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SENSES

G R A D E

1

SENSES

TOPIC D

Limited reproduction permission. Edmonton Public Schools grants permission to individual teachers who have purchased this book to reproduce the Masters as needed for use with their own students.

SENSES

G R A D E

1

SENSES

TOPIC D

© Edmonton Public Schools, 1996 Do Not Copy

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- Other Units Available from Edmonton Public Schools -

The elementary science program has been designed as a series of five topics for each grade. Each topic may be developed as a separate unit of study or linked to other topics and other subject areas.

The order of topics within a grade may be varied as part of the instructional plan. Some topics lend themselves to development throughout the school year; others may be developed as discrete units. Each grade includes one topic emphasizing problem solving through technology; and, except for Grade 1, there is a corresponding topic emphasizing science inquiry.

Grade Topic A. Creating Colour B. Seasonal Changes 1 C. Building Things D. Senses E. Needs of Animals and Plants A. Exploring Liquids B. Buoyancy and Boats 2 C. Magnetism D. Hot and Cold Temperature E. Small Crawling and Flying Animals A. Rocks and Minerals B. Building with a Variety of Materials 3 C. Testing Materials and Designs D. Hearing and Sound E. Animal Life Cycles A. Waste and Our World B. Wheels and Levers 4 C. Building Devices and Vehicles that Move D. Light and Shadows E. Plant Growth and Changes A. Electricity and Magnetism B. Mechanisms Using Electricity 5 C. Classroom Chemistry D. Weather Watch E. Wetland Ecosystems A. Air and Aerodynamics B. Flight 6 C. Sky Science D. Evidence and Investigation E. Trees and Forests


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- Foreword - The elementary science program engages students in a process of inquiry and problem solving in which they develop knowledge, skills and attitudes. The program is designed to encourage and stimulate children's learning by nurturing their sense of wonderment, by developing skill and confidence in investigating their surroundings, and by building a foundation of experience and understanding upon which later learning can be based. The following principles provide the foundation for the science program:

♦ Children's curiosity provides a natural starting point for learning.

♦ Children's learning builds on what they currently know and can do.

♦ Communication is essential for science learning.

♦ Students learn best when they are challenged and actively involved.

♦ Confidence and self-reliance are important outcomes of learning.

Each topic within the elementary science curriculum provides opportunities for developing questions, problems, and issues that become starting points for inquiry and problem solving. By engaging in the search for answers, solutions, and in formulating decisions, students have a purpose for learning and an opportunity to develop concepts and skills within a meaningful context. In science inquiry, the focus is on asking questions and finding answers based on evidence. The outcome of inquiry is knowledge. In problem solving through technology, the focus is on practical tasks - finding ways of making and doing things to meet a given need, using materials. The outcome of problem solving is a product or process that one can use. Each student should be encouraged to handle materials, record and discuss observations, make inferences and analyze results so that they can discover the fundamental principles of science and the nature of scientific investigation. This unit addresses the general and specific learner expectations of the topic, the materials required, the procedure to be followed, and student masters when applicable. Students are encouraged to record findings in a logbook, journal, notebook, or on the student master. The production of this unit, along with all the others from grades 1 to 6 has evolved over the past two years in an effort to provide elementary teachers with a resource which would meet the requirements of the elementary science program. Teachers are encouraged to select and modify the activities to best meet the needs of their students.


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- Acknowledgements - This unit is one of thirty developed for the new science curriculum. We would like to

recognize the following people for their involvement and contributions to this project.

The writing, revising, graphic designing, and printing of this unit was completed by

Consulting Services, Edmonton Public Schools. A special thank you is extended to

Emery Dosdall, Superintendent of Schools, Edmonton Public Schools, for endorsing the

writing project and to Angus McBeath, Department Head, School And District Services,

and Bryan Connors, Supervisor of Consulting Services, for their guidance and support.

The activities and information included in these units reflect the expertise of the people

involved and the requirements of the science program. We thank the following

individuals for their willingness to contribute to the development of this unit:

Lisa Wright Science Consultant, E.P.S.

Linda Manson Science Consultant, E.P. S.

Sid Shugarman Science Consultant, E.P.S.

Vic Romanyshyn Science Consultant, E.P.S.

Barry Mills Buyer, Distribution Centre, E.P.S.

Flavio Rojas Artist, E.P.S.

Linda Hut Teacher, E.P.S.

Michele Wygera-Schuster Teacher, E.P.S.

Margaret Wozimirsky Teacher, E.P.S.

Cherie Pylypchuk Teacher, E.P.S.


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- Table of Contents -

Page Other Units Available from Edmonton Public Schools................................................. i Foreword ....................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments........................................................................................................ iii Grade 1 : Skills ......................................................................................................... vii Grade 1 : Attitudes ................................................................................................... viii Grade 1 : Understandings .......................................................................................... ix Background Information for Teachers......................................................................... xi Sample Parent Letter................................................................................................ xviii ACTIVITIES INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES Popcorn ........................................................................................................2 How Do You Make Sense?..........................................................................3 Messages to the Brain ..................................................................................4 Message Links .............................................................................................6 Danger! ........................................................................................................9 Sense Centers .............................................................................................11 Reaction Time............................................................................................14 TOUCH A Touching Experience .............................................................................16 Name The Shape ........................................................................................19 Textures I like To Touch ...........................................................................21 Ice Cube Test .............................................................................................23 Touch Receptors ........................................................................................25 SIGHT Sight Walk .................................................................................................28 Take A Closer Look...................................................................................30 Coin Drop...................................................................................................32 Motion Detector .........................................................................................34 A Hole in Your Hand.................................................................................37 Finger Sausages .........................................................................................39 Thaumatrope ..............................................................................................40 You Won’t Believe Your Eyes ..................................................................42 Take Care of Your Eyes.............................................................................44 Can You See?.............................................................................................46 Blind Walk .................................................................................................47 Braille.........................................................................................................49


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Page ACTIVITIES Cont’d SMELL What’s That Smell?....................................................................................52 Soap Sniff...................................................................................................54 Orange You Glad You Can Smell?............................................................57 Eating With a Plugged Nose ......................................................................60 SOUND Listening Walk...........................................................................................62 Shake and Tell ...........................................................................................64 Strum a Tune..............................................................................................65 Coin Drop...................................................................................................69 Here or There? ...........................................................................................71 Can Everyone Hear? ..................................................................................73 Animal Ears and Amplification .................................................................76 Turn it Down! ............................................................................................79 TASTE It Tastes Grape!..........................................................................................82 Stick Out Your Tongue..............................................................................83 Sweet, Salty, Sour, or Bitter?.....................................................................86 Toothpaste Trick ........................................................................................89 CULMINATING ACTIVITY From Apples to Applesauce.......................................................................91 APPENDIX Glossary .....................................................................................................92 Master #1 How Do You Make Sense?...................................................94 Master #2 Messengers to the Brain........................................................95 Master #3 Message Links ......................................................................96 Master #4 Danger! .................................................................................99 Master #5 Textures I Like to Touch ....................................................101 Master #6 Take a Closer Look.............................................................102 Master #7 Thaumatrope .......................................................................103 Master #8 You Won’t Believe Your Eyes ...........................................104 Master #9 Take Care of Your Eyes......................................................105 Master #10 Braille..................................................................................107 Master #11 Braille Practice....................................................................108 Master #12 What’s That Smell?.............................................................109 Master #13 Shake and Tell ....................................................................110 Master #14 Coin Drop............................................................................111


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Page Master #15 Can Everyone Hear? ...........................................................112 Master #16 Turn it Down! .....................................................................113 Master #17 Sweet, Salty, Sour, or Bitter ...............................................114 Master #18 My Tongue..........................................................................115 Master #19 From Apples to Applesauce................................................116 Master #20 Vegetable Soup ...................................................................117 Master #21 Which Senses Do You Use? ...............................................118 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................119 MATERIALS LIST .............................................................................................123

Science Program of Studies, 1996 vii

- Grade 1 : Skills - These skills apply to the five topics of study identified for Grade 1. The organization of these skills reflects a general pattern of science activity, not a fixed instructional sequence. At Grade 1, students normally will show independence in exploratory activities but require teacher direction in following a structured approach to investigating questions and problems. SCIENCE INQUIRY General Learner Expectations Students will: 1-1 Bring focus to investigative activities, based on their own questions and those of others. 1-2 Describe materials and objects that have been observed and manipulated, and identify what was done and found out. Specific Learner Expectations Students will: Focus • ask questions that lead to exploration and investigation • predict what they think will happy or what they might find Explore and Investigate • manipulate materials and make observations that are relevant to questions asked • identify materials asked • recognize and describe steps followed, based on independent activity, on directed

activity and on observing the activity of others Reflect and Interpret • describe what was observed, using pictures and oral language • identify questions being investigated and identify what was learned about each

question • identify new questions that arise from what was learned

Science Program of Studies, 1996 viii

- Grade 1 : Attitudes - These attitudes apply across the five topics of study identified for Grade 1. General Learner Expectations Students will: 1-4 Demonstrate positive attitudes for the study of science and for the application of science in responsible ways. Specific Learner Expectations Students will show growth in acquiring and applying the following traits: • curiosity

• confidence in personal ability to explore materials and learn by direct study

• inventiveness

• perseverance: staying with an investigation over a sustained period of time

• appreciation of the value of experience and careful observation

• a willingness to work with others and to consider their ideas

• a sense of responsibility for actions taken

• respect for living things and environments, and commitments for their care

Science Program of Studies, 1996 ix

- Grade 1 : Understandings - SENSES Overview Students develop an awareness of their own senses and how they are used. They learn that each of their senses provides information about particular aspects of our environment; and that, together, the senses enable us to know things and do things that we would not otherwise be able to do, or at least not as easily. Students learn about the function of their senses, how they are cared for, how they could be damaged and how one’s own ability to sense things may differ from those of other people and other living things. Through this topic, students learn to sharpen the use of their senses and describe as accurately as possible the information that their senses provide. General Learner Expectations Students will: 1-9 Use the senses to make general and specific observations, and communicate observations orally and by producing captioned pictures. 1-10 Describe the role of the human senses and the senses of other living things, in enabling perception and action. Specific Learner Expectations Students will: 1. Identify each of the senses, and explain how we use our senses in interpreting the world. 2. Identify ways that our senses contribute to our safety and quality of life. 3. Apply particular senses to identify and describe objects or materials provided and to describe living things and environments. Students meeting this expectation will be able to describe characteristics, such as color, shape, size, texture, smell and sound. 4. Recognize the limitations of our senses, and identify situations where our senses can mislead us; e.g., feeling hot or cold, optical illusions, tasting with a plugged nose.

Science Program of Studies, 1996 x

5. Recognize that other living things have senses, and identify ways that various animals use their senses; e.g., sensing danger, finding food, recognizing their own young, recognizing a potential mate. 6. Describe ways that people adapt to limited sensory abilities or to the loss of a particular sense; e.g., color blindness, inability to see objects at close range. 7. Describe ways to take care of our sensory organs, in particular, our eyes and ears.


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- Background Information for Teachers -

Did you know that you depend on your senses every day? Without them you wouldn’t know what is going on in your environment. Senses are important because they make you aware and signal changes so you can interact and learn about your environment. Touch, sight, smell, taste and hearing are related to certain body parts and can be discussed separately; however they are used in an integral manner (in combination with each other).

The sensory organs are at the front-line of a complex communication network. Messages race along nerves to the spinal cord and on to the brain. Instantly the brain interprets messages and then lets your body know how to respond.

When your senses are exposed to a stimulus for a period of time, they make adjustments coming out of a movie theatre in the afternoon into the bright sunlight or no longer hearing/noticing the hum of the fridge.

Your brain is constantly getting signals and comparing new messages with information in its “library”. The connection between a sensory organ and the brain often trigger an emotional reaction associated with a feeling of memory. For example, the smell of bread baking is a reminder of grandma’s house.

