2023/8/28 16:11 QuaverEd Lesson Plan

The purpose of this lesson is to explore properties of sound using

instruments manipulated by students and to review project Examine different found sounds and how they produce
checklist. sound.
Discover how materials affect the sound of an instrument.
Essential Question: How do the other arts, other disciplines, Define Reverberation.
contexts, and daily life inform creating, performing, and responding
to music? (Connecting: Relate musical ideas and works with varied
context to deepen understanding.)

Materials
Cardboard tubes
Normal Rubber bands
30-45 min Shoe box
Slinky or jump rope
NCCAS: Cn10.0.6a, Water glasses
Cr1.1.6a, Pr4.2.6b Mobile devices (optional) The Ophones Song
My Science of Sound Project The Busking Song
NAfME: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 Book
Sound Around the Room Station
Extended signs
30-45 min Instruments
Barred Instrument
Found Sounds (optional)

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2023/8/28 16:11 QuaverEd Lesson Plan

1 . Sound Around the Room 1-2 min

Have The Ophones Song playing as students enter the classroom.

Have students sit in their project groups.
Take attendance, if needed.
Explain the Sound Tour students will be taking.
There will be five stations around the room. (Note: Stations must be prepared before
class.):
1. Cardboard tubes
2. Water/Glasses
3. Slinky
4. Rubber band guitar
5. QSynth

2 . In Terms of Sound 2-4 min

Review what has been covered up to this point, or "The Story So Far!"
Divide the class into teams, making sure they cannot see their project books.
Click on one of the play buttons on the screen, which will announce a science of
sound keyword.
After hearing the voice, the teams have to write the definition of that word on a
piece of paper.
Click the question mark to reveal the definition.
The team that gets closest to the definition on the screen gets a point.
Review keywords on the Keywords page of the project books (pages 17-18).

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2023/8/28 16:11 QuaverEd Lesson Plan

3 . Materials and Reverberation 3-5 min

Point out that today two more important elements in the science of sound will be
covered.
Reverberation and materials both affect the sound an instrument produces and
what the listener hears.
Press PLAY on the video to see Quaver demonstrate sound in materials and
reverberation.
Keyword: Reverberation - When a sound bounces off nearby surfaces and travels to
your ear.
Have students write the definition on the Keywords page of their Project Book.
(page 18)

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2023/8/28 16:11 QuaverEd Lesson Plan

4 . Station Information 4-5 min

Today students will be doing research to further their ability to analyze sounds.
(There are downloadable station worksheets to attach above each station, including
the students challenge and the questions.)
Students will rotate around five stations (tables or areas of the room). At each station,
they are faced with a challenge and questions to be filled out on pages 8-12 of their
project books.
Students should complete the challenge and answer the questions in their project
books, as well as make any other observations about sound they observe.
Before the students start the challenges, use screens 1-5 and the "stations" to explain
what they are going to do.
STATION 1: Cardboard tube and a barred instrument: Students experiment
with the sounds hollow tubes can make.
STATION 2: Slinky Waveforms: Students experiment with creating different
waveforms using the Slinky. (If a Slinky is not available, a jump rope will work
equally well.)
STATION 3: Rubber band guitar: Students experiment creating a guitar with
rubber bands and a shoe box.
STATION 4: Water Glasses: Students experiment with "playing" glasses that
have different amounts of water in them.
STATION 5: QSynth: Students work together to create a unique QSynth sound
and save it. Be sure that each group gives their QSynth patch a descriptive
name to tell it apart from the others.
Students will be working in their project groups for these exercises.
Student observations should help inform the final design of their projects.
Note: These stations are ideas. Feel free to add your own ideas or omit some if you
don't have the proper resources or to match the number of groups you have.

Variation: Challenge students to use station sounds to improvise a simple melody!

Sound Around the Room - Stations can be downloaded from Worksheets.

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2023/8/28 16:11 QuaverEd Lesson Plan

5 . Group Work Time 19-27 min

Let the challenges begin!

Click on the timer, and select a 5-minute countdown for groups to complete their
work at each station.
Briefly encourage group members to listen respectfully to each other, using each
other's input to guide the team process.
When the timer reaches the end, a buzzer will sound. This is the signal for groups to
move to the next station.
Use project book pages 8-12.
How do the other arts, other disciplines, contexts, and daily life inform creating,
performing, and responding to music? (Essential Question)

6 . In today's lesson, we learned to... 1-2 min

Click on the bullet points to highlight and review the learning objectives.
Allow students time to write one or two sentences in their journal about the day's
lesson on page 21 of their project book.
How do the other arts, other disciplines, contexts, and daily life inform creating,
performing, and responding to music? (Essential Question)

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2023/8/28 16:11 QuaverEd Lesson Plan

7 . Assessing Group Progress 10-15 min

Assess students' progress in planning the presentations.

Use the checklist to assess the progress of students on their final presentation (The
studio part of the presentation cannot be added until the next lesson.)
Students should begin to think about who will present and what will be presented
in session 18.
Remind students they can use information gained from the stations' activity in their
presentation.
Encourage students to think of musical ways to present their information, including
singing and playing found instruments.
Give students more time to work on their presentations. Have them continue
drafting their presentations on pages 13-14 of their project book.

8 . Feelin' Appy 10-15 min

Apply knowledge gained in the science of sound project to modern technology.

If your students have smartphones, have them look for a free instrument app or
another free app that can generate sounds. These sounds will be used in the next
screen.
Invite students to share their app and the sound they like the most.
Find a YouTube video using the search string "iPad ensemble" to demonstrate music-
making with mobile devices.
Discuss with students how sound is created within an electronic "app"-style
instrument. (Synthesizers work opposite to microphones. Microphones translate
sound waves into electricity; electronic instruments translate electrical signals into
sound waves.)
Click to the next screen to choose simple rhythm combinations that can be played
on devices.
In the next session, we will be discussing digital music and how a sound engineer
manipulates sound.

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2023/8/28 16:11 QuaverEd Lesson Plan

9 . The Busking Song (Reading Scores) 10-15 min

Choose either found sounds or apps to create a piece of music using a choice of rhythm
sets 1-8.

Divide the class into four groups. Have each group play a found sound (backpack
zippers, book closing, pencil tappers).
Categorize each found sound group in terms of Chordophones, Lamellophones,
Aerophones, Idiophones, or Membranophones.
Using one of the eight rhythm set examples on the screen, create a rhythm-groove
using combinations of the groups' instruments.
Discuss the sound properties, frequency, amplitude, and waveform for each sound
that is used.

Variation: Play your groove in the hallway, noting how reverberation can change the nature
of the sound and make it better!

Note: This activity can also be completed using smartphone music apps.

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