Making Sense of Sounds

Junior (Age 9 – 12)

Curriculum Goal

Grade 4: Matter and Energy 

  • Identify sensory organs and devices that make use of the properties of light and sound. 

Junior: STEM Investigation and Communication Skills 

  • Use a scientific research process and associated skills to conduct investigations. 
  • Use a scientific experimentation process and associated skills to conduct investigations. 

Context

  • Children have learned about the connection between vibration and sound and the environment. 
  • Children know that sound is a form of energy that travels in waves. 
  • Children can be asked before the lesson to listen for particularly interesting or intriguing sounds while outside of school to share with the class. 

Learning Goal: Children will Know that our outer ears collect sound waves into the inner ear, which translates sound waves into electric currents which are interpreted by our brain, Understand that both live and recorded sounds make use of vibrations, and be able to describe how a sound makes them feel and identify different qualities of a sound. 

Materials

  • Prepared binaural recordings  
  • Sound journals
    • Extension: binaural microphones, speakers, Zoom H4n recorder. 
  • Physical Space: Students will work individually to complete their sound journal entries.

Lesson

Introduction (10 minutes) 

  • Lead a short discussion with the children.  
    • Based on what they already know about what sound is and how it travels, do they think there is a difference between recorded and real sound?  Lead a short discussion with the children. 
    • Give the children time to share sounds that have intrigued them outside of school time. 

Lesson (30 minutes) 

  • Recall how sound moves in waves, then describe how our pinna (or the outer ear) directs these waves to the eardrum, which translates the energy within the soundwave into electrical pulses that travel along the auditory nerve into the brain. 
  • Those waves come microseconds faster to the left or right ear depending on the direction of the sound, which helps people interpret where a sound is coming from.  
  • So, if you record with microphones in our ears, this reproduces the way our brain experiences sound in three dimensions.
    • Extension: Then, wearing your binaural microphones, stand in the middle of our discussion circle and ask the students to start talking to their neighbour. Record a snippet of this conversation, and then ask the students how they think the recording will sound. Then let some students listen to the recording and describe it to their peers. 
  • Play a series of binaural recordings from natural and urban settings  
    • Each time, ask the children to note the sounds they hear in their sound journals.  
    • Make educated guesses about what kind of environment or place they could be in if they were listening to these sounds.  
    • Finally, ask the students to note how the sound makes them feel. Does any one emotion stand out? Do they feel curious, adventurous, or peaceful? 
    • You can find binaural recordings from nature here and urban binaural recordings here. 

Conclusion (5 minutes) 

  • Ask again about whether the students think there is a difference between experiencing recorded sounds versus real sounds.
  • Did they change their mind? Why or why not?
  • What other questions do they have about sound to explore in future lessons? 

Look Fors

  • You can conduct a formative assessment by taking anecdotal notes on child participation and discussion during the activity. 
  • You can conduct a summative assessment by looking at the child’s completed page in sound journal noting the different sounds in the soundscapes you listened to, and how those sounds made them feel. 

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