Theme Unit

1. Theme
Discovering Our 5 Senses
2. Determining Prior Knowledge
Read My Five Senses by Aliki, have group discussion about what senses are,
use anchor chart with 5 fingers as brief overview.
3. Topic
An in depth study of our five sense, see, hear, smell, touch, and taste and
how we can use them to understand the world around us.
4. Terms, Facts and Principles :
Terms:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

Seeing
Hearing
Smelling
Touching
Tasting
Observing
Perceiving

Facts:
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.

We use
We use
We use
We use
We use
food.

our
our
our
our
our

eyes to see the world around us

ears to hear different noises in the world around us
noses to smell different scents
hands or body parts to feel different textures
mouths to taste different flavors and feel different textures of

Principles
m.
n.
o.
p.

Our five senses help us to explore the world around us.

We can use our different senses to understand different experiences
Different senses expose us to different feelings.
Not all of our senses can always be used when exploring.

5. Unit Objectives
WMELS Standards:
Physical Health and Development
A.EL. 2 Demonstrates behaviors to meet safety needs
1a. Shows awareness of new/uncomfortable situations or strangers.

Motor Development
B.EL. 1a Moves with strength, control, balance, coordination, locomotion, and
endurance
1b. Manipulates objects with hands.
1c. Uses strength and control to perform complex fine motor tasks.
Sensory Organization
C.EL.1 Uses senses to take in, experience, integrate, and regulate responses
to the environment.
1d. Anticipates and adjusts behavior efficiently and engages in complex skills
and abstract
thinking.
Social Competence
C.EL. 2 Engages in social interaction and plays with others
1e. Participates in parallel and cooperative play with others.
Listening and Understanding
A.EL. 1 Derives meaning through listening to communications of others and
sounds in the environment
1f. Responds to increasingly complex language structures, including
comments, requests, and
questions.
Speaking and Communicating
B. EL. 2c Uses vocalizations and spoken language to communicate
1g. Uses language to effectively express feelings and thoughts, describe
experiences and
observations, interact with others, and communicate effectively in group
activities and discussions.
Early Literacy
C.EL.1 Develops ability to detect, manipulate, or analyze the auditory parts of
spoken language
(This includes the ability to segment oral language into words, syllables, or
phonemes
independent of meaning.)
1h. Makes some letter/ sound connections and identifies some beginning
sounds.
Curiosity, Engagement, and Persistence
A.EL.1 Displays curiosity, risk-taking, and willingness to engage in new
experiences
1i. Is curious about and willing to try new and unfamiliar experiences and
activities within their
Environment.

1j. Attends to sights and sounds and persists with (continues in) activity
only when supported
By adult interaction.

Creativity and Imagination

B. EL. 1 Engages in imaginative play and inventive thinking through
interactions with people, materials, and the environment
1k. Expresses self (ideas, feelings, and thoughts) through a variety of artistic
media, music, and movement.
Exploration, Discovery, and Problem Solving
A.EL. 1 Uses multi-sensory abilities to process information
1l. Uses senses to explore the environment
1m. Uses senses to explore and experiment with new materials.
1n. Uses senses and a variety of strategies to investigate information.
1o. Uses senses to generalize and apply prior learning.
Scientific Thinking
C.EL. 1 Uses observation to gather information
1p. Shows awareness of differences in their environment (smell, touch, sight,
sound, and taste).
1q. Recognizes and responds to differences in the environment.
Mathematical Thinking
B.EL. 6 Collects, describes, and records information using all senses
2b. Describes and records information through a variety of means, including
discussion, drawings, maps, graphs, and charts.
Other Objectives
1r. Children will use their eyes to see different materials, objects, artifacts.
1s. Children will be able to explain what they hear and what noise it makes
using their ears.
1t.Children will be able to explain different noises and what objects make
different sound.
1u. Children will be able to create different sounds uses different
manipulatives.
1v. Children will be able to explain different smells and describe what they
smell.
1w. Children will be able to touch different materials and feel their
differences.
1x. Children will be able to explain the different feelings, i.e. soft, cold, wet,
hard, etc.
1y. Children will be able to taste different foods and explain their taste.
1z. Children will be able to describe salty, sweet, and bitter.

2a. Children will gain understanding about diversity and those who do not
have certain senses and how they cope.

