The National Science Education Standards (NSES) tell us that students in grades 5-8 should “begin to see the connections among . . . [energy forms] and to become familiar with the idea that energy is an important property of substances and that most change involves energy transfer.” Yet there is no explicit direction to introduce students to waves in the context of energy. But what better way to help students connect the mechanical energy of visible ocean waves to the “work” they can do in moving objects all the while transferring energy from kinetic to potential and back? Resources provided here will help you help your students begin to conceptualize waves and their relationship to energy.

Waves and Wave Motion: Describing Waves
This module introduces the history of wave theories, basic descriptions of waves and wave motion, and the concepts of wave speed and frequency.

Seismic Waves
How can P and S waves predict the inner structure of the Earth? Students activate four seismographs that send out P and S waves and watch as the waves are reflected and refracted while moving through the Earth and are asked a series of questions about the waves and interior of the Earth. From the results and provided information, students see how the movement of P and S waves predicts structure within the Earth.

Sound
This site, created by and for 5th grade science students and educators, explores, illustrates, and explains the science of sound and music, including compression waves.

Waves, Sound and Light
These online applets or “gizmos” cover prisms, refraction, and ray tracings with lenses and mirrors. Each gizmo allows users to manipulate variables such as wave length or angle of reflection and each is accompanied by an illustrated, printable guide. The Explore Learning site requires a subscription but does offer a 30-day free trial and five minutes of free access each month for each of the applets.

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