Download Educational Module Proposal Template

Say WHAT? Understanding Our
Hearing and How We Can
Protect It.
Heidi Chase
Kozminski Community Academy,
Chicago Public Schools
IIT Research Mentor: Ralph Muehleisen
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant No.
EEC-0502174. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this
material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science
Foundation.
Overview
 Subject: Elementary Science, Sound and
Hearing
 Target audience: Third Grade Students
 Time requirement: 10 Lessons,
approximately 50 minutes each
Objectives
Content:






Students will identify differences in sound based on volume,
pitch, and timbre.
Students will identify different parts of the ear and explain the
functions of each.
Students will explain how sound enters through the ear and
transfers to the brain.
Students will rate levels of sound based on both what they hear
and the decibel system.
Students will identify safe levels of sound for humans to hear.
Students will identify the sound level that works best for learning
in the classroom.
Objectives
 Inquiry/Problem Solving:

Students will follow and develop procedures to answer the
questions: 1) How does a harmonica change pitch? 2) How can we
best reduce the level of sound that enters our ears.
 Design:

Students will create a model of the ear. Students will develop a
hearing protection device.
 Ethics:

Students will write about and discuss the value of having sound
limits on personal music systems. Students will discuss and modify
classroom volume based on learning abilities and sound.
Illinois Learning Standards
Science Learning Standards:
 11A - Students who meet the standard know and apply the concepts, principles,
and processes of scientific inquiry.
 11B - Students who meet the standard know and apply the concepts, principles,
and processes of technological design.
 12A - Students who meet the standard know and apply concepts that explain
how living things function, adapt, and change.
 12C - Students who meet the standard know and apply concepts that describe
properties of matter and energy and the interactions between them.
 13A - Students who meet the standard know and apply accepted practices of
science.
 13B - Students who meet the standard know and apply concepts that describe the
interaction between science, technology, and society.
Illinois Learning Standards
English Language Arts Standards:




3A - Students who meet the standard
capitalization and structure.
3B - Students who meet the standard
specific purposes and audiences.
3C - Students who meet the standard
of purposes.
4A - Students who meet the standard
can use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation,
can compose well-organized and coherent writing for
can communicate ideas in writing to accomplish a variety
can listen effectively in formal and informal situations.
Mathematics Standards:


8B - Students who meet the standard can interpret and describe numerical relationships using
tables, graphs, and symbols.
10A - Students who meet the standard can organize, describe and make predictions from
existing data.
Health Standards:


22C - Students who meet the standard can explain how the environment can affect health.
23A - Students who meet the standard can describe and explain the structure and functions of
the human body systems and how they interrelate.
Background
 List of topics covered by “teacher notes”






Anatomy of the ear.
Sound waves and differences in sound information.
Noise induced hearing loss information.
Comparative chart of various levels of noise.
Instructions on how to make palm pipes.
Supplemental materials: worksheets, graphic organizers,
charts and quizzes.
Examples
 Lesson 1: Changes In Sound Part 1
This lesson introduces students to the study of
sound. Students will make and discuss
observations of sounds they hear. They will also
take the unit pre-test.
Examples
 Lesson 2: Changes In Sound Part 2
The second lesson focuses on explaining pitch
and timbre to the students through
demonstrations. Students will partake in teacherrun demos of pitch. They will use the True Audio
software to see differences in sound waves based
on timbre. Students will be able to experiment
with this software using different instruments
available in the classroom.
Examples
 Lesson 3: Changes In Sound Part 3
This is an inquiry based lesson intended to both work
with sound and give the students insight as to how
scientists do their work. Students will explore the use of
palm pipes and xylophones to see how these instruments
change to create different pitches. Students will look for
patterns and use the information to develop a procedure
to answer the question, “How do harmonicas make
different pitches?” To conclude this lesson, the process
that students went through to test and change theories
will be connected to scientific work.
Examples
 Lesson 4: Ear Anatomy Part 1
This lesson’s purpose is to introduce students to
the vocabulary of ear anatomy, allow them to
design how they think an ear works, and work as
members of a team. Students will draw a design
of the outer and inner ear, explain their design,
justify their choices, and evaluate members of
the group based on participation in the activity.
Examples
 Lesson 5: Ear Anatomy Part 2
Groups will present their design ideas for the inner
ear. The teacher will go over the content of how
the different parts of the ear work together to
transfer sound to the brain. As the teacher
explains this, the students will fill out a study
guide labeling different parts of the ear.
Examples
 Lesson 6: Volume and Hearing Loss Part 1
This lesson will include two demonstrations of sound
waves and volume. Once students learn how volume
“looks” they will hypothesize on how volume connects
to ear anatomy to lead to hearing loss. Finally, students
will be given a chart of various decibel levels and
comparable sounds. Students will transfer this
information into a bar graph and make a color coded key
for dangerous levels of sound.
Examples
 Lesson 7: Volume and Hearing Loss Part 2

