, March 9 Tue, March 10

Lesson 6: (30-40 minutes) Ears Hear Objective: Learn about the main parts of the ear, recognize how sound travels into and through the ear, understand that the inner ear translates sound vibrations into signals that get sent to the brain. Overview: Children enact how sound travels through the three main parts of the ear to better understand how ears hear. Student volunteers act out various parts of the ear. Materials: rubber bands to attach labels for ear parts to children’s arms, string to represent auditory nerve and tiny hairs in the cochlea prop, chair for the “stir up” to balance against during the enactment, plastic bottle, overhead of “ear

bones”, overhead of “ear diagram”, science notebook page 10, teacher masters “ear labels.”

Wed, March 11 Thu, March 12 ***Videotape lesson and write extended lesson plan

Lesson 7: (30-40 minutes) Objective: Discover that sound vibrations can be transmitted through a cup-and-string telephone, find ways to affect the transmission of sound vibrations. Overview: Part 1: Children listen to and compare sounds that have different pitches and describe them as high, middle, or low. Children explore various pitch stations. Part 2: Children explore ways of changing pitch using a variety of sound-producing materials. They identify which parts vibrate to make a sound, and reflect on the relationship between vibration and pitch.

Fri, March 13

Materials: plastic bowls and chopsticks for drums, PVC tubes of different lengths to experiment with pitch, rope, rubber bands of assorted sizes, rulers, slide whistle, trash bags, chart paper, chimes, glass jars, meter stick, plastic tub, science notebook pages 11-14, ***continue lesson 7 if not enough time Thursday.

Mon, March 16 Tue, March 17

Lesson 8: (30-40 minutes) Exploring Volume Objective: Investigate ways to change volume by hitting, blowing, or strumming materials harder or softer, investigate ways to amplify sounds by adding a sound box of sound tube, distinguish between pitch and volume and use appropriate descriptors for each, consider the relationship between volume and the size of vibrations. Overview: Children experiment with changing the volume of sounds by tapping, blowing, or strumming a variety of materials harder or softer, and amplifying sounds with a “sound box” and “sound tube” They identify materials that vibrate to make a sound, and consider the relationships between vibration and volume. Materials: chopsticks to tap to make sound, rubber bands (large size) to pluck to make sound, cardboard boxes to make sound boxes, paper to make sound tubes., sound science notebook page 15

Wed, March 18 Thu, March 19

Lesson 9: (30-40 minutes) Designing Musical Instruments Objective: Explain how a homemade instrument will vibrate to produce sound, and describe how to change the pitch and volume of an instrument. Overview: Children apply their knowledge of sound and vibration by using a variety of common materials to design percussion, wind, or stringed instruments. They plan and draw pictures of their designs, and then explain how their instruments will work. The instruments need to be able to change pitch and volume. Materials: Various recycled materials from scrap box and

home to make instruments (beans, tape, string, chopsticks, cups, bowls, popcorn kernels, dowels, electrical tape, nylon, trash bags, popciclesticks, masking tape, tins, aluminum, boxes, etc. Science notebook pages 16-20

Fri, March 20

Mon, March 23

***Field Trip to Natural Science Museum ***Multi-Cultural Day

Tue, March 24 ***Videotape lesson and write expanded lesson plan

Lesson 10: (30-40 minutes) Building a musical instrument Objective: Experiment with different materials to determine how to build a stringed, percussion, or wind instrument that can change pitch and volume. Overview: Children experiment with using various materials to build the musical instrument they designed in the previous lesson. They redesign their instruments, if necessary, and discuss any problems they have implementing their designs. Materials: bags or boxes t o store supplies for instruments in progress, labels, science notebook pages 17-19 and 21-24

Wed, March 25 Thu, March 26

Lesson 11: (30-40 minutes) Refining musical instruments Objective: Evaluate whether a building buddy’s selfdesigned musical instrument meets the project criteria, refine

or redesign musical instruments as needed, be able to explain the parts of their instrument that vibrates to produce sound and how the instrument changes pitch and volume, and become adept at changing the pitch and volume of a self-designed instrument. Overview: Children work with a “building buddy” to evaluate, refine and, if necessary, redesign their musical instruments. Materials: cotton string (cut into 5 meter lengths), 22 medium paper cups, 22 paper clips to secure string to cups, science notebook pg 8 and 9

Fri, March 27

Mon, March 30

Tue, March 31

Wed, April 1

***Field Trip to University of Michigan’s Natural Science Museum.

Students wrote invitations to families inviting them to their “Sounds of Music” performance.

Thu, April 2

Fri, April 3

Mon, April 6

Tue, April 7

Wed, April 8 ***Video tape lesson and write extended lesson plan

Lesson 12: (60 minutes) Sharing Instruments with peers and parents Objective: Describe the sources of vibrations that produce the sound in a self-designed instrument, show and explain how to change the pitch and volume of a self-designed instrument.

Overview: Children demonstrate the musical instruments they designed and built. They explain what parts of their instruments are vibrating to produce sound and then demonstrate and explain how to change the pitch and volume. The children also reflect on the design and building process, describing the problems they encountered and evaluating how well their instruments meet the initial design criteria. ***Students will do this twice during the day, once in the morning for a Kindergarten class and once in the afternoon for families and a celebration. Materials: Student’s musical instruments. PARENTS INVITED!

Thu, April 9

Fri, April 10