Our senses allow us to enjoy our food, the sound of music, the beauty of a sunny day, the softness of a child's hair -- in short, our lives! There seems to be endless ways to teach our students about the special gift of the senses and how they work. We rely on our five senses to provide information about the world around us. Just the thought of a special holiday dinner brings to mind many observations made through the senses -- the smell of dinner cooking, the sound of holiday music, the taste of freshly baked cookies, and more. Children may recognize the importance of their senses, but they don't often focus on them individually.
Virginia Standards of Learning
Standard K.2 The student will investigate and understand that humans have senses that allow them to seek, find, take in, and react or respond to information in order to learn about their surroundings. Key concepts include:
a) the five senses and corresponding sensing organs; and
b) sensory descriptors used to describe common objects and phenomena.
Background Information
- A Particular sensing organ (eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin) is associated with each of the five senses
- Using the senses, we can make careful observations about the world.
- To communicate what is observed, descriptors should be used.
Essential Knowledge
- In order to meet this standard, it is expected that the students will:
- identify and describe the five senses: taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight.
- match each sensing organ (eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin) with its associated sense.
- match sensory descriptors with the senses (taste: sweet, sour, bitter, salty; touch: rough, smooth, hard, soft, cold, warm, hot; hearing: loud, soft, high, low; sight: bright, dull, color, black, white; smell: strong, faint, bad, and good.)
Vocabulary
In order to successfully complete this unit, students need to know the following words:
taste, touch, smell, hear/ing, sight, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, body parts.
Day 1: Introduction to our Five Senses:
Objective:
Students will
- Identify the five sense and correlate with right body part
- Using chart paper, introduce the vocabulary and pictures for the lesson: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, fingers, body part, sight/seeing, hearing, smell/smelling, taste/tasting, touch/touching. Be sure to have children point to their body parts as you go
- Ask students to call out things they can touch (teddy bear,) things they can see (pictures), things they can smell (cookies), things they can hear (music) Make a list on the chart of their answers. Next, teach the children the following "Senses Chant Movement" song to the tune of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes."
See (point to eyes)
Hear (point to ears)
Smell (point to nose)
Taste (point to tongue)
And Touch (wiggle fingers in the air)
See (point to eyes)
Hear (point to ears)
Smell (point to nose)
Taste (point to tongue)
And Touch (wiggle fingers in the air)
We use our eyes (point to eyes),
ears (point to ears),
nose (point to nose),
tongue (point to tongue),
and our fingers (wiggle fingers in the air)
To
See (point to eyes)
Hear (point to ears)
Smell (point to nose)
Taste (point to tongue)
And Touch (wiggle fingers in the air)
To close the lesson for the day, select a book on the senses to read with the children. I like to read My Five Senses by Aliki Brandenberg. It is a five book series about children who follow a young boy as he tells of all the things he can do with his five senses.
Day 2: Touch
Objective
Students will:
• identify the sense of touch
• identify what body part is used to touch
Today the students will focus on the sense of touch. Ask the children, "Which body part do
we use to touch?" Encourage the children to name all the body parts that we use to touch (fingers, cheeks, toes, elbows, etc) Let the children know that their skin is the largest sense organ we have. Brainstorm with the children the things they can touch and chart how they feel (hard, soft, cold, bumpy, round etc). These are good descriptive words for young authors.Ahead of time, place six different shaped objects in six socks and label them with numbers. Hand out the worksheet with 6 socks (blocks with socks). Pass the socks around and have the students make a picture of what they think is inside from feeling them. After they are all finished, take out the objects and compare the drawings to the actual objects. Have each student show their drawings and describe what they felt and let them feel the actual object to feel the difference. End with reading the book "My Hands" by Aliki.
