SoundLab Episode 2: Build a Bridge of Sound

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Investigate how soundwaves travel through different materials
• Recognize microphones as a means for transferring energy
• Reflect on how advancements in recording technology have changed the ways people make and listen to music today
• Use creative problem-solving to design a concert experience in a city without air
• Create a musical message
• Make inferences about intent and meaning in select musical compositions
• Understand music as a tool for self-expression and communication

Activities

All activities are presented in Google Slides.

• Activity 1: Traveling Sounds [STEAM] – Students make and test hypotheses to uncover how soundwaves travel through different materials. The Google Slides deck includes a link to a pre-made Flipgrid topic and an option for students to participate without Flipgrid.

• Activity 2: Energy Transfer [STEAM] – Students review how energy is transferred when a xylophone is played. They learn how microphones transfer energy and reflect on the microphone’s impact on present-day society.

• Activity 3: Engineering Sound [STEAM] – Students apply their knowledge of sound energy to design a way to share music in a world with no air. The Google Slides deck includes a link to a pre-made Flipgrid topic for students to share their designs and an option for students to participate without Flipgrid.

• Activity 4: A Musical Message [Music, SEL] – Using Soundtrap or a similar program, students compose a musical message to send to a friend or family member. Complimentary Soundtrap accounts for educators may be available through Breach.

• Activity 5: Sounding Out Emotions [Music, SEL] – Students express what building a bridge of sound means to them and respond to writing prompts related to George Walker’s Lyric for Strings and using music as a means for communicating “big” emotions.

Vocabulary

• Electrical energy
• Energy
• Mechanical energy
• Sound energy
• Soundwaves
• Transducer
• Vibration