Lesson Plans

Theme: The Five SensesPrimary Subject: Science/Biology

Secondary Subjects: Creative Arts, Math, Literacy, Social/Emotional

Learning Outcomes: Children will be able to: 1) Name the Five Senses and understand how each of them enables a person to learn and know about the physical world around them. 2) Begin to develop an awareness of differently abled, i.e. how the absence of one sense through birth defect or accident can cause the other senses to compensate. 3) Understand how the senses combine to give us a multifaceted understanding of our world.

Books: Our Five Senses by Aliki, Senses at the Seashore by Shelley Rotner, Sense Suspense by Bruce McMillan.

Materials: Apple sauce, cinnamon, glue, rolling pins, parchment paper, cookie cutters, kool-aid packets, marshmallows, pretzels, bitter chocolate, lemons, mint extract, lemon extract, maple extract, rose water, sandpaper, marbles, cotton balls, fabric, tape recorder/blank cassette, plastic sunglasses, Sounds Around the Home boxed game w/CD.

Procedure: We will begin with a brief discussion of how we know things about our world. For instance, when we talked last week about the changes we noticed were happening outside that told us it was fall, what parts of our bodies did we use to notice these changes?

Then each day of the week we will focus on a particular sense, providing them with multiple opportunities to explore each one experientially and bring their own innate knowledge of them to a more conscious level. This will be achieved through the following activities:

* Seeing: Special Project: Children will create a booklet titled I See. Word strips saying, “I see” will be glued to the book page and children will search the classroom for three things they see and can draw. Each child will wear a new pair of sunglasses while “seeing” objects around the room.

* Hearing: Special Project: Children will record their voices on a tape recorder. The tape will be played back in circle time to see whose voices can be identified (eachothers and their own). Children will cut pages for a senses booklet. Pages will be stapled & colored, and words can be written or traced if desired.

Children will play a listening/hearing game. A CD titled “Sounds Around the Home” will be played and children will attempt to identify what they hear.

* Smelling: Special Project: Cinnamon dough ornaments. Although this will combine sight, smell, and touch, this activity emphasizes the sense of smell. At the Science Table, the Smell Box will be out and children can guess each smell in four numbered jars. They will plot their guesses by drawing a line from the number on the left of the worksheet to the graphic on the right. They can then check their answers by lifting the flap of the number located near each jar. They can then give themselves a sticker or a stamp for playing! Applesauce with cinnamon for snack. The smell/taste crossover.

Kool-Aid Watercolors– art that smells good enough to eat!

* Tasting: Special Project: Map of the Tongue/Taste Test. Place a pretzel for salty, a lemon for sour, a piece of unsweetened chocolate for bitter and a marshmallow for sweet on different areas of the tongue that have taste receptors that correspond to each of these tastes. Child can add emoticon stickers to each of the tastes to indicate their like or dislike.

* Feeling: Special project: Blindfold subject. Feel four mystery textures. Then describe each one: It feels _____ as a ________. Assemble individual feeling guessing game bags to play with family and friends. Marbles, cotton balls, furry fabrics, sandpaper, etc. Children choose what to add to their own bags.

At the Science Table, The Feely Box . Two to four children can play at a time. One child sits on one side of a curtain, while the other sits by the door on the other side of the box. The child by the door places different objects, one at a time, inside the box for the other child to guess. Then they switch. (Science–sense of touch; Math–shape recognition, categorization of texture; Social Relations–taking turns, cooperative play).

Follow-up: The five sense can be brought up again when we study Our Bodies. Why are four of the five senses located on the head? The brain/nervous system connection. Activities throughout the year such as the touch tub, cooking, etc. will again engage the differnet senses.

Reflection: Assemble Worksheets into book to take home. Share one favorite activity about the senses done during the week while grown up takes down words.