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My Five Senses: How I Explore the World!

Little learners discover their five senses — seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching — and the body parts that help them explore and understand the world all around them.

PreKMy Body30 minutes1 class periodPlay-BasedExplicit teaching4 StandardsEarly Learning
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Name the five senses.
  • ✓Match each sense to a body part.
  • ✓Use senses to describe things.
  • ✓Explore the world with curiosity.
Essential Question

How do you know a flower is pretty, a drum is loud, or a cookie is yummy? You use your amazing senses! Let’s find out about all five.

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Senses Explorer · Interactive

The Senses Explorer

Project this and tap each sense. Point to the body part, and act out seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching!

👀 Explore your five senses — tap each!Try it

The Lesson · Play-Based Learning (Gather · Explore · Play · Reflect)

30 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Gather — Point to Your Parts

5 min

Where are your eyes? Your ears? Your nose?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Point to eyes, ears, nose.
  • Wiggle the tongue; wave hands.
  • Set the goal: five senses.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Point to parts.
  • Wiggle and wave.
  • Get ready.
2

Explore — Explore the Senses

10 min

Children explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send children to the Senses Explorer.
  • Tap each sense.
  • Act it out.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Tap each sense.
  • Act it out.
  • Name the part.
3

Play — Sense Games

12 min

Play together.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Listen to sounds (eyes closed).
  • Feel mystery objects in a bag.
  • Smell a flower or a snack.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Listen closely.
  • Feel objects.
  • Smell things.
4

Create — Sense Sort

8 min

Children create.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Match a picture to a sense.
  • Draw a favorite thing to see.
  • Share it with a friend.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Match pictures.
  • Draw something.
  • Share it.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Share senses.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name all five senses.
  • Tell a favorite sense.
  • Celebrate our bodies!

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name the senses.
  • Pick a favorite.
  • Cheer!
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to Head Start Early Learning Outcomes and common state PreK standards for science.

NGSS
PreK.Sci

Explore and describe the world using the five senses.

NGSS
K-PS2

Precursor: observe and describe objects (kindergarten readiness).

C3
PreK.Sci

Identify the body parts used for each sense.

C3
PreK.Sci

Use sensory words to describe objects.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Name senses in the home language too.
  • Use picture cards for each sense.
  • Act out each sense.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Focus on see, hear, and touch first.
  • Use hands-on sensory objects.
  • Model each action.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Sort foods by taste.
  • Describe an object with three senses.
  • Make a texture collage.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / tablet
  • 🧸A mystery-feel bag
  • 🌸Things to smell
  • 🔔Things that make sound
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 🖼️Sense picture cards
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

senseshow we explore the worldseeto use our eyeshearto use our earssmellto use our nosetasteto use our tonguetouchto use our hands and skinsoftnot hard, gentle to touchlouda big sound
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Can you name your five senses?
See, hear, smell, taste, and touch. (Cheer for any named.)
QUESTION 2
What body part do you use to hear?
Your ears.
QUESTION 3
Is a bunny soft or hard to touch?
Soft!

Growing at home? A senses walk!

Encourage families to take a “senses walk” — naming what they see, hear, smell, and feel outside. A printable five-senses chart is in the Early Learning library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 My Five SensesFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 My Five SensesQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ My Five SensesPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: hear, loud, see, senses, smell, soft, taste, touch
  1. a big sound
  2. to use our eyes
  3. not hard, gentle to touch
  4. to use our ears
  5. to use our hands and skin
  6. how we explore the world
  7. to use our nose
  8. to use our tongue

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Can you name your five senses?
  2. What body part do you use to hear?
  3. Is a bunny soft or hard to touch?
Answer key — Part A: 1) loud · 2) see · 3) soft · 4) hear · 5) touch · 6) senses · 7) smell · 8) taste
Part B: 1) See, hear, smell, taste, and touch. (Cheer for any named.) 2) Your ears. 3) Soft!