The Sounds of Climate Change (Ages 5-10)
Join me, a musician and National Park Service artist-in-residence, as we listen to the sonic landscape of our shifting planet.
Andy Jarema
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(260)
What's included
1 live meeting
30 mins in-class hoursClass Experience
We often talk about climate change in the ways we see and feel, but what can our ears tell us about how our shifting planet sounds? In this class, we will first cover the basic science of climate change including weather vs. climate, greenhouse gases, and fossil fuels. Then, we will listen to field recordings taken in natural habitats that highlight environmental change. As an example, we will listen to three recordings taken by soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause that document the same location (California’s Sugarloaf Ridge State Park) over a period of 10 years. Students will be asked to note the differences in the soundscape between the recordings and hypothesize the reasons driving the change.
Learning Goals
Students will learn to define basic scientific vocabulary related to climate change (weather, climate, greenhouse gases, fossil fuels). Students will improve their listening skills by comparing and contrasting multiple nature recordings. Students will be able to express a perspective on the relationship between climate change and our planet’s sonic environment.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
None required, although I recommend having a post-class discussion with your child since climate change is a complex, emotional issue. Please note that I have taken great care to make the material I am teaching age-appropriate, and I also end my class with initiatives/action items to make the students feel empowered.
Supply List
No supplies or resources needed, except for your ears!
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
I consulted several websites for the scientific information used in this class (National Geographic, NASA, NOAA). For the sound portion of the class, I researched the soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause and gathered together several sources from the podcast “20,000 Hertz.”
Joined October, 2020
4.9
260reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Michigan Teaching Certificate in Music/Theater/Arts
2 Degrees
Master's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from Wayne State University
Bachelor's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from Michigan State University
I am approaching this subject from my perspective as an artist/musician who works with natural sound. I have had the opportunity to be an Artist-in-Residence with the National Park Service on two occasions (Great Smoky Mountains in 2018 and Hawai’i Volcanoes in 2019) and led several visitor engagement workshops to educate visitors about the natural sound world of the national parks. I also completed my master’s thesis in 2020 (M.M. Music Composition/Technology), which entailed months of research finding climate/weather data and sonifying it (turning data into sound) using musical instruments and electronic sounds. My specific focus was researching the NOAA’s database of the last 40 years of weather disasters in the United States to signify trends in changing climate.Reviews
Live One-Time Class
$10
per classMeets once
30 min
Completed by 18 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 5-10
3-9 learners per class
