5senses

Five Senses The five senses is one of the first units I submerge my students in. As we spend the week listening, touching, smelling, looking and tasting, the students will become aware of the fact that their five senses are helping them learn. The unit helps to make the children more aware of their own bodies and the environment around them. We end the unit on Friday with the creation of a classroom quilt. The activity is called the TOUCH AND FEEL QUILT, a letter is sent home with all our students asking them to bring in items with different textures. This becomes a family activity as they collect items to create the classroom quilt. A language arts activity gives this unit closure as the students describe the quilt in a classroom discussion.

**DAY 1**
**HEARING**
Virtual Tour of the Ear	Sound Experiment
Hearing	Sounds***
Word: The Ear	What is That?*****
Hearing Theme Page

I do the following experiments to help the students understand the sense of sound.
1. I will have the students shut their eyes as I make different sounds. The students will try and name the object that is making each sound. (scissors, stapler, pouring water, walking, tape dispenser, etc.)
2. I introduce the ear and how an ear works. I read a book that explains the mechanics how an ear hears. I define the terms, vibration and wave. I explain that sound travels in waves. As sound enters the ear, the eardrum feels the vibrations. I stretch a piece of plastic wrap over a bowl and pour a little salt on the plastic. I will take a metal pot or pan and bang on it a short distance away from the plastic wrap. The salt should dance on the plastic wrap, showing the students vibrations. I explain to the students that an eardrum works like the piece of plastic wrap. Sound vibrations bounce against your eardrum like the sound vibrations bounced on the plastic wrap.
3. Sound travel through solids better than air. I have the students place one of their ears on the table and I tap on the table. I have them move away from the table and I tap on the table. I ask the question: Which sound did you hear the best?
4. Tones. I read the kindergartners a book called, THE THREE LITTLE BEARS, after reading the book we review the voices of the three main characters. I place three glasses in the center of our meeting place. The three glasses are exactly the same size. I put water in each of the glasses. Glass #1: 1/4, Glass #2: 1/2, Glass #3: full. I have a student take a spoon and tap several times on each glass. I ask, which one has a low voice like Papa Bear? Which one has a medium voice like momma bear? Which one has a high voice like baby bear? This demonstration helps them to understand tones.

**DAY 2**
**SEEING**
Brown Bear, Brown Bear	A Look at the Iris
Word Puzzle: The Eye	The Blind Spot: K-12th
Anatomy of the Eye	The Eye

I do the following experiments to help the students understand the sense of sight.
1. I place an object in a bag and let each student feel it and try to name the object in the bag. I do this with several objects.
After guessing the objects, I read a book explaining how the eye works. We have a classroom discussion after reading the book, reviewing the mechanics of sight.
2. Game. Blindfold a students and let them touch the face of another student. They can try and guess who's face they are touching.
3. Game. I walk the class to the playground. I explain the object of this activity is to walk around the playground without using the sense of sight. I partner the students up, one student can become the blind one and the other student can be a leader in case of danger, after a short while they can switch. This activity helps the students understand how important our eye sight is.
Activity: Trust Walk: info

**DAY 3**
**SMELLING**
Lesson on the Sense of Smell	Word Puzzle: Smell
Expose Your Nose

I do the following experiment to help the students understand the sense of smell.
I place several unique and strong smells in individual containers, each container is covered with a paper towel that prohibits the students from peeking. The paper towel has a slit allowing the students to smell each item. Each item is passed around and after each student has had a turn to smell, we will try and guess what is in the container.
After this experiment, I read a book explaining the nose and how the sense of smell works. We then review the sense of smell, using the experiment to relate our new knowledge.

**DAY 4**
**TASTING**
Lesson on the Sense of Taste	Taste Buds
Relationship between Taste and Smell	Word Puzzle: Taste
Tasty Buds: 3rd-12th

I show the students a tongue made out of silly foam. I explain that our tongue has many taste buds and we are going to figure out how the taste buds work.
1. Bitter. I give each student a Q tip with Bitter on it. I tell them to touch their tongue all over with the Q tip and try to find the part of the tongue that tastes the bitter. We then put a label on our foam tongue for bitter.
2. Sour. I give each student a Q tip with lemon juice on it. I tell them to touch their tongue all over with the Q tip and find the part of the tongue that tastes sour. We then put a label on our foam tongue for sour.
3. Salt. I give each student a salt cracker. I tell them to touch their tongue all over with the salt cracker and try to find the part of the tongue that tastes the salt. We then put a label on our foam tongue for salt.
4. Sweet. I give each student a cube of sugar. I tell them to touch their tongue all over with the sugar cube and try to find the part of the tongue that tastes the sugar. We then put a label on our foam tongue for sweet.
I follow this activity with a book explaining the sense of taste.

**DAY 5**
**FEELING**
Touching*****	Lesson on the Sense of Touch
Word Puzzle: Touch	Word Puzzle: Pain
Touch: K-12TH

1. The students will have brought in many different items with a variety of textures following a letter that was sent home at the beginning of the week explaining the activity, "TOUCH AND FEEL QUILT". As each of these items are shared with fellow classmates, we list the words the students use to describe each item. (soft, scratchy, bumpy, rough, silky, etc.).
2. I will let the students take turns putting on a glove, they will touch some of the textures and we will discuss the differences in the sense of touch.
3. We will create our classroom quilt. On a large sheet of construction paper, we will have three of the squares with colored paper glued down. On the three empty squares, the students will glue their items from home. (sand paper, corduroy, cotton balls, screen, fur, etc.) I create a bulletin board using these quilts. It is a great way to end the unit on senses.

**SENSES**
Seeing, Hearing, Smelling the World	Teaching Children About the 5 Senses
All About Me, My Senses	All Together Now
The Senses: Introduction	5 Senses: Introduction
Introduction to the Senses*****	5 Senses Activities: Preschool & Up
Activity for Each Sense*****	Activities on the 5 Senses
Links: Look No More	5 Senses: Objectives for a Unit
All Your Senses: Activities*****	Eric Lessons, Tomie de Paola, The Popcorn Book
The Five Senses: Several Sites	Kindergarten Integrated Unit
Mr. Potato Head: The Five Senses	Seeing, Hearing and Smelling the World
Preschool Activity Theme	Interactive Game: 5 Senses: All Grades
Poem: 5 Senses: Opposites*	Kids Science: About: 5 Senses: List of Sites

**LESSON PLANS**
Name that Noise	Think Quest, Jr.
Thematic Unit: 2nd Grade	Integrated Lessons: Kindergarten
We Need 5 Senses	All Five
Educator Resource on the 5 Senses	5 Fantastic Senses: Online Activities
Activities	All About Me
Exploring the Senses with Popcorn	5 Senses
Questions	Neuroscience for Kids
5 Senses: Lesson Overview	Our Five Senses
Education World: 10 Lessons	Our 5 Senses: A Slide Presentation
All About Me: My 5 Senses: 1st & 2nd Grades

**Subject Areas Integrated & Arizona State Standards**
Reading:	R-R1, R-R3
Math:	1M-R2, 1M-R1, 2M-R1, 2M-R2
Science:	1SC-R1, 1SC-R3, 5SC-R1, 1SC-R2

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