Touch and Smell - Teacher Explanation

Welcome to lesson 1.13 of the Year 1 unit on animals, including humans. Today's lesson, titled 'Touch and Smell', aligns with the National Curriculum's requirement for pupils to identify, name, draw, and label the basic parts of the human body and associate each part with its corresponding sense. This lesson offers cross-curricular opportunities, including an English task where pupils can describe the diffusion of air freshener, an art activity to draw the anatomy of the head with a focus on the nose, and a maths connection through measuring time and distance. Pupils will engage in experiments exploring the senses of touch and smell, associating touch with the skin and smell with the nose.

The lesson includes a variety of hands-on activities such as 'Hot or Cold', where pupils immerse their hands in water at different temperatures to experience sensory adaptation. In 'Indifference Bottles', they will attempt to discern the weight of bottles filled to the same mass with salt, challenging their perception of weight and density. 'Mystery Boxes' encourages pupils to use their sense of touch to guess the contents of sealed containers. Further activities include exploring skin sensitivity using paintbrushes, learning how blind people read with Braille, and investigating the movement of scent particles with air freshener. The lesson concludes with an experiment to test the sensitivity of pupils' sense of smell using diluted perfume. These engaging activities are designed to stimulate discussion and enhance understanding of the senses of touch and smell.