Lesson Title: Good Vibrations!
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[download the lesson plan with Student Organizers as a PDF]
[download Sound Mediums Student Organizer RTF | PDF]

Grade level: 5-8

Topic/Subject Matter: Music, Science

Time Allotment: Two 45-minute class periods

Overview: Featuring video clips from the PBS program THE MUSIC INSTINCT, this lesson offers an introduction to the physical nature of sound—its origin in vibration, its transmission though various mediums, and its range of frequencies including those above and below our own audible spectrum.

In the Introductory Activity, students will be introduced to the basic forms and properties of different sound waves through a hands-on Slinky™ demonstration. Next they will learn about how the human body itself is a medium through which even a deaf person can experience sound and music. Most of us, of course, hear music through our ears, and the basic structure of the ear is explored in the next section, which leads to a discussion of frequencies—including those tones either too high or low pitched to be audible to humans at all. In the culminating activity, students will experiment with modulating various familiar sounds through a 4-band graphic equalizer.