Page 11 - FOUNDATIONS FOR LIFE; EXPLORING GOD’S UNIVERSE

SOUNDS WE HEAR

Truth to Teach (Source)

1 Kings 19:9-13 Story of Elijah hearing God’s voice

John 1:1-14 Jesus, the Living Word

 We can communicate with God and with each other through sound.

 Sounds we hear – verbal, non-verbal, natural, man-made, animal.

 Sound is caused by vibrating objects.

 Sound travels through different materials.

Way to Work (Means)

Equipment: rulers, pencils

1. Read the above story of Elijah and discuss briefly the different sounds he heard. Talk

about God as a communicating God; how he sent Jesus as the Living Word.

2. Play a tape of common sounds or take the children outside to list the sounds they hear.
Distinguish between man-made and natural sounds, verbal and non-verbal sounds.

3. Talk about how vital communication of all kinds is in building society.

4. Sounds are produced when air is made to shake back and forth very fast. These shaking
movements are called vibrations.

Experiment 1: Show the children how to hold a ruler across the edge of a table and flick it so
that it vibrates. When less of the ruler hangs over the edge of the table, it vibrates
faster and makes a different sound. Most objects vibrate so fast that we cannot see
them moving.

Experiment 2: Let the children carefully put a pencil in their open mouths then tap it with the
other hand. Repeat with clenched teeth. They should notice a louder sound with clenched

teeth because the sound has to pass through the cheek bones as well as through the air
to reach their ears.

Establish whether the sounds travel quicker through air or solids materials.

Experiment 3: Show the children how to hold their fingers against their throats while they
speak. When you make any noise, air is pushed from your lungs over flaps of muscle, the

9