In this unit, students start by observing a perplexing phenomenon. When a sewing needle taped to a cone is dragged over the surface of a plastic disc that is spun underneath it, it produces voices and musical notes. This leads students to start wondering about other sound-related phenomena, which in turn leads to wealth of new questions about 1) What causes different sounds? 2) What is traveling from a sound source to our ears? 3) How do we hear and why do we hear things differently in different places? and 4) How do electronic devices (digital sound sources) produce and detect sounds?

This resource was created by Michele Barcelona, in collaboration with Lynn Bowder, as part of ESU2's Mastering the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education and experiential learning. 

In this lesson series, students will design and conduct an experiment using microwaves to measure either the speed of light or the wavelength of the microwaves emitted by the appliance. Essential questions include: What are the types of light? How is the speed of light measured? Why do all types of light travel at the same speed?

This module is centered on the driving question, “How can we as engineers design a concert experience for others to enjoy?” In order to answer this question, students will consider what a wave is, and how waves are modeled. They will explore sound and light waves, and how these waves interact with various media. The culminating performance task requires students to synthesize this information, and apply it to the design of a concert experience.

The materials below are shared via a google drive folder and can be viewed and downloaded for use.

This Remote Learning Plan was created by Courtney Bakan, Cassaundra Griffith, and Laura Trautman in collaboration with Sara Cooper and Annette Weise as part of the 2020 ESU-NDE Remote Learning Plan Project. Educators worked with coaches to create Remote Learning Plans as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.The attached Remote Learning Plan is designed for 8th Grade Science students. Students will figure out, "How can sound make something move?". This Remote Learning Plan addresses the following NDE Standards: SC.8.2.2.A and SC.8.2.2.B

Students are presented with a challenge question concerning color blindness and asked to use engineering principles to design devices to help people who are color blind. Using the legacy cycle as a model, this unit is comprised of five lessons designed to teach wave properties, the electromagnetic spectrum, and the anatomy of the human eye in an interactive format that introduces engineering applications and real-world references. It culminates with an activity in which student teams apply what they have learned to design devices that can aid people with colorblindness in distinguishing colors— as evidenced by their creation of brainstorming posters, descriptive brochures and short team presentations, as if they were engineers reporting to clients. Through this unit, students become more aware of the connections between the biology of the eye and the physical science concept of light, and gain an understanding of how those scientific concepts relate to the field of engineering.