Day 3: Hear
Objective
Students will:
• identify the sense of sound/hearing
• identify what body part is used to hear
Start the lesson playing a CD with various sounds (animal sounds, household sounds, cars, etc...) Discuss with the class all the different sounds they heard. Make a list of the different sounds they heard on the board. Then ask the students what part of the body were they using to hear those sounds. Hopefully they answer with EARS! Ahead of time fill 6 film canisters with a different objects in each (for example, pennies, marbles, rice, cotton balls, paper clips...) These sound boxes are a fun experiment that requires students to concentrate on their sense of hearing. Ask them to identify the objects inside by their sound as the shake the container. Have them number a sheet of paper 1 to 6 and next to each number, tell the students to draw a picture of what they thought was in each container. Once the students are done with their drawings, bring them back into a group circle and open each canister one at a time. Show the students the objects and discuss what kind of sounds each object make (i.e.,loud, soft, clinking, metal, etc...) Let them touch (review from the day before) and describe how it feels versus how it sounds. Create foldable on sound and have students draw pictures inside or list what items made quiet sounds and which ones made loud sounds (directions under the Foldable section in this blog). An alternative to this would to provide enough of the objects for each student to glue under the tabs.
Day 4: Smell
Objective
Students will
- Identify the sense of smell
- Identify what body part is used to smell (nose)
This lesson encourages children to observe, compare and use language skills as they describe scented items. Ahead of time fill 10 film canisters with pinholes in the top for each of the following scented items: (use cotton balls the liquid scents): onions, vanilla extract, vinegar, cinnamon, coffee grounds, perfume, banana chunks, lemon oil, peanut butter, and peppermint extract or mint leaves. Start the lesson talking about the sense of smell by asking everyone to close their eyes and spray a little perfume into the air. When the children open their eyes ask them what they smell. Ask them what body part they are using to smell. Talk about how our noses help us smell things and introduce one canister. While each child is smelling the scent, talk about what it smells like. Encourage the use of descriptive words. Next, introduce the other film canisters, making certain each child has one. Allow time for children to talk about the smells and encourage older youngsters to exchange canister. Ask, "Can you guess what it is by the way it smells?" After children have opportunities to guess, open each canister. Show them how you poured the liquid onto cotton balls to create the the "smelliest." Finally, place the closed canisters in the science area for future smell investigations.
Day 5: Taste
Objective
Students will
• identify the sense of taste
• identify what body part is used to taste
Ask the class if you they can think of examples for ways we use the sense of taste. Most likely they will give you an example of food. Tell them without taste we wouldn't know if food was good or not. Taste lets us know that candy is sweet and lemons are sour. Make a chart with headings such as sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. After listening to the book Taste by Maria Rius, the students will participate in a food sampling activity and will create a chart that depicts the students’ favorite foods from the lesson’s food samples. The students must use sensory taste describing words. Also, the class must use the words less, more, and equal when analyzing the outcome of the taste chart.
Make sure to check for food allergies ahead of time! Distribute the first tasting item, placing a small sample on each child's plate. Have children taste each item at the same time. After tasting each item, have children describe it. After students taste each item, ask them to raise their hands if they liked that item. Write the name of the item on the board and draw its picture. Then use tally marks to show how many children liked it. Discuss the results. Ask questions such as: How many children liked carrots? Did more children like pears or apples? Which food was the favorite? Create a foldable with four sections that say salty, sweet, sour and bitter. Example in the foldable section below.
Day 6: Sight
Objective
Students will- Identify the sense of sight
- Identify the what body part is used in sight
Ask what the students know about sight. Ask what part of their body do they use to see. Without sight, we would not know what each of us looks like, we could not see colors, where we are going etc...Read the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. While reading the book, tell students to pay close attention to what they see. At the end of the book divide the class into color groups to match each animal in the book. For example, anyone wearing red represents Red Bird; anyone wearing yellow would represent Yellow Duck. (If there are colors missing, children can hold colored construction paper.) Retell the story focusing on the color words. When children hear the color they represent, invite them to stand and join in. Have the students to go back to their seats and hand out a blank animal to every student. Give each table a box of crayons. Tell them to recall what color they remember seeing that particular animal was. Without using our eyes, we would not of seen what color the animal was. At the end of the lesson, come back to a group and ask students what they see on the way home from school. Record ideas on the chart.
