SENSES - TOUCH
GRADE LEVEL: K-2
BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE LESSON
While your other four senses (sight, hearing, smell, and taste) are located in specific parts of the body, your
sense of touch is found all over. This is because your sense of touch originates in the bottom layer of your
skin called the dermis. The dermis is filled with many tiny nerve endings which give you information about
the things with which your body comes in contact. They do this by carrying the information to the spinal
cord, which sends messages to the brain where the feeling is registered.
The nerve endings in your skin can tell you if something
is hot or cold. They can also feel if something is hurting
you. Your body has about twenty differnt types of nerve
endings that all send messages to your brain. However,
the most common receptors are heat, cold, pain, and
pressure or touch receptors. Pain receptors are probably
the most important for your safety because they can
protect you by warning your brain that your body is hurt!
Some areas of the body are more sensitive than others
because they have more nerve endings. Have you ever
bitten your tongue and wondered why it hurt so much? It
is because the sides of your tongue have a lot of nerve
endings that are very sensitive to pain. However, your
tongue is not as good at sensing hot or cold. That is why
it is easy to burn your mouth when you eat something
really hot. Your fingertips are also very sensitive. For example, people who are blind use their fingertips to
read Braille by feeling the patterns of raised dots on their paper.
From ThinkQuest: Projects by Students for Students
BASIC LESSON
Objective(s)
Students will be able to use their sense of touch to write observations about real world objects.
Standard(s)
 [List all relevant Montana State Content Standards]
Materials
From the Kit


Skin Model
5 sets (#1-5)of socks with objects: Sock #1 – two cotton balls, Sock #2 – smooth
glass/marble, Sock #3 – piece of sandpaper folded in half and stapled, Sock #4 – lint tape
roll which may need to have a layer removed to provide a sticky surface, Sock #5 –
sponge piece.
Provided by
Teacher
 Paper for
data table
Safety
none

Data Table –from Website
Key Vocabulary






Touch / Feel
Soft
Rough
Fluffy
Sticky
Hard
Mastery Questions
 What body part do
we use to touch?
 What are some
words we can use to
describe the way
something feels?
Detailed Plan
Set-up
 Organize the classroom into enough stations where students can be in groups of five, with one group at each
station.
 Place one set of socks (numbered 1-5) at each station. All #1’s have the same object, etc.
 Make a copy of the data table for each student
 Check to see that objects in socks are there and in good condition.
Introduction:
 Teacher will begin by introducing the sense of touch?
o What does it feel like when you touch something?
o What are some words we can use to describe how things feel when touched? – Teacher will compile a
list of these words on the board so students can use them throughout the activity (this will help them
with the writing portion of their graphic organizer). See Key Vocabulary.
o
 Teacher will use the Model of the Skin to show what happens beneath the skin when we touch something
o The yellow vein looking things are nerve cells. When the skin is touched, these nerves send information
to the brain to tell it what you are touching
 Teacher will explain that some people are born without their sense of sight, and have to rely really heavily on
their sense of touch to understand the world around them.
Hands-on:
 Teacher will introduce the stations activity
o Each station will have 5 socks, each with a different object inside of it
o When students get to the station, they will each feel inside each sock with their hand, being careful not
to look inside. After they feel inside the sock, students will write down: one word about how it feels
and/or draw what they think it looks like.
 Teacher will break the students up into groups of five
 Give the students ample time to feel inside each sock and complete their graphic organizer.
Wrap up
 Teacher will review with students the contents of each sock. If possible, project a copy of the Graphic
Organizer (using a document camera, overhead projector), or recreate it on a white board
 When reviewing each object, ask students how it felt and what they thought it was
 Ask students what they think it would be like to only have a sense of touch
Assessment
To assess mastery of the lesson objective(s) you could:
 Assess adjective matching - Give each student an assessment worksheet (provided on our website). Teacher
will hold up a word (or write it on the board) and ask students to circle one object on their worksheet to could
be best described by the adjective (Ex: Teacher says “fluffy” and the students circle the Rabbit)
 Writing – ask students to write a couple sentences that details their favorite thing to touch and why.
 Drawing – write an adjective on the board (“sticky”) and have the students draw a picture of something that
fits the given descriptor.
 Try combining the writing and drawing into one assessment activity!

Resources
Paseo Partners: http://www.sedl.org/scimath/pasopartners/senses/lesson4.html
ADVANCED LESSON
Objective(s)
Students will be able to use their sense of touch to write observations about real world objects.
Standard(s)
 [Include any relevant Montana State Academic Standards]
Materials
From the Kit








5 sets of socks with objects : Sock #1 – two cotton balls, Sock #2 –
smooth glass/marble, Sock #3 – piece of sandpaper folded in half and
stapled, Sock #4 – lint tape roll which may need to have a layer
removed to provide a sticky surface, Sock #5 – sponge piece.
5 set of 4 advanced objects: golf ball (rough and hard), white button
(smooth and hard), piece of blue silky fabric (smooth and soft), and a
piece of black sequin fabric (smooth and rough).
Laminated category touch cards
Data Table from website
Skin Model
Key Vocabulary
Touch
Skin
Nerve
Safety
Provided by
Teacher
 Paper for
data table
Mastery Questions
What body part do
we use to touch?
 What are some
words we can use to
describe the way
something feels?

