WVSU LESSON PLAN FORMAT (Updated 1/13)

Teacher Candidate: Ashley King

Date: 3/4/15
School: Poca Middle School
Grade/Subject: 7th Grade Science
Unit Topic: Physics
Lesson Topic: The Phenomenon of Sound: Waves.
Lesson 2
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES/ STUDENT OUTCOMES
1. Students will make observations of a variety of sound waves in lab stations
and record their observations in a wave booklet.
2. Students will discover that sound waves travel in a given direction until an
outside force or object gets in the way of its motion and reflects it.
3. Students will examine that sound waves can travel through different
mediums, including solids, liquids, and gases.
4. Students will realize that sound is a form of energy that travels in waves
referred to as compressional waves.
WV CSOS
7.2.18 Identify the characteristics of sound waves and describe how sound is
perceived by the ear. 1, 2, 3,and 4.
7.1.06 Formulate conclusions through close observations, logical reasoning,
objectivity, perseverance and integrity in data collection. 1, 2, 3, and 4
Common Core Standards:
Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and
phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to
grades 6-8 texts and topics. 3 and 4
NATIONAL STANDARDS
MS-PS4-2 Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed,
or transmitted through various materials. 1, 2, and 3
MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
Overall Time: 90 minute class period
Time Frame:
Intro/KWL chart: 15 minutes
Passing out data sheets and explanation of how to do it: 7 minutes
Explanation of each station: 3 minutes
Time at each station:7-10 minutes ( total of about an hour for each group to go
through each station)
Discussion of KWL chart: 5-10minutes

STRATEGIES
KWL chart
Group Practice
Independent Practice
Teacher modeling/demonstration
Cooperative Groups
Sound wave booklet
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION/ ADAPTATIONS/ INTERVENTIONS
Hands-on learning for those who are kinesthetic learners
Group work
Students can actually see some of the vibrations, so this will be good for visual
learners.
Students can hear the some of the sounds so this will be good for auditory learners
PROCEDURES: Introduction/ Lesson Set
1. Collect the materials needed for this lesson.
2. Prepare the lab stations before beginning the lesson during prep period.
3. Prior to this activity, students will understand that sound is a form of energy
that travels in invisible waves. They will understand what a vibration and a
medium are. They will understand that when a vibration travels through the
air and into the ear canal it vibrates the eardrum, and they should
understand that vibration of vocal chords creates our voice. They will
understand this from the lesson I taught Wednesday, and from Mrs. Duncans
teaching of sound waves. I will have to revisit the fact that vibration travels
through the ear canal to vibrate the ear drum because of the result on that
question on the assessment I gave Wednesday.
4. Tell students that through some in class experiments, they are going to learn
about sound as a form of energy and how that energy travels.
PROCEDURES: Body & Transitions
5.
Next, work with students to create a KWL chart on the white board: what
students think they know about a topic, what they wonder about the topic, and
what they have learned about the topic at the end of the lesson.
6.
After filling in what students know about sound under the Know column, ask
them to come up with questions about sound. Record those questions in the Wonder
column of the chart. Explain to students that in the next class period, they will be
looking for the answers to these questions. Add some questions in this column that
relate to the lab activities: Can sound travel in water? Can sound travel through
solids? Can we always see things vibrate when we hear something? What do sound
waves look like?
7.
Explain to students that they will be looking at how sound waves travel
through different objects and mediums at six lab stations. As they explore the sound
waves created at the different stations, students will create a booklet of what they
discover.
8.
Pass out six Sound Waves Seen activity sheets to each student, one for
each lab station while explaining the lab rules: no horseplay, follow directions, ask if
you need help for clarification. At the top of each observation sheet, there is a
space for students to draw a diagram of the lab station activity. Explain that after
the lab, these pages will be complied into student booklets on waves. Students
should illustrate the materials used in each lab activity and label them. Under the
diagram, students should describe what is observed as they perform the lab by

