Teacher Background information
This activity is designed to help students in grades K-2 explore their five senses. Through their research and teamwork, students will learn the role each of the senses plays in helping them experience the world. They will create a book by working together cooperatively via the internet, through published books about the senses in the classroom, and through discussions and class science centers.
A WebQuest for Grades K-2
Objectives:
To learn the five senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste and name the matching body part which uses the sense.
Work cooperatively in a group.
Produce a finished Book about the Five Senses.
View and Represent information to class.
Standards:
Science Standard (C) I.1 - Constructing New Scientific Knowledge
ELA Content Standards: 1.1, 1.5, 2.1, 3.1,3.3, 3.4,3.5, 6.6, 10.1, 11.3
http://michigan.gov/documents/
MichiganCurriculumFramework_8172_7.pdf
Tips
This WebQuest is designed to be completed over the course of two weeks; the number of sessions required will depend on the time available and on the age of the students. Second graders and some first graders should be able to complete this WebQuest on their own. Younger students will need more assistance. With younger students you might want to visit the Web resources as a group and then have students complete their own My Five Senses Book.
With all age groups, you might use the activity in your science or technology center. Each day of the week, students can research one of the five senses and complete the appropriate page of their My Five Senses Book.
The My Body section of the Kids' Health Organization Web site will help you provide students with additional basic information about the five senses. Science activities which allow the children to use their senses should be taught and available for their exploration within their classroom. This is designed within a writing workshop block of time, so during science lessons students will do hands-on activities. See below for ideas.
Resources:
Annotated Children's Books
Aliki. (1962). My five senses. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
This book gives a good overview of the five senses and explains that sometimes we use just one or two senses, sometimes all five.
Sands, S. (1991). Kids Discover: The five senses. New York: Kids Discover, 1(3).
This magazine issue discusses each sense separately with diagrams, photos and pictures. It also stresses the need for using all five senses in experiencing life.
Tymme, J. (1978). I like to see: A book of the five senses. Racine, WI: Western Publishing Company.
Sight
Brown, M. (1979). Arthur's eyes. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Arthur's friends tease him when he gets glasses, but he soon learns to wear them with pride. Martin, B. Jr. (1970). Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
A predictable rhyming book that explores sight, colors, animals, etc., in an entertaining manner.
Hearing
Alexander, M. (1978). Pigs say oink: The first book of sounds. New York: Random House. Cole, J. W., & Welch, K. (1977). All ears. Oklahoma City: The Economy Company.
Rena and Nathan meet Listen Bug, an insect that helps them become aware of sounds they had never stopped to listen to. A short scientific explanation of our sense of hearing, with a diagram of the ear. Smith, K. B., Crenson, V., & Storms, R. S. (1988). Hearing. New Jersey: Troll Associates.
Wood, N., Rye, J. (1991). Listen...What do you hear? New York: Troll Associates.
Discusses the phenomenon of sound, how it varies in volume and pitch, how it travels and how it is perceived by the ear.
Touch
Aliki. (1962). My hands. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell.
Describes the parts of the hand and all the things our hands help us to do. Brighton, C. (1984). My hands, my world. New York: MacMillan Publishers.
Goor, R., & N. (1984). All kinds of feet. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell.
Presents the different types of feet found in the animal kingdom in the text and photos.
Kline, S. (1985). Don't touch. Chicago: Albert Whitman & Company.
Wood, N., & Willey, L. (1991). Touch...What do you feel? Mahwah: NJ: Troll Associates.
Explores the world of touch, examining how it works and what it tell us about our surroundings.
Smell
Allington, R., L., Cowles, K., & Thrun, R. (1980). Smelling. Milwaukee: Raintree Children's Books Publishers. Brown, M. T. (1976). Arthur's nose. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Unhappy with his nose, Arthur visits the rhinologist to get a new one.
Cole, J. W., & Welch, K. (1977). My nose knows. Oklahoma City: Economy Company.
Sniffwell is told that his nose is for smelling, and he learns to enjoy the smells found in his environment.
A short scientific explanation of our sense of smell, with a diagram of the nose.
Pluckrose, H. A., & Fairclough, C. (1986). Smelling. New York: Franklin Watts.
Taste
Rius, M., Parramón, J. M., & Puig, J. J. (1985). The five senses: Taste. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series.
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Category
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Score | Beginning 1 | Developing 2 | Very Good 3 | Exemplary 4 | Score | | Name each of the five senses. | Can name 2 senses. | Can name 3 senses. | Can name 4
senses. | Can name all 5 senses. | %25 | | Knows which part of the body you use for each of the five senses. | Can name 2 senses and matching body parts. | Can name 3 senses and matching body parts. | Can name 4senses and matching body parts. | Can name all 5 senses and matching body parts. | %25 | | Contributed to group discussion and participated in group activities and presentation. | Worked well with others very little of the time. | Worked well with others some of the time. | Worked well with others most of the time. | Worked well with others all of the time. | %25 | Completed
"My Five Senses Book" | Incomplete. Inncaurate. Lacking illustration. | Somewhat complete, accurate. Few or weak illustrations. | Complete and mostly accurate. Good illustrations. | Complete, accurrate and neatly illustrated. | %25 | | Total Score: | %100 |
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Teacher Resources:
Abruscato, J., Fossaceca, J. W., Hassard, J., & Peck, D. (1984). Holt science. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Poppe, C. A., & Van Matre, N. A. (1985). Science learning centers for the primary grades. West Nyack, NY: Center for Applied Research in Education. Trostle, S. L., & Yawkey, T. D. (1990). Integrated learning activities for young children (Getting Started). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Enrichment Activities:
Additional worksheets:
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Theorists: Constructivist Theory, Reader Response Theory- Lev Vygotsky, Louise Rosenblatt
This lesson uses a philosophical framework that the learner constructs meaning by actively doing. Specifically, they create their own knowledge through their experiences and working cooperatively with peers. Through the use of technology, literature, group work and hands on science experiments the students will explore their five senses of sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell. Though on the surface it may seem to be primarily a science lesson, it is just as much a language arts lesson in many ways. Students will be integrating listening skills, speaking, viewing, reading and writing skills. By working in cooperative groups they will create a book that illustrates the five senses and the body parts which use them.
Some websites used for reference:
Teacher Tips
http://jmeacham.com/writing.mini.lessons.htm
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/5senses.htm
Links Used:
http://kidshealth.org/kid/body/mybody.html
www.schenectady.k12.ny.us/.../index2.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/index.html