Day 7:
Objective
Students will
- create sense puppets to review their comprehension
Puppets can be used for many activities, and they help young children practice their cutting skills. We will make simple puppets out of the
five senses. Give each child an outline of a mouth, hand, nose, ear and eye. Have children decorate the shapes, then cut them out and glue them to wooden craft sticks. Once the glue is dry, use the puppets to quiz children about the senses. Give children a word, then ask them to hold up the senses that are involved. For instance, if you say "cake," children should hold up every puppet except the ear. They can taste, see, touch, and smell cake, but can't hear it.
Day 8
Objective:
Students will
- use descriptive words to describe their sense
Post these words along the board. Hot, Cold, Smooth, Hard, Loud, Quiet, Sweet, Salty. Ask the students what sense correspond with each descriptive word. Then ask what kind of things they can think about to make a list under each. Hot could be fire,soup, tea; Cold -ice, snow, ice cream, Loud-bells,yelling Quiet-whispers; Sweet- Cookies, Ice Cream, Candy, Salty- Pretzels, Chips, Ocean Water. Tell them that many different senses can be used at once. Show them how ice cream is cold at the touch, sweet on the tongue, sweet smell, and can see it (example: chocolate chip ice cream is white and has black/brown chips.) Hand out activity sheet
Day 9:
Objective
Students will
- Develop their sensory awareness and observational and language skills
Tell the students we will be going on a sensory exploration walk! Ask them to predict what they will see, hear, touch, and smell. Provide magnifying glasses, binoculars, a camera, and a portable tape recorder for children to use in their outdoor investigation. Explain that they will use these different tools to explore and record information. For tactile explorations, invite children to touch different types of textures and describe how they feel (such as cement, gravel or rubber surfaces, grass, plants, tree bark, brick, and metal). For visual explorations, help children photograph different textured surfaces as well as different colors that they see outdoors. For olfactory explorations, ask children to describe different types of smells. Use binoculars and magnifying glasses to study and observe things in the environment. What do they notice about the colors and textures of things that have been magnified? Encourage children to use descriptive language as they share their observations and discoveries. Ask questions to further their investigation and observation skills. After returning to the class, create a language experience chart about how they used their senses during their walk. Provide children with paper and markers to create drawings and dictations about their experiences. Use the photographs you and the children took to create a book about their sensory walk. Invite children to identify the outdoor sounds that they recorded.
Day 10: Review Concepts
Objectives:
Students will
- Review their five senses
- Create a foldable that identifies and describes the five senses for review
Hand out the worksheet with each symbol and word for the foldable. After all the students have finished, lead a class discussion to review all five senses and all five body parts we use.
Additional Resources
Books
The Five Senses. By Keith Faulkner. Illus. by Jonathan Lambert. 2002. 14p. Cartwheel. (978-0439388825). Gr. Pre-K to 2.
Pull the tabs to learn about hearing, tasting, touching, smelling, and seeing!
The ears of an aardvark
Can hear every sound.
They can hear tiny ants
Who walk underground.
Rhyming text and brightly colored illustrations teach children about the five senses.Children can pull a tab on each spread to watch an animal move and use one of its senses. An aardvark hears its prey, a bear tastes honey, a chimp touches her baby, an elephant smells a lion, and a bushbaby sees a bug.
Hearing (The Five Senses). by Maria Rius, J.M Parramon & J.J. Puig. Illus. Unknown. 1985. 32p. Barron's Educational Series. 978-0812035674. Gr Pre-K to 3.
Do you remember your first realization of any of your five senses? Prolific children's author J. M. Parramon successfully tackles these tough concepts in words that 3-5 year olds can comprehend. These five colorful books awaken young minds to the wonders of the senses: the taste of oranges, the aroma of fresh-baked bread, and other sensations that give us delight in being alive. Educational, yet fun to read, this clever series is clearly written and cheerfully illustrated in flowing colors throughout. Each book includes a special "scientific" section to help parents answer their children's questions about the senses.
