Teaching The 5 Senses

My October Senses-Some Fun Activities

Here's a few fresh ideas to teach science and writing at the same time!

My 5 October Senses is a wonderful writing extension that not only will help your students understand the important use of descriptive words in their writing, but will review the 5 senses as well.

It’s great for helping younger students increase their vocabulary skills too.

Keep it easy for very young children and have them simply complete the sentence: I see a… pumpkin, or I see… an orange pumpkin.

Brainstorm with your students and discuss possible things they see, hear, taste, smell and can touch during the month of October.

Label the various categories on the board.

Jot down your students’ ideas under each category.

As an example, choose one from each category and have students think of “describing words” for the thing they see, sound they hear, taste, smell or how that item feels.

Make sure YOU have personally filled out a sheet, so you have an example to share with your students.

I even did this as a small group activity with my college students for the English comp. course I teach on Tuesday and Thursday nights!

They enjoyed munching on a Dixie cup of candy corn, while they worked with 3 other students to come up with a great descriptive sentence for each sense.

This was my example for my college students:

I hear the rustling, crackling, crunching of the leaves as they swirl and twirl in the wind.
I feel the slimy, slippery, sloppy, sticky guts of the pumpkin as I scoop out its insides.
I smell the powerful and pungent smoke as its spooky fingers climb from the flickering flames of the bonfire, lighting up the dark night.
I see a kaleidoscope of costumed kids as they trick or treat up and down the pumpkin-glowing street.
I taste the hot-sweet apple cider, laced with a twist of cinnamon, as I relax on the front porch. (We are also working on alliteration.)

Click on the link to view/print a copy of the “My 5 Senses Descriptive Candy-Corn Writing Grid”

My 5 Senses Take Shape Is a cute cut and glue the matching pictures to the appropriate sense booklet. The pictures are in a specific shape so you have an extra standard you can review at the same time.

5 senses, science 5 senses, five senses lessons, 5 senses activities, teaching the 5 senses, This month’s October Apple Bytes included an adorable My 5 Senses Inside My Pumpkin booklet. Why not consider becoming a Subscriber and you too can receive our 50 - 70+ pages Newsletter Packet each month!

Sam's Senses Pumpkin:

Another fun activity you can do to review the senses this month is to have your students label Sam the Senses Pumpkin. Click on the link for Sam's 5 Senses Pumpkin.

Trace your students’ hands. Children cut and glue them to a 9-inch by 1-inch strip of yellow construction paper that they have accordion folded into arms.

Students cut and glue the words for the five senses and label their pumpkin. Trim up Sam and dangle him in the hallway.

5 senses lessons, science five senses, five senses activities, pumpkin ideas Plan ahead for November, and review the 5 senses again, by printing off a copy of My Pilgrims Senses, just click on the link.