Children investigate aquatic plants and the way familiar sounds change when heard through water, then construct instruments that imitate waves or produce different pitches. Lotus art, days-of-the-week practice, sorting games, ocean drums, a water xylophone, and a group performance connect science, music, literacy, and classification.
What children learn
- Recognise aquatic plants and distinguish floating, submerged, and emergent forms.
- Compare how sounds made by objects are heard above and through water.
- Recreate wave sounds by changing the speed and movement of an ocean drum.
- Observe how varying water levels and mallets change the pitch of a water xylophone.
- Sequence the days of the week and classify objects by properties such as material, size, colour, and shape.
Key activities
- Exploring aquatic-plant books and making a lotus craft
- Listening to spoons, containers, and balls above and through water
- Creating and playing an ocean drum with chickpeas and ocean artwork
- Building and comparing pitches on a seven-glass water xylophone
- Sequencing days with a caterpillar craft and Touch the Day game
- Performing a musical act with ocean drums and water xylophones
You’ll need
aquatic-plant books and flashcards, lotus photographs, paper plates, cupcake liners, paint and glue, water tubs, steel spoons, containers, balls and cardboard tubes, plastic boxes, chickpeas and blue art paper, seven drinking glasses, water, food colouring and assorted spoon mallets, calendar and days-of-the-week cards
Structure: 5 days; each day includes a Thought of the Day, Tuning-in Time, GMD, Cognition/Literacy, FMD, and Numeracy activities.