• Background KnowledgeBackground Knowledge
  • AssessmentAssessment
  • WorksheetWorksheet
  • ProcedureProcedure
  • NotesNotes
  • PreparationPreparation
  • TimeTime
  • GradeGrade
  • ObjectiveObjective
  • OverviewOverview
Background Knowledge
Background Knowledge

    Presently, in the practice of science education in elementary schools, there are such common problems as insufficient attention from the science teacher, insufficient resources and simple teaching methods. The process of imparting knowledge is so dull and boring that students cannot be enlivened to explore scientific methods, to cultivate a scientific attitude or to develop a scientific spirit. Based on the knowledge point of "sound is produced by the vibration of objects and is propagated through a medium" and the instructional objective of "sound changes more or less when traveling through a medium" as set forth in the Science Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Primary Education, this teaching plan uses the exhibits in the sound and light themed exhibition area of the science and technology museum, experimental materials and daily necessities to guide students to tour the exhibits, to conduct hands-on experiments and to demonstrate by themselves, thereby helping students dig deep into the connections between sound and medium. Adhering to the teaching philosophy of "object-based experiential learning and practice-based inquiry learning", this activity uses teaching methods such as hands-on practice, observation & experience, comparative scenario-based learning, and learning-by-doing. 

    Presently, in the practice of science education in elementary schools, there are such common problems as insufficient attention from the science teacher, insufficient resources and simple teaching methods. The process of imparting knowledge is so dull and boring that students cannot be enlivened to explore scientific methods, to cultivate a scientific attitude or to develop a scientific spirit. Based on the knowledge point of "sound is produced by the vibration of objects and is propagated through a medium" and the instructional objective of "sound changes more or less when traveling through a medium" as set forth in the Science Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Primary Education, this teaching plan uses the exhibits in the sound and light themed exhibition area of the science and technology museum, experimental materials and daily necessities to guide students to tour the exhibits, to conduct hands-on experiments and to demonstrate by themselves, thereby helping students dig deep into the connections between sound and medium. Adhering to the teaching philosophy of "object-based experiential learning and practice-based inquiry learning", this activity uses teaching methods such as hands-on practice, observation & experience, comparative scenario-based learning, and learning-by-doing. 

Assessment
Assessment

      Among the participants of the science education project of "Hearing is Not Believing", 78% were students and 22% were individual visitors, with experiment completion rate hitting 52%. 

      This project can be assessed through dual feedback. On the one hand, it can be assessed through students' learning feedback. When conducting experiments, the worksheet distributed by the teacher to the students can inform whether the students have achieved the instructional objectives related to the "Scientific Knowledge Dimension". Upon completion of experiments, the teacher will distribute an experimental package to the students and ask them to make the "Quiet Little Box" at home. Upon completion of the activity, the teacher will analyze the worksheets to obtain data on accuracy and satisfaction rates, thereby getting the feedback from students. The "Quiet Little Box" is an extension of this activity and a means to test students' mastery of the knowledge learned. It can also prompt students to further explore how different media could weaken and diminish the sound. 

     On the other hand, it can be assessed through teacher's self-feedback. Upon completion of the educational activity, the teacher will recall the real-time feedback of the students throughout the teaching process to figure out whether the difficulty level of the related questions is appropriate, how is the cognitive level of students, whether the instructional steps are arranged properly, which parts of the activity are the most favored, and which parts can be further optimized, thereby summing up the flaws, proposing optimizing measures and implementing such measures during the next activity. Taking the small experiment to demonstrate how sound propagation is affected by different substances as an example, we used wooden ruler and aluminum foil at the beginning, which were later changed to wooden strip and steel bar, and further to copper wire, iron wire, nylon rope and cotton thread. Since these materials are different in length and thickness, and the position of the ear will change slightly when listening to the sound, we later changed them to four materials with basically the same length and thickness to ensure "fairness" to the greatest extent and to make sure that the position of the ear remains the same when listening to the sound. Through the above optimizing measures, the experiment has become more rigorous in design. Through the experiment, students will also cultivate the habit of strictly implementing experimental steps, develop a rigorous scientific attitude, and improve their scientific literacy. 

     1. Lively and diverse forms of teaching. The educational activities of the science and technology museum are mostly based on the exhibition hall touring experience without digging deep into theories as in the classroom. However, the science education activities carried out in schools are often abstract and incomprehensible. This project combines the school-based theoretical education with the exhibition hall touring experience of the science and technology museum to enable the scenario-based learning of abstract knowledge, thereby helping students explore the knowledge of sound in an interactive experience. 

