Pre-K Science: Sound

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This was a project we did in my class in Spring 2007 when the children became interested in sounds. This project integrated science, music, literacy, math, and art. We studied objects that make sound, animal sounds, musical instrument sounds, loud and soft sounds.

Books

Click for a list of Books about Sound for Pre-K children.

Activities

Display: Collection of Things That Make Sound

Read the blog post about this display: What Makes Sound?

Display: Can You Make Music with Water?

Read the blog post about this display: Can You Make Music with Water?

Making Musical Instruments: Drums

Empty nut and drink mix cans were covered with a piece of construction paper. Children painted their drums, and we later used them with music at circle time.

Making Musical Instruments: Castanets

We made these with a piece of posterboard folded over. Children decorated them and glued a button onto each side on the inside of the castenet (so that the buttons tap together). We used the castanets at circle time with music.

Making Musical Instruments: Egg Shakers

Children decorated a plastic egg with stickers and filled it with rice to make an egg shaker. We used these at circle time with music.

Sound Games

Read the blog post for these two games that teach the sense of sound: “What is It?” and “Who Has It?”

Recorder

We used a voice recorder to record different sounds that we can make, such as loud and soft sounds or animal sounds. The children enjoyed playing it back to hear themselves and their friends.

Photo Walk

We went on a photo walk around the school to find things that make sound. The children were allowed to use one of my old digital cameras to take photos of things they found. The photos were put together in a slideshow presentation with their dictation about the photo, and shared with their parents.

Click the image above for more of our sound walk.

Drawing Things That Make Sound

Children drew pictures of things that make sound. These pictures were put into a class collaborative book, and later their individual pages were placed in their portfolio.

Click the image above to enlarge.