Lesson 3: Seeing Sounds

Objectives
(Stated in terms what students are to learn as opposed to what they are to do)
Students will be able to
a. Identify and distinguish between different properties of sound.
b. Discuss, catalog, and compare different ways that scientists and others use visual
representations of sound.
c. Discuss and develop separate representations for different characteristics of sound.

Anticipatory Set (5-10)

(A clear beginning that focuses students on the lesson)

1. Music of different songs (march, ballet, soft, loud)

a. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p33fdqkrZc
2. Review/Recap from last time
a. “Last time you saw how sound changed in your plastic box when you added different
things to it. Today we are going to see how sounds changes in nature, especially with
birds, and why the sounds they make are different”.
3. Setting the stage question
a. “Last time, you saw the difference in sound. What did you do to make the sound
change?”
b. *Allow for Discussion*
c. “For this next question I DO NOT want you to answer out loud. I just want you to think
about it.” “If you were listening to a bird or other animal in nature what do you think
would cause it to make different sounds?”
d. “Do you think if you heard an animal make a sound in nature you would you be able to
represent it without using a phone or other device to just record the sound?
e. *Allow for discussion*

Procedures (25-30)
(What experiences will take place that will ensure that students learn what is intended? This includes both
what the teacher will do and what students are to do.)

1. Post Visual Representation of the Speckled Bubblebird Alarm Call

a. Distribute copies of this sheet to students (have students put copy face down on their
desk)
b. Point out that the ‘start” and “finish” should correspond to the beginning and end of the
call
2. Altogether, brainstorm different ways to represent the changes in pitch of the Speckled
Bubblebird Alarm Call.
a. Replay the alarm call (track 1) as you brainstorm
i. Questions and comments
1. How could we visually represent changes in pitch?
 2. Understand that as long as they accurately represent the changes in pitch
of the call
3. There are no right and wrong visual representations
b. Teacher chooses one representation and represent it for the class.
c. Give the students (group them based on how many they brainstorm) the representation
systems they will demonstrate for this exercise
i. Discuss how drawings relate to pitch and part of sound
ii. Students should explain their representation systems and sounds as well as the
other representations on worksheet.
1. Ask
a. Was representing the alarm call of the Speckled Bubblebird easy
or difficult? Why?
b. Do you think any of these representations are easier to follow
than others? Why?
d. Post Speckled Bubblebird Alarm Call (3-2) next to other representations
i. Ask
1. Visual representations of sounds
a. Pitch, volume, and duration
2. How is this representation similar to ours?
3. What else do you notice?
4. What sound of the Speckled Bubblebird did we hear?
a. Its alarm
5. How were we able to remember what the alarm call sounded like?
a. We made visual representations.
6. What properties of the alarm call did you represent?
a. Pitch and duration (how long each part of the call lasted)
7. Explain to students that birds often make a number of different calls--
they are communicating and talking!
a. What are some reasons why a bird might make a particular call?
i. Hungry, scared, about to take off, interest in a mate,
threatened.
ii. If students do not understand, compare to a baby?
b. Predict what students think a different bird call means
3. Set the scene: we are in the rainforest, the field biologists also heard the flight call of the rare
speckled bubblebird as it took off into the trees.
4. Play the Speckled Bubblebird Flight Call (track 2) several times
a. Ask
i. How would you describe this sound
ii. How is it different from the alarm call?
5. Alternate playing the Speckled Bubblebird Alarm Call (track 1) and the Flight Call (track 2) until
students are able to recognize that the alarm call changes in pitch while the flight call changes in
volume
a. What properties of sound changed in the the flight call?
i. Volume
b. What properties of sound stayed the same?
i. Pitch and duration
 6. Play the Flight Call again, students should move their hands closer together as the volume gets
softer and farther apart as the volume gets louder. (or use scarves)
a. Ask
i. How many “parts” of the call did you hear?
1. 4
ii. How many changes in volume did you hear?
1. 4
iii. Were all the “parts” the same length? Were some longer or shorter?
1. All of the parts were the same length
7. Divide students into groups. Each student has a copy of visual representation of the Speckled
Bubblebird Flight Call (3-3) sheet and two or three sheets of scrap paper.
a. Students will use the scrap paper to develop their visual representation based on the
Flight Call CD and put the final copy on the Speckled Bubblebird Flight Call (3-3) sheet.
b. Continue to play the CD while students work.
c. When students are done it will get posted on the board. (Continue to closure)

Closure (5-10 Minutes)

(Some kind of ending to the lesson should be present. This can be as simple as what students learned,
what is coming tomorrow, etc.)
1. Have a member from each group post their flight call representation on the board
a. Discussion Questions: (prompt students to discuss: pitch, volume, size, shape, and color)
i. How are these representations similar?
ii. How are they different?
iii. What did you learn from looking at others representations?
2. Show students the Speckled Bluebird Flight Call waveform
a. Explain that this is a waveform, “which is a visual representation of sound and it can be
used to show changes in volume over time. The thicker the wave form the higher the
volume”.
b. Discussion questions:
i. How is this representation similar to ours?
ii. What makes a good visual representation?
3. “Next time we will be working with waveforms and seeing sounds through the waveform that we
will be using”.

Assessment
(What evidence is there that students learned what was intended? This can be either formative or
summative but must be an exact match to objectives)
1. The representations the students create in their groups and individually will demonstrate their
ability to identify and distinguish the different properties of sounds and develop separate
representations for different characteristics of sound.
2. The discussions students have as a class will demonstrate their ability to discuss catalog and
compare different ways that scientists and other use visual representations of sound as well as
discuss separate representation for different characteristics of sound.