Project Outlines

Room 14 - Musical Instrument Project

This term in science we have been learning about sound.  What makes sound?  Where does it come from?  How do you change the sound that you hear?  These are just some of the questions that we have been looking at in our study. 

We are now ready to start our take home project - build your own musical instrument!  This is an at home project, students will use materials that they have around the house to make an instrument that can produce different sounds, change the pitch and volume.

What is a musical instrument?  How do they make sound?

Musical instruments are classified by how the instrument produces the sound.  The three major instrument groups are strings, winds and percussion.

String instruments produce sound by strings being plucked or bowed.  A guitar produces a sound when the strings are plucked with fingers or a pick.  Violins and cellos produce a sound when a bow is drawn over the strings. Pitch is changed by changing the length of the vibrating string. By pushing down on the string with a finger, the length is shortened, which produces a higher pitch sound. Thicker diameter strings also produce a lower pitch.

Wind instruments produce sound when air is blown through the instrument.  In brass instruments, such as the trumpet and trombone, the lips produce the vibration.  Pitch is changed by using the valves or slides on the instrument.  In the woodwind instruments, the reed in the mouthpiece produces the vibrations.  In a flute or piccolo, the air itself vibrates in the column of the instrument.  The length of the air column affects the pitch.  A larger instrument like a saxophone will have a lower sound than a clarinet.

Percussion instruments produce sounds by being struck.  Bells, cymbals and drums are percussion instruments.  When you hit these instruments, they vibrate.  The vibrations cause changes in air pressure. The air vibrates, and your ears hear these vibrations as sound.  Most percussion instruments do not produce a pitch, so they are often called rhythm instruments.  The piano and xylophone can produce a definite pitch, yet, they are still classified as percussion instruments, because the strings of the piano and bars of the xylophone are struck. 

Build Your Own Instrument

Use what you have learned to create your own instrument!  These need to be hand made, use tools and supplies you have in your house to create it.

You will need to:

- Make a design of your instrument.  Included a labeled diagram.  How will you make it?

- Include a list of the materials that you will use

- Produces two different sounds

- Is hand-held

- Has a way to modify pitch or loudness

- Is visually appealing

Due: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 

Labeled Diagram	Testing my instrument (while you are making it): What worked? What didn’t work?
List of Materials Used	Reflection: What I did well: __________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Next time I would change: __________________ ______________________________________ Comments: _____________________________ ______________________________________

Room 14 Instrument Project Presentation Checklist

__ Explains how they made the instrument

         __ Materials

        

         __ Step-by-step

__ Shows at least 2 different sounds that the instrument makes

__ Shows how the play the instrument

__ Explains problems that they faced and what you did to fix them

__ Tells us what family of instruments it belongs to

__ Tells us their inspiration for making the instrument

Habitat Project - Due November 17th

The following is the information that will be going home with students on Friday November 6th.  Please review so you can assist with their projects.

Designing a Habitat

What is the project?

You will be choosing an animal and researching what they need in order to survive in their environment.  You will be designing and building a habitat that will support their needs.  The planning will be done in school and the design of the habitat will take place at home.  Use prior knowledge and what you have learned about animals, adaptations and habitats to complete this project.

Students will be presenting their habitats to the class.  They can use iPad apps such as Tellagami to aid them in their presentation or can simply stand up and explain it to the class.  Make sure to review the attached rubric so you include all the necessary things in your presentation.

What is required?

- Students will need a box (shoe box or cereal box are a great size) to create their habitat in

- Students will need to complete the research before they begin their project

- Students will need to gather items in order to create their habitat – they are encouraged to use items from nature (twigs, pinecones, leaves, grass, rocks, etc…) and household items

- Students should follow the attached rubric to guide them while creating their habitat

- Students will create one question about their animal and their adaptations so they can live in their environment for a class Kahoot!  -- - See attached form to fill out your question and hand in to Miss Adamson.

- Students will also be presenting their project to the class in a 5-10 minute presentation.  Make sure to practice!

Due Date: Tuesday November 17, 2015

Animal Habitat Project Rubric

	1 *	2 **	3 ***	Incredible! ****
Habitat	- there only a couple of objects or items used to create a habitat and it does not look realistic or is not 3D - habitat is unrealistic and does not show the needs of the animal to survive (food, water, shelter) - there is nothing to suggest whether the animal is a predator or prey - student appears to not have used the research they have done to create their   habitat	- there are a few objects used to create either a partially realistic habitat or it is only a bit 3D - habitat is mostly realistic and shows some of the needs of the animal to survive (food, water, shelter) - it is not clear whether they are a predator or prey - student has used some of their research to help them create their habitat	- a variety of objects are used to create a realistic habitat that is 3D (NOT flat!) - habitat is realistic and shows most of the needs of the animal to survive (food, water, shelter) - it is shown that your animal is either a predator or prey - student has clearly used their research to help them with creating their habitat	- a wide variety of objects both from nature and other household items which are used to create a realistic habitat that is 3D (NOT flat!) - habitat is realistic, in proportion and detailed and shows the needs of the animal to survive (food, water, shelter) - it is clear whether your animal is a predator, prey or both - Student goes above and beyond and adds more details from their research  - creative!
Presentation	- Student does not accurately explain what habitat their animal lives or the characteristics of the habitat - Student tells the class some adaptations, but does not clearly or accurately explained them  -  0 - 2 minutes in length - Student has not prepared in advance for their presentation	- Student somewhat explains what habitat their animal lives in and some of the characteristics of the habitat - Student tells the class some of the adaptations of their animal, but hasn’t explained how it helps them survive - Less that 4 minutes in length - Student has done some preparation to present, but more practice would be beneficial	- Student explains what habitat their animal lives in, describes most of the environment and shows how they represented that in their diorama - Student describes most of the adaptations their animal has and how they help them survive in their habitat - 4-5 minutes in length - Student shows some enthusiasm while presenting and has practiced	- Student has clearly explained what habitat their animal lives in, what the environment is like and how they’ve represented that in their diorama - Student accurately describes the adaptations their animal has and why they need them to survive in their habitat - 5-10 minutes in length - Student is enthusiastic while presenting and has clearly practiced