Sound is a fantastic topic to engage students with science, there are lots of testable ideas for students to explore both in the classroom and at home.
Join Greta Dromgool and the New Zealand Association of Primary Science Educators (NZAPSE) as we explore fun ways you can learn and teach about sound. With simple activities using equipment that is easy to source, we will demonstrate how to engage students in discovering science ideas behind sound.
This year's Primary Science Week Sounds of Aotearoa runs from the 11–15 May. Check out the NZAPSE website and get prepared for hands-on learning with our free webinar.
You can also have a look at the Science Learning Hub’s sound topic if you want to learn more.
This session will be valuable for primary and lower secondary school teachers, parents and caregivers supporting learning science at home.
Register here.
Joining the webinar
Follow these simple steps to join our webinar:
- Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android by clicking on the link https://waikato.zoom.us/j/359736528 and following the instructions. You can also access Zoom on your phone, just follow the prompts.
- Find the chat box located in the toolbar at the bottom of your screen. You may need to access this by clicking on ‘More’.
- Using the chat box, introduce yourself, where you teach and, if you are in a group, how many people are there.
- Set up your screen for optimal viewing. If you’re using a mobile device, you may wish to view in landscape. We recommend selecting a thumbnail view of the presenters – this way you can easily see what is being shared on the screen.
Then you can:
- watch, listen and respond via chat to the presentation and discussion
- ask questions using the chat box at any time
- continue your learning on Slack – our online discussion forum
The Science Learning Hub team will be there to support you and answer questions.
PLD certification
We currently offer recognition of teachers’ involvement in our online PLD.
To qualify for a professional learning and development certificate, teachers must:
- register for and watch the live webinar or let us know they have viewed the recorded version once it is published on the website
- register in Slack and participate in our discussions about sound in our #primary science channel or in the Slack learning reflections channel.
Activity ideas
Explore further with one or more of these activities:
- Sound detectives – students take part in a class experiment to locate sounds when blindfolded.
- Modelling waves with slinkies – students model how sound travels by sending waves along two stretched plastic slinkies tied together.
- Make and use a hydrophone – students make a hydrophone and use it to listen to underwater sounds.
- Sounds in a pool – students listen to sounds made in a swimming pool while being under water themselves.
- Measuring the speed of sound – use a timing app to measure the speed of sound.
This is the second webinar created in collaboration with NZAPSE, see Chemistry in the primary classroom for more hands-on science ideas.
Useful link
Find a range of engaging ideas and activities to support 2020 Primary Science Week on the NZAPSE website.
Acknowledgement
This webinar has been created in collaboration with the New Zealand Association of Primary Science Educators.
