Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
What is sound?
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/sound/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/sound/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Sound is made by vibrations.
- Sound travels through air to our ears.
- Without air (in space), sound cannot travel.
- Very loud sounds can harm our ears.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Everyone hums with fingers on their throat. What do you feel? |
| 10 min | Read the story together. |
| 15 min | Jumping rice in small groups. |
| 10 min | Play Loud or quiet? together, or do the quiz. |
| 5 min | Talk: how do we look after our ears? |
Materials for the experiment
- A bowl
- Cling film (plastic wrap)
- A few grains of uncooked rice
- A metal pan and a wooden spoon
Safety: Bang gently near faces and ears. Don't eat the rice afterwards.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| Sound is a thing that flies through the air. | It is the air itself shaking and passing the shake along. |
| Space is full of sound. | Space is almost empty, so sound cannot travel through it. |
| Loud sounds are always fun. | Very loud sounds can damage hearing; protect your ears. |
Worksheet answers
- Any loud thing (drum, thunder, siren) and any quiet thing (whisper, leaf, purring cat).
- No.
- The sound made the air shake, and the shaking air made the cling film and the rice jump.
Quiz answers
- Every sound starts with something that… shakes. Sound is a vibration: something shaking very fast.[1]
- What part of your ear shakes when you hear a sound? The eardrum. The moving air makes the eardrum vibrate.[1]
- Can you hear sounds in space? No, there is no air to carry them. Space is almost empty, so sound cannot travel.[5]
- What should you do when a sound is too loud? Cover your ears or move away. Very loud sounds can hurt your ears.[3]
- How far away was the volcano Krakatoa heard? About 4,800 km. People heard it on an island about 4,800 km away.[4]
Going further
Make a shoebox guitar with rubber bands of different thickness. Which band makes the highest sound?
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] College Physics 2e, 17.1 Sound (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [3] College Physics 2e AP, 17.3 Sound Intensity and Sound Level (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [4] The Sound So Loud That It Circled the Earth Four Times (Nautilus (science magazine)): reliability Medium-high
- [5] Data Sonifications (NASA Science): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/sound/sources/
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