Keep this beat light. Do not hand out clipboards or start the outdoor walk yet. The only job is curiosity: the room is already full of sound sources if we stop and listen. Today we are using our listening ears (our STEM ears) to notice sounds like scientists.

Key questions: What did you hear? Who or what made it? Was it near you or further away?

What to expect: pupils name voices, chairs, the radiator, footsteps in the corridor, rain on the window, a bird outside. Revoice their ideas: every sound comes from somewhere.

Differentiation: invite a quieter pupil by asking them to point toward the place the sound came from if they prefer not to speak yet.

Capture two or three named sounds on the board (e.g. chair, clock, bird). You will reuse them in the next step when you introduce today's words.

No interactive. Use live classroom sounds from step 1 so the words match the hunt. Pace one kid idea at a time against one real room sound the class already named. Every pupil has a job each time: point to the source, show loud or quiet with hands, then show near or far with a point or stretch. Do not leave row 3 only holding three definitions.

Worked listen (model the noticing cycle aloud with one real room sound, then invite the class actions above):

• I wonder: what is making that sound, and is it near or far?
• I predict: I think it is the clock on the wall, quiet and near.
• I try: we all listen again; everyone points to where the sound is coming from.
• I observed: the sound source is the clock. It is quiet. It is near us in the room.
• I think: every sound comes from a source, and we can sort it as loud or quiet and near or far.

Repeat quickly with a second sound a pupil named (e.g. footsteps in the corridor: quieter, further away), again with point and hand signals so all pupils act, not only the speaker.

Misconception to head off: pupils often say "a noise" with no source. Coach them back to a person, animal or object. Keep today's words only to sound source, loud or quiet, and near or far. Do not introduce higher or lower pitch or vibration today; those come in a later sound lesson.

STEM eyes: our classroom is already a science lab once we use our listening ears (STEM ears).

Keep ideas short and spoken. What pupils think they will hear is never wrong; it is the start of the science. Take three or four ideas for the board (e.g. chairs, voices, a bird, wind, a car) without turning this into a long list. Avoid the word prediction on the board; use "what do you think we will hear".

Focus question: What sounds will we hear indoors and outdoors, and where will they come from?

Prompts: Will outdoor sounds be louder or quieter than classroom sounds? Which sounds might be near us? Which might be far away?

Before you leave the room: agree the quiet signal, the walking route, and the boundary (e.g. the yard edge or garden path). Leave clipboards, pencils and Investigation Journal pages stacked by the door inside. Pupils do not carry writing kit on the hunt; they pick them up only when you return for recording.

Before the lesson

• Check the weather and choose a safe outdoor listening spot close to the classroom door (yard edge, garden path or quiet corner of the grounds) so walk time stays short.
• On a wet day, use a covered porch, doorway overhang or just outside the classroom door so the stop stays short and paper stays dry indoors.
• Stack clipboards with a pencil and one Investigation Journal page each by the door inside. Pupils leave them there for the hunt and collect them only on return for step 5.
• Agree adult roles if a second adult is available.

Indoor listen (about 3 minutes)

Lights low or eyes closed if the class can manage it. No clipboards yet. You model first: I can hear the clock. I think the clock is the sound source. It is quiet and near. Pupils whisper findings to a partner; you harvest a few aloud. A quick mental list or a whispered word is enough until you return.

Outdoor listen (about 9 minutes including walk, settle, listen and return)

Keep the route short. Walk calmly to the agreed spot (or wet-day spot by the door). Stop as a class. Same pattern: silent listen, then whisper the sound and the source. Push for variety: birds, wind in leaves, distant traffic, a door closing, feet on tarmac, rain if it is an Irish wet day. Build in transition slack for coats and lining up so Steps 5 and 6 are not squeezed. Return indoors together, then hand out clipboards and journals at the door for recording.

Key questions while you circulate: What is the sound source? Is it loud or quiet? Is it near or far? How can you tell?

Common sticking point: pupils say "a noise" with no source. Coach them back to a person, animal or object.

Safety: stay together; no running during the quiet listen; clear boundaries; return indoors together.

Differentiation: some pupils point to the source instead of naming it; a partner can help put the word to it. Confident listeners can try to find one far-away sound and one near sound.

STEM eyes: our own school grounds are the lab today. Everyday places are full of sound sources once we use our listening ears.

This beat is in-class and non-negotiable. Do not set it as homework. The sort in the next step and the success look-fors need today's hunt evidence on the page. If time is short, protect this full beat by shortening the outdoor stop, not by cutting recording.

Hand out clipboards, pencils and Investigation Journal pages now, on return from the hunt (they stayed stacked inside during step 4).

Before pupils write, model one completed example on the IWB or board using a simple frame:

• Sound: clock tick (small drawing of a clock)
• Source: the classroom clock
• Loud or quiet: quiet
• Near or far: near

Keep the same spoken sentence frame: I heard… It came from… It was loud/quiet… It was near/far…

Pupils draw or write on the paper Investigation Journal page; they do not type into the platform.

What good recording looks like at this age: at least two sounds, each with a source (not just "noise"), and a loud or quiet judgement. Near or far is a welcome stretch.

Support: sentence starters said aloud. Scribes for pupils who need a partner or adult to help with a word. A simple word bank on the board (loud, quiet, near, far, bird, car, chair, footsteps).

Fast finishers: add one more outdoor sound, or draw the place the far-away sound came from. Not an on-device task.