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All About Our Senses
Students will use their senses to try to identify common objects found in or around the classroom.
Grade Level: K - 1st
Subject:
Length of Time: About 40 Minutes
Objectives & Outcomes
Students will be able to identify all five senses and use each sense to try to identify objects.
Materials Needed
- variety of small bites of easily identified foods (keep allergies in mind)
- brown paper bags
- variety of small toys
- recording (or YouTube) of familiar sounds
- variety of lightly scented oils (or objects)
Procedure
Opening to Lesson
As the teacher stands in front of the room perform some unusual action (such as whistling or waving your arms around). Once students are paying attention ask them what they saw (or heard) you doing. How did they know you were making that movement(sound)? We use our sense every day to identify sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures around us. Ask students (and allow for answers) the following questions:
- If you pet a kitten, how does it feel?
- If you bite into an ice cream cone, what does it taste like?
- What do we hear every day at the end of the school day?
- If someone is cooking, what might you smell?
- If you close your eyes, turn to the right, and open them, what do you see?
- Each day we use all five sense: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch to explore the world.
Ask students to identify how each sense is experienced. Sight = eyes, Smell = nose, Taste = tongue (mouth), Hearing = ears, Touch = hands (feet)
Body of Lesson
- Tell students they are going to use their sense to try to identify objects found in the school or at home. Explain that they will only be using one sense at a time to try to identify each object.
- Start with sight as it is the easiest and a confidence builder. Sit out five to seven small objects under a towel. Tell students that they are to close their eyes until you say to open them. While their eyes are closed remove the towel from one object. Ask students to open their eyes and raise their hand when an object can be identified. Have a student answer. Repeat for each object.
- Explain to students that the next sense is sometimes a little harder to use, the sense of smell. Pour a small amount of scented oil into a bowl. Allow each student to smell the oil and stand when they think they can identify it. Allow each student to smell before making a guess. Repeat for at least two more scents.
- Move on to the sense of hearing (sound). Tell students that you are going to play a familiar sound (animal sounds are good) and when they can tell what sound is being made, to stand up. Repeat for at least five separate sounds.
- The sense of touch will require a brown paper bag and several small toys. Place two or three small toys in the bag and have each child reach in and feel the shape. Ask students to remember what they felt as you are going to ask in a few minutes. Choose shapes that are relatively easy to identify.
- The final sense will be taste, this is great at snack time. Offer students small bites of food that does not look like the bigger item (watermelon squares, orange bits, apple squares, or broken graham crackers) Skip this sense if allergies or rules do not permit food in the classroom.
Closing
Explain to students that they have just used all five senses to learn more about their world. Tell them you are going to try one final activity. Split students into groups of four. Tell them to choose an object in the room and use their sense to explore it.(not taste). They will then describe the object for the whole class to see if they can guess what was chosen. Have students keep their object secret if possible, until a guess has been made.
Assessment & Evaluation
Students will show understanding by using the correct sense to identify an object. Evaluation will be based on participation and appropriate guesses during activities.
Modification & Differentiation
If a student cannot identify an object have them describe it using varying words.
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