Teacher information

Designed for early to mid elementary students

15-20 minutes of instruction
Includes independent and collaborative group work


Objective: Students will be able to define, illustrate, and
build upon their understanding of the vocabulary terms
vibrations, sound waves and frequency.

Resources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtiSCBXbHAg
A computer with loud speakers
Projector (optional)
Student mini-booklet foldable, What is Sound?
Blank 8.5in x 11in paper
Markers
Scissors

Part 1: Think-Aloud
See end of presentation for larger figure
The instructor:
Distributes the paper to
become mini booklet
What is Sound? to the
students
Asks students to fold and
cut along the labeled lines
to construct a mini
booklet
Each student now has
their own mini booklet to
read from and follow
along


Part 1: Think-Aloud
Once students have their mini booklets ready, the teacher
reads the text aloud, modeling how good readers read in
order to glean meaning from new vocabulary words and
unfamiliar content.

Before beginning reading, the teacher prompts students that
he/she will use information to make meaning of unfamiliar
vocabulary using inferences, making connections to prior
knowledge, and questioning.




Think-Aloud Script
Teacher reading: sound is a type of energy made by vibrations. When any object vibrates, it causes movement in the air particles.
Teacher oral thinking: Ok, so sound is energy. I know that energy is something that helps things move because thats what food does. I eat
food, and I have energy to go about my day. So sound energy must come from somewhere too.
Teacher reading: These particles bump into the particles close to them, which makes them vibrate too. This movement, called sound waves,
keeps going until they run out of energy.
Teacher oral thinking: Wow! Sound moves like a wave! Like at the beach! So instead of water at the beach, these things called particles are
moving and hitting each other. I guess that all those particles make the vibrations.
Teacher reading: Picture a stone thrown into a still body of water. The rings of the waves expand indefinitely. The same is true with sound.
Teacher oral thinking: Thats a really clear picture. I can see in my mind the ripples on the surface of the water after I throw something into it.
I imagine that sound waves move just like that but I wonder why I cant see them?
Teacher reading: When the vibrations are fast, you hear a high note. When the vibrations are slow, you hear a low note.
Teacher oral thinking: Well, that tells me why mice have a high squeak, and a lion has a deep roar. The mice must make faster vibrations and
the lion must make slow vibrations. I wonder what can make a vibration? Can anything make a vibration?
Here is a sample think aloud script for this mini lesson.
Approximately 3 minutes are dedicated to the teacher think-aloud.
Part 2: Pair, Talk, Reflect

As part of the think-aloud, students have an opportunity to
mimic the behaviors of the instructor. Students read the
same mini booklet with a partner while practicing pausing
while reading to make connections to their prior knowledge,
ask questions, and explain their mental processes.
Engaging in this full process helps students see all that goes
in to deep thinking and comprehension.
When the teacher models, the students see a concrete
example of how they should use thinking strategies.
Approximately 3 minutes are given to student practice
Part 3: Provocation

Cymatics, Sound Waves and Vibrations

This part of the lesson integrates technology
Play the youtube video to the class and stop the video at 1:09
(the sound gets very high pitched and will most likely
irritate young ears)

Approximately 1 minute
Part 4: Synthesis and Group
Work
Students break into groups of 2-3 and grab a blank white piece of
paper. Students divide the paper into three sections labeled: I see, I
think, I wonder. In each section, students write and draw their
responses to the video and use the underlined words from their
booklets.
In the I see column, students write and draw what concrete things
they saw.
In the I think column, students write and draw possible
explanations to how the video works.
In the I wonder section, students list all of their possible questions
on the videos content. These questions can range from how the
sound moved to how to find a career performing similar
experiments. Guide students to generate HOW and WHY
questions to deepen their thinking.
Approximately 6-10 minutes
Possible organization
Formative Assessment and
discussion
The instructor:
Displays all of the student generated I see, I think, I wonder
charts in front of the class.
Allows a minute for students to examine other groups work
Distributes post it notes to each student
Asks students to write what they believe is sound using the
underlined words from the mini booklet, video, prior
knowledge, partner discussions, and I see, I think, I wonder
charts
Approximately 2-3 minutes
Parent Involvement
Ask students to go home and read the mini booklet What is
Sound? to their parents
Families can discuss the content and underlined words
At home, students can make or draw a poster, flow chart or
concept map of how each of the underlined words from the
mini booklet connect to one another
Enrichment
Project: Design an experiment that demonstrates the
definitions of the words in the mini booklet What is Sound?
Perform the experiment for the class or make a video
recording of it.
Project: Write a fictional story about energy, sound waves,
and vibrations. Use creativity and imagination to personify
each term and highlight what each term means and how
each term is related to each other and real life.
Report: Write a nonfiction text that informs the reader what
is sound and how to make different sounds.
Related Resources
Sound engineers: Have you thought about careers that are based on
sound waves and vibrations? These videos provide a career
connection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbO86wXKLmg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeSywCq8BEc
Sound: There are so many experiments to do to demonstrate sound
and vibrations. This link has a list of different ones to try.
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/phy03.sci.phys.howmove.l
p_sound/sound-vibrations/
The inner ear: Do actual sound waves get into our brain and tell us
what we hear? How do we know what we hear? These videos help
deepen our understanding of the inner ear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N8yhnDuOnY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMXoHKwWmU8



Mini booklet What is Sound?