Science Lesson Plan
Parts of the Ear
(Receiving sound waves)
Lesson Title:
Content Focus:
Sound
Standards and Objectives
Common Core:
2.P.1 Understand the relationship between sound and vibrating objects.
Essential Standards:
2.P.1.2 Summarize the relationship between sound and objects of the body that
vibrate – eardrum and vocal cords
Student Friendly Objective:
I can… identify the parts of the ear that receive vibrations to make sound.
Essential Questions
How can I show what parts of the body produce and receive sound waves?
How can I identify the parts of the ear that receive, vibrate, and move sound to our brain?
Academic Vocabulary
Focus Skills
Outer Ear & Lobe, Middle Ear, Inner Ear,
Labeling vocabulary words and summarizing how
Ear Canal, Ear Drum
the body processes sound.
Suggested Assessment
Suggested Activities and Procedure
TTW review what the students have discussed about sound, vibrations, pitch & frequency (high
& Low), and volume (Loud & Quiet). TTW then facilitate a discussion about how vibrations cause
sound waves to move through the air. TTW then ask “How do people capture these sound waves
moving through the air?” “How do these waves help us hear?” “What are the parts of the body
that help us make sense of the sound waves?” After the whole class discussion: TTW will
present the color coded diagram of the Ear. The teacher will illustrate how the Outer Ear
catches the sound waves from the air and moves them into the Ear Canal which focuses the
waves to the Ear Drum which in turn vibrates back and forth. When the Ear drum vibrates, it
moves three small bones located in the Inner Ear. The first small bone, named the Hammer, is
connected to the back of the Ear Drum so when the Ear Drum vibrates, so does the Hammer.
This Hammer then vibrates the second small bone, called the Anvil, which then moves the last
little bone, the Stirrup. The stirrup is connected to a small liquid filled spiral organ called the
Cochlea. The Cochlea is where the Inner Ear begins. The cochlea has tinny hairs that shake and
vibrate along with the movements of the stirrup. These tiny, little hairs are connected to
nerves, the Cochlear Nerves, which carry the signal to the brain. The brain then interprets the
signals to produce sounds we can understand.
TSW Work in pairs or small groups to label the Ear Diagram Skill Builder Sheet, and write a
summary of the hearing process to demonstrate comprehension and understanding.
Suggested Differentiation
Remediation: Further instruction and support during the completion of the Skill
Builder is to be supplied for those who need it. This may be in the form of: use of
the Ear Diagram or one-on-one instruction to complete their labeling and summary.
Enrichment: These students may act as a peer teacher to help those in their
group, as well as themselves, make connections to the lesson’s objectives. These
students may also be expected to learn the extended vocabulary words Hammer,
Anvil, Stirrup, Cochlea, and Cochlear Nerves.
Materials Needed
Ear Diagram (For instructional purposes) See Below
Blank Ear diagram and summary Skill Builder Sheets (One per student) See Below
W1 and W2 Tasks
W1 Writing Task
See above…
W2 Writing Task
Summary: How the Ear helps us hear.
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Summary: How the Ear helps us hear.
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