Show students that different surfaces produce different sounds and that the larger the drum, the deeper the sound. Fifth grade students can make a variety of drums and sounds from round oatmeal containers of various sizes or large coffee cans. For a simple drum, the fifth-graders can empty and wipe down the oatmeal container. Pop the plastic lid back in place. The lid becomes the top of the drum. Create a different sound by removing the lid and stretching a balloon across the top. Secure the balloon with rubber bands. Use an aluminum pie pan for yet another sound. Cut the bottom from the pie pan and mark the size of the drum top in the center of the pie pan bottom. Cut strips from this circle out to the edge. Place the pie pan bottom over the top of the oatmeal drum container, bending the strips to fit. Secure it with rubber bands. Use these same methods to create drums from a large coffee can. Use long wooden spoons as drum sticks.
Fifth-grade students are old enough to work with glass, such as drinking glasses. Divide the class into groups. Ask each team to create a xylophone that produces at least one musical scale of eight notes. Have the groups learn to play a song on their musical instrument. To make the glass xylophone, students must line the glasses up and pour water into and out of the glasses until each reproduces one of the notes along the musical scale. The students can practice with drumsticks or wooden, metal, or plastic spoons to create the sound and music they want. Student learn that volume changes sound and pitch. The more the volume, the deeper the sound.
Music is about vibration and rhythm as well as sound, which is why deaf people can dance and respond to music. Share the story of Heather Whitestone, who overcame the loss of her hearing to become Miss America 1995. Have students make kazoos from paper towel or similar tubes to explore vibrations. Across one end of the tube, secure a circle of wax paper with rubber bands. Punch three holes in the paper. Through the other end, hum to produce sound. Exchange the wax paper for aluminum foil, thin paper, or another material. Students can create a number of tubes with different sounds. Wire them together in line for a unique horn instrument. Fifth-graders could also create their own tubes by rolling up different weights of paper, and make one end wider than the other to alter the sound. Students learn that vibrations change with material, depth and other factors.
Use sturdy boxes, about the size of a shoebox, to teach students about pitch. Have the students fasten on the lid or tape the flaps closed. In the center, on the bottom, cut a rectangular hole about 4 inches wide and 6 inches long. Circle the box with a variety of rubber bands of different widths and sizes. Strum the rubber bands to hear the sound produced by the "strings" and reorder the rubber bands with deeper sounds together and higher sounds together. Have students place their fingers on different strings, shortening them. Doing so makes the pitch go up. Discuss how pitch relates to wavelengths, as the shorter the wavelengths are, the higher the sound.