Activity Plan 5-6: Glass-Bottle Xylophone

Encourage children to make music in unexpected ways.

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Ready-To-Use Teaching Ideas: Music/Science

Materials:

• clean clear glass juice bottles (six to 18)
• chart paper and marker
• pitcher or small basin
• pencils or metal spoons
• food coloring
• cardboard box (to safely store bottles)

Objective: Children will develop creative-thinking skills, science skills, and an understanding of music as they explore sound and melody by experimenting with varying levels of water in glass jars.

In Advance: Request donations of small glass juice bottles. Keep bottles stored safely.

ACTIVITY

1 During meeting time, place six bottles on the floor in front of children. Invite a few children to tap against the bottles with a pencil or spoon. What do they notice? Next, pour varying levels of water into each jar. Ask children to take turns tapping the bottles. What do they notice now? Place the same amount of water in all of the jars. Ask children to predict what they will hear now.

2 Engage children in a discussion about what they just learned about water and glass bottles. Record children's responses. Explain to children that they will each have the opportunity to create music using the bottles and water. Discuss safety rules and plan together to designate a safe work area.

3 Invite children to work in pairs. Provide children with three bottles each. Encourage children to experiment with different levels of water and the sounds they create. Children can add food coloring to the water to create varying colors for each bottle. Invite children to play their bottle "xylophones."

4 Allow children to explore the bottles for a few days. Bring the children together to discuss and record what they have learned.

5 Ask children to think of other types of experiments that they could conduct using the bottles. Would juice or milk create the same sounds? Would sand or dirt inside the bottles create music? Assist children in organizing several experiments. Record each experiment, documenting their predictions, observations, and outcomes. Invite children to design a format to document their different experiments so that other groups can try them.

Remember: Find an area of the classroom where the glass bottles can be safely used for the activity. Discuss with children safety rules and the need to be careful when using the glass bottles.

Curriculum Connection

Language: Invite children to create funny words or sounds that cannot be spelled. Record children's words as they recite them individually or in unison. Choose a favorite melody from a familiar class song and ask children to sing along by creating funny words or sounds.

Risa Young is the former director of two early childhood programs in the New York City area, the Children's Aid Society's Greenwich Village Center and the Innovative Learning Center at the Long Island College Hospital. She has been a consultant to Early Childhood Today for more than eight years.

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