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Lesson plan · Grades K-2 · 30 minutes

Sound Elevator

I can hear and show high and low sounds, loud and soft sounds, and whether a tune moves up or down.

▶ Open the tool Download the tool
Standard
MU:Re7 NCAS
Shape
Explore first
Grouping
Whole class on the carpet.
You need
The tool on the big screen with sound on. Space for children to crouch and stretch.
Tool
curioclass.org/tools/sound-elevator/
  1. Hook4 min
  2. Explore12 min
  3. Make sense5 min
  4. Apply6 min
  5. Exit check3 min

Before class

  • Open Ride. Sound must be on.
  • High and low are about pitch, not volume. Children often say "loud" when they mean "high." The floors and the dial keep the two apart.

Hook 4 min

  1. Sing a very high "hello," then a very low one. "What's different?"
  2. "Sounds can go up and down, like an elevator. Let's ride!"

Explore 12 min

  1. Tap floor 8. The elevator sings every floor on the way up. "Did the sound get higher or lower?"
  2. Tap floor 1. Children move a hand down as the elevator goes down.
  3. Press Ride the whole scale and have children crouch for floor 1 and stand tall with arms up for floor 8.
  4. Turn the dial to soft and tap a floor, then to loud. "The louder the note, the brighter the elevator glows."

Make sense 5 min

  1. "Can a sound be high and soft? Low and loud?" Try it on the elevator.
  2. Switch to High or low? The doors are closed. Children answer with their hands, then tap Higher or Lower to watch the ride.

Apply 6 min

  1. Switch to Loud or soft? Children make a big shape for loud and a tiny shape for soft, then see the glow.
  2. Switch to Echo. Sing the three-note tune back on "loo," then press Show the shape to see if it went up, down or stayed the same.

Exit check 3 min

Play two notes in High or low? Each child shows with their body: tall for higher, crouched for lower. Then ask: "Was that sound high or loud?" Children answer with the word that fits.

Support and stretch

  • Support: use only the far-apart pairs at the start of High or low?
  • Support: keep one hand moving with every note on the ride.
  • Stretch: "What animals make high sounds? Low sounds?"
  • Stretch: a child sings a three-note tune and the class shows its shape with their hands.

Short on time

  • Floors 8 and 1 in Ride (4 min).
  • Three rounds of High or low? (4 min).

How each button works is in the teacher notes. From Curio Class, free under CC BY 4.0: change it, print it, share it.