Detailed Plan
This advanced lesson is the same as the basic lesson with an extra activity tagged on to the end of the “feely
sock” activity
Set-up
 Organize the classroom into enough stations where students can be in groups of five, with one group at each
station.
 Place one set of socks (numbered 1-5) at each station.
 Make a copy of the data table for each student
Introduction:
 Teacher will begin by introducing the sense of touch?
o What does it feel like when you touch something?
o What are some words we can use to describe how things feel when touched? – Teacher will compile a
list of these words on the board so students can use them throughout the activity (this will help them
with the writing portion of their graphic organizer)
 Teacher will use the Model of the Skin to show what happens beneath the skin when we touch something
o The yellow vein looking things are nerve cells. When the skin is touched, these nerves send information
to the brain to tell it what you are touching
 Teacher will explain that some people are born without their sense of sight, and have to rely really heavily on
their sense of touch to understand the world around them.
Hands-on:
 Teacher will introduce the stations activity
o Each station will have 5 socks, each with a different object inside of it
o The color of each sock matches a color on their graphic organizer
o When students get to the station, they will each feel inside each sock with their hand, being careful not
to look inside. After they feel inside the sock, students will write down: one word about how it feels,
draw what they think it looks like, and hypothesize what they think the object is in words.
 Teacher will break the students up into groups of five
 Give the students ample time to feel inside each sock and complete their graphic organizer.
More Practice:
 When the students have finished the “feely sock” activity, collect their socks and hand out a set of “advanced
objects” and laminated category sort cards.
 Hold up one of the laminated category cards. Students will categorize each object as hard and rough, soft and
rough, hard and smooth, soft and smooth, soft and fluffy. Discuss in class student choices.
Wrap up
 Teacher will review with students what was in each sock. If possible, project a copy of the Graphic Organizer
(using a document camera, overhead projector), or recreate it on a white board
Assessment
To assess mastery of the lesson objective(s) you could:
 Assess adjective matching - Give each student an assessment worksheet (provided on website). Teacher will
hold up a word (or write it on the board) and ask students to circle one object on their worksheet to could be
best described by the adjective (Ex: Teacher says “fluffy” and the students circle the Rabbit)
 Writing – ask students to write a couple sentences that details their favorite thing to touch and why.
 Drawing – write an adjective on the board (“sticky”) and have the students draw a picture of something that
fits the given descriptor.
 Try combining the writing and drawing into one assessment activity!
Resources

EXPLORE MORE
Neuroscience For Kids
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chtouch.htm
Touch Experiments
Some of these experiments require a blindfold. Keep in mind that some people do not like to be blindfolded...you could
ask them to keep their eyes closed, but don't count on them having their eyes closed for a very long time.
The skin is the largest sensory organ of the body. The skin is sensitive to many different kinds of "stimuli", such as touch,
pressure, and temperature. Within the skin, there are different types of "receptors" that are activated by different
stimuli. When a receptor is activated, it triggers a series of nerve impulses. For a person to "feel" the stimulus, the nerve
impulses must make their way up to brain.
Fine Fingers
We have the ability to tell whether objects are cold, hot, smooth or rough. To demonstrate the different types of
receptors in the skin, gather a number of objects that are:


smooth (an apple)
rough (sand paper; rock)


cold (ice)
warm (a sun-warmed piece of metal)
Tell someone to close their eyes (or use a blindfold) and touch the items to the person's hands or fingers. Ask them
what they feel.
Sand Paper Rankings
To demonstrate the exquisite sensitivity of our sense of touch, try this one. Get five to 10 different grades (roughness)
of sandpaper from the hardware store. The degree of roughness should be printed on the back. Cut the sandpaper into
pieces about 3 in by 3 in. (If you want to get fancy, you could glue the sandpaper on to block of wood, but this is not
really necessary) Make sure you write down the grade of roughness on the back of each cut piece of sandpaper! Mixup
the pieces of sandpaper and place them with the rough side up. Using your (or have someone else do it) finger, line up
the pieces of sandpaper in order...from the smoothest to the roughest.
Questions and Comparisons:
Check to see if you (or your test subject) did it right. Where were mistakes made? At what grade of sandpaper?
Materials:
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Sandpaper - various grades
Wood Blocks (optional)
Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes...and Hands, Fingers and Back
Here is another experiment to test the sensitivity of different parts of the body. Get several different objects with
interesting shapes, sizes and textures. Tell someone to close their eyes (or use a blindfold) and touch the items to
different parts of the person's body. Can they identify the object? How difficult is it?
Materials:


Blindfold
Objects: tennis ball, eraser, candle, rock, sponge, pine cone
Active Touch
Is it easier or harder to identify an object if you move your hands over the object? Get your collection of small objects
(or cookie cutters). Have your subject close his or her eyes. Press the object into your subject's hand and ask what it is.
Do not have your subject move his or her hand. If your subjects cannot identify the object, let them move their hands
over the object and let them explore the object with their fingertips. Now ask them what the object is. Are they better?
Materials:

Small objects (or cookie cutters or block letters or stencils)
A Puzzling Situation
Jigsaw puzzles are fun, but did you ever try to put one together without looking at it? Get a simple children's puzzle with
only 4 to 6 pieces. The best ones are those with a raised rim around the border. Empty the puzzle and try to put it
together using only your sense of touch.
Materials: Simple jigsaw puzzle