The first part of this lesson focuses on ear
protection. Students will use the chart and graph
from the previous day to brainstorm ways to
protect their ears from the dangerous sounds they
interact with the most.
 Lesson 7: Volume and Hearing Loss Part 2
Continued

The second part of this lesson is an ethical debate. The class will (with a
pros/cons graphic organizer) share ideas that answer the question, “Now that
we know that continued exposure to noise can be very damaging to our ears,
do you think there should be rules or regulations on how loud these sounds
are allowed to be?” Another topic to be posed is noise regulations based on
annoyance. Since we cannot always completely control sound to stay in one
area, should there be regulations to protect people who do not want to hear
other people’s noise? Once ideas are shared, students will use their graphic
organizer to help them write a 3-5 paragraph essay choosing one side of the
debate.
Examples
 Lesson 8: Classroom Noise

For this lesson students will use a sound level meter to
learn the decibel level of the classroom when everyone is
quiet- the decibel level of background noise. The
problem will then be posed that to effectively learn in the
classroom the teaching volume must be 15 decibels
louder than that of the background noise. Students will
calculate safe lengths of time to be exposed to each
volume.
Examples
 Lesson 8: Classroom Noise Continued


To demonstrate how volume can affect learning and
thinking, students will take four mini math quizzes that
are two minutes in length. At two minute intervals a
stereo in the background will progressively increase in
volume. The papers will be graded as a class and the
results discussed.
Students will write a three paragraph essay stating what
they think the best noise level would be in the classroom.
When students are finished writing ideas will be shared.
Project
 Design project or experiment
The final design project will span over two days
and have two separate goals. On the first day
students will participate in an inquiry-based
activity exploring different ways to mute sound.
On the second day students will design a form of
hearing protection that they would use in an
environment they regularly encounter.
Project

How will you integrate inquiry or problem
solving?
On day one students will be posed with the
question of “How can you most effectively mute
the sound of various noise makers?” Students
will be responsible for developing a procedure to
test different methods, making a comparative
chart of their collected data, and coming to a
conclusion based on their tests.
Project
 How will you incorporate design?
On the second day of the design project
students will design a product to protect their
ears from a too-loud noise they regularly
encounter.
Project

How will you include ethics?
Students must justify their choices in design and
develop a product that they would use for
themselves. As a class they will be introduced to
the ethics of design in this fashion.
Materials
 Model of the inner and outer ear: this may be a
visual aid or an actual model, depending on what is
available.
 Music or CD of everyday sounds- this is optional as
background noise and prior knowledge is also as
useful.
 Paper supplies- for student created diagrams and for
teacher created diagrams, charts, and assessments.
Materials
 Decibel measuring tool- this is optional, it will
enhance lessons.
 Household items to use for final project- some ideas
include halved rubber balls, earphones, memory
foam, pillows, cloth, pots, pans, paper, etc.
 True Audio software- www.trueaudio.com (the free
Level 1 software is adequate!)
 Musical instruments- harmonicas, xylophones,
recorders, palm pipes
Assessment
 Describe what concepts you plan to assess.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Anatomy and purpose of the different parts of the ear.
Students will know how sound is transferred and processed by the brain.
Students will classify sounds based on decibels.
Students will rate sound safety.
Students will discuss ethics surrounding the loudness of sound and means to
prevent hearing loss.
Students will develop reasonable solutions to posed problems.
 Describe how you plan to assess your students.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Test
Student created diagram
Chart
Chart
Multi-paragraph essay
Final project