Lesson 3 Sound Energy

Grade: 3
TEKS: 3.6 a. The student is expected to explore different forms of energy, including
mechanical, light, sound, and heat/thermal in everyday life.
Language objectives: Students will be able to define sound energy orally or in
writing.
Vocabulary: Energy, sound, vibration, waves, pitch
Materials:
Small instruments, like tambourine, maracas, hand cymbals, etc.
Sound WebQuest and Rubric
http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=334984
Office supplies to make instruments: paper clips, rubber bands, cups, pebbles
or beans, tape, etc.
Assessment: WebQuest
Objective: On the Internet, students will complete a WebQuest as an "instrument
maker." After the WebQuest, students will create instruments with various objects
and explain how their instrument uses sound energy.
I.

II.

III.

Focus:
1. Play a few different small instruments, like the tambourine, maracas,
etc. Say: These instruments are using a type of energy. What type of
energy might that be?
Instruction:
1. What are waves again? Light energy uses waves, right? Well so does
sound energy. Sound energy comes in waves caused by vibrations.
These waves can be heard with our ears. The vibrations pass through
our ears to our ear drums where tiny vibrations send signals to our
brains. When something vibrates that means it shakes back and forth.
2. Instruments make sound with vibrations (demonstrate). Our voices also
make sound. What else can make sound?
3. Sounds can be very different. Our voices dont sound much like a
tambourine, do they? Some sounds can be high (demonstrate) and
others can be low (demonstrate). Thats called pitch. Pitch is how high
or low a sound is. The faster something vibrates, or shakes, the higher
it sounds. The slower something vibrates, the lower it sounds.
Guided practice:
1. Which note has a higher pitch? (Sing two notes). So which note had a
faster vibration?

IV.

V.

Independent practice:
On the computer, students will complete a WebQuest as an "instrument
maker."
Closure:
1. What did you learn in your WebQuest? What kinds of things make
sound? Sound is caused by [answer: vibrations].