Sound and Vibration Teacher Resources

Groups rotate through a series of stations and work with a partner to observe sound waves. Children describe sound in terms of pitch, volume, and frequency. To apply their new knowledge, the class considers how these observations can...

Learners experience vibrations using several of their senses, and design a test that uses their sense of hearing to judge the effectiveness of different solids to transmit sound vibrations.

Make sound waves visible with an experiment that asks middle schoolers to build a model ear drum using plastic bottles, rubber bands, plastic wrap, and sand-like substances.

Make music. Class members construct a simple record player using a paper cone and a pin. The resource provides a description of what is happening and why listeners can hear the sounds through the cone. 

Visualize vibrations within the classroom. Pupils see the connection between sound and waves. The learners use a tuning fork in two different ways to demonstrate the waves associated with sound. Scholars see how the sound waves from a...

Amazingly, still images can produce sound. Watch as a video lesson describes the process scientists use to recover sound from still photography. The lesson includes discussion of sound waves, vibrations, and frequencies.

Listen in as Mia and Sam expound on sound. It is caused by vibrations and travels in waves. It has the qualities of pitch, frequency, and volume. This hip animation displays a graph to depict the frequency and amplitude of sound waves....

Take a field trip to the Children's Museum of Virginia with your elementary scientists. In this video, the museum's curator explains how sound travels. With huge tubes, she shows how the difference in vibrations per second changes pitch....

Fifth graders explore and examine the basic properties of sound. In pairs, they speak through a balloon and listen to the sound vibrations, and listen to a ticking clock or watch through a variety of materials and identify the...

Second graders discuss sound and describe them.  In this investigative lesson students observe sound through their eyes, bodies and ears.

What causes sound? Groups of sound detectives use a variety of tools including ping pong balls, pasta noodles, raisins, rubber mallets, and a tuning fork to investigate what causes sound. The young Sherlocks conduct a series of...

Pupils pose their hypothesis, they ready their instruments, then record their observations. This is the science of sound lesson. They move through 5 stations, each focused on a different element of aspect of sound. Check this lesson out,...

A phenomenal lesson on sound is here for your third graders! In it, learners engage in hands-on activities, watch video, take part in Internet activities, and complete tasks in cooperative groups in order to explore the world of sound...

Students play their own straw kazoos and understand that vibrations are responsible for the sounds we hear. Additionally, they learn that sound vibrations can travel through different mediums. Students experience vibrations through...

Fourth graders explore the concept of echolocation during a unit on whales. They listen to the book and watch the Reading Rainbow video for "Humphrey: The Wayward Whale," explore various websites, and conduct experiments to demonstrate...

Hear about a great resource on sound? An interesting hands-on activity has learners construct a device that will soundproof a phone or speaker. They test out different materials to see which ones best absorb sound waves.

Students examine how the mass of water can affect sound vibrations.

Dangle a spring to experiment with vibration and discover if period is dependent on amplitude. Strum a guitar and adjust the strings to compare displacement and sound. Use a Slinky® and guitar strings on a ring stand to uncover the...

If the delay between a sound and its echo is less than 1/10th of a second, the human ear can’t distinguish it. Through the use of a Slinky, rubber band guitar, and straws, scholars explore where sound comes from and how it travels....

Learners use their teeth for more than just eating. The activity shows class members how to send sound through their teeth by using an electric motor connected to a radio to generate vibrations. Biting on the motor...

What types of materials absorb sound? Learners explore sound waves, the decibel scale, and how different materials affect sound. Then, they use their knowledge of sound meters to complete a STEM engineering design task to build...

Students engage in a lesson which takes something constructed by the class, that would be normally classified as just sound, then work together to make what can be perceived to be music. Students construct a basic stringed instrument...

How does that sound look? Teach the characteristics of sound waves through a video lesson that shows an analysis of different frequencies and amplitude of sound waves. The instructor also represents the characteristics of the sound...