Using Our Senses

Overview

In this second lesson of Our Curious World, students investigate how sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch help people learn about the world. They rotate through safe observation experiences, record what they notice with drawings and simple words, and share a main idea supported by details.

Learning intentions

• Students will be able to name the five senses and match each sense to its body part.
• Students will be able to use their senses to make careful observations.
• Students will be able to record observations with drawings and simple labels or words.
• Students will be able to share a main topic and key details from an informational text or discussion.

Success criteria

• I can name the five senses.
• I can explain how a sense helps me learn.
• I can draw and label what I observe.
• I can share details about one observation.

Curriculum links

• Reading informational text: identify the main topic and retell key details with prompting and support.
• Writing informative texts: name a topic, provide facts, and offer a sense of closure.
• Speaking and listening: add drawings or visual displays to clarify ideas.
• Measurement and data: measure an object using same-size units placed end to end with no gaps or overlaps.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and activate prior knowledge. Teacher opens with the senses hook and picture prompt and shows a covered mystery object or a striking close-up image. Ask, “How could we learn about this without seeing the whole object?” Students turn and talk, then share which sense they would use and why.

2. 5–12 min · Teach the five senses. Teacher uses the five senses teaching slides to introduce sight/eyes, hearing/ears, smell/nose, taste/tongue, and touch/skin. Model the sentence frame, “I use my ___ to ___.” Students repeat the words, act out each sense, and help match sense words to pictures. Explain that scientists use observations to learn and that some observations must be made safely.

3. 12–15 min · Model recording observations. Teacher demonstrates one station using a classroom object, thinking aloud: “I see three red buttons. I can draw them and write ‘red buttons.’” Model placing same-size linking cubes end to end along an object, with no gaps or overlaps, and counting the cubes. Students help identify a drawing detail, a word, and a possible measurement.

4. 15–30 min · Sense observation stations. Teacher places students in five groups of four and manages a three-minute rotation using station directions and rotation timer. At each station, students complete the matching section of five senses observation recording sheet:

• Sight: observe a picture, object, or classroom item and draw details.
• Hearing: listen to a safe classroom sound and draw or label what may have made it.
• Smell: smell teacher-approved, sealed containers such as a cotton ball with vanilla or lemon scent; students may pass.
• Taste: use only a school-approved, allergy-checked sample and teacher directions; otherwise use a picture or discuss familiar flavors. No student is required to taste.
• Touch and measure: feel a safe object without looking, describe it with a word or drawing, then measure its length with same-size cubes. Students record the whole-number measurement.

Students handle materials gently, take turns, and record one or two details at each station. The teacher circulates, prompts with “What did you notice?” and scribes student language when needed.

5. 30–37 min · Read, discuss, and retell. Teacher reads a short, grade-appropriate informational paragraph from senses information and discussion prompts or displays it for shared reading. Pause to identify the main topic: “What is this mostly about?” Students retell two key details with a partner using, “The text is about ___. One detail is ___. Another detail is ___.”

6. 37–42 min · Informative response and share. Teacher asks students to choose one sense and complete the final worksheet prompt: “My ___ helps me learn because ___.” Students add a drawing or visual display and may use the word bank on the board. Invite several students to share, emphasizing clear speaking and evidence from a station observation.

7. 42–45 min · Exit check. Teacher displays closing review and exit prompt and asks students to draw or write one sense, its body part, and one thing it helps them learn. Students show their response before lining up or submit the completed worksheet.

Resources

• senses hook, teaching visuals, station directions, reading text, and closing review
• five senses observation recording sheet
• Five labeled observation stations
• Safe classroom objects and picture cards
• Sealed scent containers and cotton balls
• Teacher-approved taste samples, if permitted
• Linking cubes or other identical measurement units
• Pencils, crayons, and clipboards
• Timer and hand sanitizer

Assessment

• During modeling and stations, check whether students correctly name senses, make relevant observations, and measure by placing identical units end to end without gaps or overlaps.
• Review worksheet drawings, labels, measurements, and the informative sentence for accurate sense connections and useful details.
• Use the exit response to identify students who can name a sense, identify its body part, and explain how it helps them learn.

Differentiation

• Support beginning writers with picture labels, a word bank, sentence frames, partner talk, and adult or peer scribing. Accept labeled drawings, oral responses, or dictated sentences.
• Provide large-print station cards, clear visual directions, repeated modeling, and extra processing time for students with sensory, attention, language, or motor needs.
• Never require a student to smell, taste, touch, or listen to an uncomfortable material. Check allergies and family or school restrictions before using any food or scent; offer a picture-based alternative.
• Extend students by asking them to compare two senses, explain which sense gave the most useful information, or add a second detail and measurement to their response.