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How a Xylophone Makes Music

Read an original article about how a xylophone makes sound, then connect each science idea to the next, from a tap to a note you hear.

Grade 2ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRI.2.3

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 Common Core standard
Printable answer key
10 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 2
Subject: ELA
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students describe how a series of science ideas about sound are connected.
Students match causes and effects from an informational text.
Students explain how the size of a bar changes the note it makes.

How to use

Read the article aloud, and if a xylophone is handy, let students tap a long bar and a short bar first. Then have students answer, rereading the paragraph each question names.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RI.2.3

Describe how a series of historical events, science ideas, or steps in a procedure are connected in a text.

Preview

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Name Date

How a Xylophone Makes Music

Read an article and connect each science idea to the next.

Read the article

How a Xylophone Makes Music

1Tap, tap, plink! Many music classes have a xylophone. A xylophone is an instrument with a row of bars, often made of wood. You play it by tapping the bars with a mallet, a stick with a round end. But how does a tap turn into music?

2First, the mallet hits a bar. The tap makes the bar vibrate, which means it shakes back and forth very fast. The shaking is so tiny and quick that you can hardly see it.

3Next, the shaking bar pushes on the air around it. This makes the air vibrate, too. The vibrations travel through the air in every direction.

4Then the vibrations reach your ears. Your ears send a message to your brain, and you hear a note.

5The bars are not all the same size. Long bars vibrate more slowly, so they make low notes. Short bars vibrate faster, so they make high notes. Because each bar makes its own note, you can play a whole song.

6Do you want the sound to stop? Just touch the bar with your hand. The bar stops shaking, so the sound stops, too.

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