Your senses work automatically to relay messages to the brain but sometimes they can be misled. Optical illusions are an example of this. People who have limited use of or loss of one of their senses rely on their other senses to help them cope.

Your senses can help protect you from hazardous situations however you also need to think and make decisions about how to avoid these situations in the first place.

Animals often have stronger senses than people and they use them for protection, signaling danger, mating and recognizing each other.

TOUCH

Did you know that your skin puts you in touch with the world around you? However, your entire body is used for the sense of touch (for example, you feel the wind on your face; you feel the sidewalk with your feet as you walk and you feel the desk seat underneath you as you sit down).

Skin is our largest sense organ. The top layer of your skin is called the epidermis. This layer protects your body. In some places it is thick and tough (soles of your feet). In other places, it is very thin (skin around your eyes). The layer underneath the epidermis is an even thicker layer called the dermis. In this layer there are blood vessels, hair roots, sweat glands and a network of nerves.


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These tiny nerve endings that help you feel different things are called receptors. The skin has many different sense receptors. Each kind had a specific job and measures something different. For example: hot, cold, pressure and pain. (There are even different receptors for different kinds of pain. Burns have one receptor and cuts have another).

These receptors are connected to nerves. When something is touched, the receptors send messages along the nerves to the spinal cord. These messages then travel up the spinal cord to the brain. The brain helps you decode the message and tells you what to do.

When you first get into a swimming pool or cold lake, your receptors send the message that it is cold. After a short while, you feel as if the water “warmed up”. Your receptors get used to the temperature and they stopped sending messages about it. The actual water temperature did not change.

SEEING

Did you know that you find out more about your world from your eyes than from any other sense organ? (1/10 of your cerebral cortex is devoted to vision). The eyes and the brain work together to provide us with information about an object. Although the eye is like a camera, it is much more automatic. The muscles automatically focus the eye on an object. The image is then projected onto the retina in an upside-down picture. The retina has layers of cells called cones and rods. The rods are sensitive to light and they help you see at night. Cones need light to work. They allow you to see colors. The optic nerve carries messages about the image to the brain. Instantly the brain decodes the messages and turns the image right side up so that you know what is.

In order to fully understand how the eye works, it is helpful to know about the parts of the eye. The iris is the large colored circle in each eye. Irises can be blue, brown, green, and hazel.

In the middle of the iris, there is a small black circle called the pupil. The pupil is a hole that lets light into the eye. When light is bright, the pupil becomes smaller. (This is to protect the inside of the eye from too much light). When light is dim, the pupil becomes larger. This allows light into the eye to help you see better.

Inside the pupil is the lens. The job of the lens is to bend light that comes into the eye. The lens helps the rays of light focus on the inside back of the eye. (In some cases lenses that are incorrectly shaped, bend the rays of light too much or too little. When this happens, the images become blurry. That is when eyeglasses are needed to change the way light is bent). A person who is nearsighted is able to see things close up, but faraway objects appear fuzzy or blurry. A farsighted person is able to see things in the distance but cannot see objects up close.

On top of the iris and the pupil is a transparent bulge called the cornea. The cornea is like a window that lets light into your eye.


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Eyelids and eyelashes are also important parts of your eyes. They protect you from dust and too much light. Eyelids spread tears over your eyes to keep them moist.

Eyes are about 6 cm part. Due to this positioning, your eyes see things from different angles. For example, when you look at something two different images are sent to the brain. The brain then combines the images into one picture. This “stereo view” gives us depth perception. Peripheral vision refers to the number of degrees around us that we can see without moving the head or the eyes.

People with color blindness may have problems with the cones in their retina or there may be a problem with the nerve pathway connecting the eyes and the brain. Color blindness is more common in men than in women.

People are legally blind if with the best possible correctable lenses, they can only see at a distance of six metres what is normally seen at a distance of 60 metres, or if their field of vision is restricted. Not all blind persons are totally blind. Most legally blind people can see, even if it is only to differentiate between light and dark.

Sight is precious and because our eyes are such an important part of our body, they need special care. Remember to be careful when using sharp, pointed objects or toys that could hurt your eyes. Do not play with firecrackers or anything else that could explode and blind your eyes. When reading or playing, make sure there is plenty of light to help you see well. Never look directly into the sunlight. If you get a piece of dirt in your eye, try not to rub it out. (This could scar your cornea or put germs into your eye). In addition, it is a good idea to have your eyes checked periodically.

TASTE Did you know that the sense of taste is the weakest of all the senses? Your mouth and nose are connected (at the back of your throat) and they work together to help you taste. Taste and smell are referred to as chemical senses because the receptors in your mouth and nose respond to chemical substances. Each of the several thousand taste buds on your tongue may contain as many as 50 receptors cells which are clustered together like flower petals. (That is why the buds got their name). The taste buds are joined to nerves that send messages to the brain about four different tastes: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Different flavors result when the brain combines smell with these four tastes. (Many scientists now think that any taste bud can detect all of the basic tastes but some are more sensitive to one taste than others).


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Your tongue not only relies on your nose to confirm or identify a flavor - it also needs saliva. A dry tongue can’t taste anything. Your tongue also sends the brain important messages about the temperature and texture of the food. Your tongue is also a muscle that enables you to talk.

Different people react to the same taste differently. Babies have taste buds on their tongue, inside their cheeks and on the roof of their mouths. As we grow older, only the ones on our tongues remain. Elderly people often have poor appetites because their taste buds have lost their ability to replace themselves. (New taste buds replace each other every 10 - 30 hours). People react to food tastes out of habit or past experience. Cultural habits play a role in determining certain likes or dislikes. For example, Mexicans prefer spicy foods or Japanese people enjoy sushi.

The taste buds near the back of the tongue which are very sensitive to bitter tastes may protect you from poisons. They automatically trigger the gag reflex which causes you to spit out the substance.

When you burn your tongue, the temperature and pain receptors send a message to your brain. The burn may temporarily “knock out” some of your taste buds.

Caution - Be aware of any food allergies the children may have. For safety reasons children should be reminded never to taste anything they are uncertain of - unknown substances, poisons, etc.

SMELL

Did you know that the smell receptors can not detect the smell of a substance unless it has vaporized? For example - think of an orange, you can not smell it until you cut it open and the molecules are released into the air. The part of your nose that smells things is about the size of a dime. We detect smells as air borne molecules of substances that are “breathed in” to our nose. Mucus in the nose keeps the tissue moist and absorbs substances you breathe in. Air passes through the sinuses on its way to the lungs. The cillia (tiny hairs) on the ends of the receptor cells are stimulated and nerve impulses are sent to the brain. The message travels along the olfactory nerve to two relay stations called olfactory bulbs. (In humans this part is much smaller compared to the rest of the brain. In dogs, it’s much larger).

Your nostrils work independently - plugging one nostril does not affect one’s sense of smell. Much of what we appear to taste is actually related the message your nose sends to your brain. When you have a cold and your nose is affected, food tastes differently.

Before the smell messages reach the olfactory bulbs they must first travel through a part of the brain called the limbic system. Emotions and memories are associated with this area. This connection could explain why smells often trigger vivid memories. For example, the smell of pine trees reminds us of Christmas.


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Although we rely a great deal on our eyes and ears to warn us of danger, smells can also give us a warning: gas, fire, burning food.

People are not born with any preference for smell. Likes and dislikes comes from experience. People also get temporarily accustomed to smells - a farmer working in a barn doesn’t notice the smells of the barn but will instantly react if he smells smoke.

Although people can learn to recognize several thousand odors, sometimes it is difficult to identify a small by name. This is especially true with children.

Smells can help us determine if a substance is good to eat or drink. Smell can also warn us of dangerous substances in the air.

Strong smelling substances like ammonia stimulate an odor reflex but also a pain reflex which causes the nose to run in an attempt to get rid of the irritating substance. Caution - When smelling an unknown substance, be careful. Hold the substance at chin level and fan the air above it to direct the odor toward you.

HEARING

Did you know that the tiniest bones in your body are in your ear?

There are three main parts to your ear - the outer ear known as the pinnae, the middle ear and the inner ear.

The outer ear is the visible “flap” on the side of your head. It is made of skin and soft bone and can be easily bent. The outer ear acts like a sound collector which funnels sound into the ear canal. This connects to the eardrum. The eardrum is a sheet of skin that is stretched across the entry to the middle ear.

The middle ear has three tiny bones - the hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup. These bones amplify the vibrations that reach the eardrum. These form a bridge between the eardrum and the inner ear.

Inside the inner ear is a twisty tube called the cochlea. The cochlea looks like a snail’s shell and is filled with liquid and nerve endings.

The inner ear has three looped tubes called semicircular canals. These control balance.

Sounds are made by something vibrating. Sound vibrations are called sound waves. When these vibrations reach our ears, we hear sounds. Sounds can be high-pitched or low-pitched. The faster a thing vibrates, the higher the sound it makes. Sound can be loud or soft. Loudness is measured in decibels. During the night, the brain screens incoming messages. It will only send out messages that seem unusual or important. These messages are sent immediately to the thinking part of the brain. You wake up instantly.


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Did you know that when your body moves up or down quickly, the air pressure outside the eardrum changes? For your ears to feel their best, the air pressure outside the eardrum and inside the eardrum must be the same. When you drive in the mountains, ride in an elevator or fly in an airplane, you may experience sore ears and a difference in your hearing abilities. This problem has a quick fix. Yawning, swallowing, or chewing will open the eustachian tube. (The tube that connects the throat with the middle ear).

Take care of your ears. Don’t put things in your ears - they could get stuck or poke a hole in your eardrum.

Two ears provide slightly different information about a sound. Your hearing is more accurate for judging direction and distance when both ears (binaural hearing) are relaying information.

Your middle ear and nose are connected by tubes so blow gently when you have a cold or you could push germs into your middle ear. Most ear infections take place in the middle ear. If fluid gathers there the ear becomes swollen and the bones have trouble moving. Doctors use a tool call an ostoscope to look at the ear drum.

Loud sounds can cause the tiny parts inside your ear to vibrate too much.

Exposure to loud sounds (louder than 90 decibels) like a gun shot, jet engines, rock concerts, blaring radios, factory machinery or jack hammers for long periods of time can result in permanent loss of hearing. Care should be taken too ensure safe noise levels. The shorter the exposure to a loud sound, the shorter the recovery period.

Someone who is hearing impaired can be either deaf or hard of hearing. The sounds than can or cannot be heard depend on how much hearing the person has and how much as been lost.

There are two different kinds of hearing loss:

• Decibel Loss - A person hears all sounds much more softly than a person with normal hearing does. For students to understand about decibel loss, they could listen to a turned down TV. (The children will understand the voices but they will need to pay close attention).

• Frequency Loss - A person would hear some pitches better than others. Most people with a frequency loss have a harder time hearing high sounds.

Hearing impairments may be caused by things like: the aging process, certain drugs, earwax, birth defects, heredity, head injuries, tumors, viral infections, prolonged or repeated exposure to loud noise and middle ear infections.


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People who cannot hear, learn to speak and spell with their fingers. These people arrange their fingers in special ways that represent alphabet letters. They then spell what they want to say. This is called sign language. Deaf people can also read lips and expressions.

Hearing impairments may be prevented by: avoiding loud noise whenever possible, having a periodic hearing test, not placing small things in your ears, wearing protective headgear so that your head won’t be hurt while working or playing, wearing hearing protectors when working or playing near loud noise and seeing a doctor when your ear hurts.


