Humans

Activity #1

Exploring Odors

Almost everything has an odor that can be detected through our sense of smell.

Materials:
variety of objects usually found in the classroom

Words to Discuss:
classify
different
odor
smell

Plan:
1. Divide the children into pairs and let them take an "odor walk" around the room.
2. Encourage them to smell objects they wouldn't expect to smell, such as leather, blocks, paint, tables, rugs, pet cages, painted objects, and sinks.
3. Talk about what they have smelled. Classify objects into categories such as "smells good," "smells bad," "doesn't smell much," or "smells like…"
4. Talk about how different things smell different and why they smell different.

Explanation:
Odors are made of little particles called odor particles that noses can smell. Animals and plants, and products made from them have the strongest odors. For example, the glass in the window has very little odor, whereas a peanut butter and jelly sandwich has a strong smell. Even books, made from trees, have a unique odor.

Activity #2

Tasting

Taste is one of our senses. We can distinguish between substances with this sense.

Materials:
foods that are salty, sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and bland
carrots
pickle slices
cheese cubes
radishes
raisins
grapefruit juice
milk: whole or chocolate

Words to Discuss:

bitter
bland
crispy
hard
salty
shape
soft
sour
spicy
sweet
taste

Plan:

1. Have a tasting party to acquaint the children with different tastes.
2.Talk about how the food tastes, and about the texture, appearance, and other features of the food. "How is each food different?" "Do they feel different?" "How are they alike?"

Explanation:

People can tell which foods are good and which are bad with their sense of taste. The tongue is covered with little taste buds that sense how things taste: sour, sweet, salty, or bitter.