Lesson 6 — Senses on the Move

Summary

Learners notice that moving changes what their senses find. They walk, hop, roll, and pause to collect one find for each sense — how the wind feels, what sounds come and go, what smells drift past — then share what they discovered.

Objectives

• Name the five senses and identify a body part used for each. (D03.S1.K.01)

Connection

When you move, the world moves past you. Run and you feel the wind on your face; ride and the sounds rush by; walk through a market and the smells change at every stall. People everywhere know this — a fisher feels the salt spray and smells the sea, a child running through a field feels the grass brush their legs and hears the birds scatter. Moving lets your senses notice more, and differently, than sitting still.

Materials

• A short, safe route to move along
• A senses-in-motion checklist (eye, ear, nose, hand, mouth pictures)
• Crayons or a pencil

Preparation

• Choose a short, safe route — a path, yard, garden, or hallway.
• Prepare a simple checklist with a picture for each sense.
• Remind learners: stay together, and do not taste anything outside unless an adult says it is safe.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”). As facilitator, keep the pace gentle and make the route work for every body — a path a wheelchair can roll, or a “senses sit” in one comfortable spot where a learner notices while the world moves around them. Describe each sense aloud as you go. The only sense we do not use freely outside is taste — make clear that tasting unknown plants is not safe, and offer a safe food to taste afterward if you like. This lesson extends U.00.002’s “A Senses Walk” by adding motion — ask learners what changed when they moved.

Procedure

1. Gather (5 min). Touch the five body parts that sense the world: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and hands. Today you will move and notice all at once.
2. Warm up (5 min). Walk in place, then hop gently. Notice: what do you already hear and feel as you start to move?
3. Move and sense (20 min). Move slowly along your route, and try a different way of moving as you go — walk, hop, roll, or glide. As you move, collect one find for each sense:
   • Feel: the wind, the sun, or the ground under your feet or wheels.
   • Hear: a sound that comes closer as you move, and one that fades behind you.
   • See: something you only notice because you are moving past it.
   • Smell: a smell that drifts to your nose as you move.
   • Taste: do not taste anything outside — instead remember a taste from your day. Mark each one on your checklist.
4. Share (10 min). Find a partner and trade: “when I moved, I felt…”, “I heard…”, “I smelled…”. If you cannot see or hear, share what your other senses found.
5. Close (5 min). What was different because you were moving? Would you have noticed it sitting still?

Differentiation

• Support: Focus on two senses (feel and hear) and a shorter route; move slowly and pause often.
• Extension: Invite learners to compare one spot while still and while moving, and to sketch the difference.

Assessment

• Formative (observation): Can the learner name a sense and share one thing they noticed with it while moving?
• Artifact (portfolio): The completed senses-in-motion checklist.

Home connection

Take a grown-up on a short moving-and-sensing walk near home. Ask them what they notice only because they are moving, and tell them what you found too.