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v9 Hearing Sounds

Year 2
v9 Hearing Sounds
Unit Plan Overview
What is Sound?
1 What is Sound?
How do we sense sound?
2 How do we sense sound?
Making Noise
3 Making Noise
Making Music
4 Making Music
Making Musical Instruments
5 Making Musical Instruments

This short unit is based on the Year 2 Australian national science curriculum. In it, students learn what sound is, how they hear it, the difference between musical sounds and noise and then learn how to create their own musical noise with instruments they make in class.

The unit has also been designed to help teach and reinforce the 'Science Inquiry' and 'Science as a Human Endeavour' skills outlined in the curriculum by incorporating experiments and scientific thinking throughout. These experiments are optional; you can either remove them to shorten the unit's running time or put them in their own time block to stretch the unit through a whole term.

Australian Curriculum - (QLD/SA/WA/NT/TAS/ACT)

AC9S2I03

Make and record observations, including informal measurements, using digital tools as appropriate

AC9S2U02

Explore different actions to make sounds and how to make a variety of sounds, and recognise that sound energy causes objects to vibrate

AC9S2I06

Write and create texts to communicate observations, findings and ideas, using everyday and scientific vocabulary

AC9S2I02

Suggest and follow safe procedures to investigate questions and test predictions

AC9S2I05

Compare observations with predictions and others’ observations, consider if investigations are fair and identify further questions with guidance

Overview

The key concepts in this unit include:
 

  • Sound is all around us, though we are only conscious of a small amount of it at any time.
  • Sound is caused by vibrations, which create a sound wave that can travel, usually through the air.
  • Our ears pick up sound waves and convert them to electrical signals that our brain can make sense of.
  • When these waves are nice and even, the sound can be pleasant, but jagged harsh waves (better described as noise) can make us feel bad and lead to something called noise pollution.
  • Music can be created by varying the pitch, volume and timbre of sounds which we create with instruments.
Learning Intention
  • We are learning to explore actions that make sounds, how to make a variety of sounds and recognise that sound energy causes objects to vibrate.
Lessons
Linked Resources & Activities
Linked Worksheets

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