Textures Are Everywhere Author: Sharon Janulaw

Overview: Students take a walk outside and use the sense of touch to discover textures in their world. They record their observations and compare their observations with those of their classmates.

Lesson Concepts:

• We learn about the natural world using our senses and extensions of our senses.

Grade Span: K–2

Materials:

• Clipboard with paper for each student
• Container with pencil and crayons for students

Advance Preparation:

— Put paper on clipboards.
— Prepare containers with pencils and crayons.
— Select the area in which you will take the texture walk.

Time: 30 minutes

Grouping: Whole class

Teacher Background:

The sense of touch provides much information. It can tell us about temperature and texture. The degree of sensitivity to touch depends on the number of nerve endings at a particular location of the body. The fingertips, the lips, and the tip of the tongue are three of the most touch-sensitive areas of the body. The limbs and the back are the least sensitive.

Explore this link for additional information on the topics covered in this lesson:

• Nature of Science

Teaching Tips:

Make sure your students understand and agree to follow guidelines for expected behavior on the texture walk.

Vocabulary: texture

Procedure:

1. Talk about the sense of touch. Ask students what they know about the sense of touch. What do fingers help us do? Talk about words such as bumpy, smooth, hard, soft, etc. that describe what objects feel like. Have students touch an object that is near them and decide on a word that describes the texture of the object. Have each person tell what they felt and use a descriptive word to tell about it.
2. Talk about rules. Tell them they will go on a Texture Walk outside. They will have a clipboard on which to record what they feel. Explain that they can draw the object they feel and write the name of the object on their clipboard. They can also write what it felt like.
3. Give each student a clipboard with paper and a container with pencil and crayons. Have each student draw or trace their hand at the top of the paper and write the words, “I Feel...”
4. Take students outside. Tell them you will walk and stop a few times. Each time you stop, they will select one item to touch. When they have decided what they want to touch, they can feel it, draw it, and write its name. They can write a word that describes how the object feels to their touch.
5. After they have had the opportunity to draw several objects that they observed through their sense of touch, have them share by standing in a circle. They will each have a turn to tell one thing they felt and the word that describes its feel or texture.
6. Return to the classroom and make a list of items that were felt. Have students help you spell the names of objects as you record. Discuss similarities and differences in what was observed through the sense of touch. Have them share what they discovered that they had not noticed before.

Extensions:

Place a variety of objects on a table. Give students time to touch them and talk about them. Have students follow directions such as “Touch something hard. Touch something bumpy. Touch something smooth.” Students can follow your directions or can take turns giving each other directions.