Lets Make Some Nodes: Standing Waves

I was surprised to see a topic like standing waves introduced in grade 6 as this is a high school physics topic. I am a high school physics teacher so I decided to check out the lesson plan. While I think using the rubberbands on the kleenix box is a great way to introduce the ideas of pitch and frequency the lesson plans did not elaborate on how to make the connection to standing waves. And do 6th graders really need to be bogged down with terms like nodes and antinodes (again these are terms I introduce in grades 11 & 12)? The you tube video was a college tutorial on the subject and I think very dry for 6th graders. If you really do need to show the idea of a standing wave I would recommend just using a basic slinky and create them on the floor for students to see (and they will be entertained at the same time).

The video was not engaging enough for middle school. I agree with another reviewer that a slinky is a great way to teach the concepts of waves, however, I appreciated your lesson and the rubber band/Kleenex box activity. I have seen this done before and think it is appropriate for middle school.