5 Senses Journey

Collaborate as a class to describe and act out the details you see, hear, touch, taste and smell in a story setting.
A classroom teacher and her students standing at the rug during a 5-senses journey under the water. The studentss are making a wide variety of physical choices to show what they are imagining .
 
 

What is it?

Kids gain multisensory tools for literate expression, using their 5 senses to notice and experience setting details. Teachers facilitate the exploration through descriptive storytelling and prompting unison physical and vocal expression.

What is needed?
  • Time
    12-15 minutes
  • Space
    Standing with space to move safely.
  • In a circle or assigned spots.
 
  • A teaching artist and her students sprinkle invisible dust on their heads to transport them to the apple orchard in a 5 senses journey.
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/lBxVdg10-rM
    Use the 5 Senses Journey to…
    • make the concept of a setting concrete.
    • build content knowledge about an unfamiliar setting.
    • model a process and multisensroy tools for imagining setting and story details.
    • prepare students to include or develop setting details in their. writing or art making.
    • build collaborative storytelling skills.

     <

 

Literacy Connections

Students are often told to “add more detail” to their work. But how do artists and writers generate details? Engage kids in a process for imagining and embodying setting detail that can later transfer into developing their art and writing.

Find Literacy Supports
 
  • A chart with columns labled with words and pictures for each of the five senses (see, touch, taste, hear, smell). In each column the teacher has written the sensory details that the kids remembered from their 5-senses jounrey to the Zoo.
    What strategies for imagining detail are modelled in this activity?
    • Engaging all 5 senses.
    • Noticing and expressing your responses.
    • Moving your body “as if”.
    • Making sound effects.
    • Using descriptive language.
    • Taking on a different perspective or role.
 

Classroom Examples

This activity was tested in a variety of classrooms and adapted by many different classroom teachers and teaching artists!  More examples coming soon.

What does it look like?
 
  • First graders spin three times to transpirt themselves into a 5 senses journey to the zoo.
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/LcgsOHHgUho
    First grade example (teacher led)

    Classroom teacher Hope Komal

    (PS 51Q, 1st grade class)

     

     

  • Teaching srtist Psacoya Guinn pretends to catch and grasp stars in her hand while animated stars appear overlayed.
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/zXt3DH0zFak

    Video lesson example- Outerspace

    Teaching Artist Psacoya Guinn
  • Teaching artist Kari Morris with a very excited expression gesturing towards a picture of a giant slide.
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/zzcinT3VyJo

    Video lesson example- playground

    Teaching Artist Kari Morris

    (made for PS 62Q, 2nd grade)
 

Steps & Scripts

Open each step for sample scripts & a downloadable steps PDF.

Downloads
Steps- 5 Senses Journey
Tips- 5 Senses Journey
To make a visual aid
5 Senses Images
 

Step 1: Set up the game

  • Teaching Artist introducing game and students creating various shapes with their bodies.
    Script (2 minutes)
    • We are going to take a magic journey to the setting of__________ and explore it using our 5 senses. Sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. (Option to use 5 Senses images as a visual aid)
    • On this journey, we will move our bodies, but we will not move from our spots. Let’s practice walking in place. Let’s run in place. Let’s sneak in place.
    • On this journey, you can express what you are imagining through your movements and sounds, but we won’t stop to talk about everything we imagine. We’ll share once the journey is over.

    Steps 5 Senses Journey

Download the steps
Steps- 5 Senses Journey
Tips- 5 Senses Journey
 

Step 2: Take on a role

  • A classroom teacher and her students standing at the rug and pretending to put on a backpack for their 5 senses journey.
    Example Scripts (1 minute)

    Choose one of these to use or inspire your own idea

    • We are artists looking for inspiration. Let’s take our magic notebooks and pencils with us, so that we can make some sketches of anything beautiful or interesting that we see!
    • We are detectives looking for clues in the abandoned house. Does everyone have their magic magnifying glass?
    • We are scientists who want to learn as much as we can about volcanoes. We need to put on our magic protective gear, so that we don’t get burned by the lava.
    • The farmer is sick and needs help taking care of the farm! Are we all ready to help out?

    Steps 5 Senses Journey

Download the steps
Steps- 5 Senses Journey
Tips- 5 Senses Journey
 

Step 3: Entrance ritual

  • A classroom teacher and her student use their whole bodies to imagine that they are climbing a tree.
    Example Scripts (< 1 min)

    Choose one of these to use, or inspire your own idea

    • Take your magic pencil and start to draw in the air.  Your pencil is drawing the garden!
    • On the count of three we are going to jump into the volcano!  1-2-3 Juuuuuuuummmmmmp!
    • Rub your hands together and make some magic dust.  When you sprinkle the dust on your head it will transport you to the farm.