answering the following questions for each lab activity: What do you see? What do
you hear? What is the source of the vibration? What type of medium is the wave
traveling through? In what direction does the wave appear to travel? What happens
to the medium as the wave travels? (i.e., paper clips bounce, fingers vibrate when
touching skin near vocal chords, etc.)
10.
Next, walk through one lab activity with the class and model how to fill out
the observation sheets. Tell students that all waves in these labs have a vibrating
source that creates the wave. Also, emphasize that a vibrating source is needed for
all sound waves. Keep activity cards at each lab station that clearly define student
procedures for each lab:
a.
Lab Station #1: Drum with paper clips to the top. Students should tap
on the drum and observe what happens to the paper clips. What do you see? What
do you hear?
b. Lab Station #2: touch side of your throat and say ahhh. What do you feel
when you say ahh?
What do you hear?
c. Lab Station #3: tuning fork in water. Gently strike the tuning fork on the pad
and then place it in the water. Describe what you observe. What do you see? What
do you hear?
d. Lab Station #4: rubber band strung between two pegs or nails. Pluck the
rubber band. What do you see? What do you hear?
e. Lab Station #5: Strike a fork with another utensil and bring it close to the ear.
What do you see? What do you hear?
f. Lab Station #6: Steel Yardstick or ruler on edge of a table. Hold one end of
the ruler firmly against the top of the table. Snap the other end. What do you see?
What do you hear?
11.
Allow the students to work in the small groups they are already placed in by
Mrs. Duncan. Have them rotate through each of the lab stations, completing an
observation sheet at each station. Allow 7- 10 minutes for each lab activity. Make
sure students clean up their materials at each station so that each group will be
able to set up the materials appropriately. Walk around the lab stations as the
students are doing each station. Make sure they are doing each station the right
way, and make sure they understand what is going on in each station.
PROCEDURES: Closure
14.
Gather students around the KWL chart to discuss student observations. Rely
on some of the questions brainstormed under the Wonder column as a starting
point. These are some additional points and questions the class should discuss:
a. What was the variety of mediums through which the waves traveled (solids,
liquids, and gases)? Explain to students that mediums are required to carry sound
waves.
b. Can sound exist in space outside of the space shuttle? Explain that sound
needs a medium, but space is a vacuum with no solids, liquids, or gases for sound
waves to travel through or vibrate in.
c. Which waves could you hear in the lab and which could you not?
d. Where did the waves travel? Explain that all the waves continued to move
outward and would have continued in this manner unless they hit an object of a
different density, especially a solid. The water in the pan hit the edges of the pan
and bounced back. Elicit students ideas about real-world examples of this:
1. Echoes
e. What do you think a sound wave would look like if we could see it? Have

student volunteers come up to the board to illustrate. Then demonstrate that a

sound wave looks like a slinky being pushed back and forth. Explain to students that
sound waves are also called compressional waves because they have compressional
sections and sections that are more spread out.
15.
End the lesson by returning to the KWL chart. As a class, have students
explain what they have learned about waves in the third column. Look at the first
column. Did they make changes in what they initially knew about waves? Look at
the second column. Which of their questions were answered? Which ones remain for
another time?
ASSESSMENT: Diagnostic: KWL chart I will take a picture of this chart so that I
have it so I can make data based decision making from this. Also, the answers to
the questions I ask them at the beginning: what is a median? How does sound
travel? Is sound matter or energy? 1, 2, 3, 4
ASSESSMENT: Formative: walking around the room making sure the students are
doing the lab stations right, checking what they are writing down on their data
sheet, asking questions to make sure they know what is going on: why are the
paper clips moving, why do your fingers vibrate when you touch your neck, and so
on. 1, 2, 3, and 4
1.
What do you see? 1, 2, and 3
2.

What do you hear? 1, 2, and 3

3.
What is the source of the vibration? Label the source on your diagram. 1, 2, 3,
and 4
4.
What type of medium is the wave traveling through? (solid, liquid, or gas?)
1,2, 3, and 4
5.
In what direction does the wave appear to travel? Draw its path on your
diagram using a line and an arrow to represent the sound wave. 2 and 3
6.

