Lesson 1: How is sound made through vibrations?

This Year 4 sound and vibrations lesson introduces pupils to how sounds are made and explores the connection between sound and vibration. Pupils investigate different musical instruments to identify which parts vibrate, explore how vibrations create sound waves and consider how those vibrations travel to our ears.

The lesson directly supports the Year 4 Science National Curriculum requirement to identify how sounds are made, associating some of them with something vibrating. Pupils develop their scientific understanding through practical exploration, observation and discussion using a range of instruments and sound-making objects.

How are sounds made by vibrations?

Pupils begin by exploring how their own voices make sound, feeling the vibrations produced by the larynx and vocal cords as they speak. They then investigate different musical instruments and identify what is vibrating to produce each sound, including strings, drum skins, bars and air.

Through six practical sound stations, pupils make sounds using different instruments, discuss where each sound originates and record their observations. This helps address the misconception that some sounds can be produced without vibration simply because the vibration cannot easily be seen.

What do sound waves look like?

Pupils explore how vibrations create sound waves that travel through the air to our ears. A tuning fork and water demonstration makes the effect of vibrations visible, helping pupils connect the movement they can observe in water with the invisible sound waves travelling through the air.

Pupils can also explore a visual representation of sound using a spectrogram, considering how sound waves can be represented and beginning to notice what happens when pitch and volume change.

What’s included in this Year 4 sound and vibrations lesson?

• Launchable teaching slides for whole-class teaching
• Detailed lesson plan with National Curriculum coverage, teacher knowledge, vocabulary, misconceptions and assessment questions
• Exploring Sounds worksheet for recording observations
• Six practical sound stations using a range of musical instruments and sound-making objects
• Activities exploring the larynx, vocal cords and how the human voice produces sound
• Tuning fork and water activity for observing the effects of vibrations
• Sound wave and spectrogram exploration
• Continuous provision ideas for exploring instruments, tuning forks, sound waves and making musical instruments

Explore the full Year 4 Sound resources, or explore our Year 4 science scheme of work and resources.