    Steps 5 Senses Journey

Downloads
Steps- 5 Senses Journey
Tips- 5 Senses Journey
Planning tools
Support tool- 5 Senses Journey
Make a 5 Senses journey map
 

Step 4: Explore the setting

  • A map with space to take notes in the center about who we are and what our setting is. Around that there are places to take notes about what you will announce, describe and do for 3 elements, why we travel toward each element and a ritual for entering and exiting.
    Sample Script (9 minutes)

    Announce, describe, do and transition for each of the 3 elements you have chosen for your journey.

    1. Announce– We are in a garden full of flowers.
    2. Describe– LThe flowers are bright pink and smell like cotton candy.  When we pick them, we have to be very careful because they are very delicate and light.
    3. Do- Let’s all pick a flower and smell it!  Uh oh!  They are making us sneeze!  Ah Chooooooooooo!
    4. Transition-  Let’s get away from these flowers so we can stop sneezing!

    Spend about 3 minutes on each element of the setting, so that the entire journey takes less than 10 minutes.  See the 5 Senses Journey Support Tool for more examples.

Download the steps
Steps- 5 Senses Journey
Tips- 5 Senses Journey
 

Step 5: Exit ritual

  • A classroom teacher and her students standing at the rug during a 5-senses journey. The studnets are makign a wide variety of physical choices to show what they are imagining .
    Example Scripts (< 1 min)

    Choose one of these to use, or inspire your own idea.

    • Let’s use our magic eraser to erase the garden and get back to class!
    • On the count of three we are going to jump out of the volcano!  1-2-3 Juuuuuuuummmmmmp!
    • Rub your hands together and make some magic dust.  When you sprinkle the dust on your head it will transport you back to class.

    Tip- Once you are “back in the class” lead the kids in a few deep breaths to come back into the space and reset.

    Steps 5 Senses Journey

 
 

Start Planning

Before you play, explore these planning resources.

Find tools & supports
Prep- 5 Senses Journey
Steps- 5 Senses Journey
Tips- 5 Senses Journey
Planning Tools
Brainstorm Tool 5 Senses Journey
Support Tool 5 Senses Journey
5 Senses Journey Map
Visual Aides
5 Senses images
 

Plan your journey!

  • A map with space to take notes in the center about who we are and what our setting is. Around that there are places to take notes about what you will announce, describe and do for 3 elements, why we travel toward each element and a ritual for entering and exiting.
    Take time to craft your 5 senses story

    “You are painting a picture with your words” Sarah Provost (teaching artist and 5 Senses Journey expert). Use these planning steps to help you create your  5 senses journey.

    Choose the setting

    Each 5 senses journey should go to just one setting. Choose a setting…

    • from a book that your class is reading
    • from a science or social studies unit that your class is exploring
    • by brainstorming and choosing a setting with your class

    Generate setting details

    Give yourself time to imagine all of the possibilities for what you might see, hear, taste, smell & touch in the setting.  Use the 5 Senses Brainstorm Tool

    Choose setting details

    Focus on 3 setting elements that will be active and spark your students’ understanding and imagination.  The goal is to keep the journey concise, so that your students will have time to move on to an activity that allows them to express what they experienced in the game. You can always return to the same setting another week to discover more details. Choose element that

    • can be experienced and described through multiple senses.  For example, if you are going to a rainforest, you might stop at a waterfall which you can see, hear, feel & taste.
    • children will gain understanding of through acting out with their bodies and voices.  For example, if you are going to a farm, you might stop at pig pen to make squishy noises for mud, pretend our feet are stuck and make faces to show how the pigpen smells.

    Make your map

    Use the 5 Senses Journey Support Tool to examples and sentance starters. Print out the 5 Senses Journey Map and use it to notate what you will announce, describe and do for each story element, and how you will transition from one element to the next.

    Tip- Choose a role!

    Choose a role for the kids to play that will give them a fun reason to notice sensory details in the setting. Maybe they are archeologists, explorers, time travelling scientists, artists looking for inspiration or  detectives looking for clues.

    For more planning support see the Planning and Preparation Guide 5 Senses Journey

 

Plan spatial support

  • A classroom teacher and her students standing at the rug during a 5-senses journey. The studnets are makign a wide variety of physical choices to show what they are imagining .
    Taking a journey, in one spot

    In this game, we will go on a journey, without moving around the room!  Each child will need spot to move their whole body safely. Give kids a clear visual spot to stay in and or return to, such as…

    • a square on the rug or a tape mark on the floor
    • feet on the edge of a rug
    • behind their desk
 

Plan visual supports

  • On the left: A photo of a 5 senses poster made by a teacher with eyes, ears, hands, nose and mouth cut out from magazines and notes about what kids remembered about what they saw heard, touched, smelled and tasted on their journey to the forest. On the right: the drawn 5 senses images that you can download to make your own chart.
    Make a 5 senses poster to...
    • Introduce the five senses visually before the journey.
    • Chart all of the sensory details that you saw together an that children imagined individually, after you do the journey

    Make your own or download  and print the 5 Senses images to cut out.