      2. A special focus on the knowledge points. Compared with existing activities under the similar themes, this project is an extension of the knowledge points of school education that students have learned, and focuses mainly on the connections between sound and medium. By participating personally, posing questions and conducting experiments, students will better master this knowledge and at the same time learn the relevant scientific experiment methods. 

     3. Flexible implementation time. The duration of this activity is controlled within one hour, which not only ensures the complete coverage of knowledge points, but also avoids the fatigue problem caused by a lengthy activity. This activity can be carried out during holidays, weekends, etc., and can also be implemented as a second classroom for students during weekdays. 

      For now, this project still has many flaws. For example, the problem of how to strictly control a single variable when doing comparative experiments has not yet been solved completely. In the future, we will produce standard experimental packages to standardize the experimental materials, so as to bring students a rigorous and standardized scientific experience. 

      Among the participants of the science education project of "Hearing is Not Believing", 78% were students and 22% were individual visitors, with experiment completion rate hitting 52%. 

      This project can be assessed through dual feedback. On the one hand, it can be assessed through students' learning feedback. When conducting experiments, the worksheet distributed by the teacher to the students can inform whether the students have achieved the instructional objectives related to the "Scientific Knowledge Dimension". Upon completion of experiments, the teacher will distribute an experimental package to the students and ask them to make the "Quiet Little Box" at home. Upon completion of the activity, the teacher will analyze the worksheets to obtain data on accuracy and satisfaction rates, thereby getting the feedback from students. The "Quiet Little Box" is an extension of this activity and a means to test students' mastery of the knowledge learned. It can also prompt students to further explore how different media could weaken and diminish the sound. 

     On the other hand, it can be assessed through teacher's self-feedback. Upon completion of the educational activity, the teacher will recall the real-time feedback of the students throughout the teaching process to figure out whether the difficulty level of the related questions is appropriate, how is the cognitive level of students, whether the instructional steps are arranged properly, which parts of the activity are the most favored, and which parts can be further optimized, thereby summing up the flaws, proposing optimizing measures and implementing such measures during the next activity. Taking the small experiment to demonstrate how sound propagation is affected by different substances as an example, we used wooden ruler and aluminum foil at the beginning, which were later changed to wooden strip and steel bar, and further to copper wire, iron wire, nylon rope and cotton thread. Since these materials are different in length and thickness, and the position of the ear will change slightly when listening to the sound, we later changed them to four materials with basically the same length and thickness to ensure "fairness" to the greatest extent and to make sure that the position of the ear remains the same when listening to the sound. Through the above optimizing measures, the experiment has become more rigorous in design. Through the experiment, students will also cultivate the habit of strictly implementing experimental steps, develop a rigorous scientific attitude, and improve their scientific literacy. 

     1. Lively and diverse forms of teaching. The educational activities of the science and technology museum are mostly based on the exhibition hall touring experience without digging deep into theories as in the classroom. However, the science education activities carried out in schools are often abstract and incomprehensible. This project combines the school-based theoretical education with the exhibition hall touring experience of the science and technology museum to enable the scenario-based learning of abstract knowledge, thereby helping students explore the knowledge of sound in an interactive experience. 

      2. A special focus on the knowledge points. Compared with existing activities under the similar themes, this project is an extension of the knowledge points of school education that students have learned, and focuses mainly on the connections between sound and medium. By participating personally, posing questions and conducting experiments, students will better master this knowledge and at the same time learn the relevant scientific experiment methods. 

     3. Flexible implementation time. The duration of this activity is controlled within one hour, which not only ensures the complete coverage of knowledge points, but also avoids the fatigue problem caused by a lengthy activity. This activity can be carried out during holidays, weekends, etc., and can also be implemented as a second classroom for students during weekdays. 

      For now, this project still has many flaws. For example, the problem of how to strictly control a single variable when doing comparative experiments has not yet been solved completely. In the future, we will produce standard experimental packages to standardize the experimental materials, so as to bring students a rigorous and standardized scientific experience. 

Worksheet
Worksheet

Procedure
Procedure

Before activity

Teacher

Students

The teacher will request all students to abide by the code of civilized conduct.   

According to the teacher's request, students need to design a plan to complete the tasks on time. 

Stage 1: The teacher will use the recorder to stimulate students' interest in sound exploration and to introduce the theme of "medium".  

