Neuroscience For Kids

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.

mat 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.

mat 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.

mat Materials:

Sensory Pile On Worksheet

Find an Experiment!

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 and date
Sense that you chose
Description of activity
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.

("Find an Experiment" was developed by Randy Lehnen, middle school science teacher)