Making Sense of Our Senses

Key Words for Teaching About the Senses

ears, eyes, nose, tongue, fingers, body part, sight/seeing, hearing, smell/smelling, taste/tasting, touch/touching

• Nonfiction books about the five senses
  
• Pictures to represent vocabulary words
• My Five Senses Journal printable
• Stapler, paper clips, fasteners, or binder clips
  
• Small plastic opaque containers with holes in top, four per group of students
  
• Strongly scented items for scent activity, such as cloves, peanut butter, cotton ball soaked in perfume, chocolate
• Examples of different tasting foods, such as lemon wedges (sour), salty pretzels (salty), chocolate (sweet), mild salsa (spicy)
• Trays to hold food samples, one per group of students
  
• Teacher-created CD with various recorded sounds
• Computer with CD burner
  
• Examples of items with different textures, such as tree bark, pieces of fake fur or velvet, sandpaper, smooth rocks, sponge
• Whiteboard or chart paper and markers
• Five-Senses Mask Template and Directions printable from Adorable Wearables That Teach Early Concepts by Donald M. Silver
• Scissors
• Exacto knife
  
• 12-inch pieces of yarn, two per student
• Tape
• Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
  
• Hole puncher
• Optional: CD player
• Optional: Five Senses Recording Sheet printable (see Home Connection)
  

1. Choose read-aloud books about the five senses. You will need one book about all five senses and additional books about individual senses. I like to use My Five Senses by Aliki Brandenberg, The Five Senses series by Maria Ruis, J. M. Parramón, and J.J. Puig, and Sense Suspense by Bruce McMillan. You can use your own books or refer to the Books About the Five Senses section of my book list for more suggestions.
2. Find and print images to represent the following vocabulary words: ears, eyes, nose, tongue, fingers, body part, sight/seeing, hearing, smell/smelling, taste/tasting, touch/touching. You should plan to attach these to a sheet of chart paper or the whiteboard as you introduce the vocabulary words.
3. Label a sheet of chart paper for each of the five senses.
   
4. Print a class set of the My Five Sense Journal printable. Bind the six pages together with a stapler, a paper clip, fasteners, or binder clips. You may want to write each student's name on a set of pages ahead of time.
   
5. Smell Activity: For each group of four students, fill four small plastic opaque containers with holes in the top with strongly scented and familiar objects. I recommend cloves, peanut butter, a cotton ball soaked in perfume, and a piece of chocolate.
   
6. Taste Activity: For each group of four students, prepare a tray of lemon wedges, salty pretzels, and small pieces of chocolate. You may also want to add some "mild" salsa to introduce the spicy taste.
   
7. Hear Activity: Prepare a CD with various familiar recorded sounds, such as a telephone ring, a baby crying, hammering, etc.
8. Touch Activity: For each group of four students, prepare a tray of objects with various textures. I like to use pieces of tree bark, fake fur or velvet, sandpaper, and sponge, plus a few smooth rocks.
9. Make a class set of the Five-Senses Mask Template and Directions printable (or only pages 52 and 53).
10. Determine how much of the mask assembly you want students to complete (see pages 49-51 for mask-assembly instructions). You will need to cut slits for the nose and eyes with an exacto knife, and you may want to do this ahead of time. You will also need to attach the pieces with the yarn. Depending on how many adults will be in your classroom on Day 7, you may want to do the majority of the assembly ahead of time and just have students color the masks during class.
11. Optional: If you want students to complete the Home Connection activity, make a class set of the Five Senses Recording Sheet printable.

Day 1

Step 1: Using a sheet of chart paper or the whiteboard, introduce the vocabulary and pictures for the lesson: ears, eyes, nose, tongue, fingers, body part, sight/seeing, hearing, smell/smelling, taste/tasting, touch/touching. As you go along, have students point to their body parts.

Step 2: Teach students 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)

Step 3: Read aloud a book about all five senses.

Day 2

Step 1: Read aloud a book about smell.

Step 2: Ask students, "Which body part do we use to smell?" Brainstorm the things they can smell and record their responses on the Smell chart paper. Post chart paper in the classroom.

Step 3: Introduce students to the Five Senses Journal. Give each student a journal and explain how each page works.

Step 4: Begin the Smell Activity.

1. Break students into groups of four to explore the smells in the containers.
2. Have students guess what items are in the containers based only on the smell.
3. Have students record the things they can smell by drawing and writing (at any level) in their Five Senses Journal.
4. Encourage students to add items they can smell that were not included in the exploration. They can include items generated in the discussion.

Step 5: When most groups are finished with the activity, gather students together in a circle and have each student share one item he/she drew or wrote about that can be smelled.

Day 3

Step 1: Read aloud a book about taste.

Step 2: Ask students, "Which body part do we use to taste?" Brainstorm the things they can taste and record their responses on the Taste chart paper.