Suggested duration: 8 minutes  

Teacher

Students

Using the experiential learning method, the teacher will use the recorder to play the voice of students, so that students will realize that their own voice heard by themselves is different from that heard by others. The teacher will record and play students' voice, while the students will carefully listen to their own voice, thus creating a cognitive conflict and stimulating the curiosity of students.   

The students will realize that their own voice heard by themselves is different from that heard by others. 

Activity Design: 

Through the peculiar experience, students will have doubts, and begin to pay attention to the generation and propagation of sound, to think about the reason for this phenomenon, and to put forward their own conjectures. 

Stage 2: The teacher will guide students to try out the exhibits and help students learn that a medium is required during sound propagation and that different media will lead to different behaviors of sound propagation.  

Suggested duration: 17 minutes  

Teacher

Students

①The teacher will demonstrate the exhibit of "Why can't I hear the sound in a vacuum": 1) turn on the electrical bell and its sound will be heard by students; 2) turn on the vacuum pump to gradually pump the air out of the jar—during this process, the sound of bell gradually diminishes until it become inaudible, and now a vacuum is created inside the jar; and 3) open the bleed valve and the sound of bell will gradually become louder and louder as the air comes back into the jar. 

②The teacher will demonstrate the exhibit of "Bone Conduction" and divide the students into two groups—the first group will approach the exhibit and use their ears to listen, while the second group will use their teeth to clench the steel pipe—asking them to describe the sound they hear. Finally, the teacher will guide students to think about why the sound changes, and how different media affect the behavior of sound propagation. 

With the doubts raised in Stage 1, students will try to find answers by trying out the exhibits. With the help of worksheet and exhibits and based on their own life experience, students will observe the effects of different media on the sound in groups and fill out the worksheet. 

Activity Design: 

By trying out the exhibits, students will observe the effects of different media on sound, realize that solids can transmit sound waves better than air, understand that human teeth and bones can also transmit sound waves, and think about the question posed in Stage 1: why do we hear our voice different than those who hear us? 

Suggestions:   

When demonstrating the exhibits, the teacher should focus on guiding students to try out by themselves, not just watching. 

Stage 3: The teacher will guide students to make different string phones, test the sound propagation effect of different media, understand the sound propagation capacity of different materials, and think about factors other than material that could affect sound propagation.  

Suggested duration: 25 minutes  

Teacher

Students

①In order to conduct the experiment of "Which String Phone Sounds Louder", the teacher will divide the students into five groups, provide different materials for making the string phone (the string materials include cotton thread, fishing line and iron wire), ask each group to use the materials on hand to make a string phone that would sound loud and clear, and use a standard tuning fork as the sound source to test how the string phone works. The results will show that the string phone made of iron wire sounds the clearest and the loudest, thus verifying students' conjecture about the sound propagation ability of different media. 

②In order to conduct the experiment of "Is Metal Truly the Best", the teacher will take out the wooden ruler, cotton thread and tin foil of the same length, put the tuning fork on one end, ask the students to attach their ear to the other end, change the tightness of the cotton thread and the wrinkle shape of the tin foil, and ask the students to guess which material will sound the clearest and the loudest. Based on the previous experiment, students will generally guess that the tin foil may sound the loudest, yet the experiment will prove they are wrong. Accordingly, the teacher will guide students to think about factors other than material that could affect sound propagation. 

①Students will split into five groups, use the materials on hand to make the string phone (the string materials include cotton thread, fishing line and iron wire), use a standard tuning fork as the sound source to test how the string phone works, and fill out the worksheet. 

②After being given the wooden ruler, cotton thread and tin foil of the same length, students will put the tuning fork on one end, change the tightness of the cotton thread and the wrinkle shape of the tin foil, guess which material will sound the clearest and the loudest, and fill out the worksheet. 

Activity Design: 

The teacher will help students understand that sound propagation is not only affected by the material itself, but also by factors such as form and density. The teacher will guide students to make conjectures in a scientific manner, to test their conjectures through experiments, and to master basic experiment methods. 

Suggestions: 

Students should use an earplug to seal the ear that does not participate in the experiment in order to reduce interference. Before the experiment, the teacher should poke all holes in advance to prevent students from causing accidental injury with scissors. 

Stage 4: The teacher will help students learn how different forms of a medium will affect its ability to propagate sound waves.  