Look, Listen, Taste, Touch, and Smell: Learning About Your Five Senses. By Pamela Hill Nettleton. Illus. by Becky Shipe. 2006. 24. Picture Window Books. (978-1404805088) Gr. K-4.
An introduction to the five senses and the organs that perform the functions of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. A great book for kindergarteners!
The Listening Walk. By. Paul Showers. Illus. by Aliki. 1993. 32p. Harper Collins. 978-0064433228. Gr. K-2.
In this revised edition of the 1961 title, a father and child take a walk together and listen to the sounds around them. The text has been streamlined and updated, and Aliki has completely replaced her previous black-and-white sketches with colorful, lively illustrations of multiethnic people in contemporary settings. The writing is concise and to the point without being choppy, and the overall effect is unhurried and relaxed. Young readers (or listeners) will enjoy the book, both as a story and as a jumping-off point for their own walks.
The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses. By Joanna Cole. Illus. by Bruce Degen. 2001. 32p. Scholastic. 978-0590446983. Gr K-3.
When Ms. Frizzle drives away from school before receiving an important message, Mr. Wilde, the new assistant principal, hops behind the wheel of the Magic School Bus to catch her. The class jumps aboard, too, knowing full well that only the Friz can handle the bus. When Mr. Wilde flips a mysterious switch, the vehicle shrinks and lands in a police officer's eye, then a child's ear, a dog's nose, and, finally, Ms. Frizzle's mouth as she eats pizza with her mother ("We'd been chewed out by teachers before, but this was ridiculous"). The format is comfortably familiar with text boxes and dialogue balloons complementing the story. Degen's illustrations are just as exciting and exacting as usual. Another fun, fact-filled adventure in the series.
My Five Senses. By Aliki. Illus. by the Author. 1991. 32p. HarperFestival. (978-0440843542). Gr- Pre-k to 3.
How do you learn what the world is like? Through your five senses of course! Each sound and taste, each smell, sight, and touch helps you to discover something new. So find out more about your senses-what they are and what you can learn through them about the exciting world.The world awaits!
My Five Senses. By Margaret Miller. Illus. Unknown. 1998. 24p. Aladdin Picture Books. 978-0689820090. Gr. Pre-K to 2.
PreSchool-K-Slight in text, but often visually striking, this book introduces the subject through photographs of five children, each of a different race or ethnicity. An African-American girl looks at herself, her shadow, her dog, and her city, each illustrated with a full-color photograph of her interacting with the topic at hand. The pattern is repeated by each child: "with my nose I smell popcorn, a horse, flowers, and garbage. With my mouth I taste..." Finally, readers are told, "With our five senses, we enjoy our world." While some of the pictures seem staged, they depict experiences common to many children of this age, and are sure to provoke discussion.
Sight (The Five Senses). by Maria Rius, J.M Parramon & J.J. Puig. Illus. Unknown. 1985. 32p. Barron's Educational Series. 978-0812035674. Gr Pre-K to 3.
Do you remember your first realization of any of your five senses? Prolific children's author J. M. Parramon successfully tackles these tough concepts in words that 3-5 year olds can comprehend. These five colorful books awaken young minds to the wonders of the senses: the taste of oranges, the aroma of fresh-baked bread, and other sensations that give us delight in being alive. Educational, yet fun to read, this clever series is clearly written and cheerfully illustrated in flowing colors throughout. Each book includes a special "scientific" section to help parents answer their children's questions about the senses.
Smell (The Five Senses). by Maria Rius, J.M Parramon & J.J. Puig. Illus. Unknown. 1985. 32p. Barron's Educational Series. 978-0812035674. Gr Pre-K to 3.