What happens to the medium as the wave travels? Be specific. 1, 2, 3, and 4

ASSESSMENT: Summative
Sound wave booklets 1, 2, 3, and 4
Students must have:
-drawn the diagram-1 point
-answered question 1-1 point
-answered question 2-1point
-answered question 3-1 point
-answered question 4-1 point
-answered question 5-1poit
For bonus points, students must have:
-labeled the source of vibration for question 3 part 2
-labeled the direction of the sound wave for question 5 part 2
-attempted question 6 with an educated answer

MATERIALS
Drum
3 paper clips
Tuning fork
Basin of water
Rubber band strung between two pegs or nails
Metal fork and spoon
Steel yardstick or ruler
A slinky
A set of glasses and a spoon for each group of students
Six copies of the sound waves seen activity sheet for each student
Lab Station Cards
Resources: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/thephenomenon-of-sound-waves.cfm
EXTENDED ACTIVITIES
If Student Finishes Early: have them help clean up their lab station, and have them
start brainstorming ideas that go on the L part of the KWL Chart.
If Lesson Finishes Early: have students explore pitches by creating their own
homemade instruments. Students can simply fill a set of glasses with different
amounts of water. Eight glasses with different levels is sufficient for creating an
octave of eight notes. After they have done this, strike each glass. Do they all make
a note of the same pitch? If not, they can arrange the amount of water in such a
way as to play a simple tune? They should record the arrangement of the glasses
and amounts of water in each glass on paper and add this to their sound notebook.
Have students share their tunes and then discuss what they learned from this
activity. Explain that the differences in pitch were a result of the different heights of
columns of air above the water.
If Technology Fails: do not need technology!
POST-TEACHING
Reflections
Planning: Planning for this lesson was very short lived to be honest. I got my
placement on a week that I had already had plans for the rest of the week, so I
planned to go the next week. The next week had snow days ALL WEEK! The week
after that was my first visit with the school, where I asked my cooperating teacher
what she would like me to teach and that I had to have a lesson plan turned in by
March 4th and I could start teaching sometime after March 9 th. She told me I could
teach any topic in physics, or any topic in general, but sound waves was what she
would be teaching during the week I could potentially begin teaching. I did not have
much time to find my first lesson because I work on the weekends, so I found a
lesson that was already done for me. This was a bad mistake, because I really did
not like this lab. From this I have learned that I need to be more careful when I
choose what lessons I am going to use, and I need to put more time into it. Being
busy is the life of a teacher, and I will have to work on my time-management skills
to improve lesson planning. Although, I am glad I did do this lesson because it
showed me that its not really something I would use in my future classroom, and if I
did use it, it may be for older grades, or a more simplistic version of this plan. I
learned about sound waves by googling it, reading up on different websites,
watching YouTube videos, and even asking my physics teacher for clarification.
Physics is my weakest subject in science, but after I got clarification from my
physics teacher, I felt more prepared and excited to teach this lesson. I also learned

that being a science teacher is an expensive job. I bought all the supplies for this
lab, or used what I had from home. It makes me understand why science teachers
are pack rats. I also wish I would have planned a better assessment for this lesson. I
think this lesson went really well with my introductory lesson, but if I would have
worked just a little bit harder, I could have tied this lesson in with my introductory
lesson much better. More time would have been wonderful for these lessons!
Student Response/ Management: For the most part, all students were engaged
in this lesson. The students who were asking questions were students I did not think
would ask questions. They were so engaged in this lesson that they wanted to make
sure they understood what was going on! I thought that this lab would be a big
distraction after I thought about it, but in reality, I think it really helped the students
for the most part. I think the students did get tired of answering the same questions
for each lab station over and over, which is the part I did not like about this lab. In
the future I would probably change it to where each group would do one lab station,
and then come back together as a class and report out on what they saw in each
lab. At this point, we were basically beating a dead horse with sound waves. This
would be a really good lab to introduce sound waves as a whole, but Mrs. Duncan
had already introduced sound waves, and they had already had their class
assessment on sound waves after I taught this lesson. There was one specific
student who was not engaged in this lesson. He may have been engaged, but he
did not show proof on his lab sheets that I graded. It was concerning to me the
amount of work he did not do. All of the students loved the station with the tuning
fork dipped into water. The water splashed everywhere, and they thought that it
was great! The thing about this lesson was that not only did they enjoy it, but for
the most part, they actually understood what was going on. When I walked around
to different groups to ask them what was happening while they were either
drumming, putting the tuning fork in water, strumming the rubber band, etcthey
were able to answer my questions. I also asked the students if they liked this lab
and I received a unanimous YES! Overall, I felt as though my classroom
management skills have increased since 316. One student decided he needed to go
to the trashcan in the other section of the room from the lab area, and another
student decided that he needed to follow him. The students seemed to be playing a
game of chase and I told them that they needed to get back to the lab area. After
that, I had no other interruptions during lab time. It was difficult to answer every
groups question for each station. I think that stations would be a better strategy to
use if you have a co-teacher. I also wish I would have observed this class time
before teaching it because I was not sure of their evening procedures and they
wanted to pack up 10 minutes early so that they could get the room back in order. I
wish that my cooperating teacher would have been with me so that this transition
would have been easier for me since there was no time to start the planned second
activity. I retested the students during this time to make sure they understood
sound waves.
Strategies: I have never used lab stations before, nor have I ever observed or
participated in lab stations. I liked them for the most part, but I think there were too
many for this lab. I think the students were getting bored near the fourth or fifth
rotation, which I completely understand. It was the same idea with different
materials at each station. One student made the comment that every station was
the same thing over and over again. I really liked the idea of a KWL chart. The
students can see what they know about a subject, and what they want to know
about the subject, and see what they actually learned after the lesson is over with. I

