1 - Getting Started ~4 mins
Close your eyes for a moment. What can you hear right now? A chair scrape? Voices in the corridor? Wind at the window?
Every sound comes from somewhere. Today we go on a sound hunt to find each source and name it.
Have the class sit still for about ten seconds with eyes closed (or heads on desks). Then take three quick calls of what they heard. Do not start the hunt yet: this is only the curiosity beat.
Key question: Where did that sound come from?
If the room is very quiet, open a window slightly or leave the door ajar so outdoor sounds can drift in.
2 - What Is a Sound Source? ~5 mins
A sound source is the thing making the sound. Point with me: my voice is a source. The clock is a source too.
If you hear a beep in the corridor, what is the source: the wall, or a phone that is beeping?
On our hunt we will use two quick labels as well. Natural means nature made it, like a bird. Made by people means we made it, or something we use did, like a bell.
Loud means a strong sound, like the school bell. Quiet means a soft sound, like a clock tick. You notice a quiet sound when you really listen.
Teach in three short beats with a pause and a point-and-name after each idea. Do not read the board as one long block.
Beat 1 (main teach): sound source. Point at your own voice, then a real classroom object (clock, chair scrape). Ask the corridor-beep check: wall, or a phone that is beeping?
Beat 2 (label preview only): one natural example (bird or wind) and one made-by-people example (bell or footsteps). Say you will practise this sort properly after the hunt.
Beat 3 (quick labels only): loud = a strong sound (school bell); quiet = a soft sound (clock tick). Do not link loud/quiet to distance. Practise fully when sorting finds later.
| Concept | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sound source — the thing that is making a sound | If we only say "I heard a noise", we miss the science; naming the source is how we investigate sound | A robin on the fence, the school bell, rain on the window |
| Natural or made by people — we sort by what made the sound: nature, or people and the things they use | Helps us notice living things and weather, and how busy school life is with people and machines | Wind in the ash trees or a blackbird calling (natural); footsteps, a car, or a phone buzz (made by people) |
Sort labels (not new concepts to define at length): loud = a strong sound (school bell); quiet = a soft sound you notice when you listen carefully (clock tick, leaves in a light breeze). Keep distance out of the gloss. Use these as simple labels on the hunt and in the sort.
Misconception to head off: children sometimes say the sound "is in the air" or "comes from the ear". Gently revoice: the ear hears it, but the source is the thing that started the sound.
Keep this short. Teach sound source first with the real object; natural / made-by-people and loud / quiet are brief previews here and are named properly during recording and the two-pass sort.
3 - A String That Sings ~3 mins
Watch the wobbling string on the board. What is making the sound: the board, or the string?
What is making the sound?
Drive the interactive on the IWB in explore mode with the string scene. The beat is about source, not pitch. Slide or pluck so the class sees the string wobble and links the sound to that wobbling part.
Ask: What is making the sound: the whole board, or the wobbling string? Then: Is the source the string, or the air around it? Link back: the source is the string that is wobbling.
Optional aside only (do not open a pitch investigation): "You might also notice the note changes when the wobbling part gets shorter. That is for another day." Do not ask the class to judge higher or lower as a main task.
If the room needs quiet, set enableTone to false and narrate the picture only.
If time is tight later: shorten or skip this explore and protect the sound hunt. Four careful sources beat a rushed walk.
4 - Sound Hunt ~12 mins
We are going on a short sound hunt. First, stand with your partner and take one clipboard between you.
At each stop, stay still and listen. Whisper the sound and its source to your partner, then jot both on the clipboard. We will use your notes back in class.
Before you leave the room
Pair the class and hand out one clipboard per pair (with a plain jot page or the Investigation Journal page underneath). Do this before you move to the door so nobody organises in the doorway.
Route that fits the minutes (including exit and return)
Default to two rich stops: (1) classroom or corridor/hall indoors, and (2) one outdoor-environment stop on the yard edge, garden path, just outside the door, or a doorway/window/porch if weather blocks the yard. Aim for at least three or four different sources across the two stops (mix indoor and outdoor-environment). Add a third stop only if transitions are smooth and time clearly allows.
Mark boundaries. Check the weather.
If the yard is closed or weather blocks outdoors: keep the indoor stop, then use a covered porch, open window, or doorway as the outdoor-environment stop. Children still name outdoor-environment sources (wind, rain, birds, distant traffic, leaves) heard from that safe spot. The outdoor objective still holds.
How to run it
- At each stop: 20–30 seconds of quiet listening, whisper the sound and source, then a quick jot of sound + source only. Natural/people and loud/quiet wait until back in class.
- Fold the whole class in between stops: Who found a natural source? Who found one made by people? (oral only on the move).
Worked model before you leave the room (say it aloud once): I wonder what that tick is. I predict it is the wall clock. I listen again… I observed a small tick from the clock face, so I think the source is the clock.
Differentiation: less confident pairs may point and say the source only, with the partner writing; confident pairs may note a quick N/P or L/Q code if it does not slow them down, but this is optional on the move.
Safety: stay together; outdoor boundaries clear; walk, do not run; watch for traffic noise near gates without standing in the road.
Protect the hunt: if earlier steps overran, shorten or skip the string explore. Two careful stops with clear sources beat a rushed multi-stop walk.
5 - Record Our Sources ~6 mins
Sit with your partner and look at your clipboard notes. First tell each other one clear sound and its source.
Then record two or three of your best finds on your Investigation Journal page. Write the sound and the source. For natural or made by people, use the word bank or a short tick (N or P). You may circle loud or quiet if you have time.
This step is in-lesson (not homework). Build in a short settle-and-share first (about one minute): pairs restate one clear sound and source orally so hurried jots become usable before writing.
Show on the IWB what to fill, with one filled example row, for example: tick · wall clock · P (made by people) · quiet. Required fields: sound and source. Natural or made by people via word bank or short codes (N / P). Loud or quiet is optional (a tick or circle only).
Word bank on the board: Natural (N) · Made by people (P) · Loud · Quiet.
Outcome bar: two or three well-named sources meet the outcome. Quality of naming beats a long list. Circulate and push for precise sources: not "outside" but "a car on the road" or "wind in the trees".
Pairs use their clipboard jots from the hunt so they are not starting from memory alone. No typing into the platform. Paper only.
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