18th August Science Week Part 2 Noise and sounds

In 1998 ABC Science built the first National Science Week website to provide information to event holders and audiences, they have conducted an annual online participatory science project since 2000 and promote the week widely across their networks.  The 2023 school theme is Innovation: Powering Future Industries, but the ABC has taken 'noise' as their focus and they want people  to eavesdrop on the animal kingdom and  explore the wonder and science of bioacoustics.

Listening in all facets of life is important but it is wonderful to be able to go outside, be still and just listen. What will you hear? Hopefully some natural noises, such as cicadas, frogs, birds, running water, waves.

As background to going on a listening walk you could use one of these books as provocation:

• What Can You Hear Today?  by Louise Bladen and angela Perrini

• The Listening Walk  by Paul Showers and Aliki

• Listen to Our World  by Bill Martin Jr and Melissa Sweet

• Listen to the Rain  by Bill Martin Jr and James Endicott

And after your walk and comparing lists you could follow up with books about some of the sounds:

• Cicada Sing Song by Pat Simmons and Kate Dreiling

• Cicada Symphony by Sue Fliess and Gareth Lucas

• Noisy Bug Sing-along  by John Himmelman

• The Dawn Chorus  by Suzanne Barton

• The Forgotten Song  by Coral Vass and Jess Racklyeft

• Sounds all Around Us  by Ryhia Dank

• Sounds All Around  by Susan Hughes and Ellen Rooney

• The Sounds Around Town  by Maria Callucio

You could just read a couple of favourites about noise such as:

• Noisy Night by Mac Barnett and Brian Biggs

• Too Much Noise  by Ann McGovern and Simms Taback

Or you could segue to the winning Early Childhood Book Where the Lyrebird Lives  by Vikki Conley and Max Hamilton and talk about mimicry because lyrebirds are masters of mimicry.

Lyrebirds are capable of imitating almost any sound. As well as their own calls, clicks and song, you will usually hear them mimicking loud clear sounds made by other birds and mammals, including humans. They have been heard to mimic the sounds of chainsaws, horns, alarms and even trains.

                                          

4th February Too loud!

Always at the beginning of the school year, but even more so this year I have had requests from teachers about 'books that deal with too loud voices' or 'what to do with a child who doesn't like noise'. This is always a challenge, but there are some books in the library that teachers can use to start discussions about noise, inside voices, when outside voices are appropriate etc.

So Loud it Hurts! is a book that helps with students who are sensitive to noise and are not sure what to do about it. At our school the hand dryers in the toilets make too much noise for some sensitive children!

Too Loud Lily by Sophie Laguna, Not So Loud, Oliver by Tony Maddox,  Shouty Arthur by Angie Morgan, Loud Daniel O'Dowd by Julie Fulton and Loud Emily by Alexis O'Neill are books that clearly demonstrate when too loud is appropriate and when it is not. If it is not only that a child is loud but also interrupts and calls out all the time add My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook to your list of helpful books.

With very young students it can be fun to plan activities to accompany Deborah Underwood's The Quiet Book and The Loud Book.

If it is a short chapter book you are after so that the discussion and idea lingers longer, look at reading Loudmouth Louis by Anne Fine or Super Loud Sam by Jo Simmons.

If the noise is occurring in the library and you need help with the concept of using an inside voice or a whisper there are books to begin discussions too. I start with Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen with my Kindergarten classes and we discuss why quiet voices are best in the library. Then for fun there's The Not So Quiet Library  by Zachariah O'Hora. And this book You Can Control Your Voice...Loud or Quiet? allows you and the class to choose different endings and discuss the ramifications.

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