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Sample Parent Letter Dear Parents, We are beginning our science inquiry unit on the Senses. Get a TASTE for this unit and SEE for yourself what we’ll be focusing on. Students develop an awareness of their own senses and how they are used. They learn that each of their senses provides information about particular aspects of our environment; and that, together, the senses enable us to know things and do things that we would not otherwise be able to do, or at least not as easily. Students learn about the function of their senses, how they are cared for, how they could be damaged and how one’s own ability to sense things may differ from those of other people and other living things. Through this topic, students learn to sharpen the use of their senses and describe as accurately as possible the information that their senses provide. Your family may want to build on these experiences at home. For example: Touching: Put items into a sock - reach in, touch and guess what they are. Seeing: Play I spy. Smelling: Guess what’s for supper. Tasting: Identify and sort tastes into sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Hearing: Close your eyes and try to identify household sounds. We don’t mean to be NOSY but we were wondering if you could share some of these items from your home. HEAR our plea for materials. We need: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Keep in TOUCH! Sincerely, ________________________________


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INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES SLE 1: Identify each of the senses, and explain how we use our senses in interpreting the world.


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Activity: Popcorn This activity introduces students to the five senses. Materials: popcorn popcorn popper Procedure:

1. Set up popper so that students will hear and smell the popcorn popping.

2. As it begins to pop - elicit their observations and question how they came to the conclusion that it was popcorn being prepared.

3. After noting the smell, sound, and sight, allow students to touch and taste the popcorn. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Did you know that you depend on your senses every day? Without them you wouldn’t know what is going on in your environment. Senses are important because they make you aware and signal changes so you can interact and learn about your environment. Touch, sight, smell, taste, and hearing are related to certain body parts and can be discussed separately, however they are used in an integral manner (in combination with each other). The sensory organs are at the front-line of a complex communication network. Messages race along nerves to the spinal cord and on to the brain. Instantly, the brain interprets messages and then lets your body know how to respond.


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Activity: How Do We Make Sense? This activity introduces students to the five senses. Materials: Master #1 Procedure: 1. Give students Master #1. Tell them you are going to read a list of different stimuli and

they are to circle what sense they use to recognize each one.

2. Here is the list:

• sirens on a fire truck (hearing) • lemonade (taste) • a bouquet of flowers (smell) • a kitten’s soft fur (touch) • thunder (hearing) • a beautiful sunset (sight) • smoke from a campfire (smell) • a prickly cactus (touch) • lightening (sight) • cough medicine (taste)

3. After completing the Master, review it as a class - discuss answers - not necessarily one

correct one as the senses work together to help us make sense of the world. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Did you know that you depend on your senses every day? Without them you wouldn’t know what is going on in your environment. Senses are important because they make you aware and signal changes so you can interact and learn about your environment. Touch, sight, smell, taste, and hearing are related to certain body parts and can be discussed separately, however they are used in an integral manner (in combination with each other). The sensory organs are at the front-line of a complex communication network. Messages race along nerves to the spinal cord and on to the brain. Instantly, the brain interprets messages and then lets your body know how to respond.


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Activity: Messages to the Brain Materials: bulletin board (to be used for extent of the unit) Master #2 yarn Procedure: 1. See Master #2 for an example of how the display could be set up. Leave space in the

display for addition of pictures or word charts that may be added throughout the unit. 2. Arrange on bulletin board, with yarn pieces, connecting sensory organs and brains. The

yarn will represent nerves which transmit messages back and forth to the brain. Master #3 may be enlarged to use as sensory organs for the display.

Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Although a hand is used to represent touching, ensure students understand that touch receptors are located all over the body/skin. Refer to this display throughout the unit to explain: • How a message travels to the brain. • Eyes/ears - add a second piece of yarn to each (eyes/ears). Each piece of yarn represents

that they send two slightly different messages to the brain. • Discuss how senses can mislead us - the sensory organ and brain are working and connected,

but the message received often doesn’t make sense, surprises or confuses us. • Discuss how people adapt to limited sensory abilities or loss of a particular sense - fray or cut

yarn and show how other connections must be stronger.


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SLE 2: Identify ways that our senses contribute to our safety and quality of

life.


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Activity: Message Links Materials: Master #3 (one copy) made into name tags to be hung around a child’s neck. Procedure: 1. Six children come to the front of the room to demonstrate. 2. Students stand in a line facing the class holding hands. 3. The first student is the sensory organ (use name tag). The last child is the brain (use

name tag). The students in between represent the nerves that connect the two. 4. Present the following situation and have the team model reaction time. Situation 1 - The first student wears the Touching name tag. You have put your foot into a bathtub of very hot water. Student #1 squeezes the hand of the person next to him who passes the squeeze along down to the brain. The brain tells the body what to do and calls out “that’s too hot, take your foot out”. This message travels via the hand squeezes back to the first student who responds by taking their foot out of the water. Now try these situations: Situation 2 - (Seeing name tag). You see a beautifully wrapped box with your name on it. Situation 3 - (Tasting name tag). You try a new flavor of ice cream. Situation 4 - (Smelling name tag). The garbage is starting to smell. Situation 5 - (Hearing name tag). The stereo is too loud. 5. Model a situation where the brain gets two messages from different sensory organs by

having the brain move from the end to the middle of the line and place 5 children on either side. The first child can be the nose and the last child the eyes.

Situation 6: You walk into a room and think you smell flowers but when you look around you realize it is a scented candle.


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Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Did you know that you depend on your senses every day? Without them you wouldn’t know what is going on in your environment. Senses are important because they make you aware and signal changes so you can interact and learn about your environment. Touch, sight, smell, taste, and hearing are related to certain body parts and can be discussed separately, however they are used in an integral manner (in combination with each other). The sensory organs are at the front-line of a complex communication network. Messages race along nerves to the spinal cord and on to the brain. Instantly, the brain interprets messages and then lets your body know how to respond.


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SLE 2: Identify ways that our senses contribute to our safety and quality of

life.


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Activity: Danger! Question: Do our senses help keep us safe? Materials: Master #4 Procedure: 1. Brainstorm with students real life situations that are potentially dangerous. 2. Discuss safety rules that are important and how our senses warn us of danger. 3. Complete Master #4 with discussion of various situations and the senses that are

involved. Students check off which sense (s) warn us of potential danger situations such as fire, spoiled food, thunder storms, sunburn, car accident, hot stove, etc.

Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Sound effect records may be used to emphasize warning sounds. Children could take a tape recorder and tape sounds. The sense of seeing is relied upon more than any other sense - this should become apparent as checklist is completed. Your senses can help protect you from hazardous situations however, you also need to think and make decisions about how to avoid those situations in the first place.


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SLE 3: Apply particular senses to identify and describe objects or materials

provided and describe living things and environments. Students meeting this expectation will be to describe characteristics, such as color, shape, size, texture, smell and sound.


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Activity: Sense Centers This could be used as an ongoing center activity replacing items when necessary. Materials: 5 shoe boxes Master #3 - one copy of each (use as labels for boxes) Smelling Box onion, air freshener, garlic, etc. Seeing Box cereal, paper clips, buttons, bread tags or other assorted small items, etc. Touching Box marbles, cotton balls, sandpaper, pine cone, steel wool, etc. Hearing Box 4 yogurt containers, or black film canisters with lids - rice, marbles, eraser,

dry macaroni, etc. Tasting Box small baggies with individual portions of raisins, cheerios, etc. (one mixed

bag per child. Procedure: 1. Smelling Box - Cut a few holes in the lid. Tape or place items in box - glue label (Master

#3) on box. 2. Seeing Box - Place mixture of items into box. Cut several holes in the lid, tape plastic

wrap to the inside of the lid. Glue label on box. 3. Touching Box - Cut hole in box big enough for child to put hands in - add items. Glue on label. 4. Tasting Box - Have different food sample baggies available for sampling. 5. Hearing Box - Place items into separate yogurt containers or black film canisters then put

the containers into the box. Glue label on box. Caution: Be aware of food allergies and ensure that sharp or pointed objects are not placed in touching box.


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Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Students could suggest or bring objects from home to replace items in boxes throughout the duration of the unit. Hang a piece of chart paper for each sense to record an ongoing list of thoughts, ideas or descriptive words. Magazine collages or charts could be made for each sense as well. For example: animal eyes, smells I like / dislike, foods that are sweet / salty / sour / bitter, etc.


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SLE 4: Recognize the limitations of our senses, and identify situations where

our senses can mislead us; e.g., feeling hot or cold, optical illusions, tasting with a plugged nose.


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Activity: Reaction Time Materials: Rulers Procedure: 1. Partner children and give each pair a ruler. 2. Partner #1 holds top of ruler suspended between thumb and forefinger. Partner #2 is ready to catch ruler - holding thumb and forefinger 1 cm apart at the bottom of the ruler. 3. Partner #1 lets go of the ruler without warning. Partner #2 must try to catch it. 4. Repeat several times and change roles. 5. Discuss with class that this activity demonstrates reaction time. Reaction time is how quickly your senses tell you to take action.

Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: The amount of time between getting a message and responding to it is called reaction time. If students have trouble catching the ruler - have them switch hands, is one quicker than the other. Reaction times will vary from person to person. Reaction times may increase with practice. If we had to think about all the messages that the brain receives - we could not cope. Millions of messages travel along nerves to the spinal cord and to the brain every second. We are only aware of some of them. The majority are automatically responded to. Some messages require a fast reaction such as touching something hot.


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provided and to describe living things and environments. Students meeting this expectation will be able to describe characteristics, such as color, shape, size, texture, smell and sound.

TOUCH


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Activity: A Touching Experience Materials: paper lunch bags 1 teacher bag and a student bag for every 5 students Each group’s bag will contain: 5 objects or materials which are different shapes and textures. Each bag should have identical contents. E.g., Every bag should contain 1 stone, 1 pinecone, 1 twig, 1 feather, 1 button, etc. Procedure: 1. Distribute one student bag for approximately every 5 children.

2. The teacher first reaches into her bag and touches one of the objects. With all of the children listening, she would use 3 describing sentences to tell about the object in her hand (e.g., It feels prickly. It feels rough. It feels jagged).

3. As the teacher describes the object, student #1 from each group attempts to locate the

same object without looking. 4. When student #1 locates the object he will raise his hand - allow enough time for

majority of students to find the object. 5. Prior to revealing the object, the teacher asks the children what they think it is. 6. The children and the teacher then check for what the object really is. 7. Repeat this procedure with the remaining four objects and continue to rotate the student

bags amongst the children.


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Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: As an extension to this touch activity have students sort the objects from their bags. Upon completion of sorting, brainstorm texture words (to describe the various objects that could be on a chart such as this.

button feather pine cone twig stone round hard smooth etc.

soft light fluffy etc.

rough jagged sharp etc.

pointed thin bumpy etc.

smooth heavy hard etc.

An even further extension to show how the sense of touch can be altered would be to repeat the lunch bag activity wearing a woolen or latex glove. Discuss how the objects are similar and different. How do the objects feel with the gloves on? Is it easier or more difficult to do the sorting with gloves on?


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Activity: Name the Shape Materials: plasticine 8 1/2 x 11 manila tag (cut into 4 pieces) Procedure: 1. Students work in pairs to make various shapes from rolled plasticine (e.g., triangles,

circles, rectangles, and squares). 2. Each student could make two shapes. Once finished, place each shape on a piece of

manila tag. 3. Have one student close his eyes while the other student mixes up the cards. 4. The child with closed eyes will touch each shape and say what it is before opening their

eyes. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with the students switching roles. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Did you know that your skin puts you in touch with the world around you? However, your entire body is used for the sense of touch (for example, you feel the wind on your face, you feel the sidewalk with your feet as you walk and you feel the desk seat underneath you as you sit down). Skin is our largest sense organ. The top layer of your skin is called the epidermis. This layer protects your body. In some places it is thick and tough (soles of your feet). In other places, it is very thin (skin around your eyes). The layer underneath the epidermis is an even thicker layer called the dermis. In this layer there are blood vessels, hair roots, sweat glands and a network of nerves. These tiny nerve endings that help you feel different things are called receptors. The skin has many different sense receptors. Each kind had a specific job and measures something different. For example: hot, cold, pressure and pain. (There are even different receptors for different kinds of pain. Burns have one receptor and cuts have another.). These receptors are connected to nerves. When something is touched, the receptors send messages along the nerves to the spinal cord. These messages then travel up the spinal cord to the brain. The brain helps you decode the message and tells you what to do.


