Grades 4-5 CurriCulum module for elementary Grades 4-5 UBEATS ModUlE 4/5 (1) https://sites.google.com/a/uncg.edu/ubeats/home Table of Contents Physical Science page 1: How are sounds created? ............................................................................................... 3 2: How does sound travel in different environments? .................................................... 7 3: How can we view and distinguish sounds? ................................................................ 13 Life Science 1: How do animal sounds relate to human music making? .......................................... 17 2: Where is sound in our environment? .......................................................................... 21 3: Are we aware of the sounds around us? .................................................................... 25 4: How do animals create sound? .................................................................................... 29 5: How can humans represent animal sounds? .............................................................. 33 6: What is the value of a signature sound? ..................................................................... 37 7: How does the environment affect animal sounds? .................................................... 41 8: What sounds do whales use to communicate? How do they hear these sounds? .... 43 9: How do animals communicate in the wild? ................................................................ 47 10: What are the reasons animals use sounds? ................................................................ 51 11: How is human and dolphin communication similar? ................................................. 55 11a: How do animal sounds influence human music making? ........................................ 59 12: Can we create a critter choir? ....................................................................................... 63 13: What are some careers in biomusic? ........................................................................... 67 UBEATS ModUlE 4/5 (2) https://sites.google.com/a/uncg.edu/ubeats/home Physical Science 1: HoW ArE SoUndS Created? LearnIng Outcomes: The learner will InTrodUCTIon: Animals use specific sounds and calls to communicate understand basic concepts of sounds with one another in a wide variety of environments. Over years of including sound waves, pitch, timbre, evolution, animals have had to adapt to their changing habitats. and dynamics (see Concepts and Science Specifically, animals have adapted their animal calls to fit the habitat in Process Skills), and will connect these which they live. Animals can also use ‘tools’ from the natural world to concepts to discussions of force. ensure that their calls are heard by others. The primary role of this lesson is for students to review basic concepts of sound (see Concepts and Science Science process SkIllS: Observation, Process Skills) through the use of classroom instruments (see Module Inference Overview and Preliminary Information). TIME: One hour MaterialS: Science journals, pencils (two per student), plastic cups (one per student), EngAgE ExplorE ExplAIn ElABorate EvAluate dry rice, plastic wrap (one roll), rubber bands of a variety of widths and thicknesses 5E (several per student), tuning forks, shal- EngAgE: low dish with water, textbooks (one per Ask each student to cover the top of a plastic cup student), shoe boxes (one per student). A with plastic wrap and attach with a rubber band. variety of percussion and wind instruments Put some grains of rice on the plastic wrap. Ask (see Module Overview and Preliminary students to watch what happens to the rice when Information). A guitar or other stringed mu- they sing or play instruments directly next to the cup. Students should sical instrument (see Module Overview and have a variety of musical instruments to experiment with and they should Preliminary Information) is recommended. also try singing songs with different dynamics and pitches. Students should notice that the rice vibrates differently among sound sources with varying dynamics, pitches and timbres of instruments. Based on their experiences with sound in other grades, do the students know why these CurriCulum aliGnment: differences occur? National Science Standards Content Standard A: Abilities necessary to ExplorE: do scientific inquiry 1. Inform students that today they will be • Understanding about scientific inquiry. reviewing the basic concepts of sound. • Employ simple equipment and tools to Students should remember that sound gather data and extend the senses. travels in waves. The waves are what make Content Standard B: Physical Science the rice vibrate on the plastic wrap and the plastic wrap represents the • Properties of objects and materials eardrum. As sound waves cause the eardrums in humans and in animals to vibrate, they are able to hear. For additional examples sound waves, National Music Standards tap a tuning fork on the side of the desk and dip it in a bowl of water. What do students see? Goal 1: Singing, alone and with others 2. Have each student stretch a rubber band around a textbook and place Goal 2: Playing instruments, alone and two pencils (far apart) under the rubber band. They will then take turns with others plucking the rubber band. Allow students to listen both to the pitch of Goal 3: Improvising, within specific the sound and to watch the rubber band vibrate. Afterwards, ask guidelines students to predict what will happen if they move the pencils closer Goal 6: Listening to, analyzing, and together and pluck the rubber band. Ask students to write their describing music prediction in their science journals. They should then try plucking the Goal 8: Understanding relationships band after moving the pencils closer together. Students should discover between music, the other arts, and that as the distance between the pencils becomes shorter, the pitch disciplines outside the arts becomes higher. They can write the actual results in their science journals. UBEATS ModUlE 4/5 (3) https://sites.google.com/a/uncg.edu/ubeats/home ExplAIn: Ask students why they thought that the pitch changed when the pencils were moved closer together. Explain to students that a rubber band, stretched across a particular distance, produces a pitch when plucked. Such a pitch can be represented visually by sound waves (see Concepts and Science Process Skills). The number of sound waves that occur in a second is called frequency (see Concepts and Science Process Skills). The higher the frequency (i.e., more waves occurring within a second), the higher the pitch. Given two rubber bands of differing lengths that have the same thickness and are stretched to the same tension, the shorter rubber band will produce a greater number of vibrations per second and a higher pitch than the longer rubber band, which produces fewer vibrations per second and a lower pitch (see the diagram below). Pressing the string against the fret board of a guitar, or in this case, the pencils, shortens the length of the part of the string that can vibrate. Thus, the greater number of vibrations produces a higher pitch. High Pitch Low Pitch ElABorate: 1. Once students have examined how sound travels in waves and how pitches can be high and low, allow them to explore loud and soft sounds, the musical label being dynamics (see Concepts and Science Process Skills). Allow students to create shoe box guitars by stringing rubber bands of various thicknesses and widths around the box. Ask students to predict whether plucking lightly or hard will increase or decrease the volume. [NOTE: Volume of the sound is measured as amplitude (science) (see Concepts and Science Process Skills) or dynamics (music) (see Concepts and Science Process Skills)]. Have students write their predictions in their science notebooks, then test out them. What do students notice? Do students also recognize a change in pitch based on the size of the rubber band? 2. Students should recognize that as they pluck the rubber band harder, the sound grows louder and vice versa. This effect is caused by students using an increased (or decreased) force, or a greater (or lesser) push/pull on the rubber band. Students can also experiment with force using drums and other classroom instruments. What happens when students use greater force to play percussion instruments, for example? What about less force? 3. Ask students to think of the ways that animals communicate, using both their voices and tools (e.g., a tree used to amplify sound for a woodpecker). When might an animal want to change the force with which they use a tool? Why do people change the amount of force they exert when using tools? EvAluate: 1. Ask students to describe, in their journals, how sound travels. 2. Ask students to include how they can change the pitch/frequency of a sound, as well as the dynamics/amplitude. UBEATS ModUlE 4/5 (4) https://sites.google.com/a/uncg.edu/ubeats/home Physical Science 1: rESoUrCES voCABUlAry: Amplitude: A scientific term describing the loudness or softness of a sound. dynamics: A musical term describing the loudness or softness of a sound. Force: The amount of energy required to create a push or pull on an object. Frequency: The number of cycles (or oscillations) of a sound wave per second; the higher the frequency, the higher the pitch. This is the scientific measurement of pitch. pitch: The highness or lowness of a sound as perceived by the auditory senses. Sound wave: A description of how sound energy moves through matter,