think that the students really liked filling out the KWL chart as well. I like the idea of
group work, but where the students have to do their own work. It makes each of the
students responsible of working on their own work, as well as participating as a
group to figure out what is happening during the lab. I liked the sound wave booklet
as well, but there were various answers so I would not use it as a study guide in my
own classroom. It is a nice reference for the students to look back on though.
Assessment: I did not like the formative assessment for this lab, and I wish that I
would have come up with a better way as to assess the students in the lab. The lab
was very repetitive for each station, and the students were bored with answering
the same questions each time, even though it was for different scenarios. If I ever
use this lab in my future classroom, I will make sure that I come up with an
assessment that is different for each lab station.
Student
Number

Sex

Data Based Decision Making

Grade
Percentage Letter
Grade

Info I know
about
Student
1
F
41/54
80%
C
Hispanic
2
M
39/54
72%
D
Reading IEP
3
F
32/54
59%
F
Does not do
well in
school
4
M
39/54
72%
D
Soy Allergy
5
F
38/54
70%
D
Reading IEP
6
F
46/54
85%
C
From Ohio
7
F
44/54
81%
C
N/A
8
M
14/54
26%
F
Rough home
life
9
F
42/54
78%
C
N/A
10
F
27/54
50%
F
N/A
11
F
40/54
74%
D
N/A
12
F
41/54
80%
C
Misses a lot
of school
13
M
53/54
98%
A
N/A
14
F
51/54
94%
A
N/A
15
F
47/54
87%
B
N/A
16
F
40/54
74%
C
Reading IEP
17
M
47/54
87%
B
Reading IEP
18
F
42/54
80%
C
Losing
Vision; will
be blind one
day
From looking at just the raw grades, students did not do very well on this lab. There
were only a total of two As and two Bs. The rest were Cs, Ds, and Fs. Because of
this, I am going to take a closer look at what the problem is with this lab.
This lab had 6 stations. Each student had to do each station. They worked in groups
but had to do their individual booklets. I used the booklets as their summative
assessment for this lesson, but I do not think that these grades represent their

understanding of sound waves. Because of this I am going to break each lab station
up into charts and see why the grades are the way they are, because I know these
students know about sound waves from informal formative assessment with these
students. I used a KWL chart with them, and what they put under the know section
is what they need to know for sound: sound is a form of energy; it is vibrations; it
travels through mediums that are solid, liquids, or gases; it travels slower than
sound travels; sound waves are compressional waves; and when it reflects, it
echoes.

Lab Station 1: Drum with Paper Clips

Number of Students

20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

correct
incorrect

Questions for the Lab

Each question was worth one point a piece. On the diagram question, I gave
students credit if they drew the diagram. If they did not draw the diagram I took the
point away. Only two students did not draw the diagram. I gave the students
specific directions to draw each diagram. The two students who did not draw the
diagram were student number 2 and 16. Im not really sure why the students did
not draw the diagram, because both of them drew the rest of the diagrams for each
lab station. They must have been disengaged at the time, or too engaged with the
materials on the lab station to draw the picture of them.
Only one student missed question number 1 which was what do you see. This
was student number 8 who was disengaged almost the whole lab period. I tried
keeping an eye on his group the most so that he would stay focused, but obviously I
cant pay more attention to his group and hold his hand during the whole lab.
Every student got the second question right which was: What do you hear?
Only one student missed question 3 part 1. This was again student number 8
who was disengaged. If this were my own class, I would find a way to keep him
engaged the whole time because being disengaged the whole lab does not allow
him to earn from the hands on experience with sound waves, or any lab for that
matter. Mrs. Duncan has a hard time with this student because he is on such a low
reading level. He is very outgoing, but doesnt care about school.
Only two students did question 3 part 2. You were supposed to label the
source of the vibration onto the diagram. The students did not follow the directions,

