• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Sound comes from vibrations). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. What makes the sound when you pluck a guitar string? (the wood breathing / the string getting hot / the string vibrating / light from the string) → the string vibratingPrompt: Touch the string gently after plucking it.
2. Sound: which statement is true? (Sounds are made by vibrations. / Sound cannot travel through water. / Sound travels through space between planets. / Loud sounds do not involve vibrations.) → Sounds are made by vibrations.Prompt: Can sound travel where there is nothing at all?
3. Sound: which statement is NOT true? (Sounds are made by vibrations. / Sound cannot travel through empty space (a vacuum). / Sound cannot travel through water. / Sound can travel through solids, liquids and gases.) → Sound cannot travel through water.Prompt: Can sound travel where there is nothing at all?

• Ask the class to make a wave with a rope or slinky and describe what moves and what doesn't.
• Share the objective: Pitch and loudness. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: How can you make a guitar string play a higher note?
• Step 1: Faster vibrations give a higher pitch.
• Step 2: So the answer is: make it tighter or shorter
• Answer: make it tighter or shorter
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Which drum makes the lowest sound? (a drum with a very tight skin / a tiny drum / a big drum with a loose skin / a small drum with a tight skin) → a big drum with a loose skinPrompt: Big, loose skins vibrate slowly.
2. Pitch and loudness: which statement is true? (Loud sounds always have a high pitch. / Pitch is how high or low a sound is. / Hitting a drum harder makes a higher note. / Longer strings make higher notes.) → Pitch is how high or low a sound is.Prompt: Pitch is about how fast; loudness is about how big.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Pitch and loudness: which statement is NOT true? (Pitch is how high or low a sound is. / Humans can hear sounds from about 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz. / Longer strings make higher notes. / Faster vibrations make higher-pitched sounds.) → Longer strings make higher notes.Prompt: Think about a long, low cello string.
2. How can you make a guitar string play a higher note? (make it tighter or shorter / make it longer / pluck it more softly / make it looser) → make it tighter or shorterPrompt: Shorter, tighter strings vibrate faster.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-4.