Song of the Starbird

The game has multiple levels and students learn about sound, how we hear and strategies for prevention of noise-induced hearing loss in order to be successful in the game. Learning is implicit, not explicit.

As a booster activity, the game can be made available to students during a class period, or the link provided for outside of classroom exploration and would follow delivery of the interactive Dangerous Decibels Program.

Song of the Starbird Supplemental Curriculum

Using STEM-based activities, students learn about the physical nature of sound and how our hearing works. This 4th/5th grade curriculum (available soon) begins by exploring how sound is created through physical vibration and how that vibration travels to our ears as sound waves. Then students dive into the anatomy of the ear, to learn how sound waves are funneled to the eardrum, vibrate their way across the tiny bones of the middle ear, then set fluid in motion in the shell-like cochlea where our delicate sensory cells live.  The curriculum culminates in an engineering challenge to build a musical instrument that demonstrates the concepts of frequency and amplitude.

This supplemental curriculum accompanies the online game, in which students take on the role of a space explorer in search of a legendary Starbird. With the completion of each module of the curriculum, students explore a new level where they are challenged to use their knowledge of sound and hearing to protect themselves from unusual creatures that emit dangerous noises.

The curriculum aligns with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), covering topics such as sound waves and energy, sensory organs, and material properties and engineering design.  However, the activities and lessons are designed to be modular and easily adapted to any classroom or pedagogical approach.

Making it All Work Together

When using the Song of the Starbird in the classroom, we encourage the following approach:

1. Deliver the interactive Dangerous Decibels Program to students. This is the critical behavior change component of the learning and will generate excitement about the topic.

2. Provide access to the Song of the Starbird as a booster activity. The educational game will act as a bridge between the interactive Dangerous Decibels program and explicit teaching in the classroom.

3. Reference the Song of the Starbird Supplemental Curriculum (available soon) guide to follow or parallel game play with explicit teaching related to the STEM concepts within the game. This is the knowledge component of the subject matter.

4. Use Jolene and the dBZone! as supplemental booster activities

Remember, knowledge alone doesn’t create long-lasting behavior change. So, if we truly want to prevent noise-induced hearing loss, delivering the interactive Dangerous Decibels Program is the place to start.