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When you first get into a swimming pool or cold lake, your receptors send the message that it is cold. After a short while, you feel as if the water “warmed up”. Your receptors get used to the temperature and they stopped sending messages about it. The actual water temperature did not change.


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Activity: Textures I like to Touch Materials: Master #5 textured materials: manila tag felt foil sandpaper button cotton balls twigs Procedure: 1. Explain that when we describe the texture of something, we describe the way it feels to

our sense of touch. 2. Brainstorm for texture words and list on the chalkboard. 3. Photocopy Master #5 on manila tag and distribute or have students trace their own hand

on a blank sheet of manila tag. 4. Students select 5 texture words from the list on blackboard and write one on each finger. 5. Provide a variety of textured materials cut into small pieces for students to glue onto the

hand shape. Students glue the textured materials on the finger appropriately describing the texture.

Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Some texture words include; Soft, silly, smooth, furry, velvety, spongy, woolly, oily, rough, bumpy, hard, flat, smooth, sticky, sharp, pointed, jagged, slimy, wet, warm, cool, slippery, etc. Other related activities could include creating a “Feely” Book, collage, class chart of pictures for each word. Rubbings are also a great way to “collect” textures. Rubbings of wood, sidewalks, bricks, grates, wallpaper can be made with crayon and paper.


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SLE 4: Recognize the limitations of our senses, and identify situations

where our senses can mislead us; e.g., feeling hot or cold, optical illusions, tasting with a plugged nose.


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Activity: Ice Cube Test Materials: (1 of each per student) ice cube styrofoam cup paper towel Procedure: 1. Squish the paper towel into the bottom of the cup so it will stay there to absorb water

from the melting ice cube. 2. Put the ice cube into the cup on top of the paper towel. 3. Students place the ice cube in the palm of their hand and count to 5 (approximately 5

seconds) then place the ice cube in the cup. 4. Have the students describe how the ice cube felt focusing on the temperature. 5. Students place the ice cube in their palms again for 5 seconds then back into the cup for 5

seconds. Discuss any change that occurs in the students’ perception of the temperature. (Repeat step 3 if necessary). Did the ice cube feel warmer?

Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Adapting is the process of sense receptors “getting used to” a stimulus over a period of time. When you first get into a swimming pool or cold lake your receptors send the message that it is cold. After a short while, you feel as if the water “warmed up”. Your receptors got used to the temperature and they stopped sending messages about it. The actual water temperature did not change. If you held a spider in your hand, the touch receptors would notice its presence but then they would stop sending messages when the spider stayed in one place. As soon as the spider started to move again, the receptors would immediately send messages to the brain. One sensation we do not adapt to is that of pain - our brain needs this information to react and to protect our body. Often with a cut there are 2 pain messages - the first being a brief stinging sensation and the next being a longer lasting burning sensation. These two messages travel along different nerve networks to the brain.


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SLE 5: Recognize that other living things have senses, and identify ways

that various animals use their senses; e.g., sensing danger, finding food, recognizing their own young, recognizing a potential mate.


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Demonstration: Touch Receptors Question: Will certain parts of the arm be more sensitive to touch? Materials: eraser 3 straight pins

Procedure: 1. Stick 2 pins into one side of an eraser about 2 cm apart. Stick one pin on the other side of

the eraser. 2. Explain that the nerves in our skin detect what we touch and tell us more than just texture

but also hot/cold and pain. Today we will find out how good our sense of touch is. 3. Students close their eyes then the teacher moves around the classroom and gently touches

each child’s upper arm, palm and fingertip first with the 2 - pin side, then the 1 - pin side. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Discuss differences in results - the fingertips are most sensitive because nerves are placed close together, the palm has fewer nerves and is less sensitive and than the arm. The sense of touch is located all over the body. Some parts are more sensitive than others because of the placement of the receptor cells. Lips and fingers are extremely sensitive. Babies use them to make sense of their environment. If you give a baby a toy, he’ll use his hands and mouth to explore it. There are higher concentrations of some types of cells in certain areas of the skin. This is why a small hurt on your tongue can feel enormous - the brain gets many pain messages but all from one tiny spot. Stomachs and eyes also have many pain receptors closely together to act as a warning system. Pain is unavoidable and useful as it tells you when your body is upset or needs medical attention. The receptors all over your body give you messages that help you realize when a mosquito bites your knee, when your back is itchy, when your shoelaces are too loose or when an insect lands on your toe. It only takes seconds for the receptors to send a message to your brain and for you to react and brush the insect off the right toe - without even looking! Skin is very sensitive to temperature. This helps protect us from hurting our body because too much cold can cause frostbite and too much heat can cause a burn.


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We can change or soothe pain in a number of ways. The itch from a mosquito bite sends a message to the brain that is “canceled out” when you scratch because the scratching action sends a stronger message to the brain. If you bump your head and then rub it, the brain gets the new message of rubbing and it feels better. Aspirin stops pain messages that the brain gets. The tiny nerve endings that help you feel different things are called receptors. The skin has many different sense receptors. Each kind has a specific job and measures something different. For example: hot, cold, pressure and pain. (There are even different receptors for different kinds of pain. Burns have one receptor and cuts have another.) These receptors are connected to nerves. When something is touched, the receptors send messages along the nerves to the spinal cord. These messages then travel up the spinal cord to the brain. The brain helps you decode the message and tells you what to do. Animals have special types of hair that gives them information about their environment. We can get some sensations through touching hair. If you move the hair on your head you notice a slight sensation but if you lightly brush your fingertips across the hairs on your arm - you get a tingling sensation. This is because short hairs are closer to the receptors. Animals and Touch Humans and most animals feel the same touch sensations. However, animals use their sense of touch in different ways. Birds - The touch receptors in beaks help birds find food. Pigs - Pigs have very sensitive skins and take mud baths to coat the skin and protect it from the sun and bug bites. Insects - Insects have millions of tiny hairs covering their bodies which are touch - sensitive and relay messages to the brain. Antennas are also important. The tens of thousands of receptor cells on each antenna help insects “feel” their way around.


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SIGHT


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Activity: Sight Walk Materials: drawing paper crayons pencil crayons or felt markers Procedure: 1. Tell students they will be going on a sight walk. This can be either indoors or outdoors.

Encourage students to make observations, including color, shape and size of the objects they see.

2. Before leaving, the children will need to be divided into three groups. Group A will

observe high things. Group B will observe things at a medium height (eye level). Group C will observe low things (near the ground).

3. Go for a Sight Walk. Remind students to observe only at the level they were instructed

to. 4. Upon returning from walk each group will share ideas of what they saw. The teacher

may record the children’s observations on the chalkboard as to high, medium and low. 5. Students will then illustrate a picture of what they saw. 6. Display the students pictures by grouping them together - the “high” illustrations at the

top, “medium” illustrations in the middle, and “low” illustrations at the bottom of the display.

Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: The teacher may read Seven Blind Mice, by Ed Young. In this story, the author emphasizes the importance of seeing the whole rather than seeing parts in isolation.


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SLE 6: Describe ways that people adapt to limited sensory abilities or to the

loss of a particular sense; e.g., color blindness, inability to see objects at close range.


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Activity: Take a Closer Look Materials: various classroom objects: magnifying glasses erasers Master #6 pencils crayons sharpeners Procedure: 1. Generate or brainstorm a list of tools or equipment people use to help them see better. 2. Pass out the magnifying glasses and give the students an opportunity to look closely at

their hands, shoes, and classroom objects. 3. During this exploration time have the students complete Master #6 selecting four of their

favorite/most interesting objects to illustrate. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Some of the equipment used for improving /refining our sense of sight are: magnifying glasses, binoculars, monocles, telescopes, glasses, jeweler’s loop, microscope, opera glasses, camera, x-ray machines, movie and television cameras.


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SLE 5: Recognize that other living things have senses, and identify ways that

various animals use their senses; e.g., sensing danger, finding food, recognizing their own young, recognizing a potential mate.


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Activity: Coin Drop Question: Do you need both eyes to have accurate aim? Materials: paper tubes pennies Procedure: 1. Students work with a partner. 2. Place the paper tube upright on the table between the two partners. 3. Partner #1 stands one metre away from the tube and covers one eye. 4. Partner #2 holds the penny vertically between thumb and forefinger. The penny should

be held about 20 cm above the table but not beside the tube. 5. Partner #1 gives directions to Partner #2 to move the penny to the left, right, forward, and

backward until he thinks it is over the opening of the tube. He then tells Partner #2 to drop it.

6. Try it several times. Use different eyes. Trade roles. 7. Repeat this activity with both eyes open. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Eyes are about 6 cm apart. Due to this positioning, your eyes see things from different angles. For example, when you look at something, two different images are sent to the brain. The brain then combines the images into one picture. This stereo view gives us depth perception. The position of an animal’s eyes on its head is a good clue to whether the animal is predator or prey. (Note: You may wish to collect some animal pictures showing a variety of eyes to supplement this discussion). Animals with both eyes facing front are predators. The hunted animal usually has one eye on each side of its head. They receive more distinct messages from each eye and supply the brain with a larger field of vision. This enables them to be on the look-out for predators by observing as much of their surroundings as possible.


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A rabbit’s eyes are positioned so that it can scan nearly 360° and see from its nose to its tail without moving its head. People can see 200°. Owls have fixed eyes that can’t scan but they can move their necks/heads around 360°. An owl’s forward placement give it stereoscopic vision to help judge the distance between themselves and their prey. The rabbit does not have a good sense of depth perception and has a blind spot right in front of it. Animals with eyes facing forward see in 3D better. This is needed for their survival. For example, a monkey swinging on a tree needs to see exactly where the next branch is. A chameleon is the only animal that can look forward with one eye and backward with the other.


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Activity: Motion Detector Materials: none Procedure: 1. Sit at your desk, look straight ahead, and keep your head still. 2. Slowly move your hand to the side of your head. Watch for the exact spot where you can

no longer see your hand. 3. Now wiggle your fingers. You’ll be able to see the fingers more. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: You are able to see your fingers moving because your peripheral vision is able to detect movement. Peripheral vision refers to the number of degrees around us that we can see without moving the head or the eyes. The retina has layers of cells called cones and rods. The rods are sensitive to light and they help you see at night. Cones need light to work. They allow you to see colors. Although peripheral vision is good at detecting motion, it does not detect color because there are less cones and more rods in this area. Pupil at Work Leaving a dark theater in the daytime and coming into the bight sunlight - it takes awhile for your pupils to adjust to the change. You wake up at night in your dark room, slowly your pupils adjust, let in more light and you see the shadows of your bedroom and can find your way around. You may wish to have your students to observe the pupil in action. Partner up the children. Partner #1 closes his eyes and counts to 30. Partner #2 is ready to watch the large pupil grow smaller as it adjusts to the light. Animal Connection Rabbits that are hiding sit absolutely still when they sense danger - any movement could give them away. The giant squid has the largest eyes of all animals. A squid’s eyes can be as big as basketballs!


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Frogs can only detect the presence of a fly when it is moving. Frogs would not notice any dead or motionless flies. Having its eyes bulging out of the top of its head allows the frog to be completely under water while still able to look for food and enemies. (They also blink their eyes to help them swallow. The eyeball forces the food down their throat). Insect’s eyes can’t move or focus. They probably only see clearly a short distance ahead. Insects have compound eyes covered with hundreds of tiny lenses. This “bug vision” enables insects to detect motion all around its body. To get an idea of an insect’s view, have students look through a colander at the world. It is a broken up view, not clearly focused, but insects are sensitive to the slightest movement. Many birds have only cones in their retinas and no rods at all. This means they cannot see a thing at night. Perhaps this is why roosters crow in the morning - they are finally able to see new that the sun is up. The pupil is a hole that lets light into the eye. The size and shape of a pupil is a clue to whether the animal is nocturnal or not. Animals active at night have pupils capable to stretching wide open to let in the maximum amount of light. Cats can hunt in 1/6th the light we need to see. The owl and the cat are night hunters. Their special night vision is provided by a special layer (tapetum lucidum) on their retina. This layer collects light, bounces it back through the retina so the eye can make the most of the dim light available. Animal eyes “glowing,” when caught in front of a bright light, show the reflection of light intensified by the extra layer.