Suggested duration: 10 minutes  

Teacher

Students

①The teacher will assign an exploratory task, according to which students must look for the two exhibits of "Whisper in the Pipe" and "Voice Tube" in the exhibition hall. Students will try out the two exhibits respectively to feel the difference between the two, think about how the different forms of the two exhibits affect their ability to propagate sound waves, and fill out the worksheet. 

After trying out the two exhibits in the exhibition hall, students will think about how the different forms of the two exhibits affect their ability to propagate sound waves, and fill out the worksheet. 

②Students who have filled out the worksheet will receive an "Octachord" kit and take it home to make the octachord later, after which they need to describe their feelings, how the octachord works and their reflections on the feedback sheet. The parents will take a photo of the feedback sheet and send it to the WeChat group. 

 

Activity Design:   

Through hands-on practice and reflection, students will know that the physical wrinkles of a medium will weaken its ability to propagate sound waves, and a sparse medium is also related to a weak ability to propagate sound waves. 

 

Before activity

Teacher

Students

The teacher will request all students to abide by the code of civilized conduct.   

According to the teacher's request, students need to design a plan to complete the tasks on time. 

Stage 1: The teacher will use the recorder to stimulate students' interest in sound exploration and to introduce the theme of "medium".  

Suggested duration: 8 minutes  

Teacher

Students

Using the experiential learning method, the teacher will use the recorder to play the voice of students, so that students will realize that their own voice heard by themselves is different from that heard by others. The teacher will record and play students' voice, while the students will carefully listen to their own voice, thus creating a cognitive conflict and stimulating the curiosity of students.   

The students will realize that their own voice heard by themselves is different from that heard by others. 

Activity Design: 

Through the peculiar experience, students will have doubts, and begin to pay attention to the generation and propagation of sound, to think about the reason for this phenomenon, and to put forward their own conjectures. 

Stage 2: The teacher will guide students to try out the exhibits and help students learn that a medium is required during sound propagation and that different media will lead to different behaviors of sound propagation.  

Suggested duration: 17 minutes  

Teacher

Students

①The teacher will demonstrate the exhibit of "Why can't I hear the sound in a vacuum": 1) turn on the electrical bell and its sound will be heard by students; 2) turn on the vacuum pump to gradually pump the air out of the jar—during this process, the sound of bell gradually diminishes until it become inaudible, and now a vacuum is created inside the jar; and 3) open the bleed valve and the sound of bell will gradually become louder and louder as the air comes back into the jar. 

②The teacher will demonstrate the exhibit of "Bone Conduction" and divide the students into two groups—the first group will approach the exhibit and use their ears to listen, while the second group will use their teeth to clench the steel pipe—asking them to describe the sound they hear. Finally, the teacher will guide students to think about why the sound changes, and how different media affect the behavior of sound propagation. 

With the doubts raised in Stage 1, students will try to find answers by trying out the exhibits. With the help of worksheet and exhibits and based on their own life experience, students will observe the effects of different media on the sound in groups and fill out the worksheet. 

Activity Design: 

By trying out the exhibits, students will observe the effects of different media on sound, realize that solids can transmit sound waves better than air, understand that human teeth and bones can also transmit sound waves, and think about the question posed in Stage 1: why do we hear our voice different than those who hear us? 

Suggestions:   

When demonstrating the exhibits, the teacher should focus on guiding students to try out by themselves, not just watching. 

Stage 3: The teacher will guide students to make different string phones, test the sound propagation effect of different media, understand the sound propagation capacity of different materials, and think about factors other than material that could affect sound propagation.  

Suggested duration: 25 minutes  

Teacher

Students

①In order to conduct the experiment of "Which String Phone Sounds Louder", the teacher will divide the students into five groups, provide different materials for making the string phone (the string materials include cotton thread, fishing line and iron wire), ask each group to use the materials on hand to make a string phone that would sound loud and clear, and use a standard tuning fork as the sound source to test how the string phone works. The results will show that the string phone made of iron wire sounds the clearest and the loudest, thus verifying students' conjecture about the sound propagation ability of different media. 

②In order to conduct the experiment of "Is Metal Truly the Best", the teacher will take out the wooden ruler, cotton thread and tin foil of the same length, put the tuning fork on one end, ask the students to attach their ear to the other end, change the tightness of the cotton thread and the wrinkle shape of the tin foil, and ask the students to guess which material will sound the clearest and the loudest. Based on the previous experiment, students will generally guess that the tin foil may sound the loudest, yet the experiment will prove they are wrong. Accordingly, the teacher will guide students to think about factors other than material that could affect sound propagation. 