Step 3: Introduce new vocabulary (salty, sour, sweet) by having students demonstrate what kind of face they would make if they tasted something salty, sour, or sweet. Write the words and any student descriptions on the Taste chart paper. Post the chart paper in the classroom.

Step 4: If you collected students' Five Senses Journals, return them to students before beginning the Taste Activity.

1. Have students work in groups of four to explore the sense of taste with the sour (lemon), salty (pretzel), and sweet (chocolate) examples (plus spicy (salsa) if you have it).
2. Have students record the things they can taste by drawing and writing (at any level) in their Five Senses Journal.
3. Encourage students to add items they can taste that were not included in the exploration. They can include items generated in the discussion.

Step 5: When most groups are finished with the activity, gather students together in a circle and have each student share one item he/she drew or wrote about that can be tasted.

Day 4

Step 1: Read aloud a book about hearing.

Step 2: Ask students, "Which body part do we use to hear?" Brainstorm things they can hear and chart their responses on the Hear chart paper.

Step 3: If you collected students' Five Senses Journals, return them to students before beginning the Hear Activity.

1. Use your computer or a CD player to play tracks from the CD of familiar sounds.
2. Have students guess what sound they are hearing.
3. Have students record the things they can hear by drawing and writing (at any level) in their Five Senses Journal.
4. When you are finished with the CD tracks, encourage students to add items they can hear that were not included in the exploration. They can include items generated in the discussion.

Step 4: When students have had time to write, gather everyone together in a circle and have each student share one item he/she drew or wrote about that can be heard.

Day 5

Step 1: Read aloud a book about touch.

Step 2: Ask students, "Which body part do we use to touch?" Encourage students to name all the body parts that we use to touch (fingers, cheeks, toes, elbows, etc.). Explain to students that skin is the largest sense organ we have.

Step 3: Brainstorm with students things they can touch and chart how they feel (hard, soft, cold, bumpy, etc.) on the Touch chart paper. Remind students that these are good descriptive words for young authors. Post the chart paper in the classroom.

Step 4: If you collected students' Five Senses Journals, return them to students before beginning the Touch Activity.

1. Have students work in groups of four to explore the sense of touch with a tray of textured objects.
2. Have students record how the items feel by drawing and writing (at any level) in their Five Senses Journal.
3. Encourage students to add items they can touch that were not included in the exploration. They can include items generated in the discussion.

Step 5: When students have had time to write, gather everyone together in a circle and have each student share one item he/she drew or wrote about that can be touched.

Day 6

Step 1: Read aloud a book about sight.

Step 2: Ask students, "Which body part do we use to see?"

Step 3: If you collected students' Five Senses Journals, return them to students before beginning the See Activity.

1. Play "I Spy" with students. For example: "I spy with my little eye something that is red, white, and blue." Let the student who guesses correctly go next. Chart the things that students see on the See chart paper.
2. Have students record the things they can hear by drawing and writing (at any level) in their Five Senses Journal.
3. After "I Spy," post the chart paper in the classroom.
4. Encourage students to add items not used in their exploration to their Five Senses Journals. They can include items generated in the discussion.

Step 4: When students have had time to write, gather everyone together in a circle and have each student share one item he/she drew or wrote about that he/she can see.

Day 7

Step 1: Read aloud a book about all five senses (I like to read Sense Suspense by Bruce McMillan because it helps review the senses and assess sense awareness).

Step 2: Tell students that they are going to make sense masks. Pass out the cut-out masks and coloring materials.

Step 3: As students finish coloring, have them bring their mask to you. At this time, complete the assembly process for the mask.

Step 4: When all students are wearing their masks, demonstrate with one student how to ask questions about senses. For example, "What part of your body do you use to taste?" or "What do you use your ears for?"

Step 5: Break students into pairs and have them question each other about their senses.

Step 6: Gather students together in a circle and collect their masks. Go around the circle and have students share about one body part you have been discussing (eyes, nose, tongue, ears, fingers, or skin) and for which sense it is used. Model an example: "I use my nose to smell."

Step 7: Close by singing the "Senses Chant/Movement" once again.

1. Encourage higher level thinking by asking students to evaluate whether or not they like what they smell, taste, hear, touch, or see in their journal.
2. Take a walking field trip around the neighborhood. Provide each child with a small clipboard, recording sheet (see printable) and a pencil. Have the children record one thing for each sense that they use.
3. Add an element of mystery to the Smell, Taste, and Touch Activities by not allowing the students to see the items (closing their eyes for the Taste Activity). Put the items in a paper bag and ask the students to tell/record what they smell, taste, and/or feel.

Ask the children to find things they can use their five senses with at home. Have them use the Five Senses Recording Sheet with their family.

• Complete the My Five Senses Journal printable
  
• Color and wear a sense mask

Teacher Observation

• Observe children's oral responses during class discussions and when working in groups or pairs. Fine motor skills can be assessed as the children make their mask.

Written Outcome

• Assess the completed My Five Senses Journal for drawings or writing that corresponds logically.