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Activity: A Hole in your Hand Question: Will your eyes trick you into seeing impossible things? Materials: paper tubes Procedure: 1. Hold the tube in your right hand. Place the tube directly to your right eye so that you can

see through it. 2. Now hold your left hand in front of your left eye, palm facing you, about 10 cm away

from your face. 3. Move your left hand alongside the tube (so it rubs against the tube); focusing on an object

that is seen through the end of the tube. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Ensure students keep their hand alongside the tube. Each eye is telling about what is seen, however when the brain combines the two pictures an illusion appears. Switching hands may enable students to see this illusion more easily.


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Activity: Finger Sausages Question: Will your eyes trick you into seeing impossible things? Materials: none Procedure: 1. Hold your index fingers in front of you with the tips just touching each other. Hold your

fingers about 12 cm away from your eyes. 2. Focus on an object on the other side of the room. A sausage shape should appear

between the two index fingers. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Ensure that students focus on the object in the distance. Once again, each eye is telling about what is seen, however when the brain combines the two pictures, an illusion appears.


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Activity: Thaumatrope Question: Do your eyes hold onto an image even when the image is out of sight? Materials:

Master #7 (one per student) pencil (one per student) scotch tape Procedure: 1. Students cut photocopied pieces from Master #7. 2. Tape cut-out pieces to the pencil back to back. When taping the cut-out pieces to the

pencil, first tape the eye piece near the top of the pencil.

Next tape the magnifying glass piece onto the opposite side of the eye piece.


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The completed thaumatrope will have the eye one side and the magnifying glass on the other side. 3. Holding the pencil upright between palms, roll the pencil back and forth so that the paper

flips from one side to the other. As the pencil is rolled faster, the children should see the eye in the magnifying glass.


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Activity: You Won’t Believe Your Eyes Question: Will your eyes trick you into seeing impossible things? Materials: Master #8 Procedure: 1. Have children observe and discuss the four optical illusions on Master #8. Illusion A Stare at the cube. Is the dot at the front or the back of the cube? Illusion B & C Which line is longer? When measured, they are of equal length. Illusion D Do you see a vase or two people talking? Remind children to focus on

either the black or the white, then switch. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: There are many optical illusion resources. Students will be enthusiastic about these eye tricks.


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SLE 7: Describe ways to take care of our sensory organs, in particular, our

eyes and ears.


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Activity: Take Care of Your Eyes Materials: Master #9 samples or pictures of protective eye gear Procedure: 1. Discuss the eye lids, eye brows and tear ducts with the students. They act as natural

protectors for the eyes protecting them from dust, smoke, dirt or too much light. 2. Have students feel the bone around their eye. The eye sockets acts as a shield or guard

for our eye balls. 3. Discuss eye protection that people use in sports or jobs such as swimmers, motorcyclists,

hockey players, welders, carpenters, etc. If possible, show pictures or bring in samples of protective eye wear, or create a collage form old magazines.

4. Discuss other rules for eye care. Distribute Master #9 and have the students make it into

a booklet. After reading through the booklet, students will illustrate the missing picture. Page 1 - Children will illustrate the sun. Page 2 - Children will illustrate goggles or protective eye wear. Page 3 - Children will illustrate a sharp object. Page 4 - Children will illustrate an adult helping them. Page 5 - Children will illustrate a tree, playground equipment or furniture or anything that could harm their eyes. Page 6 - Children will illustrate something that explodes. Page 7 - Children will illustrate throwing sand or dirt in someone’s face. Page 8 - Children will illustrate shampoo or soap getting into eyes. 5. Students should mark a big “X” on each picture to show that we should not do such

things.


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Activity: Can You See?

Materials: none

Procedure: 1. After a brief discussion about what the students know about eyes and eye care, have them

think about problems people could have with their vision (i.e. color blindness, needing glasses, blindness).

2. Many people experience loss of sight ranging from mild loss (needing glasses) to

complete loss of vision (blindness). Discuss adaptations people may have to make, or aids available for people with vision problems, as well as the need to see an eye doctor regularly.

Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Inside the pupil is the lens. The job of the lens is to bend light that comes into the eye. The lens helps the rays of light focus on the inside back of the eye. (In some cases, lenses that are incorrectly shaped bend the rays of light too much or too little.) When this happens, the images become blurry. That is when eyeglasses are needed to change the way light is bent. A person who is nearsighted is able to see things close up, but faraway objects appear fuzzy or blurry. To simulate nearsightedness use a filmstrip projector and adjust the focus until it is blurry and show how glasses bring it back in focus. A farsighted person is able to see things in the distance but cannot see objects up close. People are legally blind if with the best possible correctable lenses, they can only see at a distance of six metres what is normally seen at a distance of 60 metres, or if their field of vision is restricted. Not all blind persons are totally blind. Most legally people can see, even if it is only to differentiate between light and dark. People with color blindness may have problems with the cones in their retina or there maybe a problem with the nerve pathway connecting the eyes and the brain. Color blindness is more common in men than in women. Disease may also be a cause of vision impairment. Ask a student with a vision problem who wears glasses to tell class about his/her experiences. Get a copy of an eye chart and explain how it is used to test visual activity.


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Activity: Blind Walk Materials: none Procedure: 1. Partner children up. One will close his eyes while the other leads him along a walk of the

classroom, hallway or outside. The “leader” should offer his bent arm for the other child to hold on to.

2. When each child has had an opportunity to be the leader, discuss:

• Were you more aware of sounds? • How did you feel as the visually impaired person? • Did you and your partner work well together? • Was it harder to be the leader or the visually impaired person?

CAUTION: Ensure safety of children. Blindfolds could be used however many children dislike wearing one. Merely closing one’s eyes allows children to “peek” if they are scared. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Visually impaired people are initially dependent on verbal instructions to find their way around. To illustrate this, draw a simple, large maze on the chalkboard. Example of maze:

The student with the “closed eyes” is given chalk and directed by the “leader” to draw a line together through the maze. The leader gives verbal instructions, such as: right, left, up and down.


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This should help students practice and develop an understanding of the importance in giving clear, specific directions.


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Activity: Braille Materials: Braille Alphabet Master #10 and #11 lentils white glue toothpicks Procedure: 1. Ask children how they think blind people adapt to a variety of situations.

• identifying coins/money • eating at a restaurant • brushing their teeth • reading, etc. Discuss other aids/adaptations that blind people use as well as reliance on other senses, i.e., seeing-eye dog, white cane.

2. Introduce Braille and explain this method of reading and communicating. 3. Have the students create their name in Braille by using Master #10 and #11. Students are

to write their name on the top row of Master #11. 4. Students refer to Braille alphabet to shade the appropriate dots for each letter in row 2. 5. The students then glue lentils onto the appropriate dots in row 3. Use toothpicks to put

glue on dots first, then gently place lentil on top. Example:


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Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: The Braille alphabet is based on a rectangle made up of six dots, numbered one to six, in a group known as a Braille cell. By changing the number of dots used, and raising different ones, Louis Braille came up with enough combinations to represent the alphabet, numbers and punctuation marks. Have students think back to the Touch Receptor activity with the eraser and pins. We found out that the finger tips are extremely sensitive to touch. This enables blind people to recognize Braille easily. Contact CNIB for Braille materials or possible speakers. Have children adapt a toy or game to make it accessible for a blind person. Example: checkers. After having these experiences and discussions, children will be more aware of blindness. To help them relate to and understand how to interact with blind people have them close their eyes for a moment - you can’t see but you are not any different than you were before. Blind people are just people who happen to be visually impaired.


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SLE 3 Apply particular senses to identify and describe objects or materials

provided and describe living things and environments. Students meeting this expectation will be to describe characteristics, such as color, shape, size, texture, smell and sound.

SMELL


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Activity: What’s That Smell? Materials: Master #12 labels or masking tape opaque film containers with punctured lids (1 for each scent) cotton balls Items with strong distinctive scents: coffee grounds toothpaste oranges mint peanut butter vanilla vinegar perfume cinnamon popcorn onion tea bag dill pickle flavor extracts soap Procedure: 1. Prepare the containers by placing a sample of each scent directly inside the container, or

by putting a sample onto a cotton ball first, then placing the cotton ball into the container. Label each container with a number and make a key with numbers corresponding to the scents/contents.

2. Distribute a copy of Master #12 to each student. Pass each container around to the

students to try to identify by smell. Have them record their guess for each container by the corresponding number on Master #12.

3. After all containers have been passed around, the teacher will begin by opening the first

container for the students to identify the contents by sight. Have them record whether or not their guess was correct. Continue for the rest of the containers.

Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Caution - When smelling an unknown substance, be careful. Hold the substance at chin level and fan the air above it to direct the odor toward you.


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Did you know that the smell receptors can not detect the smell of a substance unless it has vaporized? Example - think of an orange, you can not smell it until you cut it open and the molecules are released into the air. The part of your nose that smells things is about the size of a dime. We detect smells as air borne molecules of substances are “breathed in” to our nose. Mucus in the nose keeps the tissue moist and absorbs substances you breathe in. Air passed through the sinuses on it’s way to the lungs. The cilia (tiny hairs) on the ends of the receptor cells are stimulated and nerve impulses are sent to the brain. The message travels along the olfactory nerve to 2 relay stations called olfactory bulbs. (In humans this part is much smaller compared to the rest of the brain. In dogs, - it’s much larger.) Your nostrils work independently - plugging one nostril does not affect one’s sense of smell. Much of what we appear to taste is actually related to the message your nose sends to your brain. When you have a cold and your nose is affected, food tastes differently. Before the smell messages reach the olfactory bulbs they must first travel through a part of the brain called the limbic system. Emotions and memories are associated with this area. This connection could explain why smells often trigger vivid memories. Example - the smell of pine trees reminds us of Christmas. Although we rely a great deal on our eyes and ears to warn us of danger, smells can also give us a warning: gas, fire, burning food. People are not born with an preference for smell. Likes and dislikes come from experience. People also get temporarily accustomed to smells. A farmer working in a barn doesn’t notice the smells of the barn but will instantly react if he smells smoke. Although people can learn to recognize several thousand odors, sometimes it is difficult to identify a smell by name. This is especially true with children. Strong smelling substances like ammonia stimulate an odor reflex but also a pain reflex which causes the nose to run in an attempt to get rid of the irritating substance.


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Activity: Soap Sniff Question: Will it be difficult to match two scents? Materials: 8 bars of soap paper towels 2 - Irish Spring tape 2 - Baby’s Own 2 boxes or bins labeled A and B 2 - Zest 4 soap labels 2- Camay manila tag chart paper class number of papers (size 3 x 4 inches) Procedure: 1. Wrap one of each type of soap in a paper towel and label them 1-4. Keep a record of

soap type and corresponding number for a self-checking key. Place soaps in Bin A. 2. Wrap the matching soaps in paper towels and label them A-D. Record their letters and

place in Bin B. 3. Have one student take one bar of soap from Bin A. The student will smell this bar of

soap and then proceed to Bin B to find its match. 4. Repeat this with a new student until all of the soap in Bin A is matched with Bin B. 5. The students can then do a self-check by going to the Label Check Sheet. For example:


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Labels (for the brand names of the soaps) have been mounted on manila tag and laminated. These should lift up and underneath each label there should be the numbers for the matching soaps. 6. To make this activity more challenging, place all 8 bars of soap in the same bin then try

to match them. 7. The children will plot their favorite soap scent on the class graph. Using the 3 x 4 inch

piece of paper, each student will:

• draw a bar of soap • cut-out the bar of soap • paint their name on the drawing • paste the bar of soap in the correct column on the graph

My Favorite Soap Smell

Amanda Joe Bill Susie Irish Spring

Baby’s Own

Camay Zest


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Activity: Orange You Glad You Can Smell? Materials: orange knife Procedure: 1. Have the students sit in a circle. 2. Take an uncut orange and hold it as you begin to talk. Ask the children if they can smell

it. (They should not be able to yet). 3. Tell them to raise their hands as soon as they can smell it. Cut the orange open. The

students closer to the orange should notice the smell first. 4. Discuss how the smell “traveled” back to the furthest child if it did in fact get back that

far. 5. Keep the cut orange out as you begin this discussion. Explain that to get a “good smell”

of something we inhale more air to bring the smell up to the smell receptors at the top of the nose located roughly at the bridge of the nose.

