October 7 -11

 I can identify sources of sound and I understand that sound is made by vibrations of objects (Grade 2 Science)

We are scientists in grade 2! We learned that sound is created when something vibrates and sends waves of energy into our ears. We practiced being present with our surroundings and trying to focus on our sense of hearing. It was tricky to be mindful and listen to all the sounds around us but the students did a great job! They created sound maps in their visual journals as they listened!

As part of our learning, we did two experiments this week and, like all good scientists, we made predictions and recorded our observations. In our Salty Sounds experiment, we used sound waves from tuning forks to move salt! In our Tuning Forks in Water experiment, students explored what sound waves do to water!

Here are some of the things our scientists noticed during their experiments:

Clark: "when we lightly tapped the tuning fork, it actually sprayed more water."

Owen: "when we banged it then put it on our hand, it felt like electricity and when we put it close to our ear, it sounds like a vacuum."

Ryker: "I banged it on the table and put it in the water and it made a big splash and got it on Clark, Owen, and me."

Quinn: "when you put it close to the salt, it moved because the vibrations moved it."

Everly: "when the vibration was in the water, it made a big splat."

Remy: "when we hit the tuning fork, the tuning fork starts vibrating and when we put it in the water, it stopped."

George: "when the salt was moving, all the salt was spread apart."

Maisie: "when we put the tuning fork on the table and put it in the water, the water made a big splash."

William: "the vibrations were moving the water, which makes the big splash."

Maggie: "when I hit the fork and put it over the salt, only the grains that weren’t touching any other salt were moving."

Jack: "when we bang the tuning fork on the table, we put it in the water and it made a splash." 

Jonah: "when we banged the tuning fork on the table, it was kind of hard because sometimes it didn’t splash."

Andrew: "when we tap the tuning fork, the sound waves move the salt."

Theo: "when I hit the table and put it up to my ear, I heard a vibration and a tuning fork is a source of sound."

Elle: "I banged the tuning fork on the table and put it on my hand, I could feel the vibrations."

Some of the vocabulary we learned this week:

Sound: sound is produced by vibrations of objects. We sense sound with our ears

Vibration: a rapid back-and-forth movement

Volume: how loud or soft a sound is

Tuning fork: a metal instrument that gives a tone when struck