Activity 4: Sounds Around
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Our ears are constantly being bombarded with sound—so much so that we automatically “tune out” a lot of it. Some sounds are “music to our ears,” while others can annoy us and even damage the delicate structures in our ears. This activity helps students “tune in” to the sounds in their environment and helps them identify and lessen local noise problems. They also learn how different sounds in nature have inspired cultural stories.
This is Activity 4, one of 96 activities in PLT’s PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide (available in print or electronically).
To get the activity:
- Check out this online course with an E-Book (with an option to also purchase a printed guide for an additional fee)
- Contact your PLT State Coordinator. During COVID-19, PLT now offers remote professional development to model ways educators can work with students virtually, including adaptations to PLT activities.
Below are some supporting resources for this activity.
The PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide is a supplementary curriculum that is multi-disciplinary, with an emphasis on science, reading, writing, mathematics, and social studies.
Each activity displays explicit connections to practices and concepts expected by the following national academic standards so teachers can easily see where the materials will fit into their lesson plans:
- Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
- Common Core Toolkit, includes
- English Language Arts (CCSS.ELA)
- Mathematics (CCSS.MATH)
- College, Career, and Civic Life Framework for Social Studies (C3)
Our professional development further demonstrates these connections, as well as to state and local standards, contact your state coordinator.
My Forest is Green
Follow along a curious young boy who explores the urban forest near his home and describes the shapes, textures, and colors of the plants and animals that live there and encourages young children to observe and appreciate the nature around them.
When Sophie Gets Angry
When Sophie Gets Angry Ages 2-6. ISBN 0590189794 Published by Scholastic, Inc. June 2004 Authored by Molly Bang Recommended Reading This book, appropriate for ages 2-6, is an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book and winner of the Caldecott Honor (awarded annually to artists for the most distinguished American picture books for children.) It... Read more »
The Listening Walk
The Listening Walk Ages 3-6 By Paul Showers Illustrated by Aliki ISBN: 9780064433228 Recommended Reading Try exploring nature with all of your senses! Each season provides unique opportunities for young children to “tune in” to the sounds of our natural environment. Begin using your hearing with The Listening Walk by Paul Showers. In this book, a... Read more »
Where’s Rodney?
Where’s Rodney? Grades K-2 Written by: Carmen Bogan Illustrated by: Floyd Cooper Published by: Yosemite Conservancy, 2017 ISBN-13: 9781930238824 Recommended Reading Rodney can’t seem to sit still. At school, he is always more interested in what is happening outside the window than what is going on inside the classroom. Rodney has a reputation for... Read more »
EE Resources
Video Demo: Sounds Around
Watch the Sounds Around Demonstration video (15 minutes). PLT’s Sounds Around engages students to listen and learn from sounds of nature. This video was developed by Danielle Ardrey, Colorado PLT Coordinator, this step-by-step instructional video offers guiding questions and an example of a “sound map”.
Woodlands Siesta Activity
Shared by Sandy Greene, an environmental educator in Virginia, this Woodlands Siesta activity helps connect students to the outdoors as they create a sound map and see the forest from a different perspective (while lying in a hammock!). Greene suggests this activity be enjoyed as part of a summer afterschool program or day-time camp. It does require... Read more »
A Listening Walk
Check out this instructional video for home learners by the Jeffers Foundation: A Listening Walk. It shows children how to practice listening for nature sounds, and how to collect acorns and other natural objects to make a sound guessing game.
Acoustical Society of America’s Sound Resources
Explore Educator Resources from the Acoustical Society of America, including lesson plans, activities, and a gallery of interesting nature sounds.
Tree Product Images
Print out pages containing many examples of everyday products from trees!
Find Nearby Trails and Parks
AllTrails is a free app that helps users discover the outdoors. Use it to find a hiking path suitable for children, to search for local places to bike or fish, or to plan a national park visit.
Bird Sleuth
The BirdSleuth Guidebook from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology offers step-by-step instructions to enable families, school groups, and others to get outdoors and connect with nature. Use this booklet in conjunction with PLT lessons, for example, go on a habitat scavenger hunt (Trees as Habitats), create a sound map (Sounds Around), and identify backyard species... Read more »
Nature’s Sound Map
Nature’s Sound Map is an interactive tool that allows you to listen to clips of nature all over the world. The sounds range from those of an individual animal to entire ecosystems.
Singing Songs
Try singing these songs with adapted lyrics to get children excited and focused on what they might hear or what they actually heard on an outdoor hike. Print these lyrics and slip them into plastic page protectors for convenient posting in the classroom or for carrying outdoors. “Here We Go on A Nature Adventure” Song:... Read more »
A Machine That Turns a Tree’s Rings into a Musical Score
Learn about a modified record player that reads growth rings from a tree like musical notes. Created by German artist, this machine uses the annual rings that you find in cross-sections of trees and converts them into piano music.
Easy Chart
A free app that can be downloaded onto Apple devices. This is a good tool for teachers and classrooms. Easily create bar, line and pie charts that you can customize, save and e-mail or upload. The charts you create can be saved using multiple color schemes and in multiple sizes. The app also works without... Read more »
PBS Kids Plum Landing
A PBS KIDS environmental science project, PBS PLUM LANDING offers educators fun and engaging resources to get kids outside and connected to nature. Encourage kids to explore their local water systems, find out what happens to life in the desert, and investigate nature’s sounds and smells. Download PLUM LANDING’s free summer camp resources, including interactive... Read more »
Create Your Own Book App
Be the author, illustrator, and editor of your own literary adventure with Book Creator, an app that can be downloaded for the iPad from the iTunes store. Book Creator allows anyone to create and share their own journals, text books, children’s picture books and photobooks that can be designed with a multitude of text and... Read more »
Nature Maestro® App Series
With Nature Maestro®, sound recordist and composer Dennis Hysom is your guide. Use this series of applications to explore sounds in nature. You might compose a soundscape for the rainforest, build a nature scene using audio paired with imagery, and discover fun facts about animals all along the way. Immerse yourself in these biomes to... Read more »
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