Science Unit- Sound

Yesterday we sorted sounds by sounds made by vibrations and sounds not made by vibrations.
I put the kids in groups and it was really interesting to watch which ones they thought made vibrations (drugs) and which ones they thought didn't (thunderstorms).
At the end of the activity, I pulled all the kids to the carpet and had two big posters. One was for "vibrate" and one was "not vibrate." We went through each one and at the end, every single one was on the "vibrate" poster. That's when we came to the conclusion that ALL sounds make vibrations!

Today we watched an awesome video about sound.
Things we learned from the video:
Light travels faster than sound.
All sound is made from vibration.
Vibration is moving back and forth.
There is no sound in outer space because there is no air to carry the sound vibration.
Sound waves can bounce.
Echos are sound waves bouncing.
The difference between music and sound is that music is organized.
Inside our throats are vocal cords that vibrate.
Volume is how loud or quiet a sound is.
Pitch is how high or low a sound is.


The video talked about how vocal cords are like a balloon and you can change the sound by changing the opening of the balloon. Here's a picture of vocal chords.

And for those smartie pants that want to go above and beyond second grade knowledge- 

Some people have naturally high-pitched voices, while others have much deeper voices. This is due to the length of the vocal cords themselves. When the vocal cords vibrate, they create sound. The speed at which the vocal cords vibrate determines the frequency of the sound wave, which determines the pitch of the voice. The longer your vocal cords, the lower the frequency of the resulting sound wave. Guys tend to have a lower voice than do girls, because their vocal cords are larger and thus produce sounds with lower frequencies, which produce deeper sounds.

When I asked my kids what they could infer about the size of my vocal cord, Raghav raised his hand and said, "Tiny!" That is probably true.
This guy has to have HUGE vocal cords.

We talked about volume and pitch and how they are different. Sofia raised her hand and said, "They are not synonyms." My teacher heart just swelled with joy. I love with kids make connections from one subject another.

Why is sound important? 
By Ms. Dower's second grade class
It can warn us from danger (like a snake)
We can communicate with sound. (Talking)
Sound entertains us. (Music)
Sound gives us information.
People that can't see, can use sound.
Timers that beep and tell us that food is ready.
Alarms that wake us up in the morning.
People tell you that they're at your house by knocking or ringing the doorbell.
Knowing if the water is on (hearing the drips).
Babies cry to tell us that they need something.
We use sound to calm babies down.
Whistles are used to tell us when recess is over.

During indoor recess we watched The Magic School Bus:In the Haunted House

I love this video.
I love Magic School Bus, but this is one of my favorites. I thought it was so creepy when I was a little kid.
It goes over the idea that ALL SOUND IS VIBRATION, but in a very fun way! The students in Mrs. Frizzle's class wear glasses that allow them to see the sound vibration. They see the difference between high sounds (lots of vibrations close together) and low sounds (slower vibrations, farther apart).