Present a scenario-based problem about communicating with someone across a large park. Provide students with a set of materials that could be used to design and build a device that uses sound to communicate over distances. Allow students time to individually brainstorm ways to make sounds that could be heard at a distance. Have students share their ideas with group members and come up with a group plan to complete the task. Examples of devices students might build could include a string/tin can telephone or drums made with a balloon stretched over a coffee tub. Students should be responsible for designing and building these devices. It is more important that students engage in the engineering design process than it is to have a device that meets every design criteria. Students should engage in conversations about what worked and what did not work as well as what they might do to improve their devices. Students are successful at this standard if they engage in the engineering design process and demonstrate that they understand that there are multiple ways to make sound carry over long distances effectively.
 

Students should build a communication device for an intended purpose. It can be used for one-way or two-way communication. Distance can be relative dependent on the purpose of the communication. This is an opportunity for students to experience the engineering design process.