Sound is everywhere, but it can't be seen because it travels in invisible waves. Ears help sense the sound waves with a complex auditory system. They're responsible for collecting sounds, processing them and then sending the sound signals to the brain where they're recognized, the KidsHealth website explains. Discuss with the children about sounds they hear. Ask them to identify loud and soft sounds. Have them identify an everyday sound, one that's unpleasant and one that's relaxing.
Set up a center where children are challenged to identify different sounds. Mark five clean yogurt containers with the letters from A to E. Fill each cup with different objects, such as paper clips, puffed cereal, toothpicks, marbles, pennies or corks. Instruct the children to identify the contents by shaking each container and listening to the sounds. Make a second set of containers and mark them 1 to 5 containing the same items. Challenge the children to shake the containers and match the two containers that match the same sound, one with a letter and one with a number.
This game teaches children to concentrate solely on hearing. Have the children sit in a circle with eyes closed. The teacher taps a student to be the speaker. The child talks and the other players try to guess the speaker through voice recognition. Continue playing until all students have a turn.
The brain has the ability to remember sounds and this game can tell if the child's brain can remember familiar voices. Use a tape recorder to tape the kids as they recite a line from a poem or a funny tongue twister. Play back the tape and see how many classmates the children can recognize. Use this same game with recorded sounds of nature or in the community.
Have the children bring in an object from home that has a distinctive sound. Challenge them to stump the class with the sound. Have the other children close their eyes while a classmate presents his sound.