The Senses Working Together

The Sense Chart Grades K-2 This is a good project to start young children toward learning about their senses. Draw or make a chart with a picture of an eye, ear, nose, tongue and hand. Write down words or hold up pictures that "go" with each of the senses that are represented by the eye (vision), ear (audition), nose (olfaction), tongue (gustation) and hand (tactile sense). For example under the: Eye: light bulb, sun, flashlight Ear: piano, music Nose: garbage, skunk Tongue: ice cream, apple, hamburger Hand: glove, pencil, book Of course, most of these items could go under a few of the categories, but that is part of the project. Our senses work together to tell us about the outside world. Materials: Blackboard and chalk OR a poster chart A list of words or pictures to be placed under the appropriate catagories.

Food Party For grades K-6 It is not often that you get to EAT your experiment, but here is your chance. If possible, bake a cake or a batch of cookies within smelling distance of the class. Popping popcorn is also a good idea. Have all the students describe the sounds, taste, smell, feel, sight of the food. Make a list of everything that was experienced by each of the senses. Of course eat the treats too and describe the texture of the food. Materials: Food (cake mix, cookie mix, popcorn) Cooking appliance Bowls or plates to serve food

Sensory Stations Grades K-3 Explore the 5 senses in different "stations" around the classroom. Set up tables with hands-on materials for kids to touch, smell, taste, hear and see. Some possible station items: Hearing: bells, drums, whistles, rice-filled containers, spoons to tap. Touch: sandpaper, playdough, clay, ice, finger paint Vision: microscope, magnifying glass, colored water, prism Olfaction: vanilla, perfume, chocolate, spices Taste: jellybeans, cookies, crackers, fruit slices, salty chips, dill pickles

Sensory Concentration Game Grades K-12 Test your memory with this on-line concentration game by locating the pictures of different sense organs (ear, eye, nose, skin, tongue). The game requires that your browser is "JAVA-enabled." PLAY SENSORY CONCENTRATION

Sensory Sensory Pile On Game Grades 3-12 Play "Sensory Pile On" by grouping words into touch, smell, taste, hearing and seeing piles. Materials: Sensory Pile On Worksheet

Find an Experiment! (This lesson was developed by Randy Lehnen, middle school science teacher) Grades 3-12 Goal: To learn something new and interesting about one of the five senses through an experiment of your choice. Choose a sense that you would like to learn more about: Sight, Hearing, Taste, Touch, Smell Search the website: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chsense.html Find an experiment that you could do during the next class period that will help you to learn about the sense that you chose. Guidelines for experiment: Location: The activity must be able to be performed in the classroom Materials: These should be found in the class or brought from home Time: The activity must be done within one class period. Be ready to share the experiment with classmates Have fun! Turn In: Write a summary on a separate sheet of paper that includes the following: Name, Date Sense that you chose Activity description If the teacher requests: Question Hypothesis Results Conclusion A paragraph (3-5 sentences) which describes what you learned and what you could do to find out more.

The Franklin Institute also has some information about how the senses work together.

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