ALEX Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 1 :

1 ) Conduct experiments to provide evidence that vibrations of matter can create sound (e.g., striking a tuning fork, plucking a guitar string) and sound can make matter vibrate (e.g., holding a piece of paper near a sound system speaker, touching your throat while speaking).

The students will create a communication device using everyday resources. The students will explain how vibration is used to create sound and sound waves.

This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 1 :

1 ) Conduct experiments to provide evidence that vibrations of matter can create sound (e.g., striking a tuning fork, plucking a guitar string) and sound can make matter vibrate (e.g., holding a piece of paper near a sound system speaker, touching your throat while speaking).

This is an inquiry-based lesson that allows students to investigate how vibrations of matter can create sound and that sound can make matter vibrate. 

This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 1 :

1 ) Conduct experiments to provide evidence that vibrations of matter can create sound (e.g., striking a tuning fork, plucking a guitar string) and sound can make matter vibrate (e.g., holding a piece of paper near a sound system speaker, touching your throat while speaking).

[ARTS] MUS (1) 1 :

1) Create musical ideas for a specific purpose.

Example: Improvise four-beat patterns in question and answer form.

Students will explore sounds using rulers to simulate a barred instrument. Students will experiment with the vibration of sounds by pulling up on the rulers to make them vibrate and create sounds. They will change the ruler's length to create different pitches. Finally, students will work with a partner to create a melody on their barred instrument.

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 1 :

1 ) Conduct experiments to provide evidence that vibrations of matter can create sound (e.g., striking a tuning fork, plucking a guitar string) and sound can make matter vibrate (e.g., holding a piece of paper near a sound system speaker, touching your throat while speaking).

[ARTS] MUS (1) 1 :

1) Create musical ideas for a specific purpose.

Example: Improvise four-beat patterns in question and answer form.

Students will explore sounds using plastic cups and rubber bands to simulate a stringed instrument. Students will experiment with the vibration of sounds by plucking the bands and listening to the sounds. They will change the string’s tension and gauge to create different pitches. Finally, students will work with a partner to create a melody on their stringed instrument.

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 1 :

1 ) Conduct experiments to provide evidence that vibrations of matter can create sound (e.g., striking a tuning fork, plucking a guitar string) and sound can make matter vibrate (e.g., holding a piece of paper near a sound system speaker, touching your throat while speaking).

[SC2015] (4) 6 :

6 ) Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength, and including that waves can cause objects to move.

[ARTS] MUS (4) 8 :

8) Demonstrate understanding of the formal structure and the rudimentary elements of music in music selected for performance.

Example: Perform music in the jazz style and identify syncopated rhythms.

Students will discuss vibrations, frequency, amplitude, and wavelength. They will observe instruments, hypothesize how sound waves are created, and experiment with creating sound.  

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 1 :

1 ) Conduct experiments to provide evidence that vibrations of matter can create sound (e.g., striking a tuning fork, plucking a guitar string) and sound can make matter vibrate (e.g., holding a piece of paper near a sound system speaker, touching your throat while speaking).

[ARTS] MUS (1) 8 :

8) Demonstrate knowledge of music concepts in music from a variety of cultures selected for performance.

Example: Respond with purposeful movement to reflect the melodic contour of a piece of music.

Students will experiment to identify how vibrations cause sound.  A student worksheet is provided. 

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 1 :

1 ) Conduct experiments to provide evidence that vibrations of matter can create sound (e.g., striking a tuning fork, plucking a guitar string) and sound can make matter vibrate (e.g., holding a piece of paper near a sound system speaker, touching your throat while speaking).

This lesson is designed to help students understand that vibrations are responsible for the sounds we hear. Additionally, they learn that sound vibrations can travel through different mediums. Students experience vibrations using several of their senses: They feel the vibrations in their throat as they hum music, and on their lips as they play their straw kazoos. They see that when a ruler is struck, it vibrates, producing a sound. Drums are also used to show vibrations, as students watch grains of rice bouncing on the surface of the drum after it has been hit, and a laser pointer creates a laser show in the classroom when reflected off a vibrating mirror. Finally, students design a test that uses their sense of hearing to judge the effectiveness of different solids to transmit sound vibrations.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 1 :

1 ) Conduct experiments to provide evidence that vibrations of matter can create sound (e.g., striking a tuning fork, plucking a guitar string) and sound can make matter vibrate (e.g., holding a piece of paper near a sound system speaker, touching your throat while speaking).

[SC2015] (4) 2 :

2 ) Plan and carry out investigations that explain transference of energy from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

a. Provide evidence that heat can be produced in many ways (e.g., rubbing hands together, burning leaves) and can move from one object to another by conduction.

b. Demonstrate that different objects can absorb, reflect, and/or conduct energy.

c. Demonstrate that electric circuits require a complete loop through which an electric current can pass.

[SC2015] (4) 6 :

6 ) Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength, and including that waves can cause objects to move.

[SC2015] PS8 (8) 18 :

18 ) Use models to demonstrate how light and sound waves differ in how they are absorbed, reflected, and transmitted through different types of media.

Sound is energy that travels as a result of vibration. It can be characterized by frequency, loudness, and pitch, and it is measured in decibels.

The classroom resource provides a video that will explain sound energy, how it moves, and how it is measured. This resource can provide background information for students before they create their own models and conduct their own experiments. There is also a short test that can be used to assess students' understanding.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 1 :

1 ) Conduct experiments to provide evidence that vibrations of matter can create sound (e.g., striking a tuning fork, plucking a guitar string) and sound can make matter vibrate (e.g., holding a piece of paper near a sound system speaker, touching your throat while speaking).

[ELA2021] (1) 21 :

21. Identify the main topic and key details of literary and informational texts.

[ELA2021] (1) 22 :

22. Ask and answer questions about key details in literary and informational texts.

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. The students and teacher can interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity can be used as an introduction to sound waves, serve as reinforcement after students have already learned this concept, or be used as an assessment at the conclusion of a lesson. This article will describe an experiment that can be performed for students to view the motion of sound waves. 

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 1 :

1 ) Conduct experiments to provide evidence that vibrations of matter can create sound (e.g., striking a tuning fork, plucking a guitar string) and sound can make matter vibrate (e.g., holding a piece of paper near a sound system speaker, touching your throat while speaking).

[ELA2021] (1) 21 :

21. Identify the main topic and key details of literary and informational texts.

[ELA2021] (1) 22 :

22. Ask and answer questions about key details in literary and informational texts.

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. The students and teacher can interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity can be used as an introduction to sound waves, serve as reinforcement after students have already learned this concept, or be used as an assessment at the conclusion of a lesson. This informational text could provide background knowledge before students perform an experiment using a guitar.