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1st grade · Science · Unit 7 of 8

Signals Far Away

Use light and sound to send messages.

What your child practices

Practices how light and sound can carry a message over a distance, from flashlights and whistles to drums and signal flags, and how to design a simple signal.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 1P.3.2.2.1 · using light or sound to send a message over a distance

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Light and sound can send messages far away.
  2. A traffic light is a light signal. A horn is a sound signal.
  3. A code is a set signal, like 3 flashes for hello.

Example: Is a bike bell a light signal or a sound signal? You hear a bell ring. Hearing means sound. Answer: a sound signal

Signals Far Away in Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 7 of 8 in 1st grade Science, after Ideas from Nature and before Care for Our Earth.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which is easier to hear far away?

    • A loud horn
    • A soft whisper
    • A tiny tap
    • A quiet hum

  2. Question 2

    Flash a light 3 times means hello. This is a…

    • drawing
    • song
    • story
    • code

  3. Question 3

    Which is a light signal?

    • A whistle
    • A drum
    • A school bell
    • A traffic light

  4. Question 4

    A green traffic light tells drivers to…

    • sleep
    • turn around
    • stop
    • go

  5. Question 5

    It is dark. Which signal works best?

    • A flashlight
    • A painted sign
    • A hand wave
    • A flag

  6. Question 6

    Why do ambulances use both a siren and lights?

    • To look nice
    • To save power
    • To scare birds
    • So people hear and see them

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