Can You Hear Me Now? – Exploring the Science of Sound

This unit on sound is intended to support and enhance the School District of Philadelphia’s third-grade Science Core Curriculum. Throughout the unit, students will consider these questions: What is sound? Where does sound come from? How does sound travel? What are the characteristics of sound? How is sound heard? How does this relate to musical instruments?

The four-week curriculum unit will be a partnership of science lessons with language arts and technology. It is designed for primary students in third grade but can certainly be fleshed out for upper elementary students in fourth and fifth grades. Students will have opportunities to study about the science of sound as well as participate in the hands-on doing of science. In this unit on sound, I hope to enable students to consider the experiences they have had with sound, examine them more closely to reveal physical components, and make personal connections to the material and scientific concepts.