2. Brainstorm activities, books, songs field trips, and speakers, interest

centers that relate to the terms, facts and principles.
Books:

Before reading the books I will discuss with the children how we can tell who
the author is and what the author does, and who the illustrator is, and what
they do. These books are age appropriate for the K4 level. I will be showing
print concepts by using my finger to point to words and reading left to right,
and the backward sweep.
Books about all senses:

My Five Senses by Aliki

The 5 Senses by Nria Roca
Look, Listen, Taste, Touch, and Smell: Learning about Your Five Senses by
Pamela Hill
Books about seeing:
Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff
I See by Patrick George
What Does Bunny See by Linda Sue Park
If You See a Kitten by John Butler
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.
Books about hearing:
The Listening Walk by Paul Showers
Listen to the City by Rachel Isadora
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr.
Bark, George by Jules Fieffer
Dogs Noisy Day by Emma Dodd
What the Baby Hears by Laura Godwin
Meeow and the Pots and Pans by Sebastian Braun
I Hear by Patrick George
Snow Sounds: An Onomatopoeic Story by David A. Johnson
Do You Have my Quack? by Keith Faulkner
Night Sounds, Morning Colors by Rosemary Wells
Quiet Night by Marilyn Singer
Books about smelling:
Snouts and Sniffers by Stan Tekiela
David Smells! by David Shannon
Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup

Little Bunny Follows His Nose by Katherine Howard

Ferdinand the Bull by Munro Leaf
Books about touching:
I Feel a Foot! by Maranke Rinck
Rain! by Manya Stojic
Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy! by Sandra Boyton
Your Body Belongs to You by Cornelia Maude Spelman
Tails by Matthew Van Fleet
Books about tasting:
Gladys Goes Out to Lunch by Derek Anderson
Chew, Chew, Gulp! by Lauren Thompson
Crunch, Munch by Jonathan London
The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman
You Cant Taste a Pickle With Your Ear by Harriet Ziefert
Poems and Songs
5 Senses Song
I have 5 senses,
I count those,
I use eyes, ears, skin, tongue and nose.
I have 5 senses,
I count those,
I use eyes, ears, skin, tongue and nose.
My eyes can see,
My ears can hear,
My skin can touch
So, so much,
My tongue can taste,
My nose can smell,
My 5 senses work really well!
Eyes?
Sight!
Ears?
Hear!
Skin?
Touch!
So-so much!
Tongue?
Taste
Nose?
Smell!
My 5 senses work really well!
Senses
Tune: BINGO
There are five senses we all have, can you guess what they are?

See, hear, taste, touch smell

See, hear, taste, touch smell
See, hear, taste, touch smell
And these are our five senses.
point to eyes, ears, mouth, hold up fingers and then you nose to correspond
with the senses.

What Can I See?

Oh, with your eyes what do you see?
Oh, with your eyes what do you see?
Oh, tell me now what do you see with your eyes? (Let the children tell you what
they see)
Oh, with your eyes what do you see?
Oh, with your fingers what do you feel?
Oh, with your fingers what do you feel?
Oh, tell me now what do you feel with your fingers? (Let the children tell you what
they feel)
Oh, with your fingers what do you feel?
Continue with:
Oh, with your nose what do you smell?
Oh, with your ears what do you hear?
Oh, with your tongue what do you taste?

Activity

Domain

Free play in
activity center
with sensory
table and other
materials related
to the 5 senses.

Social,
Language,
Aesthetic,
Affective

Nature Walk
followed by
journaling about
what they saw

Physical,
Cognitive

Type of
Instruction
Sensory
Engagement,
Play, small
group

Guided
Discovery,
Large group,
reflections

Assessment

Concepts

I will observe
how the
children play in
this area, it will
give me insight
for what they
do/dont know.
I will confer
with children
when they are
drawing/writing

A, b, c, d, e, f, g,
1b, 1e, 1i, 1l,
1m,1n, 1o, 1r

A, h, p,1h, 1j, 1l,

1p, 1q, 1r

outside

Large Group
activity with
pots, pans, bells,
and drums. I will
begin by
demonstrating
how different
objects make
different noises.
The students will
then get a
chance to use
these objects.
Listening and
singing to the
different senses
songs.
Beginning
Sounds SMART
Board activity.
Students will
have to listen for
the beginning
sounds and tell
the letter.
Discussing and
creating anchor
chart about
using
inside/outside
voice, when is
this appropriate?
Difference
between Loud
and soft.
Playing with
Apple scented
play-doh

in their journals
and ask them
to further
explain what
they saw.
Observation, I
will see if the
students
understand how
different
materials make
different noises.