6. Discuss that the sense of smell not only enhances enjoyment of food, but it can also

protect us from dangerous substances such as spoiled food or harmful gases. 7. Ask students if they have a pet dog, gerbil, mouse or guinea pig. What do these animals

do when put into a new environment - different cage, clean cage, another yard, another house, etc? They often cautiously approach objects and sniff around to find out more information.

8. Ask why people use dogs to help them track (police dogs) or hunt. Explain that dogs

have a larger nose and room for more air and therefore have more sense receptors. 9. Now ask the students to raise their hands if they can still smell the orange. Most won’t

be aware of the smell anymore - or it won’t be as strong. This is because the nose has adapted to the smell. The smell sensors have not sent any new messages to the brain. For example: A farmer in a barn is not aware of the barn smell’s after awhile, but will instantly react if his brain gets a new smell message such as smoke.


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Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Animal Connection Animal pictures may be used to prompt this discussion. Everyone has a smell of their own. People use soap, shampoo and deodorant to get rid of certain smells. Animals, on the other hand, are busy spreading their smells around, as well as sniffing out smells to find out about their environment. Mother animals use their sense of smell to identify their young. Seeing and hearing are not helpful in a flock of many sheep. Smell is the key. Animals also use scent signals to find mates and lead others to food. Humans have their smell receptors far up in their noses. If you want to smell something stronger you inhale more air through your nose to bring more of the scent up. Many animals have a much keener sense of smell compared to people. Animals use scent to hunt their prey and to mark territory. Many possess glands that secrete odors or use saliva or urine. Some animals stand up to check for odors that might be higher up (i.e. bears). Scents are even found in the water. Sharks can detect a trace of blood from far away using their sensitive sense of smell. Dogs are used to track and hunt because of their keen sense of smell. A dog can detect smells that we can’t and a scent may even alert and wake him from sleep. We’ve seen dogs wake up, sniff the air and try to detect what is producing the odor. Dogs have a larger nose with big air space and room for more receptors. An elephant’s nose is more than a nose. It acts like a hand and even a hose! Insects, especially ants, have a keen sense of smell. They don’t have noses but rely on smell organs on their antennae or mouth part. They use scents to recognize each other, find a mate, find their way to the “nest” and find their way back to a food source. Ants leave a scent trail for others to follow. If you see a row of ants marching off to a food source and rub your finger across their trail - they’ll be lost until they find the scent path again. Ants also give off a “danger” scent to warn others. Snakes smell with their tongue. If you’ve even seen a snake’s tongue darting in and out of its mouth, it is actually testing the air for scents.


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Activity: Eating with a Plugged Nose Question: Do you need your nose to help you taste? Materials: apples (peeled and cubed) potatoes (peeled and cubed) cups of water Procedure: 1. Put students in pairs. 2. One partner closes his eyes and gently squeezes his nose shut. The other partner puts a

cube of apple or potato in his hand. 3. The student then eats the piece and tries to guess what it is. 4. Next, the student takes a sip of water and then eats the other piece and tries to guess its

identity. 5. Try steps 2 - 4 again but this time un-plug the nose-still keeping the eyes shut. 6. Do this activity one more time with the eyes open as well. 7. Partners trade places to perform this experiment. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: The sense of smell helps you taste foods more completely. The mouth and nose are connected together at the back of your throat. Receptors in your mouth and nose respond to chemical substances. When you have a cold and your nose is affected, food tastes differently.


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SLE 3 Apply particular senses to identify and describe objects or materials


SOUND


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Activity: Listening Walk Materials: chart paper markers Procedure: 1. Tell students that they will be going on a walk inside the school. The rule is that the

children are not allowed to talk and that they must observe anything that interests them. Initially, you do not want the children to know that this is a “Listening Walk”.

2. Go for a short indoor walk - approximately 10 minutes. 3. Return to the classroom and ask the children to tell you about all the sounds they

remember hearing. Record these on a chart titled “Sounds We Heard”. 4. Now go on the same walk once again. This time tell the children that they are to listen

for even more sounds. 5. Return to the classroom and discuss what sounds were heard on the second walk. Record

these on a new chart. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: The main idea that we want the children to understand is that we actually hear more sounds when we focus on listening.


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Activity: Shake and Tell Materials: 5 yogurt containers with lids buttons paper clips keys bread tags tacks shoe laces Master #13 Procedure: 1. For each material, put half in the yogurt container and the other half on the table for the

class to see. 2. Number the containers. 3. Students will select a container and shake it to determine which material is inside. They

can test all the containers and record their guesses on Master #13. 4. Students may then open the containers to check their answers. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: This activity was designed for a small group or center activity. However, if supplies are abundant, 5 sets could be made to turn this into a class activity.


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Activity: Strum a Tune Question: Do different kinds of elastics produce different sounds? Materials: shoe box lids metal trays International coffee cans (if available) various sizes of elastics Procedure: 1. Place 2 - 3 different sized elastics around the shoe box lid, metal tray or coffee can. 2. Allow students to “strum,” noting the differences in pitch. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Sounds are made by something vibrating. Sound vibrations are called sound waves. When these vibrations reach our ears, we hear sounds. Sounds can be high-pitched or low-pitched. The faster the object vibrates, the higher the sound it makes. Sounds can be loud or soft. Loudness is measured in decibels.


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Extensions: Making Sound Effects 1. Students try to create the given sounds using the materials provided. Add these sound

effects to an appropriate poem, story, script, etc. Sound to be made:

Supplies Needed: Directions:

Rain – 1/2 cup dried peas or - beans, metal baking pan

Shake gently so that peas or beans move in a circular motion.

Fire – stiff cellophane Crumple cellophane between hands.

Beating Hooves – two wooden blocks Beat these on a hard surface in a clippity-cloppity rhythm.

Jet plane – hairdryer Turn it on.

Thunder – piece of tin foil or metal cookie sheet

Hold the tin foil or cookie sheet by the corner. While suspending it in the air, shake it.

Train – sandpaper blocks Rub blocks against each other with increasing speed.


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Making Musical Instruments Materials: dessert styrofoam plates stapler rice buttons marbles beans 1. Each student will make a “shaker” by using two plates and a material of their choice,

from the list above.

2. Ask children to shake their “shakers”, tap them with a pencil or a ruler, tap them with their hands or tap them against something.

3. Encourage children to play their instruments together.

4. Ask children how they could change the sound of their instrument. Making a “Telephone” Materials: paper cups or plastic yogurt cups string tape pencil 1. Distribute the materials and the children will make telephones.

2. For phones to work best, the holes for the string must be small and the string should be tight.


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3. Ask the children to talk to each other using their telephones. Have them experiment with loose and tight strings.

4. Discuss: How did your partner sound over the telephone?

• Did they sound far away or close by?

• Did their voices sound loud or soft?

• Did the telephone work better when the string was loose or when it was tight?


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Activity: Coin Drop Question: Does practice improve your listening abilities? Materials: class set of Master #14 coins: penny, nickel, dime, quarter, loonie (a set of coins is required for every 3 students) Procedure: 1. Three children work together on this activity. One is the recorder. One is the dropper.

One is the guesser. Have students print their name in the appropriate blank on Master #14.

2. The guesser has eyes closed or back turned. The dropper drops the coin onto the floor.

(Ensure coins are dropped from same height each time - use desk top height as standard). The guesser needs to guess which coin it was. 3. Coins should be dropped in random order so the dropper selects a coin to use first and

shows the coin to the recorder. The recorder finds that coin on the Master chart and holds his finger on it.

4. The recorder marks √ or x. Continue with all 5 coins and then total the √ and x guesses. 5. Allow practice time. The guesser watches as the dropper drops various coins. 6. After the practice time, repeat “trial” and record score in 2nd column of Master 14. 7. Have group record number of √ before and after on the bottom of Master #14. Discuss

difference in accuracy of responses. 8. The three students change roles and repeat the experiment.


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Activity: Here or There? Question: Will you be able to tell the direction a sound comes from if one ear is covered? Materials: a large area Procedure: 1. The students form a circle. One child is blindfolded and stands in the center of the circle. 2. The teacher selects a student from the circle to clap his hands once. The person in the

center must try and point to the direction where the sound came from. 3. Have the student in the center cover one ear and then try to locate the clapper. 4. Repeat with other students. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: This activity works well with about 8 students in a circle, spaced about one metre apart from one another. Two ears provide slightly different information about a sound. Your hearing is more accurate for judging direction and distance when both ears (binaural hearing) are relaying information.


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Activity: Can Everyone Hear? Materials: radio Master #15 Procedure: 1. Turn on the radio and lower the volume. This will simulate one type of hearing loss.

You can still hear the radio but must concentrate to make sense of it. This can be very tiring.

2. Turn up the volume and adjust the radio so that the signal is weak and fuzzy to simulate

that some people can hear what is going on but can’t make out what is said. 3. Now turn the volume down completely to demonstrate that some people cannot hear at

all. 4. Discuss some of the difficulties in coping with and communicating with a hearing loss.

For example: phone ringing, music, conversation. 5. Many hearing impaired people use sign language to help with communication. Pass out

Master #15 and have the children practice signing their own name. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Someone who is hearing impaired can be either deaf or hard of hearing. The sounds that can or cannot be heard depend on how much hearing the person has and how much hearing has been lost. There are two different kinds of hearing loss: • Decibel Loss - A person hears all sounds much more softly than a person with normal

hearing does. For students to understand about decibel loss, they could listen to a turned down television. (The children will understand the voices but they will need to pay close attention).

• Frequency Loss - A person would hear some pitches better than others. Most people with a

frequency loss have a harder time hearing high sounds. Hearing impairments may be caused by things like: the aging process, certain drugs, earwax, birth defects, heredity, head injuries, tumors, viral infections, prolonged or repeated exposure to loud noise and middle ear infections.


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People who cannot hear learn to speak and spell with their fingers. These people arrange their fingers in special ways that represent alphabet letters. They then spell what they want to say. This is called sign language. Hearing impairments may be prevented by avoiding loud noise whenever possible, having a periodic hearing test, not placing things in your ear, wearing protective headgear so that your head won’t be hurt while working or playing near loud noise and seeing a doctor when your ear hurts. Hearing aids help people by amplifying sounds. There are several types: some are worn on the body and some are on or in the ear. They are powered by batteries and have tiny microphones. They have switches to control volume. For further information and a resource person, contact your local society for the hearing impaired.


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SLE 5: Recognize that other living things have senses, and identify ways

that various animals use their senses; e.g., sensing danger, finding food, recognizing their own young, recognizing a potential mate.


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Activity: Animal Ears and Amplification Question: Do animals hear differently than people? Materials: Variety of animal pictures: rabbit insects dog fish deer bird bat dolphin grasshopper Procedure: 1. Ask children if they can think of any animals with unusual ears. They could describe or

draw these ears. 2. Explain that most animals have much better hearing than people.

• Deer have large ears that can turn to pick up sounds from all around. Have children use their hands to cup around their ear and notice the amplification this provides. This cupping increases the size of the outer funnel and makes sounds appear louder.

