Next Generation Science Standard Disciplinary Core Idea PS4A, which includes a 1st grade standard, a 4th grade standard, and MS Physical Science/High School Physics standards.
Scientist You Should Know
Dr. Benjamin Gottesman is a soundscape ecologist studying and recording acoustics of wild places. At the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Dr. Gottesman is working to make passive acoustic monitoring accessible. He says about himself, “For someone who has trouble sitting still, I get surprisingly statue-like when I am alone, listening, in the woods.” https://www.birds.cornell.edu/ccb/ben-gottesman-ph-d/
https://centerforglobalsoundscapes.org/ourteam/ben/
Introducing the topic
The library category 534 is for sound and acoustics. The 534.078 number is where I found a book of experiments at my library. Another good category here is 585.2
As always, use as many or as few videos as learners find useful. The more multisensory are first. More analytical are at the end of this list.
Experiencing the science
Try dampening sound yourselves using materials from around the house.
Respond
Multisensory
Make a blanket fort and then talk to your co-learners inside. Does it sound the same or different than when you talk to each other outside? What about a fort made of sofa cushions? What about in your shower? Record yourselves talking in all these places and see how it sounds the same or different.
Creative
Listen to some songs that Cosmo Sheldrake has written to describe the natural world using music. Here’s a classical song about a forest. And another. Have you ever heard anyone whisper while singing a song? What about different ways to put sound through a microphone or a mute on a brass instrument?
How can songwriters make songs sound like they’re inside a forest? What is it about the sound that makes you know it’s in a forest? Can you take a little song and make a recording of it that sounds like it’s in the forest? How would you do that?
Verbal
I had a really hard time finding the answer to my question (Why is it So Quiet in a Redwood Forest?) Can you do your own research to answer the question in a few paragraphs or a presentation? The resources under “Introducing the Topic” are a good starting point, but you can do your own digging and see if you find anything better! Try using the search term “bioacoustics” or “acoustic ecology.”
Analytical
Try an experiment like this one and write up your results. What did you need to change so that you could do the experiment in your learning environment?