Creating A Sound Effect

The students investigated how the vibrations generated by waves traveling through matter to generate sound. They investigated how sound travels in waves and discovered the types of waves that are generated by different types of sounds. Then they acoustically engineered a representation of a real-world sound.

In this project the students:

1.) developed a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength and that waves can cause objects to move (PS2-4-1; PS4.B).

2.) generated and compared multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information. For example, drums sending coded information through sound waves (PS2-4-3).

Fraction Equivalence & Comparison

The story of this unit is one of equivalence and comparison of fractions. It proceeds through a progression of familiar representations. Using fraction strips, tape diagrams, and number lines, and building on their prior understandings, students generate equivalent fractions and compare and order fractions with denominators 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 100. They deepen their understanding of equivalence as they compose new fractions from unit fractions, identify relationships between these fractions, and use physical and abstract representations to support their reasoning.

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As the unit progresses, students use what they know about equivalent fractions and benchmarks such as 12 and 1 to reason about the relative location of fractions on a number line, and to compare and order fractions.