Higher and lower sounds
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can identify high and low pitched sounds.
Key learning points
- Pitch and volume are different things.
- Pitch describes how high or low a sound is.
- Amusia, or tone deafness, is the inability to detect pitch, and only affects around 4% of the population.
- Sound is made when an object vibrates. Different objects produce different pitch sounds when they vibrate.
- Some objects vibrate to produce more than one pitched sound.
Keywords
Sound - We hear sound with our ears.
Pitch - Pitch is a measure of how high or how low a sound is.
Detect - To detect something is to find it or discover that it is present.
Vibrations - Vibrations are when an object moves very fast from side to side.
Common misconception
Children may think that the volume of sound and the pitch of sound is the same thing, or that high sounds are loud and low sounds are quiet.
It is important to expose children to a wide range of high and low pitched sounds. Continue to make the distinction between volume and pitch throughout the lesson.
Teacher tip
Use a shatterproof plastic ruler for the final P task, but make sure it has some flexibility. You could video the ruler in slow motion to observe the vibrations.
Equipment
Reusable plastic bottle and glass bottle (of similar sizes), 30 cm ruler made of quite flexible plastic.
Content guidance
Exploration of objects
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.How does sound travel?
Q2.What is a vibration?
Q3.How do we hear sounds?
Q4.A medium can be a solid, liquid or a ...
Q5.Starting with a crowd at a stadium, put these sounds in order of loudest volume to quietest volume.
Q6.What do we use to measure how loud or quiet a sound is?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Pitch describes how high or a sound is.
Q2.Which statement about sounds do you agree with.
Q3.Which of the following produces a high pitched sound?
Q4.Sounds are made when an object ...
Q5.What is the name given to someone who can not detect the pitch of sounds.
Q6.Which statements about vibrations and pitch are true?
To help you plan your 4 science lesson on: Higher and lower sounds, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 4 science lesson on: Higher and lower sounds, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 science lessons from the Introduction to sound unit, dive into the full primary science curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.