How to Listen like a Fish: Lesson Plan

My TEDx talk is under 15 minutes long, but it can be used as the jumping off point for lessons in science and music. Here is an adaptable lesson plan (with high school in mind but could also be modified for middle school or college), geared toward science class or music class. Let me know if you use this!

Listen Like a Fish Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives:

Identify how sound functions in natural environments
Understand how sound travels in water and its role in marine ecosystems
Describe how marine animals use sound for communication and navigation
Explore human impact on the ocean’s soundscape (e.g., noise pollution)
Introduce the concept of bioacoustics as a scientific research method
Explore acoustic ecology and its musical implications
Practice active and deep listening
Compose or interpret music inspired by oceanic sounds

Total Duration: 1–2 class periods (45–90 minutes total)

30 minutes – Listen and Learn introductory activity

Play the TEDx talk “How to Listen Like a Fish” and pause the video after the listening access is over (when Heather says “how was that for you?” @ 10:37). Have a five minute group discussion about what sounds students noticed and what they noticed about them. Then continue the video until the end. Continue the class discussion.

Class Discussion Prompts:

What does it mean to “listen like a fish”? How is this different from how humans typically experience sound?
Are there places you like to go, or don’t like to go, because of the way they sound?
Why do marine animals rely more on sound than sight?
How might human-generated sounds affect ocean life?
Can sound be a tool for conservation?
What musical qualities do ocean sounds have?
What does it mean to listen deeply? How does that affect your work? (creative, research, or studies)
What if humans could sense the way marine animals sense? What might happen?

30-60 minutes Hands-On Activity: Sensory Navigation
Materials: Just a classroom or other space with a bit of room to walk around. Can be done outdoors or indoors.

Instructions:

Divide the class into two groups, Animals and Scientists

Members of Group Animals should get into pairs. They will do the activity first, while Group Scientists will observe.

In each pair, one student is the Leader and the other is the Follower. The Follower closes their eyes, and the Leader puts their hands on their shoulders and gently and quietly guides them around the room. All of the pairs do this at the same time. Use your judgement with how much safety precautions you need to take for your particular set of students. (I have done this activity numerous times, and all I needed was to remind the Leaders that they should watch the floor in front of their Follower.) Tell them they will do this until you say “Freeze” and that the Followers at this point should keep their eyes closed. This is important because their first instinct will be to want to open their eyes.

After about one minute, say “Freeze – keep your eyes closed” and have the pairs freeze in place. Each Follower should keep their eyes closed and should describe where they think they are in the room, and give reasons. Prompt them to say something other than “I have no idea.” Possible responses might be things like, “I remember the fan sound was over there before, and now it sounds closer.” “It got darker and lighter and darker again, so I think I’m back where I started.” “I heard giggling over there so I think that’s where the observers are.”

Have them open their eyes and see where they are in the room. Discuss how the sensory cues they received helped them figure out where they are in the room. Optional – discuss how they used a mental map.

If time, have the pairs switch roles, and then repeat the activity with the Animals and Scientists swapping roles.

Follow up assignment or class activity:

Use Chrome Music Lab (free) to explore visualization of sound

Watch my short video on Spectrograms and then experiment with spectrogram graphs of different sounds. Focus on pitches (frequencies), loudness (intensity), and patterns over time.

Topics for discussion:

What does it mean for sound to be a time based medium?

When would you want to look at sound rather than listen it, or vice versa? When would you want to do both?

Assessment Options
Short response reflection: “What can humans learn from sound?” or “What surprised you most about listening like a fish?”

Mini Research Poster: Pick one marine animal (e.g., snapping shrimp, dolphin, fish) and describe how it uses sound in its life processes.

Soundscape Composition: Create a musical composition using underwater sounds (available from Ocean World of Sound). Play them in class and discuss textures, pitches, rhythm, silence, etc.

Sound journal: Keep a Sound Journal for one week, with daily writings on notable sounds and soundscapes. Optional – take sound recordings as well

Optional Transdisciplinary Extension
Nature Music: Students record and describe outdoor sound phenomena and compose a composition driven by those recordings

Reflection Essay: “What can music and science teach us about listening?”