Shannon Hart

School of Education
The College of New Jersey
October 14, 2014

Science: Sense of Smell

This lessons main focus is to teach students about their sense of smell and the body part that
they use to smell.
1. Grade: Mrs. Martinos Kindergarten class
2. Lesson Essential Question(s): What body part do you use to smell? Which of your five
senses uses your nose?
3. Standards:
5.1.P.C.1: Communicate with other children and adults to share observations, pursue
questions, and make predictions and/or conclusions.
4. Objectives:
5. Assessment:
Objectives

Assessment

Students will be able to identify

familiar smells.

Students will smell four different smells and identify

them on a worksheet.

Students will be able to identify which

body part they use to smell.

Students will point to their nose when asked which

body part they are using to smell the bags.

6. Materials: four different scents (cinnamon, lemon, mint, banana), 16 bags (four for each
group), matching scents worksheet, You Smell With Your Nose by Melvin and Gilda
Berger
7. Pre-lesson assignments and/or prior knowledge: Students learned in a previous lesson
that tasting, hearing, touching, and seeing are four of the five senses. They learned that
tongues are used for tasting, ears are used for hearing, hands are used for touching, and

eyes are used for seeing. Students have also briefly learned about smelling in the opening
lesson of the unit.
8. Lesson Beginning: The lesson will begin with a review of the five senses. The teacher
will draw a person on the board and ask students to name each of the five senses. As
students name each sense and its corresponding body part, the teacher will label the
person. Then, the teacher will explain that the class will be learning more about their
sense of smell.
9. Instructional Plan:

The class will be called to the carpet, one table at a time.

The teacher will begin the lesson by reviewing the senses they have already learnedtaste, sound, touch, and sight. The teacher will draw a person on the board and the
class will tell say which body parts should be labeled with each sense.
The teacher will ask which sense they have not learned about.
Then, the teacher will read You Smell with Your Nose by Melvin and Gilda Berger.
The teacher will ask students what some of their favorite smells are and where they
can be found.
Then, the teacher will explain that the class will be using their noses to figure out
what smells are in the bags at their tables.
The teacher will demonstrate how to smell each bag and then show students the
matching worksheet that they will be completing.
The teacher will go through the pictures with the class to insure that students know
what each picture depicts.
Students will be divided into four heterogeneous groups of four or five students.
Students will work with their groups to identify the smells and complete their
worksheets.
The teacher will keep the activity structured by having each group smell the same
numbered bag at the same time. Then they will all match that bag to the picture on
their worksheet.
Once each group is finished, the teacher will go over which smell was in each bag.
The teacher will ask what sense the class was using and have the whole class point to
the body part they were using.

o Differentiation: The teacher will model how to correctly smell the bags and fill out the
worksheet. The teacher will also use a diagram of a person to review the five senses to
appeal to visual learners. Students will work in heterogeneous groups in order for more
advanced and less advanced students to help each other. The teacher will have each
group smell the same bag at the same time to keep the activity structured. This will keep

students from skipping any important steps or getting confused. The worksheet will have
words underneath the pictures in case students are unsure of what the picture depicts.
Students can look at the first letter of the word for a hint or try to sound it out.
o Questions:

What body part do you use to smell?

What senses have we learned about so far?

Why is it useful to be able to smell?

What are some of your favorite smells?

What are some of your least favorite smells?

What would it be like if you could not smell?

o Classroom Management: Students will be sitting at the carpet where the teacher can
move students who may be disruptive when sitting next to others. Materials will be
distributed and collected by the teacher in order to avoid excess movement and
distractions. Students will move to and from the carpet one table at a time. Students will
be instructed not to touch the smelling bags until they are told to do so. The teacher will
tell students to keep their hands under the table while directions are being given or during
discussion. In order to avoid conflict, the teacher will instruct the table captains to smell
the bag first and then pass to the student sitting next to them and so on. If students seem
to be unfocused or tired, the teacher will have them get up and stretch for thirty seconds
before resuming the lesson. At the beginning of the lesson, the students will be reminded
to raise their hand if they have a question, answer, or something to say. If students
become loud, they will be reminded to lower their volume. If necessary, give me five
or if you can hear me touch your will be used to get the students attention and
redirect them back to the activity.
o Transitions: In order to transition between activities, the teacher will give clear
instructions for the activity before instructing students where to go. The teacher will
model how to use the smelling bags and worksheets before putting students in their
groups. When the whole class has finished the activity, the teacher will go over what
smell was in each bag.
10. Closure: At the conclusion of the lesson, the teacher will go over which smell was in
each bag. The teacher will ask students what sense they were using for the activity. The
teacher will ask students to raise their hands if they liked or disliked each smell. This
lesson will give students the opportunity to see that their sense of smell is important and

useful. The teacher will also ask students to point to the body part that they used to
smell. Students will also have practiced other skills, such as working with others. The
knowledge and skills that the students will take away from this lesson will help them to
gain a better understanding of their five senses.

Name_____________________________________

Date____________________________

Smelling Bags!

Bag 1
Lemon

Bag 2

Banana

Bag 3
Cinnamon

Bag 4

Mint