Exploration of Ways to Make Sound

After the students were done discussing their questions, I told them that they had some time to explore creating different sounds (and hopefully answer some of the questions that they generated). Emily had a variety of different objects for the students to use to create different “instruments.” There were different sized rubber bands, card board boxes with the tops cut off, an empty tissue box, pie tins, paperclips, etc. I was surprised to see all of the students jump right into their exploration—they must be getting more comfortable with open-ended exploration!\\

We gave the students 15 minutes to write down and discuss the new powerful ideas which were derived from this experiment. Jessica noticed that thicker rubber bands made a lower sound than the thinner rubber bands. Katie was surprised that the tissue box she was using didn’t create a louder sound. She said, “I think the hole was too small. It didn’t trap the sound like I thought it would.” Katie also presented the idea that you need two or more objects in order to create a sound (and they must interact somehow). Sarah pointed out that anything you can think of can make a sound, including air. Jessica noticed that as she pulled the rubber band tighter, the sound became lower. The word “vibration” was also mentioned; however we didn’t give the students a definition yet.