    Scroll for more visual support ideas!

  • A hand drawn cheat sheet on chart paper for a 5 senses journey, with words and images to remind the teacher of the details they want to include
    Use your 5 Senses Journey Map

    As a visual suppport for…

    • teachers– Print it out to hold or project it on a smart board to help you remember the details and the order of the journey you have planned out.
    • kids- Project it with kids who respond well to a visual agenda, so they can follow along during the journey.

     

 

Make the imaginary concrete

You may have students who struggle with participating in a journey to an imaginary setting, either because they do not have enough prior knowledge or because they are working on being able to connect to abstract ideas.

Here are some examples of how classroom teachers and teaching artists have given their students concrete experiences to refer to, before or during the 5-senses journey.

  • Playing a recording of bird sounds before going on a journey to a forest.
  • Giving the kids marshmallows to touch, smell and taste before going a camping trip journey.
  • Using tape on the floor to represent something that the kids will have to jump over during the journey.
  • Reading a book and then taking a journey into the setting to Interact with the details in a more active way.
  • Showing video or photographs of the setting before you take the journey.

Slide shows of popular 5 senses journey settings

Underwater (draft)

Volcanoes draft

Mountains (draft)

We hope to generate more ideas and supports for this section!

 
 

Build Your Skills

You are a storyteller! Prepare to paint a picture with your words and actions and encourage a shared experience.

 
  • Check out these tips for facilitation
    • Give yourself support to remember details
    • Vary your vocal quality
    • Make eye contact with the kids. You are playing with them, not performing for them
    • Use “We” and “our”. Avoid speaking in first person
    • Encourage unison action by being descriptive and specific
    • Refocus without disrupting the imaginary world
 

Reflect

After you go on a journey, assess how it went and find support to go deeper!

How did it go?
 

  • Kids are bursting to share their individual ideas

    showing an action, or their reaction to something that the group sees, hears, touches, smells or tastes
    Facilitation Tips- 5 Senses Journey

  • The group got overstinmulated

    Reconnect the students with their role in the game. Example: “Detectives are always very careful not to disturb the evidence!”
    Facilitation Tips- 5 Senses Journey

  • The group lost focus

    Re-apply the magic! Maybe the magic dust wears off when it gets too loud? Sprinkle some more on the class to refocus them!
    Facilitation Tips- 5 Senses Journey
  • The kids wanted to imagine characters instead of setting details

    If your goal is to focus deeply on setting detail, anticipate the characters that might come up with and plan for how you will avoid or limit interaction with them. The role that you set up can help. For example:  We are scientists observing, not disturbing the jungle animals.  We’re detectives sneaking past ghosts in a haunted house to look for clues.

 

Connected Activities

Build on the 5 Senses Journey, with these activities!

 

 

Connected Activities PDFs
Pair this activity with...
Explore & Describe Torn Paper Collage
Explore & Describe Pencil Drawing
Do after
Make a setting backdrop
Use your setting to inspire puppet play
 
  • Four students acting out a story with puppet and backdrops that they made from torn paper
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/SnqLIJwHdJk
    Make a puppet theater to play in

    Students can create settings for puppet play and shows that depict the details they experienced using their 5 senses. Watch this video for simple ideas for creating puppet theaters out of collaged backdrops.  The same ideas can be applied to drawn backdrops as well.

  • Classroom teacher Hope Kamal crouches down to get a better look at a torn paper collage backdrop that her student is working on. Although, she is masked, her enthusiasm and attention to his work is evident. The student is describing his choices.

    Make a torn paper collage of the setting

    how pieces of paper can be used to create all of the setting details from our journey.
    Explore & Describe Torn Paper Collage
  • As composite image of two different torn paper collages that use paper to create forms including spirals, triangles and stripes.

    Make a torn paper collage of the setting

    Try the Torn Paper Collage Lesson and discover how pieces of paper can be used to create all of the setting details from our journey.
    Explore & Describe Torn Paper Collage
  • A student holding up their collage of a volcano made with black, blue and red paper torn into triangles and rectangles and crumpled into ball shapes.

    Make a torn paper collage of the setting

    Try the Torn Paper Collage Lesson and discover how pieces of paper can be used to create all of the setting details from our journey.
    Explore & Describe Torn Paper Collage
  • A torn paper collage that consists of texture and 3-D components

    Make a torn paper collage of the setting

    Try the Torn Paper Collage Lesson and discover how pieces of paper can be used to create all of the setting details from our journey.
    Explore & Describe Torn Paper Collage
  • https://www.youtube.com/embed/Uom9vERupF8

    Draw the setting with pencil

    Try the Explore & Describe drawing with pencil lesson to discover how our pencils can help us create details from our journey.
    Explore & Describe Drawing with Pencil
Close