Where do sounds come from?

Where do sounds come from?
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
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# Optional Activity: Head Harp

This simple sound experiment from San Francisco's Exploratorium lets your students experiment with sound—without making a lot of noise. Each student will need a piece of string or yarn that’s at least 3 feet (1 meter) long. Students can work on their own, but we suggest students work in pairs so they can discuss their ideas with one another.

Follow the instructions here. Encourage students to experiment to figure out how to change the sound. (They can make it higher by pulling the string tighter and lower by loosening the string.)

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Anchor Connection In the past lesson, you read a story. One person in the story played guitar. Look closely at this picture. Discuss. Which guitar string is making sound? How can you tell which string is making sound if you can’t hear it?
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This string is making sound. We don’t need to hear it because we can see it vibrating. The other strings are not making sound because they are not vibrating.
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We heard an alligator in the Everglades making a sound. Its neck vibrated when it made the sound. Click play to see this alligator’s neck vibrate.
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This alligator is about to make sound. You can see that the entire alligator vibrates when it makes sound. Watch the water closely—you will see the vibrating alligator make the water vibrate, too! This video is silent and in slow motion.
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Let’s watch again. Watch the water. Watch the alligator’s eyes. There are so many things vibrating.
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The ruler and the alligator and the guitar string all make sound when they vibrate. They are all silent when they stop vibrating. Whenever anything makes a sound, it is vibrating!
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To make the sound, the alligator takes a big, deep breath in. It lifts up when it breathes in. Then it blows the air out. When it blows the air out, it vibrates. That is how it makes a sound. Watch it breathe and then vibrate.
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Look at the "Wonder" column of your class See-Think-Wonder chart. Have any questions been answered? Do you have any new questions? Save this chart. You won’t use it after the next lesson, but you will at the end of the unit.
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# Extensions
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration you just completed.
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# Activity

If you enjoyed Head Harp and want to continue experimenting, here are two more simple sound experiments from San Francisco's Exploratorium.

  • Secret Bells makes sounds only you can hear! You'll need string, scissors, and an unpainted wire clothes hanger.

  • Set your classroom buzzing with Bee Hummer, a simple instrument that sounds like a swarm of bees.

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vibration


1 of 2

a quick movement back and forth
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sound


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vibrations that you can usually hear with your ears
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Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Activity Prep

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In this Read-Along lesson, Lin explores the sounds made by different kinds of instruments, and discovers what happens when vibrations start—and when they stop. The lesson includes a short exercise where students experiment with a piece of paper to make the connection between vibrations and sound. You can extend the lesson with the optional activity, Head Harp, where students make simple musical instruments using only their heads and string.

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Number of students:

I have a Mystery Pack

String
Yarn also works.
Details
3 feet per student
Prep Instructions

We recommend a simple sound experiment from San Francisco's Exploratorium that lets your students experiment with sound—without making a lot of noise. Follow the instructions here. Encourage students to experiment to figure out how to change the sound. They can make it higher by pulling the string tighter and lower by loosening the string. Each student will need a piece of string or yarn that’s at least 3 feet (1 meter) long. Students can work on their own, but we suggest students work in pairs so they can discuss their ideas with one another.

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