Explore and Play: Wheels on the Bus

Materials

Lyrics: Wheels on the Bus
           The wheels on the bus go round and round,
           round and round,
           round and round
           the wheels on the bus go round and round
           all through the town.

Key Science Concepts

• Sounds can vary in volume (loud and soft), and pitch (high and low).

Directions

1. Ask children to think of some of the sounds they heard in the story. Turn the pages of the book, writing down on chart paper the things children name: cell phones, dogs, jackhammers, police car sirens, trash cans, motorcycles.
2. Sing the song once. Tell children that they are going to change the song, using the city sounds they named. Start with the cellphone, making the sound high pitched:
             The cell phones in the city go ring, ring, ring,
             ring, ring, ring,
             ring, ring, ring
             The cell phones in the city go ring, ring, ring
   ​          all through the town.

3. Try some other variations, each time singing the song with a high or low pitch, or a loud or soft volume:
              The ice cream trucks in the city go jing-a-ling-ling...
              The horns on the cars go honk, honk, honk...
              The trash cans in the city go bang, bang, bang...
              The dogs in the city go ruff, ruff, ruff...