Thanks to David Wolf for the link to Soundtransit! While some people play music from around the world for their students, it is probably less common to have field recordings for our students to listen to of actual everyday sounds from spaces and places around the world.
After taking a sound journey across the world our students will probably be more conscious and aware of the everyday sounds in their own lives and environment. Since the recordings on the site make use of creative commons licensing they can even be used in student electronic compositions!
This site is just one of many that highlight the use of phonography (recording of ambient/environmental sound). The possibilities of using environmental sounds in compositions is only limited to our students’ imaginations and the technology we have available.
As an additional entry point to helping young people consider the sounds around them, take a look at the work of composer R. Murray Schafer such as his book [affiliate link] The soundscape: Our Sonic environment and the tuning of the world.