①Students will split into five groups, use the materials on hand to make the string phone (the string materials include cotton thread, fishing line and iron wire), use a standard tuning fork as the sound source to test how the string phone works, and fill out the worksheet. 

②After being given the wooden ruler, cotton thread and tin foil of the same length, students will put the tuning fork on one end, change the tightness of the cotton thread and the wrinkle shape of the tin foil, guess which material will sound the clearest and the loudest, and fill out the worksheet. 

Activity Design: 

The teacher will help students understand that sound propagation is not only affected by the material itself, but also by factors such as form and density. The teacher will guide students to make conjectures in a scientific manner, to test their conjectures through experiments, and to master basic experiment methods. 

Suggestions: 

Students should use an earplug to seal the ear that does not participate in the experiment in order to reduce interference. Before the experiment, the teacher should poke all holes in advance to prevent students from causing accidental injury with scissors. 

Stage 4: The teacher will help students learn how different forms of a medium will affect its ability to propagate sound waves.  

Suggested duration: 10 minutes  

Teacher

Students

①The teacher will assign an exploratory task, according to which students must look for the two exhibits of "Whisper in the Pipe" and "Voice Tube" in the exhibition hall. Students will try out the two exhibits respectively to feel the difference between the two, think about how the different forms of the two exhibits affect their ability to propagate sound waves, and fill out the worksheet. 

After trying out the two exhibits in the exhibition hall, students will think about how the different forms of the two exhibits affect their ability to propagate sound waves, and fill out the worksheet. 

②Students who have filled out the worksheet will receive an "Octachord" kit and take it home to make the octachord later, after which they need to describe their feelings, how the octachord works and their reflections on the feedback sheet. The parents will take a photo of the feedback sheet and send it to the WeChat group. 

 

Activity Design:   

Through hands-on practice and reflection, students will know that the physical wrinkles of a medium will weaken its ability to propagate sound waves, and a sparse medium is also related to a weak ability to propagate sound waves. 

 

Notes
Notes

     ①The teacher can design the pre-activity plan and other documents according to the actual needs. 

     ②Students must abide by the code of civilized conduct, avoid making any loud noise. In the classroom, students need to abide by the laboratory's rules of conduct, take good care of public property, and follow the laboratory discipline. During the experiment, the teacher must keep reminding students not to accidently hurt others or themselves. 

     ③The teacher needs to give psychological counseling for students who have failed the experiment.

     ①The teacher can design the pre-activity plan and other documents according to the actual needs. 

     ②Students must abide by the code of civilized conduct, avoid making any loud noise. In the classroom, students need to abide by the laboratory's rules of conduct, take good care of public property, and follow the laboratory discipline. During the experiment, the teacher must keep reminding students not to accidently hurt others or themselves. 

     ③The teacher needs to give psychological counseling for students who have failed the experiment.

Preparation
Preparation

Venue: sound and light themed exhibition area and 3/F science laboratory of Xuchang Science and Technology Museum

Preparations: 

A. Worksheet  

B: Activity materials (to be prepared as per the quota for 5 persons per group or each student)

SN

Item

Description

Quantity/group (quantity/student)

1

Platform

 

1

2

Desk

 

5

3

Chair

 

20

4

Microphone

 

1

5

Recorder

 

1

6

Bone conduction headphones

 

1

7

Worksheet

 

20

8

Tuning fork

 

5

9

Sound level meter

 

5

10

Cotton thread

 

5

11

Fishing line

 

5

12

Iron wire

 

5

13

Cotton silver

 

5

14

Wooden ruler

 

5

15

Disposable paper cup

 

100

16

Toothpick

 

1 box

17

Scissors

 

5

18

"Quiet Little Box" experimental package

 

20

Note: If necessary, a picture of materials can be provided to articulate the types and specifications. 

Venue: sound and light themed exhibition area and 3/F science laboratory of Xuchang Science and Technology Museum

Preparations: 

A. Worksheet  

B: Activity materials (to be prepared as per the quota for 5 persons per group or each student)

SN

Item

Description

Quantity/group (quantity/student)

1

Platform

 

1

2

Desk

 

5

3

Chair

 

20

4

Microphone

 

1

5

Recorder

 

1

6

Bone conduction headphones

 

1

7

Worksheet

 

20

8

Tuning fork

 

5

9

Sound level meter

 

5

10

Cotton thread

 

5

11

Fishing line

 

5

12

Iron wire

 

5

13

Cotton silver

 

5

14

Wooden ruler

 

5

15

Disposable paper cup

 

100

16

Toothpick

 

1 box

17

Scissors

 

5

18

"Quiet Little Box" experimental package

 

20

Note: If necessary, a picture of materials can be provided to articulate the types and specifications. 

