Horrid Henry Rocks - Sound
Horrid Henry Rocks by Francesca Simon is a great book to start teaching about sound. The story involves the antics of Horrid Henry, Moody Margaret and their peers. Henry wants to go to the see his favourite band, The Killerboy Rats in concert while his family want to go to the Daffy and her Dancing Daisies concert. Children could use this book to help them explore: • how sounds are made, associating some of them with something vibrating
Key scientific vocabulary: sound, sound source, noise,vibrate/vibration, travel, matter, pitch, tune, high/low, volume, loud/quiet, fainter, muffle, strength of vibrations, insulatio, instrument, precussion, strings, brass, woodwind, tuned / untuned instruments. Other fiction books with a similar theme include: Polar Bear Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? – Eric Carle Moonbird - Joyce Dunbar (Explores deafness & Communcation) What the Jackdaw Saw - Julia Donaldson ( Explores sign language - written by a group of deaf children in a workshop with Julia Donaldson) Little Beaver and the Echo - Amy MacDonald Dachy's Deaf - Jack Hughes |
Sound: listen up
Six lesson plans by Hamilton Trust exploring basic ideas in sound.They include sound as a vibration, the ear, soundproofing, pitch and volume.
In Chapter four Henry is forces to go to the 'Daffy and her dancing Daisy's Show' against his will. He would rather go and see the much cooler Killer Boy Rats. The children could design and make a set of ear defenders for Henry. Which materials block out sound most effectively. The children could use data loggers to establish which material was most effective.
Sound
A powerpoint and accompanying notes by Physicists in Primary Schools to support teachers. It explains how to get children to use drama to physical show vibrations moving along. It also includes visual images to show how sound is heard.
There are instructions for the ear gongs investigation. Children use coat hangers and string to create ear gongs, through this they can feel sound as a vibration travelling from the coat hanger along the strong to their ear. They can use ear gongs to investigate the link between the strength of the vibration and the volume of the sound they hear. Children could suggest other variables to investigate such as thickness or length of the string, the material they bang the ear gongs on.
Sound Survey
This activity is from Genetic Disorders UK, encourages children to consider what it would be like for a child with hearing difficulties in school. The children develop a set of survey questions to assess the noisiest places in school and work in small groups to survey the site and map their findings.
The story What the Jackdaw Saw by Julia Donaldson could also be used alongside this resource. It was written by a group of deaf children and explores sound alongside sign language.
Light and Sound
In chapter three Horrid Henry is surrounded by lots of sounds..... Rude Ralph bouncing on a chair, Linda screaming, Miss Battle-Axe barking, Steven stomping. The children could sort out the sounds that Henry hears in terms of their pitch - low or high sounds.
In this video the teacher models how children can create different pitches of sound using bottles and water.
Music to the Ears: Designing and Creating a Sound Generator
In chapter two Horrid Henry gate crashes Moody Margaret's sleepover. He hides in her chest to avoid being found! In there, Horrid Henry can hear everything. The children could investigate which states of matter sound can travel through? Does it travel equally well through solids, liquids and gases? How does the distance that sound must travel through affect its volume?
This resource provides a cross-curricular design and technology project linked to the topic of sound. Children design and make their own simple stringed instrument. This enables them to learn and experience properties of sound and discover more about the work of sound engineers.
In this resource, children design and make their own simple stringed instrument. This enables them to learn and experience properties of sound and the work of sound engineers.
They then investigate how sound travels and discover the properties of sound using a resonance box.
Musical Moods
Horrid Henry loves the band Killer Boy Rats! They are loud... just how he likes it. But is there a safe volume for listening to music? How loud is too loud? Musical moods was created for British Science Week 2011 an is full of really fun and novel sound investigations for children to investigate practically. They are encouraged to plan their own enquiries. Other examples include does music help plants to grow? Does music help your heart recover more quickly after exercise?