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![]() Each group will need the following:
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![]() Sense-ational Scenarios To help younger students comprehend how the different senses work, have them role-play the various parts of the sensory organs as a class demonstration. For example, to illustrate how the eye responds to a sudden shift in light, ask a group of students to role play these body parts:
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![]() Before the group presentations, work with students to develop a series of criteria for evaluating the sense projects. Discuss what factors would make a top-notch presentation (such as factual accuracy, answering the research question, use of correct vocabulary, level of research, clarity of visuals, involving the whole class, creative demonstrations). Once the class determines the criteria, create a handout of these criteria with a 1-5 scale next to each item. As students work on their presentations, encourage them to review the criteria to make sure they are meeting every one. During the presentation, the teacher and the students in the other groups evaluate the presentation using this rubric. |
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![]() IF YOU COULD SENSE LIKE THE ANIMALS Although humans do a superb job at sensing the world, there are other members of the animal kingdom that do it better. For example, because a dog has about 200 million smell cells in its nose (versus 5 million in the human nose), it can pick up much fainter scents. Salmon, too, have remarkable noses. By smelling the ocean, they can swim their way back to the exact stream in which they were born years before. Snakes smell out their meals with their tongues. Scientists have figured out that birds can navigate across large distances by detecting Earth's magnetic field. For each of the five senses, find at least two interesting comparisons within the animal world. PHANTOM LIMBS AND MORE People who have lost an arm or a leg often perceive the limb as though it is still there. Similarly, some people who have lost the ability to see or hear occasionally experience sights and sounds. How is this possible? Research these phenomena and present your findings to the class. A good place to start your research are these sites: Phantom Limbs Phantom Seeing and Hearing |
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![]() A Natural History of the Senses Diane Ackerman. Vintage Books, 1991 The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. Scholastic Press, 1999. Animal Senses : How Animals See, Hear, Taste, Smell, and Feel Pamela Hickman. Kids Can Press, 1998. |
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![]() Seeing, Hearing, and Smelling the World Come to Your Senses Ten Activities for Teaching the Five Senses Great Sites for Teaching about the Five Senses The Nose Knows Museum of Opthamology |
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![]() Click on any of the vocabulary words below to hear them pronounced and used in a sentence.
Context: Vibrations in the inner ear are channeled through the cochlea, stimulating nerve impulses to the brain.
Context: Sound waves strike the eardrum, sending vibrations to the middle ear.
Context: The lens of the eye focuses light onto the retina.
Context: Odor chemicals from the air stimulate fibers of the olfactory nerve, sending impulses to the brain.
Context: The size of the pupil controls the amount of light entering the eye.
Context: The retina contains millions of light-sensitive cells that convert light into nerve impulses to the brain.
Context: Sensory receptors for heat and cold are found directly below the surface of your skin. |
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![]() This lesson plan may be used to address the academic standards listed below. These standards are drawn from Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education: 2nd Edition and have been provided courtesy of theMid-continent Research for Education and Learningin Aurora, Colorado. Grade level: 9-12 Subject area: Science and Technology Standard: Understands the nature of scientific inquiry. Benchmarks: Knows that investigations and public communication among scientists must meet certain criteria in order to result in new knowledge and methods (e.g., arguments must be logical and demonstrate connections between natural phenomena, investigations, and the historical body of scientific knowledge; the methods and procedures used to obtain evidence must be clearly reported to enhance opportunities for further investigation). Grade level: 9-12 Subject area: Life Sciences Standard: Understands the nature of scientific inquiry. Benchmarks: Knows that scientists conduct investigations for a variety of reasons (e.g., to discover new aspects of the natural world, to explain recently observed phenomena, to test the conclusions of prior investigations, to test the predictions of current theories). Grade level: 9-12 Subject area: Life Sciences Standard: Knows the general structure and functions of cells in organisms. Benchmarks: Knows the structures of different types of cell parts (e.g., cell wall; cell membrane; cytoplasm; cell organelles such as the nucleus, chloroplast, mitochondrion, Golgi apparatus, vacuole) and the functions they perform (e.g., transportation of materials, storage of genetic information, photosynthesis and respiration, synthesis of new molecules, waste disposal). Grade level: 9-12 Subject area: Science and Technology Standard: Understands the nature of scientific inquiry. Benchmarks: Uses technology (e.g., hand tools, measuring instruments, calculators, computers) and mathematics (e.g., measurement, formulas, charts, graphs) to perform accurate scientific investigations and communications. |
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![]() Jordan D. Brown, freelance writer in New York City, author of educational books, magazine articles, and Web content. |
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