but this is not what I was assessing for. Since this was not a direction that would
have harmed someones life, I will throw this question out, and give bonus points to
the two that answered the question correctly. So now instead of the assignment
being worth 54 points, it will be worth 53 points.
Only one student missed question number 4. Again, this was student number
8 who was disengaged. I know that he was disengaged instead of not understanding
this content because I made sure to go around to his group to help explain what
was going on, and ask formative questions to him. I think that he does not
understand the content as well as he should, but for the most part he understood.
Four students missed question five part one. These students were: 5, 8, 16,
and 18. Student number 5 and 16 were in a group together and they said that the
direction of the wave was traveling fast. That is not a direction. I do not think that
they understood this question. Student 18 only wrote a T and student number 8
only said moving. I am pretty sure he was disengaged again. Neither of these
answers answer the question as to what direction the wave is traveling. I dont think
that student 18 was disengaged. I think that she probably answered the question
out loud and forgot to write the answer down.
Only 2 students did question 5 part 2. These students were student number
13 and 17. Because this question was similar to question 3 and it did not harm the
students if they did not do this, I will give bonus points to those who answered it,
and throw the question out for the rest. This does not determine if they know what
sound waves are and how they interact, but it would be nice if they labeled the
diagram for future reference.
Question 6 was even on the amount of correct and incorrect answers. I
honestly just gave points to those who attempted to answer this question, and did
not give a point to those who did not attempt to answer the question or if their
answer did not make any since. I am going to throw this question out as well
because I do not think that it is age level appropriate, or an appropriate question to
ask to the inclusion class. I think that they had a hard time grasping the concept of
what happens to a medium when a wave goes through it, and I am okay with this,
because it is a hard concept to understand. I will give bonus to those who tried, and
throw out the question for all.

Lab Station Number 2: Touch

Side of Throat
20
15
10

Correct

5
Number of Students

Incorrect

Questions

Again, all 9 questions were worth one point a piece.

13 students drew the diagram and 5 students did not. I think this was
because all there was at the lab table was a sheet of paper with the directions to
touch your throat so that you could feel the vibrations from your vocal cords. The
students who did not draw this diagram were student number: 8, 1, 3, 10, and 12.
Students 1, 3, 10, and 12 were in the same group. I know that they did this portion
of the lab because I saw them do it, and they also answered the majority of the
other questions that went along with this lab. Maybe they thought since they
couldnt really see themselves touching their neck, they didnt have to draw the
diagram. Student 8 was disengaged yet again. This child is turning out to be a
serious problem, not for me, but for him. It is impossible to learn if he is disengaged.
Only two students missed question number 1. This was student number: 4
and 8. I think that student 4 did not write anything since he did not see anything. I
think that student 8 was disengaged yet again. I should have stayed with him more,
but since I was the only teacher in the classroom, this was hard to do.
No students missed question 2 which asked, what did you hear? All students
were engaged on this question!
Only one student missed question 3 part 1. This student was number 16. She
thought that the source of vibration was from her hand, when reality it was from her
vocal cords. She may have thought this because her hand did vibrate.
11 students missed question3 part 2 because they did not follow the
directions to label the diagram with the source of the vibration. Because I took this
off for the first station, I will do the same thing and give extra credit to those who
achieved.
All students got question 4 right: what type of medium is the wave traveling
through?
All students got question 5 part 1 right: in what direction does the wave
appear to travel?
10 students missed question 5 part 1. Because this is the same as station 1, I
am going to throw it out, and give bonus to those who got it correct. Students did

not follow the directions, or they would have gotten this correct.
11 questions got question 6 right. I gave the students credit if they attempted
the question and their answer was reasonable. I am going to throw this question
out, just like I did for station one.
From this point on, I am going to make each data sheet worth 6 points a
piece instead of nine points a piece. For all data sheets questions: 3 part 2, 5 part 2,
and question 6 will be thrown out, and worth extra credit if the students attempted
these. So instead of the lab being worth 54 points, it will now be worth 36 points.