Social,
Physical,
Aesthetic

Large group,
Guided
Discovery

b, d, i, m, n, 1b, 1f,
1i, 1j, 1k, 1l, 1s, 1t

Social,
language,
aesthetic

Large group,
play

Participation

b, f, g, I, m, p, 1f,
1g, 1j, 1k, 1s

Cognitive,
Language

Large Group,
Modeling,
Questioning

a, b, i, 1f, 1g, 1h,

1t

Language,
Affective

Large group,
questioning

I will listen to
those who can
tell me the
letter-sound
correlation
based on
student
participation.
Creation of
anchor chart by
class.

Play, guided
discovery,
reflection

Large or
small group

I will confer
with children
how they think
the play-doh

c, d, f, g, j, k, 1b,
1e, 1m, 1o, 1p, 1r,
1v, 1w, 1x

b, I, 1g, 1t

smells
In a small group
I will have the
children
verbally
describe what
they smell.
After they
create their
pies, I will ask
them to
describe smells.

Sensory
Smelling Bottles
and have the
children describe
smells

Social,
Aesthetic,
Cognitive

Small group

c, f, j, n, p, 1f, 1n,
1m, 1p, 1v

Students will
create pumpkin
pie painting
using orange
paint and
pumpkin spices
Students will feel
different
textures: fur,
sandpaper,
rocks, and Jello.
We will
collaboratively
think of
describing words
for each and
discuss why they
feel different.
They will journal
their favorite
Students will
reach their
hands into
differing paper
bags and
describe what
they think they
feel to a friend
( i.e. I think its a
cotton ball
because its soft
and fluffy)
Students will
categorize or
sort difference in
materials they
touch. ( i.e. soft

Aesthetic,
cognitive,

Large group

Language,
Social,
Cognitive

Large group

I will analyze
journal
drawings/writin
gs and confer
with the
students.

d, f, g, k, m, 1b,
1c, 1h, 1k, 1l, 1p,
1w, 1x

Sensory
Engagement,
play,
explaining

Small groups

I will listen to
thinking and
document
thinking.

d, g, k, n, p, 1b, 1i,
1g, 1il, 1m, 1o, 1p,
1q, 1w, 1x

Reflection

Individual

I will assess the

students based
on if their sorts
are correct.

d, g, k, m, 1b, 1d,
1g, 1m, 1x

a, c, d, f, g, h, j, k,
n, p, 1b, 1c, 1i, 1k,
1m, 1n, 1p, 1r, 1v,
1w, 1x

vs. hard objects)

We will create
Moon Mud with
cornstarch, baby
oil and sand. The
students journal
this experience
afterwards.
We will taste
bakers
chocolate,
popcorn,
lemons, and
cookies and
graph our
findings of our
favorite.
Students will
journal their
favorite food and
why they like the
taste.
Discussion of
healthy foods
Blind guest
speaker

Read aloud :
Your Body
Belongs to You
by Cornelia
Maude Spelman
Field trip to the
petting zoo:
-See the animals
-Hear the
animals
-Feel/feed the
animals
-animal smells
-try goat milk

Sensory
engagement,
play

Small groups

I will listen to
conversation
during activity,
and look at
journals after
activity.

d, f, g, k, n, p, 1b,
k, 1e, 1f, 1h, 1i,
1k, 1w, 1x

Cognitive,
Aesthetic,
Social

Large Group

I will watch for

participation of
students during
the graphing
and explaining
why each taste
was their
favorite.

e, f, g, l, h, o, 1i,
1n, 1o, 1p, 2b, 1y,
1z

Cognitive

Independent

Assessment of
journals

m, n, o, 1c, 1h

Social,
Cognitive,
Physical
Affective,
social,
cognitive,
language

Large group

Student
participation

b, 1d, 1f, 1g

Large group

f, g, p, 1b, 1f, 1g,

1j, 2a

Affective,
cognitive,
social

Large group

Students will be
engaged in
speaker and
asking
questions
Student
participation

Aesthetic,
Affective,
Cognitive,
Language,
Physical,
Social

Large group

Watch the
students
engage in all
we have
learned about
our senses.
Document
experiences,
take photos,

All terms, facts,

principles,
standards and
objectives

d, 1a, 1f, 1g

Field trip to
apple orchard to
use our 5 senses

Aesthetic,
Affective,
Cognitive,
Language,
Physical,
Social

Large group

etc.
Watch the
students
engage in all
we have
learned about
our senses.
Document
experiences,
take photos,
etc.

