In chapter 8 Zull discusses how enlisting the senses can help students learn and retain information. We often use the senses of sight and hearing in our lessons, and sometimes touch, but infrequently incorporate taste or smell. When reading the section on using smell to help students learn, my initial reaction was to think no thanks. I pictured a classroom of first graders in chaos, reacting to a smell that was unfamiliar, or that they did not like. But then I thought, if smell could get a reaction that strong, then surely it would create lasting memories for students.
I decided to incorporate the sense of smell into a first grade writing lesson. In my last post I described the frustration teachers were having when student writing was not progressing, and one thing we've been working on is adding adjectives to writing. For the mini lesson, I brought in three plastic yogurt containers (washed) with paper towels that had been soaked in different liquids: lemon juice, white vinegar, and coconut oil. Originally I was going to use coffee, but wanted to choose items that had a similar enough color so students weren't distracted by sight, even though I asked them not to look.
I directed students to smell each container, labeled A, B, and C, and describe what they smelled using adjectives. I gave directions that students were not supposed to say what they thought each container had inside, but just to use descriptive words. (I had to remind them of this request a few times.) Students came up with a great list of adjectives, which we recorded on a three column chart (one column for each container).
Then students were directed to go back to their own narratives, and find places where they could insert adjectives. I had students re-read their work, close their eyes, and try to remember any smells or tastes. Overall, it was a really fun lesson and students definitely got the idea of adjectives. I will definitely keep the sense of smell in mind when planning future lessons.
No comments:
Post a Comment