Australian Curriculum content links

Science journals

Create a class science journal, either in hard-copy or digitally. You might:

• use/create a large scrap book or flip chart.
• use poster/butchers’ paper so learning can be displayed in sequence on the wall.
• create a digital journal using your platform/ technology of choice.
• any combination of the above.

Plan for students’ creation of an individual science journal, either in hard-copy or digitally. They might:

• use an exercise book, scrap book or flip chart to record their thinking and gather resource sheets together.
• use a folder to store and collate resource sheets, diagrams, photographs etc.
• use a digital folder to store work samples, images and videos.
• any combination of the above.

See Using a science journal throughout inquiry for more detailed information on the importance of science journals.

General preparation

• Read through the teaching sequence.
• Note any adaptations you would like to make to suit your schools’ and students’ context.
• Prepare demonstration copies of Resource sheets as required.
• Read the information below to make further decisions relevant to the teaching of this sequence.

Sound table

A sound table is covered in items, collected by the students and teachers, that make noise, or have the potential to make noise when a specific action is applied. Examples include musical instruments, leaves, paper, spoons, bubble wrap, bottles of rice/popcorn/buttons, cotton wool, bowls of pebbles etc.

The sound table is intriguing to many students and something they can all experience success contributing to. It also provides an opportunity for students to share their knowledge and experiences, reinforcing that we value them and their understandings.

Special items (such as instruments) may need to be returned to students—a collection of small boxes/tubs/trays can help to keep those items sorted and named while on the table.

As a class, ensure everyone knows which items they are allowed to touch. It may be simpler to only permit items onto the table that can be touched by everyone, to encourage free exploration.

Recording students in conversation

Prepare a recording of the students from your school in a noisy environment- for example as they are eating their lunch. Include one or two students speaking or answering questions about something relevant to the context, for example about what's in their lunch box.

You might prefer to record students from another class or year group, to avoid any embarrassment students might feel when it is played back during the lesson.

In lesson one, students watch a television commercial set in a school environment, specifically as students eat lunch. By pre-recording an occasion where students are doing the same thing, they are able compare what things sound like in a real-life environment as compared to a carefully produced one, noting that background noise is present in real-life, and specific sound effects are not heard.

Class noise meter

Decide if your students will be making a physical or virtual noise meter in the Integrate phase of Lesson 3.

If students are making the virtual noise meter, print 1 x A3 colour copy of Virtual class noise meter.

Selecting the prompt for the Act phase

Selecting an appropriate prompt which students can create sound effects for will depend on numerous factors, including student interest, local context and whether the students will share their ideas within the classroom or in the wider community. For example, an upcoming school concert, buddy activity or school assembly provides an opportunity for students to share their sound effect ideas with a larger audience and may lend itself to a particular theme or topic. Alternatively students might simply explore, design, test and share sound effects with their peers in their usual science class.

Some examples of prompts include:

Role plays

• Puppet shows
• Skits
• Mimes
• Poetry or short story
• Thunderstorm choir
• Charades—in pairs students create a charade to perform to the class. One student performs the action while the other adds a sound effect. The remaining students attempt to guess what is happening.
• 20 Second Scene—all students work with a partner to design and act a short scene (20 seconds) containing movements and actions, not just dialogue. The performance is recorded using tablets/phones/video cameras. Recording each performance on a different device creates the opportunity to easily distribute scenes. Each pair is then allocated a scene to add sound effects to. Groups could be creating sound effects for all different scenes or all working on the same scene. Then, the filmed scene(s) is played as pairs have their turn performing their chosen sound effects.

Advertisements

• Specsavers airport (0:30)
• Coca-Cola Happiness Factory (0:45)
• Coca-Cola Masterpiece (1:52)
• Cadbury Aliens (0:40)
• KitKat Dancing Babies (0:45)
• Apple iPad Pro Crushing (1:08)
• Pepsi advertisement (0:30)

Movie scenes or trailers

• Puffin Rock (1:40)
• Inside Out Guess the feelings (3:16)
• Moana-How Far I’ll Go (2:35) add sounds over top of music
• Moana trailer (2:34)
• Sing- pig inventions (2:56) mute at 1:17 and add sound effects

Cross-curricula

• Transport in Australia
   

The materials required for each lesson are listed on the lesson's page. For the full sequence resource list, download the Preparing to teach this sequence document below.