• Some animal ears can move to help focus in on the direction of the sound such as the

German Shepherd. 3. Discuss why hearing would be important to various animals. For example, sensing

danger. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Students could make “deer ear” sound amplifiers by cutting the bottom off a paper cup or making a cone shaped megaphone using a paper funnel and holding it over their ear. They could make comparisons listening with and without it. When animals wiggle their ears they are trying to align the funnel part of the ear with the direction from which the sound is traveling. Animals such as dogs, deer and rabbits have ears that are much more movable than ours.


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Birds have no outer ear, feathers cover their ear holes. Elephants can hear very low sounds that we can’t. Dogs can hear very high sounds that we can’t. Obtain a dog whistle, if possible, to demonstrate. Some dogs have been trained to be “Hearing Ear” dogs for their deaf owners. Bats have very specialized sense of hearing that supplement their poor vision. This is important for them to find food at night, they can even hear the sound of a moth flying! They send ultrasonic calls out and the echoes they receive help them judge the distance of prey. Echolocation is used by dolphins and whales too. Insects have a wider range of hearing than we do. Grasshoppers have ears on their legs (tympanum) while works like an ear drum vibrating when hit by sound waves. Some insects have special hairs that respond to sound waves. Insects and Sound: Some insects create sound with different body parts. Cicadas use drum-like membranes on their abdomens to create a high-pitched buzzing. They are the loudest of all insects as this sound can be heard 400m away. Bees and flies flap their wings to make a whining or humming sound. The pitch goes higher as they flap faster. Fish scales hide their inner ear. They communicate by making different sounds. Snakes cannot hear at all, they are deaf and rely on other senses. Amplification of Sound: After students try hand cupping and/or paper tunnel - discuss instruments that are made to magnify sounds such as stethoscope, loudspeaker, amplifier, hearing aid or speakers. Radios, telephones, tape records. CD players give a variety of sounds for communication and entertainment. To demonstrate ability to hear and distance - go outside with a tin can filled with small rocks. A student shakes the can while the class stands in a line and listens. The “shaker” walks away while shaking the can. How far away will he go before the class can’t hear it anymore?


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SLE 7: Describe ways to take care of our sensory organs, in particular, our

eyes and ears.


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Activity: Turn it Down! Materials: Master #16 scissors glue Procedure: 1. Discuss with children care of ears and how precious this sense is.

2. Focus on volume and how increased noise level can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss. Explain that decibels are the units used to measure sound.

3. Master #16 requires children to sequence sounds from soft to dangerously loud.

Answer Key:

Sound Decibels jet takeoff 150 firecracker 140 jack hammer 130 rock concert 120 lawn mower 90

Safe Listening Level Decibels busy street 80 conversation 60 rainfall 50 leaves rustling 40 whisper 30


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Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Take care of your ears. Don’t put things into your ears. They could get stuck or poke a hole in your eardrum. Your middle ear and nose are connected by tubes so blow gently when you have a cold or you could push germs into your middle ear. Most ear infections take place in the middle ear. If fluid gathers there the ear becomes swollen and the bones have trouble moving. Doctors use a tool called a otoscope to look at the ear drum. Loud sounds can cause the tiny parts inside your ear to vibrate too much. Exposure to loud sounds (louder than 90 decibels) for long periods of time can result in permanent loss of hearing. Gun shots, jet engines, rock concerts, baring radios, factory machinery or jack hammers may harm your hearing, or even cause temporary hearing loss. The shorter the exposure to a loud sound, the shorter the recovery period.


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TASTE


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Activity: It Tastes Grape! Materials: grape juice (enough for the whole class) clear plastic cups (class set) Procedure: 1. The teacher will begin the lesson by holding a glass of grape juice up and asking the

children what they think it is. 2. Encourage the children to explain why they think the purple drink is grape juice. 3. Pour each student some grape juice and have them smell it. Then have them taste the

drink to identify the flavor. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: The children should understand that the brain needs clues from the eyes, nose, and mouth in order to taste and enjoy food. As an extension activity, this can be repeated using white/clear grape juice.


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Activities: Stick Out Your Tongue Question: Will the presence of saliva affect how something tastes? Materials: small mirrors sugar cubes paper towels Procedure: 1. Using the mirrors, have each student examine their tongue to identify the taste buds.

Explain that there are thousands of buds which send messages to the brain and they are called buds because they re clustered together like tiny flower buds.

2. To remove the saliva from the tongue, have the students get a drink of water then wipe

their tongue off with a paper towel. 3. Stick out your tongue and place a sugar cube on it. Discuss what flavor (if any) the

children detect. 4. Take the cube off and moisten the tongue with saliva, now try the sugar cube again.

Discuss the difference and lead children to the understanding that saliva is needed to help us taste. The sugar tasted sweet. Tell the students that the taste buds detect 4 distinct flavors: sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: The sense of taste is the weakest of all the senses. Your mouth and nose are connected (at the back of your throat) and they work together to help you taste. Taste and smell are referred to as chemical senses because the receptors in your mouth and nose respond to chemical substances. Each of the several thousand taste buds on your tongue may contain as many as 50 receptor cells which are clustered together like flower petals. (That is why the buds got their name.) The taste buds are joined to nerves that send messages to the brain about four different tastes: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Different flavors result when the brain combines smell with these four tastes. (Many scientists now think that any taste bud can detect all of the basic tastes but some are more sensitive to one taste than another.) Before we can taste a food that is in the solid form, saliva must be added to change it into liquid form.


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Your tongue not only relies on your nose to confirm or identify a flavor - it also needs saliva. A dry tongue can’t taste anything. When you see or smell an appealing food, your eyes or nose send a message to the brain. The brain believes that the food will be eaten and it signals the glands in your mouth to start producing saliva. Your tongue also sends the brain important messages about the temperature and texture of the food.


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Activity: Sweet, Salty, Sour or Bitter? Materials: glasses of water raisins pretzels sour candies unsweetened chocolate pieces (see Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing for alternative food samples) Master #17, and #18 Procedure:

1. Pass out Master #17 and explain that children are to taste foods one at a time and record

(by drawing or writing name of food) under the appropriate flavor category. 2. Put students into small groups and give each group a plate with enough samples of each

food for all children to try. 3. Give each child a cup of water to be used to “cleanse the palate” between tastes. 4. Once every group has finished, discuss results and brainstorm for other foods that fit in

each category. These could be recorded in picture or word form. 5. Refer to the tongue diagram when explaining that taste buds on particular areas of the

tongue are more receptive to certain flavors. Students can complete their own diagram by filling in the words on Master #18.

Caution: Be aware of any food allergies the children may have. For safety reasons children should be reminded never to taste anything they are uncertain of, or without an adult’s consent. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Each of the several thousand taste buds on your tongue may contain as many as 50 receptor cells which as clustered together like flower petals. (That is why the buds got their name.) The taste buds are joined to nerves that send messages to the brain about four different tastes: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Different flavors result when the brain combines smell with these four tastes. (Many scientists now think that any taste bud can detect all of the basic tastes but some are more sensitive to one taste than another.)


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Different people react to the same tastes differently. Babies have taste buds on their tongue, inside their cheeks and on the roof of their mouths. As we grow older only the ones on our tongues remain. Elderly people often have poor appetites because their taste buds have lost their ability to replace themselves. (New taste buds replace each other every 10 - 30 hours.) People react to food tastes out of habit or past experience. Cultural habits play a role in determining certain likes or dislikes. Example - Mexican spicy food or Japanese sushi.

The taste buds near the back of the tongue which are very sensitive to bitter tastes may protect you from poisons. They automatically trigger the gag reflex which causes you to spit out the substance.

Alternative Food Samples: Sweet - apples, oranges, candies, sugar cubes, etc. Salty - chips, popcorn, peanuts, etc. Sour - lemon, pickles, etc. Bitter - vinegar, strong tea, unsweetened grapefruit juice, etc.

Animal Connection Animal pictures may be used in connection with this discussion.

Most plant eaters, such as horses, like sweet flavors.

Poisonous plants and their berries taste bitter and that warns the animal that it is dangerous to eat them. Some insects taste bitter too. Birds learn not to eat monarch butterflies because of their flavor.

Bees and some other insects have an acute taste for sweetness that enables them to locate food.

Salt is a flavor some animals need and crave. Cats love salt and can’t taste sweet flavors. They often will lick someone’s skin for the salty perspiration.

Butterflies have a keen sense of smell that attracts them to sugary foods. They land on a flower to feed and check the nectar with their feet! They have taste buds on their feet!

Fish have taste buds on the outsides of their bodies to help them find food.

The tongue is a muscle that we use for tasting, talking and eating. Animals use their tongues in a variety of ways.

Snakes flicker their tongues in and out to smell.

Anteaters use their tongues to scoop up ants.

Frogs catch their prey on their sticky tongues.


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Activity: Toothpaste Trick Question: Does toothpaste trick your taste buds? Materials: one tube of toothpaste one wedge of orange for each student Procedure: 1. The teacher will distribute a small amount of toothpaste to each child. (Instruct the

children that they will apply the toothpaste to their tongue and then swish it around their mouths before spitting it out.)

2. Next, each child will eat a quarter of an orange. 3. Discuss the taste of the orange. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Toothpaste contains detergent. This initially masks sweetness and the only things you can taste are sour and bitter.


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CULMINATING ACTIVITY


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Activity: From Apples to Apple Sauce Materials: Master #19, #20 and #21 large pot with lid (or electric frying pan, stove, etc. knives peelers cutting board potato masher large stirring spoon cups spoons sugar cinnamon lemon juice or fruit freeze Procedure: 1. Have bowl of apples at front of class. Students come up and select an apple. Have them

sit in groups of 5.

2. Tell the students to carefully observe their apple for 1 minute. Then have them place their 5 apples together - mix them up and see if they can identify their own apple.

3. Complete Master #19, listing each sense and descriptors for their apple. Tell the children

we will be making applesauce. Have parent volunteers assist with cutting, peeling, coring and cubing the apples. Save a small piece of raw apple for each student to taste.

4. Put all other apple pieces in large pot with 1 - 2 tablespoons of water (only enough to

produce some steam). Cover pot and put on low heat. 5. Heat and stir until apples are mushy - soft. (Note - the different types of apples will turn

mushy at different times, so you may need a potato masher to get rid of the lumps.) 6. When the apple sauce is cooked, give each student a small sample. Allow them to add

cinnamon and sugar to taste. 7. Have students enjoy the apple sauce. Discuss the changes in the texture, smell, taste and

color of the apples. Students will record their observations on Master #19. Teacher’s Notes and Debriefing: Remember to be careful when using knives or heat sources. Make sure an adult is around to help. As an alternate to apple sauce, vegetable soup can be made following the recipe on Master #20. Use Master #21 to review all 5 senses.

Grade 1

Topic D

SENSES

- APPENDIX -


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- Glossary - Adapting: Conditions

Changing in structure, form, or habits to fit differently.

Allergies: An unusual sensitivity to certain environmental substances, such

as pollens, food, dust or microorganisms. Binaural: Involving perception with both ears. Braille: A system of writing for the blind that uses characters make up of

raised dots. Colour Blind: Partially or totally unable to distinguish one or more chromatic

colours. Compound Eye: The eye is composed of many visual units (each unit acts like a

single lens producing an image). The combined mosaic image produced by the entire group of lens gives something approximately the image produced by a lens of higher animal’s single eye.

Cones: A group of cells of the retina of the eye that responds to light. Decibels: A unit for measuring the relative intensity of sounds, equal to 1/10

of a bel. Echolocation: The process of finding the range and direction of objects by the

sounds reflected from them, such as the ultrasounds emitted by bats.

Far-sighted: Seeing or able to see a great distance. Lens: A piece of glass or other transparent material which focuses or

spreads the rays of light passing through it to form an image. Near-sighted: Seeing distinctly at short distances only. Otoscope: An instrument fitted with lighting and magnifying lens systems

and used to facilitate visual inspection of the auditory canal and ear drum.

