3rd grade plays.... straws??!!

Straws you ask? Yes indeed. As part of our instrument unit, students explored woodwind instruments and learned that instruments like the clarinet and the oboe have reeds. Reeds are small pieces of bamboo wood that vibrate to create the sound on many woodwind instruments. The clarinet and saxophone have single reeds, but the oboe and bassoon have double reeds. The double reed is two reeds tied together.

Third graders were able to duplicate double reeds by cutting straws to imitate the shape of a double reed. Then after learning how to play a double reed, students practiced blowing and creating sounds with their straw double reeds. Students had fun making double reeds of different lengths to see how the sound went higher or lower.