Sound Centers

I really enjoy teaching through experience. For my second graders I gathered a few household objects and set up sound centers. The students were expected to answer questions on a worksheet for each center. here are a few of the activities enjoyed by the students:
1. To help students understand that sound comes from vibrations I had them put their hand to their throat as they made a sound. They could feel the vibrations with their hand.
2. Students will be able to see vibrations with the Dancing Salt experiment. I covered an empty tissue box with plastic wrap. Then I put some salt on the plastic wrap. Students took turns making sounds near the salt box by tapping pots with wooden spoons. The vibrations from the sound make the salt "dance" or bounce around.
3. Students used a ruler to listen to vibrations. First, they placed the ruler on their desks with part of the ruler hanging over the edge. Then, they lightly tapped the edge of the ruler that was hanging over the edge of the desk. This causes the ruler to vibrate and it makes a sound.
4. Students really enjoyed making guitars. We used cardboard boxes and rubber bands. The depth of the boxes and thickness of the rubber bands made a difference in the sound that was produced.