👐Lesson 1 — What is sound? Touch as conductor

Grade Band: K-2 · Duration: 30 min · Device: TouchMe · Standards: NCAS MU:Cn10.1.Ka, UK MMC KS1, ISTE 1.4

Enduring Understanding

Sound can come from anywhere — even a banana — when we close an electrical circuit with our bodies.

Essential Question

What everyday things around me could become a musical instrument?

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

1. Identify at least three objects that conduct electricity and can trigger sound via TouchMe.
2. Describe, in their own words, how their body completes a circuit to make sound.

Student-facing "I Can" statements:

• I can make a sound by touching something with my finger.
• I can tell my friend why my body is part of the instrument.

Vocabulary

• Sound — what we hear when something vibrates.
• Conductor — a material that lets electricity pass through (your finger is one).
• Circuit — a loop that electricity travels in.
• Trigger — to make a sound start.

Materials & Setup

• TouchMe plugged into laptop, browser piano open and tested.
• 6-8 conductive objects pre-arranged on a table: fruit, foil ball, coin, spoon, wet sponge, classmate's hand.
• One non-conductive control object: a dry plastic toy.
• Teacher prep (5 min): Test each object before class. Volume up but not loud. Have one alligator clip on each test object.

Lesson Procedure

1. Engage — the singing banana (5 min)

Teacher holds a banana, asks: "Could this banana sing?" Touches the banana — a piano note plays. Class reacts. Teacher asks: "Why did the banana make a sound? Was it the banana, or was it me?" Collect 3-4 guesses on the board. No right answer yet.

2. Explore — the circuit revealed (10 min)

Teacher shows the circuit: TouchMe → alligator clip → banana → my finger → back to TouchMe. "We made a loop. That's a circuit." Demonstrate touching the plastic toy — no sound. "Why not?" Introduce conductor.

Two volunteers come up, hold hands, one touches the banana — sound plays through both of them. Cue the "ooooh."

3. Create — predict and test (10 min)

Students rotate in pairs through the object table. Each pair picks two objects and predicts (thumbs up/down) whether each will make sound. They test. They report one surprise to the class. Teacher circulates with a clipboard checklist.

4. Share & reflect (5 min)

Whole-class: "Name one thing in this room — not on the table — that you think would work. Why?" Three students answer. Exit ticket (drawing): "Draw yourself playing music with one thing from your kitchen at home."

Assessment

• Formative: Checklist — did each student (a) trigger at least one sound, (b) correctly predict conductor vs non-conductor at least once, (c) use one vocabulary word in their share-out?
• Summative: Exit-ticket drawings reviewed for the "Connect" standard — does the chosen object reflect a personal interest or experience? Evidence of MU:Cn10.1.Ka.

Differentiation & UDL

• Support: Pair non-readers with peer; provide pictorial vocabulary cards; pre-teach "circuit" with a flashlight demo if class is unfamiliar.
• Stretch: Give an advanced pair a multimeter or extra clips; challenge them to make a three-object chord by getting three classmates to touch simultaneously.
• Access: Students who cannot touch objects can complete the circuit via a foil-wrapped stylus or by being the "ground" in a hand-chain with a peer. Lower volume + headphone splitter available for sensory-sensitive students.

Extension & cross-curricular links

• Science (NGSS K-PS2): Push and pull, materials and their properties.
• ELA: Class book — Things That Sing in My House — one page per student.
• Home connection: Send a half-sheet home asking families to find one kitchen object their child predicts would be a conductor. Bring the prediction (not the object) to Lesson 2.
• Next lesson hook: "Tomorrow we'll find out what makes a sound high or low."

Teacher Notes

• Dry hands = no sound. Have a damp paper towel ready.
• If a student is nervous about being touched as part of a chain, never force it — they can be the one who touches the fruit while another student is the chain.
• TouchMe needs a USB data cable, not a charge-only cable. Test the cable, not just the device.
• Latency on Chromebooks can be 100-200 ms; tell students "the sound is a little shy, it comes a moment after you touch."