Science Workshop

Assalamu Alaikom Dear Parents,

Insha'Allah we will be having a workshop about Sound which is a part of the grade 4 science curriculum on Thursday February 13, 2014. The workshop will take 150 minutes, and here is the list of activities that the students will do during the workshop:

Workshop Confirmation

Presenter: James MacCuaig - (613) 762-3026

To: Marwa Ahmed
School: Abraar School, 70 Fieldrow St., Ottawa, K2G 2Y7, (613) 226-1396
Date: 2/13/2014  Time: 9:00am start time.
Second workshop to follow with 12:30pm start time.
I will arrive approximately 45 minutes early to set up.
Please let me know if that will present any problems accessing the room.

Preparation:

1. We will be working in 5 groups and you could choose them in advance if you like. It is good to have a mixture with 1 or 2 girls per group. The best layout is a central area with the groups sitting at 5 large tables. I will need to set up five oscilloscopes with microphones around the outside of the room, and we will use them to see the shapes of sound waves the students generate themselves.
2. Please have the students wearing nametags showing their first name in LARGE BLACK felt pen. Many teachers use 2" x 4" sticky labels. Nametags will be very helpful during discussion periods.
3. I will provide a lab book for each student to keep.
4. Students should bring a pencil.
5. Parent volunteers are not essential but parents are certainly welcome to attend if they wish. If so,parents would be put to use to pass out equipment and help students do the experiments.

Activities:

1. We will discuss a definition of "what is sound" and the ways we use sound in our lives.
2. Working in pairs, the students will use tuning forks to examine how sound travels in different media.
3. We will discuss the nature of waves. Using the oscilloscopes and microphones, students will determine what waves look like for loud & quiet sound, and for sounds of different pitch.
4. Working in pairs, students will examine the properties of strings to make sounds of different pitch.
5. Students will make observations and discuss the different sounds from different musical instruments (timbre), and the concept of resonance.
6. A number of musical instruments will be used including a triangle, one string and two string guitars, and a pan flute the students make themselves.
7. If time permits, students will participate in an improv production using boom whackers and laughing ducks. Each student will get their own laughing duck to take home.

I'm looking forward to visiting your class. Thank you for booking "Sound is Music to Your Ears".

A Partnership in Science Education

Scientists in School is a Registered Canadian Charitable Organization

http://www.scientistsinschool.ca