Lab Station 3: Tuning Fork in Water

Number of Sudents

20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

Correct
Incorrect

Questions

All students answered questions 1, 2, and the diagram correctly! Even

student number 8! I think this was because the students liked this station the most!
The students were to hit a tuning fork against a book and then put it in a cup of
water. When they did this, the water splashed everywhere. The students were
honestly having a great time with this, and they thought it was amazing to watch it.
Even though it was messy, now that I see the results for this part of the assessment,
I am glad that this was part of the lab and I will keep it in my lab if I ever do this lab
again.
Only two students missed question 3. These students were: student number
4 and student number 8. Student number four did actually label the source on her
diagram, but she did not write what the source was. Student 8 started becoming
disengaged at this point I think because question 4 was answered, but question 5
and question 6 were both left blank. I really wish I would have taken a better look at
his paper, but it is hard to watch everyones paper and make sure that every
student is writing down each answer. I think at this age, they should know how to
write down answers by themselves.
All students got question 4 right! This is great because knowing what type of
medium a sound wave is traveling through is important for these students at this
grade level!
Seven students missed question 5. All of these students left this question
blank. I am not sure why this happened.

Lab Station 4: Rubber Band on Peg

Number of Students

20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

correct
incorrect

Question

Only one student did not draw the diagram. This student was student number
8. I am not sure why he did not draw this diagram other than the fact he was still
disengaged.
No students got question 1 wrong!
Only one student got question 2 wrong. This was student number 10. I am
not sure why she did not answer this question, but she did not answer the rest of
the questions either after number 1.
Five students missed question 3 because they left it blank. These students
were: 10, 8, 3, 9, and 4. Student 8 has had this pattern on almost every question.
For student 4 this was unusual. Student 10 left this blank along with all other
questions but one and the diagram for some reason. This question was not hard, I
dont think. It was just asking where the source of the vibration was, which was the
rubber bands.
Only 2 students missed question 4: 8 and 10. They were not in the same
group, but for some reason became disengaged on this lab because neither
answered very many questions on this station.
4 students missed question 5 part 1: 8, 10, 4, and 3. Maybe this station was
too distracting. I know when I did it the pins wanted to fall out of the board while I
would try to pluck the rubber bands. But the students should have gotten at least
one attempt each before the rubber bands fell out.

Lab Station 5: Fork and Spoon

Number of Students

18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

correct
incorrect

Question

Student number 8 was the only person who missed the diagram. He decided
to go to the bathroom during lab, and did not answer ANY of his questions for this
portion of the lab. I will probably no longer allow students to go to the bathroom
during a lab. I know this sounds bad because you never know when the middle
schooler needs to actually go, but, I think he went so that he could get out of this
lab. He was gone for a really long time, and the students were concerned. He
actually didnt even ask me if he was allowed to go, he asked the teacher who was
supervising. Maybe he was actually sickbut who knows really. He was also the
only student to miss question 1 and 2 because he did not do the lab once he came
back in from using the restroom.
Four students missed question number 3 part 1: 8, 10, 3, and 9. This was
unusual for student nine, but a frequent pattern for number 8, 10, and 3.
Two students missed question 4: 8 and 10. This is becoming a frequent
pattern. But these students were not in the same group as each other.
Four students missed question 5. It was the same students from question
number 3. Im not sure what the problem was on this lab.
I honestly think that the students started getting bored with this lab after a
while. One student specifically asked me why all of the questions were the same for
each lab. I agree with her, if I were to do this lab myself, I would have been bored as
well.

Lab Station 6: Steel Ruler Against a Table

Number of Students

20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

Correct
Incorrect

Question

All students drew the diagram! Question 1, 2, 3, and 4 were only missed by student
number 8
Only two students missed question 5: 8 and 9. Number 9 said I explodes of it. Im
not really sure what she is trying to say here.
I honestly was not a big fan of this lab. I think that it was too open ended for
seventh graders. For this level, and this inclusion class, I think it would have been
better if the lab cut to the exact ideas of sound waves, and didnt make them have
to wonder what actually the medium was. It was a confusing lab for me as well. It
did get their minds thinking though! Im not sure if I really would ever use this lab
again in my future classroom. The reason why I cut out 3 of the questions was
because they were not really necessary for the lab, and I wanted to reward the
students who actually put a lot of effort into this lab. Most of the students did put an
honest effort into this lab but student 8 obviously did not. Maybe he just does not
like labs, or maybe he does better with auditory learning.

