Spy School - Mission Complete

We had the best day!  Our classroom was transformed.  We were not first graders today, we were special agents investigating the science of sound.  Let me back up.  The intrigue started the day before our spy school.  Mrs. Wolverton came down to our classroom.  She had mysterious TOP SECRET message for each first grader.  The messages were dropped of by a special agent.  The children were so curious.  When they got the envelopes home, they found a message in a puzzle.

The students were so curious. Tuesday, when they arrived, our classroom was blocked with caution tape.  Students had to do a fingerprint scan with Agent S before being allowed access to spy school.  Inside...WOW!  The new agents had a mission card, dark sunglasses, an ID badge, and their Launch Logs.  It was finally time to learn about the mission.

The mission for the day was introduced with a short video message.  The students were to complete different experiments on sound.  The objective was to learn how sound is made and how sound can travel.  The agents of sound were so engaged in their learning.  After each station was complete, the agents put a fingerprint on their mission cards.

 

The sound investigations included listening to your heart using a stethoscope, creating different ways to get sound from a metal water bottle,  exploring the sounds of a rubber band against a plastic cup, and observing sound waves in action with salt, a glass, and tuning forks.  The special agents recorded their learning in their launch logs.  After the sound stations, the agents received a coded message.  The students were able crack the code to discover the message, "Sound travels in waves. Vibration creates sound."

 

The last task to complete was to use the knowledge of how sound travels to make a cup phone.  The agents worked hard to create the phone and then perform some tests.  The special sound agents had to test to see if the sound traveled better with a tight string or loose.  They also tested to see what happened if you held onto the string.  Would the sound still travel?

So much learning occurred before noon!  The agents worked very hard and received spy certificates.  What an amazing group of special agents.  Special thanks to Hope King at Elementary Shenanigans for the inspiration and to Project Lead the Way for the rigorous curriculum materials.  Also, thank you, Agent S and Agent K for assisting the learning.  Signing off....Agent N.