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Materials
- small, relatively light objects: paper clips, buttons, straws, pencils, napkins, cotton balls, small pieces of construction paper, small paper cups, pieces of sponge
- construction paper
- pencils
- tape
- one or two pillows
Key Science Concepts
- Different objects make different sounds.
- An action has to happen to make a sound.
Vocabulary
Be sure that children understand the difference between the words quiet, quieter, and quietest.
Directions
Tell children that they’ll be listening to things that make quiet or soft sounds.
- Have children sit on the floor or at a table. Invite them to choose some of the objects, and drop them on the floor or table. Ask, what kinds of sounds do the objects make?
- Hand out the construction paper and have children draw a line down the middle of it. Tell them that on one side of the paper they will tape some objects that they think are quiet, and on the other half of the paper they will tape things that are even quieter. Have them test each object before taping them down. They can choose as many or as few objects as they want.
- Label each child’s paper for them: “Quiet” and “Quieter.” Ask them to circle the object that they think is the quietest of them all.
Share and Reflect
Encourage children to share their observations about the objects and explain which ones they thought were quiet, quieter, and the quietest. Then ask:
- What do you think will happen if we stand up and drop some of these same objects onto the floor?
- How does dropping an object from a higher distance change the sound?
- What do you think if we drop this same object on a pillow?
- Do you think dropping it on a pillow will change the sound? How?
Have children try it and ask, Can you describe the sound?