Palate: The roof of the mouth. Pupils: The opening in the center of the iris of the eye. This is the only


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place where light can enter the eye. Receptors: A cell or group of cells sensitive to stimuli. Retina: The structure in the eyeball that is sensitive to light and receives

optical images. It lines the inside back of the chamber filled with vitreous humor and contains the rods and cones near its outer surface. Its inner surface is continuous with the optic nerve.

Rods: One of the microscopic sense organs in the retina of the eye that

are sensitive to dim light. Sound waves: Any of the vibrations of a material medium by which sounds are

transmitted. Stereoscopic vision: Seeming to have depth, as well as height and breadth, three

dimensional. Taste buds: A sense organ mediating the sensation of taste. Thaumatrope: An optical instrument or toy that shows the persistence of an

impression upon the eye and that consists of a card having on its opposite faces different designs that appear, to the eye combined in a single picture when the card is whirled rapidly around a diameter by the strings that hold it.

© Edmonton Public Schools, 1996 Permission to copy granted to the user.

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Master #1 How Do You Make Sense?

Example: A baby crying

1

Sirens on a fire truck

2 Lemonade

3 A bouquet of flowers

4 A kitten’s soft fur

5

Thunder

6 A beautiful sunset

7

Smoke from a campfire

8

A prickly cactus

9

Lightening

10 Cough medicine


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Name: _____________________________________________ Master #2 Date: _____________________________________________

Messages to the Brain


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Master #3


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Name: _____________________________________________ Master #4 Date: _____________________________________________

Danger!

1. Fire

2. Spoiled Food

3. Thunder-Storm

4. Sunburn

5. Car Accident

6. Hot Stove


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What I learned: My senses keep me_________________________________. The sense that I used most to keep me safe was _____________________. This a picture of a situation where my senses keep me safe.


101

Name: _____________________________________________ Master #5 Date: _____________________________________________

Textures I Like To Touch


102

Name: _____________________________________________ Master #6 Date: _____________________________________________

Take A Closer Look The object I saw with my eyes. The same object I saw through a

magnifying glass.


103

Name: _____________________________________________ Master #7 Date: _____________________________________________

Thaumatrope


104

Name: _____________________________________________ Master #8 Date: _____________________________________________

You Won’t Believe Your Eyes


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1.

Master #9

Name:_____________________

Date:______________________

Take Care of Your Eyes Always avoid glare from the sun. Never look directly at the sun.

2. Use protective eye wear when working with tools or near flying particles.

3. Be careful when using sharp, pointed objects such as sticks, pencils, paintbrushes or scissors. Always keep them away from your eyes.

4. Avoid rubbing your eyes if something gets in them. Ask an adult for help.


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5.

Carefully watch where you are going.

6. Be cautious around fires. Never play with firecrackers.

7. Avoid throwing anything in someone’s face.

8. Avoid getting shampoo or other chemicals in your eyes.


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Braille Master #10 Name:___________________________ Date:____________________________ Letters in the Braille alphabet are made up of raised dots. The blind person can feel these dots.

Braille Numbers


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Name: _____________________________________________ Master #11 Date: _____________________________________________

Braille Practice


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Name: _____________________________________________ Master #12 Date: _____________________________________________

What’s That Smell?

I think it is ... I found out it was ... 1. ___________________________

1. ___________________________

2. ___________________________

2. ___________________________

3. ___________________________

3. ___________________________

4. ___________________________

4. ___________________________

5. ___________________________

5. ___________________________

6. ___________________________

6. ___________________________

7. ___________________________

7. ___________________________

8. ___________________________

8. ___________________________

9. ___________________________

9. ___________________________

10. ___________________________

10. ___________________________


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Name: _____________________________________________ Master #13 Date: _____________________________________________

Shake and Tell

What I Think I Heard What I Found Out

1

2

3

4

5


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Before Practicing After Practicing Coin √ x Coin √ x

penny

penny

nickel

nickel

dime

dime

quarter

quarter

loonie

loonie

total total What we found out:_______________ √ before practicing Recorder_____________________ _______________ √ after practicing Dropper______________________ Guesser_______________________


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Can Everyone Hear? Master #15


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Turn It Down! Master #16


114

Name: _____________________________________________ Master #17 Date: _____________________________________________

Sweet, Salty, Sour, or Bitter

Sweet Sour

Salty Bitter


115

Name: ___________________________________________________________ Master #18 Date: ___________________________________________________________


116

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Master #19 Date: ____________________________________________________________

From Apples to Applesauce Senses My Apple - Observations My Applesauce - Observations


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Name: _____________________________________________ Master #20 Date: _____________________________________________

Vegetable Soup

How to make soup:

1. Wash and cut vegetables into cube sized pieces.

2. Boil water.

3. Add vegetables and seasoning to boiling water.

4. Cover soup and bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes.

6. Add bouillon cubes and macaroni.

7. Boil, reduce heat and simmer at least ten minutes.

8. Taste. Add additional seasonings to taste.

9. Enjoy your hearty vegetable soup!

10. Use your 5 senses to compare the raw vegetables with the vegetable soup.


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Master #21 Which Senses Do You Use?


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- BIBLIOGRAPHY -

Alberta Education: Authorized Teaching Resources Ardley, Neil. 101 Great Science Experiments. Canada: Bantam Books Canada Inc., 1993. Cample, S. et al. Explorations in Science, Level 1, Assessment Handbook. Ontario: Addison Wesley, 1993. Campbell, S. et al. Explorations in Science, Level 1, Teacher’s Resource Book. Ontario: Addison Wesley, 1993. Clarke, C. et al. Innovation in Science, Level 1, Teacher Resource Package. Ontario: Harcourt Brace, 1990. Science Alberta Foundation, Let’s Do Science, Level 1. Alberta, 1995. Tolley, K. The Art and Science Connection: Hands-On Activities for Primary Students. Ontario: Addison Wesley Publishers Ltd., 1993. Alberta Education: Student Support Resources Davies, Kay & Oldfield, Wendy. The Senses. England: Wayland Publishers, Ltd., 1991. Rowe, J. et al. First Science: Feel and Touch. Ontario: Nelson Canada, Ltd., 1993. Songhurst, Hazel. Senses. England: Wayland, 1993. Suhr, Mandy. Hearing. England: Wayland, 1993. Suhr, Mandy. Touch.. England: Wayland, 1993. Suhr, Mandy. Sight. England: Wayland, 1993. Suhr, Mandy. Smell. England: Wayland, 1993. Suhr, Mandy. et al. Taste. England: Wayland, 1994.


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Additional Resources Ardley, Neil. The Science Book of the Senses. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, Limited, 1992. Books, Bruce. Making Sense: Animal Perception and Communication. Canada: Harper Collins Canada Ltd., 1993. Brown, Margaret Wise. Indoor Noisy Book. New York: Harper & Row, 1942. California Museum of Science and Industry. Your Senses: HowYyou Get Information. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1993. Carle, Eric. My Very First Book of Touch. New York: Crowell, 1986. Cobb, Vicki. How to Really Fool Yourself - Illusions for all your Senses. Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside Ltd., 1981. Downer, John. Supersense: Perception in the Animal World. New York: Holt Rinehart, 1989. Hale, Janet. Five Senses. (Thermatic Unit). California: Teacher Created Materials, Inc., 1990. Martin, Paul D. Messengers to the Brain. Our Fantastic Five Senses. National Geographic Society, 1985. McMillian, Bruce. Senses Suspense: A Guessing Game for the Five Senses. Toronto: Scholastic, Inc., 1994. Moore, Jo Ellen & Evans, Joy. My Five Senses. Monteray, California: Evan-Moor Corp., 1986. Morrow, Jan. Science Through the Senses. Longman Group UK Limited, 1990. Riley, Peter. Senses (Science in our World). Toronto: Grolier Ltd., 1991. Stecher, A. et al. Examining Your Environment: Your Senses, a Guide for Teachers. Toronto: Holt Rinehart and Winston of Canada Ltd., 1975. Suziki, David & Hehner, Barbara. Looking at Senses. Toronto: Stoddard Publishing Co. Limited, 1986.


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Hearing Blonder, Ellen. Noisy Breakfast. Toronto: Scholastic, 1994. Catherall, Ed. Hearing. England: Wayland, 1981. Rius, Maria, Parramon, J.M. & Puig, J.J. The Five Senses: Hearing. Toronto: Barron’s, 1985. Showers, Paul. The Listening Walk. U.S.A.: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. Ziefert, Harriet & Smith, Mavis. What Do I Hear? Toronto: Bantam Books, 1988. Sight Baker, Susan. Eyes. London: Macdonald & Co., 1983. Crystal, Nancy & Tytla, Milan. You Won’t Believe Your Eyes. Toronto: Annick Press Ltd. Rius, Maria, Parramon, J.M. & Puig, J.J. The Five Senses. Sight. Toronto: Barron’s, 1985. Thomson, Ruth. Look at Eyes. Toronto: Franklin Watts, 1988. Young, Ed. Seven Blind Mice. New York: Scholastic, 1993. Ziefert, Harriet & Smith, Mavis. What Do I See? Toronto: Bantam Books, 1988. Smell Rius, Maria, Parramon, J.M. & Puig, J.J. The Five Senses. Smell. Toronto: Barron’s, 1985. Shoesmith, Kathleen. Scent and Smell. Toronto: Burke Books, 1973. Ziefert, Harriet & Smith, Mavis. What Do I Smell? Toronto: Bantam Books, 1988.


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Taste Rius, Maria, Parramon, J.M. & Puig, J.J. The Five Senses. Taste. Toronto: Barron’s, 1985. Suhr, Mandy & Gordon, Mike. Taste. England: Wayland, 1994. Ziefert, Harriet & Smith, Mavis. What Do I Taste? Toronto: Bantam Books, 1988. Touch Rius, Maria, Parramon, J.M. & Puig, J.J. The Five Senses. Touch. Toronto: Barron’s, 1985. Suhr, Mandy & Gordon, Mike. Touch. England: Wayland, 1994. Ziefert, Harriet & Smith, Mavis. What Do I Touch? Toronto: Bantam Books, 1988. Computer Resources Wonders of Learning Library, Human Body, National Geographic CD-ROM for Macintosh.

In this interactive electronic book for the Macintosh, students go on a fascinating tour through the body that includes the senses - how we use them and how sense organs send messages to the brain. Interactive features help build reading skills. Students can choose to have a narrator read the text, review terms, hear pronunciations, etc.

Grade 1

Topic D

SENSES

- MATERIAL LIST -


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- Materials List - air freshener manila tag rulers animal pictures marbles safety goggles apples measuring spoons salt blind folds metal items sand paper baggies metal tray scissors bouillon cubes mint extract shoe boxes baby food jars mirrors shoe box lids bread tags musical instruments shoe laces buttons onion soap (Irish Spring, Baby’s cereal oranges Own, Zest and Camay) chart paper paper (8 1/2 x 11) sour candies cheerios paper bags spoons cinnamon paper clips stapler coffee cans paper cups steel wool coffee grounds paper plates stones coins paper towels straight pins cotton balls peanuts styrofoam cups cutting board peanut butter sugar cubes crayons peelers tacks dill pickles pepper tape (masking and scotch) erasers pencils tea bags elastic pencil crayons toilet paper tubes fabric pieces pine cones toothpaste flavor extracts plasticine toothpicks feathers plastic cups twigs felt markers plastic spoons unsweetened chocolate film canisters plastic wrap vegetables foil popcorn kernels vinegar fruit freeze popcorn popper water garlic pot (or slow cooker) white glue glasses potatoes yarn grape juice potato masher yogurt containers with lids ice cubes pretzels Ziploc bags international coffee cans raisins keys radio knife rice lemon juice lentils macaroni (dry) magnifying glasses

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