Information after I changed the

Grade
Percentag Letter New
e
Grade Grad
e

grades:
New
Percenta
ge

New
Letter
Grade

41/54

80%

114%

39/54

72%

108%

32/54

59%

41/3
6
39/3
6
32/3
6

89%

39/54

72%

108%

38/54

70%

106%

46/54

85%

128%

44/54

81%

122%

14/54

26%

39/3
6
38/3
6
46/3
6
44/3
6
14/3
6

38%

42/54

78%

117%

10

27/54

50%

75%

N/A

11

40/54

74%

111%

N/A

12

41/54

80%

42/3
6
27/3
6
40/3
6
41/3
6

Rough
home
life
N/A

114%

13

53/54

98%

147%

14

51/54

94%

142%

N/A

15

47/54

87%

131%

N/A

16

40/54

74%

111%

17

47/54

87%

131%

18

42/54

80%

53/3
6
51/3
6
47/3
6
40/3
6
47/3
6
42/3
6

Misses a
lot of
school
N/A

117%

Reading
IEP
Reading
IEP
Losing
Vision;
will be
blind

Student
Number

Sex

Info I
know
about
Student
Hispanic
Reading
IEP
Does
not do
well in
school
Soy
Allergy
Reading
IEP
From
Ohio
N/A

one day
Student number 8 still received an F after I allowed more than enough extra credit
for this assignment. Student number 10 still received a D. Student 3 got a B. the
rest received an A. I would not do this for every assignment in my own classroom,
but if I found a lab like this and wanted to test it out, I would do something like this.
If I saw that I didnt really like the lab after it was said and done, I would probably
give participation points to the students, kind of like I did here. But instead of only
basing this assignment off participation, I also included the content. If the students
knew what they were talking about, and their answers made since, I gave them the
points they deserved. But if the students answers did not make any since, or they
simply just not put any effort into the assignment because they were disengaged, I
did not give them credit.
The main thing that I was assessing from this lab was: (objective 1) students
will make observations of a variety of sound waves in lab stations and record their
observations in a wave booklet; (objective 2) students will discover that sound
waves travel in a given direction until an outside force or object gets in the way of
its motion and reflects it; (objective 3) students will examine that sound waves can
travel through different mediums, including solids, liquids and gases; (objective 4)
and students will realize that sound is a form of energy that travels in waves
referred to as compressional waves.
Objective 1 was based on the whole lab itself, and for the most part the
students were engaged, learning, and the majority of students recorded their
observations. If this were my own classroom, I would go to those who left many of
the answers blank, like student 8, and ask them what happened. I would write a
note on their paper to come see me after class so we can discuss the reason why
the work was not finished. I would want to know if the student just does not
understand sound waves, or if they were being reluctant because they knew that
this lab was not being graded by the real teacher.
Objective 2 was number 5 from the lab data sheet on all stations. This
question seemed to be a bit harder for the students to answer if you look at my
data. This is something I would go back over if I were teaching sound waves again,
or if I were to reteach this lesson, and my introductory lesson to sound waves.
Objective 3 was question number four for all lab stations. This is where they
had to determine what medium the sound wave was traveling through. The
students did a very good job with this part of the lab as well, if you look at my data.
I know from this data that almost all of the students know what a medium is and
that sound has to travel through a medium if it is going to be heard.
Objective 4: students knew that sound was a form of energy before we
started this lesson. We were able to put this in our know section on our KWL chart.
The students forgot what compressional waves were called, but they had the idea.
This is something else I would go over a little bit more if I were to reteach this
subject so that they could remember the name!

Lab #____________
Diagram:

1. What do you see?

2. What do you hear?
3. What is the source of the vibration? Label the source on your diagram.
4. What type of medium is the sound wave traveling through? (solid, liquid, or gas?)

5. In what direction does the wave appear to travel? Draw its path on your diagram using a
line and an arrow to represent the sound wave.

6. What happens to the medium as the wave travels? Be specific.