TeachingEnglish | Lesson plans

Topic: The senses Aims: ! ! ! ! To help students talk about the senses in relation to humans and animals To develop students reading skills To expand students vocabulary To develop students speaking and listening skills

Level: Intermediate B1 Introduction Whats your favourite smell? Did you know that flies can taste with their feet? In this lesson, students read and talk about the five senses - sight hearing, touch, taste and smell - in relation to humans and animals. They practise informal language for introducing and responding to surprising news. Learners examine senses vocabulary and finish with a discussion. Procedure Lead in Tell the class about a time (real or invented) when you had a cold and couldnt smell or taste food. Have they ever had the same experience? Ask the students to identify the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell). Task 1: A conversation Hand out task 1. Ask students to complete exercise A and then check answers as a class. You could ask two of the stronger students to read out the conversation in exercise B while the others follow and listen. Alternatively you could read the part of Chris and emphasise the intonation of his informal language (No way! Youre kidding!). Students discuss their answer in pairs. Students decide if the statements in exercise C are true or false individually then compare answers in pairs. Students do exercise D in pairs. The expressions are in the order that they appear in the text. Ask whether these expressions are informal or formal (very informal). You could drill the words and expressions in exercise D and then ask students to practise the conversation in exercise B in pairs. Would any pairs like to perform the conversation for the class (without reading!)? Answers Task 1 1A: Sight - eyes, hearing - ears, touch - hand, taste - tongue, smell - nose 1B: Smell (and sight for watching TV) 1C: 1 false, 2 true, 3 true, 4 false, 5 true 1D: 1&6, 2&4, 3&7, 5 is extra

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TeachingEnglish | Lesson plans

Task 1: A conversation A) Match the senses with the parts of the body Senses Sight Hearing Touch Taste Smell Parts of the body Tongue Eyes Ears Nose Finger

B) Jo and Chris are friends. Read their conversation. Which senses are they talking about? JO: Did you see that TV programme about perfume last night? CHRIS: No, I didnt. Any good? JO: Yeah. Really interesting, actually. Did you know that one of the ingredients of perfume is whale stomach? CHRIS: Whale? No way! JO: Yes. Its true. And I bet you didnt know that women have a better sense of smell than men. CHRIS: Yeah, I knew that already, in fact. JO: Well, did you know that a perfume expert is called a nose? CHRIS: Youre kidding! That sounds really funny. Whats your dads job? Hes a nose. JO: Ha ha ha C) Read the conversation again. Are these statements true or false? 1 Jo and Chris watched a TV programme about perfume last night. 2 Chris is surprised that perfume ingredients include whale stomach. 3 Chris isnt surprised that women have a better sense of smell than men. 4 Chris already knew that a perfume expert is called a nose. 5 Jo laughs D) Underline these words and expressions in the dialogue. Match the ones with similar meanings (theres one extra) 1 actually 2 Did you know that 3 No way! 4 I bet you didnt know that 5 I knew that already 6 in fact 7 Youre kidding!

Task 2: Animals and the senses Ask students to look at part 1 again. Which animal do they associate with each sense? E.g., smell dogs Put students into pairs and explain that they are going to take turns reading and responding to some information about animals. They should try to use the informal expressions in Task 1. Hand out Task 2 A and B versions to the appropriate students. You could ask two students to demonstrate the activity to the class.

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TeachingEnglish | Lesson plans

Insist that students read their information rather than show it to their partner. Walk around the class and encourage students to use the informal language (No way! etc.) from Task 1.

Tip: Allocate each student an A or B role. Check this is clear by asking all As to raise their hands then all Bs. With an uneven number you can join in or have one group of three with two A students.

Early finishers can compare their sentences with their partner. How many words connected to the senses can they find? Stop the activity when most pairs have finished. Ask if the students know any other interesting facts about these or other animals.

Task 2: Animals and the senses Student A. Talk about some animal facts with a partner. Use the language in task 1, exercise D to introduce your information and to respond to your partners information. Use a dictionary to check any new words before you speak.

Did you know that some jellyfish have 24 eyes?

Yeah, I knew that already.

No way!
-Owls are the animals with the best sense of hearing. -Cats cant taste anthing sweet. -The chameleon can see in two direction at the same time. -Sharks can smell a drop of blood from more than a kilometre away. -A moles nose is six times more sensitive to touch than a human finger.

Task 2: Animals and the senses Student B. Talk about some animal facts with a partner. Use the language in task 1, exercise D to introduce your information and to respond to your partners information. Use a dictionary to check any new words before you speak.

Did you know that some jellyfish have 24 eyes?

Yeah, I knew that already.

No way!
-Crickets can hear sounds with their legs. -Flies can taste with their feet. -Some spiders have 12 eyes. -Bears are the animals with the best sense of smell. -Cockroaches can feel movements as small as just 2,000 times the diameter of a hydrogen atom.

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TeachingEnglish | Lesson plans

Task 3: Vocabulary and discussion Hand out task 3. Students complete exercise A individually and then compare answers in pairs. Tell the students that they are going to talk about the questions, but first they need to prepare what they want to say. Give students a time limit of 2 minutes to read the questions and make notes. Students discuss the questions in small groups. Each group could choose a spokesperson to report back any interesting information to the class. Extension activity For homework or as a class project, students could find out about animals and their senses to make posters for a classroom display. Answers Task 3 A: 1 hear & hearing, 2 feels, 3 see, 4 smell, 5 tastes Task 3: Vocabulary and discussion A) Circle the correct words. 1 Owls can hear/listen to very well. Theyve got an excellent sense of hearing/listening. 2 Stroke the cat. Its fur feels/touches really soft. 3 Bats arent blind. They can look/see in black and white. 4 Women have a better sense of smell/smelling than men. 5 Try this chocolate cake. It tastes/sounds delicious. B) Read the questions and make some notes. Discuss the questions in groups. Which is the most important sense for animals and humans? Do you have a favourite smell? What is it? Which taste do you prefer; sweet or savoury? Which sounds do you hate? Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

www.teachingenglish.org.uk BBC | British Council 2011