Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Engineered Music
Sound engineers investigate the structural design of a musical instrument, the recorder. They work in collaborative groups to choose an instrument to build out of everyday craft materials. It must be able to repeat a three-note sequence...
Curated OER
Seeing and Feeling Sound Vibrations
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...
PBS
Hands-On Engineering Challenges to Bolster Your Electricity, Sound, and Force Units
Need some activities to go along with your unit? A collection of hands-on activities from PBS offers opportunities to add to your electricity, sound, and force units. The electricity activities revolve around building a pinball-type...
Purdue University
Sound Absorption Wall
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...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonics: Letter-Sound Correspondence,
What a fun way to practice medial sound-letter correspondence! This alphabet activity has pupils flip cards, determine the medial sound, and place it on one of the train cars if it matches.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Matching, Sound Train
Make a phonics train filled with matching initial phonemes. Early readers say the name of the objects on each of their cards, identify the initial letter sounds or phonemes, then paste them on a train. They make three trains, which means...
Exploratorium
Groovy Sounds
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.
Curated OER
Sound Extenders
Learn about communication engineers. Students observe a demonstration using a slinky of how to diminish sound with distance. They also learn about Alexander Graham Bell and his invention of the telephone.
Museum of Science
Sound Design
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.
Curated OER
Producing Beats
Turn your classroom into a music studio as groups work together to determine why music sounds different when performed live versus a recording. After listening to some different music, each group picks a poem, creates a recording, and...
Curated OER
Audio Engineers: Sound Weavers
Students explore audio engineering. In this career education and "sound" science lesson, students define related vocabulary and make connections between the music they listen to and the job an audio engineer does after listening to...
Curated OER
Plumbing the Deep-Using Sound Waves to See
Students explore and learn about the concept of echolocation. In this echolocation lesson, students explore how animals and engineers use echolocation (seeing under water) and sound waves to look and hear things under the deep water.
Pre-k Pages
Fire Engine Alphabet Clothespin Activity
Weeoou weeoou! What's that sound? It's the alphabet fire truck! Cover the letters of the alphabet and fire engines with a fun letter-matching game.
Curated OER
Listening Devices
Students design and construct a listening device that will allow them to listen to the sound generated by specific object inside a box.
DiscoverE
First You See It, Then You Hear It
Light and sound go hand in hand. Pupils set up a system that will emit sound when a laser is directed at a photodiode. Various objects, such as a comb and talcum powder, allow for modulation of the laser beam. Individuals also...
American Physiological Society
Sit On It
How do product designers come up with the variety of things we see in stores and on TV every day? They identify a need, then create something that meets that need. Sounds simple, right? A two-week lesson puts seventh graders in that role...
Curated OER
TE Activity: Sound Line
Students investigate the decibel readings of various noises. They determine why high-level readings damage hearing. Students arrange sound from the lowest to highest decibel levels when they written on a piece of paper.
Curated OER
Strum Along
Learners 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...
Smithsonian Institution
What's the Code? Coding Robot Movements Using Sound
Tap into the desire to learn about computer codes. Pupils apply the Tap Code and the Polybius Square to send secret codes using sound. They design a code that tells a robot what movements to make and then test out their code using one of...
Curated OER
Human Cloning, Genetic Engineering and Privacy
Review the aspects of human cloning and the moral issues associated with it. Individually, your learners will keep a list of the articles related to this issue and research issues related to the ethic issues people are concerned with....
Curated OER
Steam Engines
Students investigate the invention of the steam engine. In this technology instructional activity, students investigate the advancement of technology over time. They relate science and technology together.
Curated OER
Sounds Like Music
Students define and examine the connections between sound and music and how engineers design instruments. They listen to examples of musical instruments, view a demonstration of a tuning fork and bottles filled with varying amounts of...
Curated OER
Jet Engine Technology
Students discover the technology of jet engines through an interactive program. They explore the history of the gas-turbine theory and follow tutorials in how to use them. They finally read about the new Air-Breathing engines.
Curated OER
Sounds Like Science - Drums
Students see that understanding how sound is produced makes it possible for us to manipulate it so we can decrease the number of unpleasant sounds we encounter. They make a drum to explore the concepts of force, pitch and volume.