All terms, facts,

principles,
standards and
objectives

14. Gather Materials.

Materials Needed:
- Variety of books ( see above)
-Sensory table with rotating materials, i.e. leaves, moon mud, feathers
- Moon mud supplies, ( corn starch, baby oil, sand.)
-Dramatic play area with different toys
-Journal logs for each student
-Bells
-Whistles
-Pots/pans
-Binoculars
-Magnifying glass
-Bristle blocks
-Sponges
- Apple scented Playdoh ( provided by me)
-Paint of all colors
-Pumpkin spices
-Smelly sensory bottles
-Plastic Plates for painting and trying new foods
-Taste test foods, (Sour Patch Kids, pretzels, bakers chocolate, cherry fruit
snacks.)
-Plastic baggies for collecting items in nature

-Drums
-Smart board
-Anchor charts
-Markers
-Materials for mystery touch and feel, ( sandpaper, Jello, rocks, cotton balls.
-Blind guest speaker
-Bus for field trips to the zoo and apple farm

Unit Rationale for the 5 Senses

This unit was created with the intentions that children will be able to explore
their world using their senses. This is developmentally appropriate because the
children are still exploring and it is crucial for them to understand how their bodies
sense different things. This being said, the children will gain understanding of
circumstances when they cannot use all their senses and when/when not it is
appropriate. This unit allows the children to gain insight regarding seeing, smelling,
hearing, tasting, and touching. While we will of course be addressing sensory and
exploration throughout the unit, we will be using mathematics, scientific thinking,
and literacy as well daily. There will be great flexibility in terms of subjects and
concepts. The great thing about this unit is the diversity of the learning and the fun
we will have through it all!
The great thing about the unit of the five senses is how well it connects with
the WMELS standards. Because exploration is still so encouraged at this age,
WMELS has many standards that were easily connected to my objectives. The

terms, facts, and principles are all in regard to the five senses; seeing, hearing,
smelling, touching, tasting, and how we go about using these senses. One example
of a WMELS standard I chose is physical development. This will be connected due
to the safety needs required in this unit; i.e. what is safe touching, what are things I
should/shouldnt eat. I also chose WMELS standards motor development, sensory
organization, social competence, listening and understanding, speaking and
communicating, early literacy, curiosity, engagement, persistence, creativity and
imagination, exploration, problem solving, scientific thinking, and mathematics. All
of these standards are developmentally appropriate to the child and are directly
correlated as to how they will learn in-depth about the 5 senses.
The skills that are woven into this unit are developmentally appropriate. The
activities that I have planned for the children are very open ended and will allow lots
of conversation and discovery. One example of an activity we will do is a taste test.
The children will need to detect using their taste sense which is salty, sweet, bitter,
and sour. This fun engaging activity will allow the children to make observations and
use scientific thinking to come to conclusions. This activity provides individual
exploration and allows children to have fun while conversing with myself and their
peers. Many skills are interwoven into this unit because it is so flexible. Students will
be documenting their learning in journals and holding discussions about their
senses.
The diversity that comes along with this unit is grand. Because not all people
have certain senses, it will be beneficial for me to discuss these with the children.
This will provide a sense of insight and appreciation for the children. Reading books
about those who possibly cant hear will allow children to understand the world in a
different way. The children may have family members who lack certain senses,

which would be great for classroom discussion and family involvement. There is a
blind speaker scheduled to come into the classroom to discuss how they use other
senses in place of their eyes to perceive the world around them.
As a future teacher, this unit models my beliefs on teaching and learning. I
believe teaching is open ended and it is up to the children to explore. With
exploration, children can embrace their findings and gain insight from this
independence. Especially at such a young age, play is crucial to learning. Four year
olds need play to understand the world around them. What better way to
incorporate a unit where it is OK for the children to play! Having sensory tables and
dramatic play areas filled with different materials will expose children to how they
can use their senses. As a teacher, I want to model for my students as often as
possible. In this unit I will be able to model for the students how our senses work
and how we use them in our daily lives. The variety of activities I have planned will
allow me to do so. I also believe in communication among students. Students need
to talk to learn! My lessons will engage children to talk to one another about their
findings. Students will be able to learn in a variety of approaches. Their love for
adventure and exploration only further excites me as a teacher.
Overall, this unit will expose children to their environment through their
senses. They will be able to explore and I will encourage questions and insights.
This age appropriate unit will give children an understanding of their senses through
various standards.