WEATHER SOUNDSCAPE
Learning Description
In this lesson, students will work collaboratively to create a weather soundscape depicting the sounds of a drizzle, rainshower, downpour, and thunderstorm.
Learning Targets
"I Can" Statements
“I Can…”
-
I can create a weather soundscape.
-
I can ask questions and share observations to develop an understanding of patterns and variations in weather.
Essential Questions
- How can we use our bodies and found sound as tools to create the sounds of weather?
Georgia Standards
Curriculum Standards
Grade 1:
S1E1 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate weather data to identify weather patterns.
Arts Standards
Grade 1:
ESGM1.CR.2 Compose and arrange music within specified guidelines.
ESGM1.PR.2 Perform a varied repertoire of music on instruments, alone and with others.
South Carolina Standards
Curriculum Standards
Kindergarten:
K-ESS2-1. Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.
Arts Standards
Anchor Standard 1: I can compose and arrange music.
Anchor Standard 4: I can play instruments alone and with others.
GM.P NL.4 I can make sounds with classroom instruments and other sound sources.
Key Vocabulary
Content Vocabulary
- Weather - The condition of the air and atmosphere at a specific place and time, it includes factors like temperature, wind, humidity, and precipitation (like rain or snow)
- Rain - Liquid water that falls from clouds to the ground; it forms when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses into droplets, which combine and grow heavy enough to overcome air resistance and fall due to gravity
- Drizzle - Light rain made up of very small water droplets that fall close together; it’s gentler than regular rain and usually feels misty
- Rain shower - A short burst of rain that starts and stops quickly, it’s often heavier than drizzle but doesn’t last long
- Downpour - A very heavy and sudden rain that falls quickly and can make it hard to see
- Thunderstorm - A storm with thunder, lightning, and usually heavy rain; It happens when warm, moist air rises quickly and forms tall clouds; thunderstorms can also bring strong winds or hail
Arts Vocabulary
- Unison - A single melody; all instruments or voices sing/play the same notes
- Timbre - The distinctive quality of sounds; the tone color or special sound that makes one instrument or voice sound different from another
- Dynamics - Loud and soft sounds; volume
- Soundscape - A collection of sounds that create the feeling or mood of a place, event, or scene
- Found sound - Any sound from everyday life, like a door closing, water running, or birds chirping, that is used to create music or tell a story in theater or art
Materials
Rhythm sticks (if available), tin foil pans, items around the room that can make sounds
Instructional Design
Opening/Activating Strategy
- Review weather vocabulary with students.
- Ask the students to make a sound and/or body movement that reminds them of each word as each word is said again.
- It may help to project an example of each weather word as it is said.
Work Session
- Pass out a limited amount of supplies to students, such as rhythm sticks (if available), tin foil pans, pencils, etc. Explain that these will be students’ instruments for class.
- Lead the class through a structured experimentation of the different sounds that they can create with the various materials. As the students experiment, discuss what weather words each of the sounds remind them of.
- Have students experiment with playing quietly and loudly (dynamics).
- Tell students that the different sounds that instruments make is called “timbre”.
- Break students into partners or small groups. Give each group three weather words.
- Each group will create a weather soundscape consisting of three different sounds to represent the three different types of weather using the materials available.
- Each sound should be performed in a sequence.
- Groups can perform each sound in unison (all students perform all sounds) or can take turns performing their sounds (i.e. one person performs each sound).
- Allow time for students to rehearse. Circulate to work with students and check for understanding.
Closing Reflection
- Students will come to the rug and each group will perform their soundscape.
- The teacher will facilitate class discussion after each performance by asking the class which weather words they think the students performed and why they think that, how the timbre of each instrument sounded different and reflected the weather, were the sounds loud or soft (dynamics), did the group perform in unison or did each group member perform separately?
- After all the groups perform, the students will reflect in their groups about what they liked about the soundscape they created and what they could have done differently. Students will share out.
Assessments
Formative
- The teacher will observe:
- Student review of weather vocabulary and ability to connect sound to the meaning of the vocabulary words
- Student experimentation with instruments
- Student collaboration on creating the soundscape
- Student responses to reflection questions
Summative
CHECKLIST:
- Can students create a soundscape with three distinct sounds representing three weather words?
- Can the sounds reflect the type of weather?
- Can students explain how the performers used timbre and dynamics to express the different types of weather?
DIFFERENTIATION
|
Accelerated:
Remedial:
|
*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.
Ideas contributed by: Erin Biddie and Katy Betts
Revised and copyright: Jan 2025 @ ArtsNOW