Submitted by: Pam James, Dan Leale, Kimberly Blackburn, Anne Williams
Collaborators: Bob Coffman, Curtis Mills
School: Twin Hickory Elementary
Summary
Fifth grade students will use a Children’s Engineering design brief to create a musical instrument of their choice. The instrument will make at least 3 different pitches. They will use Garage Band to record their instrument’s pitches along with their explanations describing how their instrument made sound in various pitches.
TIPC Ratings
Developing: The students in researched ways various instruments create sound and varied pitch. Students then analyzed the information, in addition to trying out their own ideas, during the building of their instruments.
Developing: To successfully accomplish the task, students had to collaborate with their team to create a plan to build their instrument, and then create a plan to follow through with the building the digital project. Students also had to script their recordings with their team to determine how to involve all team members.
Approaching: Using a variety of resources, students applied their learning to create and build their instrument. After completion, students reflected on their final product through a survey and written piece.
Groups of students created homemade instruments from recycled materials. Their instrument had to not only create sound, but also play three distinct pitches. After completion, the students created an original Garage Band recording which would sample their instrument and pitches. Students had to decide how to convey how they created sound and pitch of their particular instrument.
