Materials for the class

Aromatic plants, eyepatch, paper sheets, pens

Layout of the classroom

Classroom’ s space, disposition of children in small groups

Phase 1

The teacher introduces the topic speaking about the different senses and about the perception human body has about them. She starts a dialogue with children and she asks them to tell about a memory concerning a particular sensation they felt in the past

Phase 2

Divides children in small groups, as many as the number of plants. She speaks and explains the sense of smell, paying attention on the different development and use in animals and men, and she introduces it as a “Primordial sense”.

The teacher gives to every group an aromatic plant (mint, basil, sage, rosmary, chives, anise). They must then explore the different sensations the plants produces, concerning the two senses of touch and smell. They have then to fill out a card in which children writes the name, the description of the leaves, what they feel in touching them, their smell, what it reminds of, where these plants can be used and where they have been already seen by children.

Phase 3

Groups share the work they did in the 2nd phase.

Once the class has been entirely involved in the work of each group, the teacher asks children  to try to guess the name of each plant, just using their sense of smell and their sense of touch. Each child will dress an eyepatch and will be taken to the different plants, which he will try to recognise.

Phase 4

The teacher asks children to tell about the different sensations they felt during this activity. In a second moment she proposes some words which can be easily found in the daily life, and asks children to think about how they can be connected to a specific sense.