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6. STEM Stage 1 Activity 11

Stage 1 – STEM Activity 11

Are you a one-man band?

Description of activity

Students explore sound sources by designing and making musical instruments from familiar materials. The instruments should be easily integrated with body movements so that more than one sound is created simultaneously. Students will need to consider how they can wear their instruments to become a one-man band.
The suggested time for this activity is approximately 2 hours for:

• exploration
• design and building
• presentation and feedback.

Context

Students will have explored making sounds on common instruments, eg tambourine, maracas, drums, recorders. They will have identified that physical movement such as scraping, bowing, plucking, striking, blowing and shaking produce sound.

Sound is produced by vibrations which can travel through different materials. Sound can be described by its pitch, volume and tone colour.

Outcomes

Skills

ST1-4WS investigates questions and predictions by collecting and recording data, sharing and reflecting on their experiences and comparing what they and others know
ST1-5WT uses a structured design process, everyday tools, materials, equipment and techniques to produce solutions that respond to identified needs and wants
MA1-1WM describes mathematical situations and methods using everyday and some mathematical language, actions, materials, diagrams and symbols

Knowledge and understanding

ST1-6PW describes some sources of light and sound that they sense in their daily lives
ST1-12MW identifies ways that everyday materials can be physically changed and combined for a particular purpose
MUS1.2 explores, creates, selects and organises sound in simple structures

Resources

• Musical instruments used in school music lessons or brought in by students
• Everyday materials suitable for creating wearable musical instruments, eg cardboard boxes, straws, rubber bands, combs, newspaper, plastic containers, cardboard tubes, paddle-pop sticks, beads, ribbons, string, paper cups, old pieces of clothing
• Masking tape.

Work, health and safety

• Check relevant Work, health and safety guidelines.
• Recycled materials should be clean.
• Materials should be selected so that they can be manipulated by hand or with everyday classroom equipment, eg scissors.

Evidence of work for assessment purposes

• A labelled drawing of the designed musical instrument
• A photograph of the constructed musical instrument
• Documented observation or video recording of a brief verbal explanation detailing how the constructed musical instruments were made. This explanation should include a justification of chosen materials and any adjustments made as a result of peer feedback
• Documented observation or a video recording of how the student demonstrated varying pitch, volume and tone colour on their musical instruments before performing an ostinato with at least two simultaneous sounds.

STEM teaching and learning activities

• Listen to sounds in the immediate classroom environment and create a list of these sounds.
• Compare and contrast sounds in the classroom by describing their pitch, volume and tone colour.
• Provide students with discovery time to make sounds on available musical instruments or view short video ‘How do people make sounds on musical instruments?’ Pose the following discussion questions:
  • What materials are used to make musical instruments?
  • What actions make a musical instrument produce sound?
  • How are different sounds made?
• As a class, jointly construct a definition for sound.
• View a video clip One Man Band and discuss how one person could make sounds simultaneously on different musical instruments.
• Describe to students how they will use labelled diagrams to design musical instruments from familiar materials which could be used in a one-man band.
• Share student designs with peers. Students give and receive feedback and make adjustments to their designs accordingly.
• Students construct their designs from everyday materials.
• Reflect upon and evaluate the construction process.
• Students present their ‘one-man band’ and discuss the process used to create it.
• Students explain their solutions to the problem of needing to play more than one instrument simultaneously.
• Students play their constructed musical instruments, by creating an ostinato.

Vocabulary list

Intensity – how loud or soft a sound is
Material – a substance through which sound travels
Ostinato – a constantly repeated pattern of rhythm and/or pitch
Pitch – how high or low a sound is
Sound – something which is heard, made from a series of vibrations
Tone colour – the quality or characteristics of a produced sound which make it distinct, eg ‘jangly’
Vibration – movement created by rapid shaking

Key inquiry questions

What is sound?
Guide students to the understanding that sound is generated by vibration and a medium. Illustrate through familiar examples, eg a violin.

How can different sounds be made?
Encourage students to consider what actions create sound.

Encourage students to use correct terminology to refer to the qualities of sound, eg pitch, intensity, tone colour.

Provide students with ‘hands-on’ experiences to explore how faster vibrations create higher sounds, stronger vibrations create louder sound, and how different materials will affect tone colour.

How did you use your design process?
Encourage students to self-evaluate by asking:

• What was challenging about making your design?
• Was your labelled drawing clear?
• Did you need to make any changes to your design?
• Would your design be easy to make again?
• Do your musical instruments make different sounds?

Additional information

The following statements outline some common preconceived ideas that many students hold, which are scientifically inaccurate and may impede student understanding.

There is no sound if vibrations cannot be seen
Some vibrations are too small to be seen by the human eye. However, sound cannot exist without vibrations creating a sound wave. So if a sound is heard, at least one component of an object must be vibrating.

There is no such thing as silence
There is a popular idea that silence cannot be perceived by humans because people are always aware of their own breathing. Sound cannot travel through empty, airless space (commonly referred to as a vacuum) and therefore true silence can exist.

Support materials

• Short video: How do people make sounds on musical instruments?
• YouTube video: One Man Band Pixar animation
• YouTube video: Amazing street performance a one-man band
• BBC Bitesize: Introduction to sound this interactive can be used for extension
• Questacon: Weird Whirling Widget how to make a musical instrument
• Changing sounds: student interactive

Diversity of learners

For additional support

• This activity may be completed as a collaborative learning task.
• Students undertake a simple investigation by placing their fingertips lightly on the wall of their larynx (voice box) while speaking or singing at the same time. Students should be able to feel the vibrations of their vocal cords.

For extension

• Students make predictions and conduct a simple investigation into whether sound travels better through certain materials. Students could also investigate the conditions needed to create an echo.
• Students research and listen to musical instruments significant to different cultures and communities around the world. This could include investigating musical instruments created by an Aboriginal community member, from natural materials. With the assistance of a local Indigenous guide, students explore customs and beliefs which accompany the use of musical instruments in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Review

Through this STEM activity, students have refined their understanding of sound sources in their everyday contexts. They have explored how different physical actions and materials create different qualities of sound and can define sound as something which is heard and created by vibrations. Students have applied their experiences with music to describe and organise sound. This study of sound is extended in Science Stage 4 and further extended to studies of waves in Science Stage 5.

Students have worked scientifically by comparing their observations with peers and reflecting on prior experiences. Students have worked technologically by using everyday materials and equipment to solve the problem of needing to play more than one musical instrument at the same time. In doing so, they have used peer feedback. Students have worked mathematically by using the language of mathematics in using diagrams as the basis for their designs. Students will refine these skills by creating their own design process to respond to particular criteria and by reflecting upon collected data and the way in which findings were reached, as these are essential skills for Technology (Mandatory) Stage 4.