This comprehensive resource pack combines our popular STEM Journal with hands-on investigations and instrument-making activities that explore the properties of sound. Perfect for Key Stage 2 learners, children will create musical instruments, investigate pitch and volume, and discover how sound can be changed while documenting their experiments in their STEM Journal.
Included Resources +
This pack includes six activity sheets with accompanying lesson plans and a STEM Journal for recording sound experiments, observations, and musical discoveries.
• STEM Journal — interactive notebook for recording sound experiments, observations, and musical discoveries
• Discover Shakers — create and test shakers to explore how different materials affect sound
• Water Xylophone — build a musical instrument using water to investigate pitch
• Investigating String Sounds — explore how string length and tension affect pitch and volume
• Exploring Pitch — investigate what makes sounds high or low through practical experiments
• Exploring The Volume Of Sound — discover how to make sounds louder or quieter
Key Details +
• Year Group: Year 4 (ages 8–9)
• Key Stage: KS2
• Subject: Science, Music
• Resource Type: Activity Sheets + Lesson Plans + STEM Journal
• Format: Instant PDF Download
• Number of Activities: 6
Curriculum Alignment +
Aligned to the Year 4 Science National Curriculum. Covers sound — finding patterns between the pitch of a sound and features of the object that produced it, finding patterns between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibrations that produced it, and recognising that sounds get fainter as the distance from the sound source increases. Integrates with the KS2 Music National Curriculum — playing and performing with increasing control of pitch, volume, and dynamics, and composing music using musical notation. Cross-curricular links to DT (instrument making — shakers, water xylophone) and Maths (measuring and recording data).
Teaching Tips +
Water Xylophone is the standout activity — fill identical glasses with different amounts of water and tap with a spoon to produce a scale. Children can tune their xylophone by ear and then investigate why the pitch changes. Discover Shakers works brilliantly as a paired DT and science session — use identical containers filled with different materials (rice, sand, pebbles, pasta) and test volume and pitch systematically. Investigating String Sounds is best done with a simple string telephone or a stretched elastic band over a box — vary the length and tension and record results in the STEM Journal. This pack pairs naturally with the Year 4 Investigating Sound + STEM Journal for a complete sound unit.