Do you remember your first realization of any of your five senses? Prolific children's author J. M. Parramon successfully tackles these tough concepts in words that 3-5 year olds can comprehend. These five colorful books awaken young minds to the wonders of the senses: the taste of oranges, the aroma of fresh-baked bread, and other sensations that give us delight in being alive. Educational, yet fun to read, this clever series is clearly written and cheerfully illustrated in flowing colors throughout. Each book includes a special "scientific" section to help parents answer their children's questions about the senses.
Taste (The Five Senses). by Maria Rius, J.M Parramon & J.J. Puig. Illus. Unknown. 1985. 32p. Barron's Educational Series. 978-0812035674. Gr Pre-K to 3.
Do you remember your first realization of any of your five senses? Prolific children's author J. M. Parramon successfully tackles these tough concepts in words that 3-5 year olds can comprehend. These five colorful books awaken young minds to the wonders of the senses: the taste of oranges, the aroma of fresh-baked bread, and other sensations that give us delight in being alive. Educational, yet fun to read, this clever series is clearly written and cheerfully illustrated in flowing colors throughout. Each book includes a special "scientific" section to help parents answer their children's questions about the senses.
Touch (The Five Senses). by Maria Rius, J.M Parramon & J.J. Puig. Illus. Unknown. 1985. 32p. Barron's Educational Series. 978-0812035674. Gr Pre-K to 3.
Do you remember your first realization of any of your five senses? Prolific children's author J. M. Parramon successfully tackles these tough concepts in words that 3-5 year olds can comprehend. These five colorful books awaken young minds to the wonders of the senses: the taste of oranges, the aroma of fresh-baked bread, and other sensations that give us delight in being alive. Educational, yet fun to read, this clever series is clearly written and cheerfully illustrated in flowing colors throughout. Each book includes a special "scientific" section to help parents answer their children's questions about the senses.
Websites
The animators at BrainPop are back with five excellent pages devoted to our five senses: hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting and feeling. Each page includes a movie, a quiz, an experiment and a activity. Free movie passes are now limited to three per day so you won't be able to view all five movies in one visit. Unlimited BrainPop access is available by paid subscription for both families and classrooms.
Neuroscience For Kids - The Senses
The smell of a flower. The memory of a walk in the park. The pain of stepping on a nail. These experiences are made possible by the three pounds of tissue in our heads...the BRAIN!! Neuroscience for Kids has been created for all students and teachers who would like to learn about the nervous system. This fabulous site starts with dozens of classroom experiments and word search puzzles. For more on the five senses, follow the links to "On the Senses" and "Amazing Animal Senses" that you'll find in the middle of the page.
The "Sid the Science Kid" Web site is designed to further develop children's natural wonder and build a strong foundation for early science exploration.Complementary online and offline activities motivate children to practice and internalize scientific methodology: "Observe! Compare! Contrast! Describe!" The site is crafted to support a collaborative learning experience between child and adult and offers features that help adult mentors to support and participate in the child's learning process.
A fun, very easy to manage website designed with the child in mind. Although you must register to play the games, it is free and allows the parents to see what their child is playing! The All about the five senses game is interactive to teach children about their five senses which they use to examine objects in their daily life.
Children’s programming on KVIE provides families with a truly educational experience they cannot find anywhere else. As children watch, they explore developmentally appropriate topics such as math, science, and literacy along with their favorite PBS Kids characters, discovering new worlds and ideas with each new episode. KVIE demonstrates its commitment to families by providing direct community outreach across the region. In 2010, KVIE coordinated over 100 workshops, offering parents concrete tools and resources that help them discover anytime is learning time.
Assessments
Each of the three foldables listed above will be reviewed for accuracy as a summative assessment of the children's comprehension of the five senses.
A formative assessment during the discussions of each lesson will provide insight into the children's comprehension. If the students are not understanding what body part goes with the senses, it is the teachers responsibility to fulfill these un-met needs.
A "quiz" will be handed out at the end of the 10 day unit, but is a simple circle and match test of body part to sense. Click here to view the quiz and answer sheet.
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