Time
Time

1 hour.

1 hour.

Grade
Grade

Primary school students in grades 5-6, no more than 15-20 students. 

Primary school students in grades 5-6, no more than 15-20 students. 

Objective
Objective

(1)Scientific knowledge

  • Sound can propagate within different media; 
  • Different media show different behaviors (speed, timbre) of sound propagation; 
  • When certain factors of the environment in which the medium is located, the behavior of sound propagation will also be affected; 
  • Sound cannot travel through vacuum. 

(2)Scientific exploration

  • Students can describe their observations, describe the experimental processes and methods, and record the experimental data; 
  • Students can discover problems through conjecture and comparative analysis and further increase their enthusiasm to explore the sound and to seek scientific methods for solving problems. 

(3)Scientific attitude

  • Students will realize that gaining knowledge from experiments is an important way of scientific inquiry, and understand that due to the impact of many factors, the same experiment could lead to different results, thereby developing a rigorous scientific attitude. Students will also understand the importance of observations, hypotheses, experiments and information look-up in scientific research. 

(4)Science, technology, society and environment

  • Students will understand the close connections between science and life, and learn how to conduct acoustic experiments quietly;                                                                         
  • Students will understand the importance of cooperation in scientific experiments. 

      Note: The above-given objectives are derived from the Science Curriculum Standards for the Compulsory Primary Education promulgated by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. 

(1)Scientific knowledge

  • Sound can propagate within different media; 
  • Different media show different behaviors (speed, timbre) of sound propagation; 
  • When certain factors of the environment in which the medium is located, the behavior of sound propagation will also be affected; 
  • Sound cannot travel through vacuum. 

(2)Scientific exploration

  • Students can describe their observations, describe the experimental processes and methods, and record the experimental data; 
  • Students can discover problems through conjecture and comparative analysis and further increase their enthusiasm to explore the sound and to seek scientific methods for solving problems. 

(3)Scientific attitude

  • Students will realize that gaining knowledge from experiments is an important way of scientific inquiry, and understand that due to the impact of many factors, the same experiment could lead to different results, thereby developing a rigorous scientific attitude. Students will also understand the importance of observations, hypotheses, experiments and information look-up in scientific research. 

(4)Science, technology, society and environment

  • Students will understand the close connections between science and life, and learn how to conduct acoustic experiments quietly;                                                                         
  • Students will understand the importance of cooperation in scientific experiments. 

      Note: The above-given objectives are derived from the Science Curriculum Standards for the Compulsory Primary Education promulgated by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. 

Overview
Overview

      This teaching plan originates from the inquiry-based science education project of Xuchang Science and Technology Museum. Based on the "Sound" chapter in the "Science" textbook for elementary schools, and on the strength of the exhibits displayed in the light and sound themed exhibition area of Xuchang Science and Technology Museum as well as other daily necessities, this project takes "hearing is not believing" as the main theme and the media for sound propagation as the starting point to help students verify, expand and test relevant knowledge. Taking multi-sensory learning as the main teaching method, the teacher will use hands-on practice, hypothesis, experimental inquiry, group comparison and other means to cultivate students' scientific attitude and the ability to pose questions and to undertake inquiry independently. 

Keywords: science and technology museum; science education; inquiry-based learning; curriculum standards.  

      This teaching plan originates from the inquiry-based science education project of Xuchang Science and Technology Museum. Based on the "Sound" chapter in the "Science" textbook for elementary schools, and on the strength of the exhibits displayed in the light and sound themed exhibition area of Xuchang Science and Technology Museum as well as other daily necessities, this project takes "hearing is not believing" as the main theme and the media for sound propagation as the starting point to help students verify, expand and test relevant knowledge. Taking multi-sensory learning as the main teaching method, the teacher will use hands-on practice, hypothesis, experimental inquiry, group comparison and other means to cultivate students' scientific attitude and the ability to pose questions and to undertake inquiry independently. 

Keywords: science and technology museum; science education; inquiry-based learning; curriculum standards.