2.2 To listen for specific information

Memorandum

ACTIVITY 1

Read the story “Sounds All Around” twice, fairly slowly with expression and then give them a chance to see how many questions they can answer. For marks. Let them know.

Sounds All Around

15Joel, now in Grade 8, always tried to find out what sounds he could make with different objects and different musical instruments. One day he found a thin elastic band. He did not think much about it. He had seen and held a million elastic bands before.

This time though, Joel began playing with the elastic band and found out something he never knew: When he stretched the elastic band with both hands and touched it with one thumb, it vibrated and made an interesting sound. Joel was amazed.

“Wow Dad, did you hear that? I’m going to show Mom!”

20His mother said: “You made that elastic band vibrate which means to move back and forth at a fast pace. In fact, that is how we hear sounds.”

Joel was intrigued. So he asked his dad if he could take out his dad’s guitar.

2530Joel touched the guitar strings and loved the sound that they made. Then Joel went over to the piano and pressed two of the keys. This sound was different from the sound made by the elastic band and his father’s guitar. Joel wondered how the piano sound was made.

He asked his mother, “Mom, how does the piano make its sound and make so many different sounds?”

His mother told him to open the top of the piano and to look inside. Then when he pressed a key, he realized something was vibrating! He pressed another key and saw a long string vibrate. Joel spoke excitedly: “The string’s vibration makes the sound.”

He asked his mom why he could only see the long strings vibrate? His mother explained that a piano has long strings and short strings. The long strings vibrate slowly and they make low sounds; the short strings vibrate fast and make higher-pitched sounds.

3540Suddenly his father walked into the room with five glasses of water - and a xylophone. The glasses were filled to different levels. As his father touched the rims of the glasses they all made a different sound. Joel could hardly believe his ears. Then his father touched the short and long end of the xylophone with the xylophone stick. His father explained that the length of the stick dictated the sound, because it vibrated differently;, making a long or short sound.

45Joel looked around the room for more sounds and was surprised to find so many.

Joel intended having more fun that day as he looked for more musical objects and tried to discover how they made their sound.

Pretty soon he would try to use all these objects around him to make music. He realized that one could make music without spending a fortune. Perhaps he would start a small band!

ACTIVITY 2

First let them write something but give them time to think, imagine, plan and create. Then give them a chance to dramatise what they have written. Simple costumes can of course be worn.

ACTIVITY 3

Writing a haiku and quartet can be so satisfying because it is actually so simple. Draw a tree with empty branches in your classroom. Call it the poet-tree and hang their poems on the branches or write the poem on a paper leaf and place them on the bare branches. Can be very pleasing to have one’s poem read in public.

ACTIVITY 4

This is again a project and should be done thoroughly – so they need to understand their parameters and also the full detail of the assignment. Go through exactly what it is they should research and exactly how they should present it.

Tip : Rough work must always be handed in too!

ACTIVITY 5

A panel discussion etc needs preparation. This they need to understand. This will help lessen nervousness.