Worksheets that look at the human senses used to learn about and interact with our environment.

These worksheets serve as an introduction to the concepts of the human senses. We begin by matching the body parts and organs that we use to survey our environment. The worksheets also expand to heightening our language arts skills by using these words in sentences. Students are then encouraged to write about their own experiences. We also have them draw things that they use their own sense through the course of a typical day. You can expand on the sheets that have students draw pictures. I would suggest having them write complete sentences that can expand their level of expression on this. We adjusted this section to allow students to advance into new realms with their use of these words. They were made for younger students that are learning senses for the first time.



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Print Five Senses Worksheets

Click the buttons to print each worksheet and associated answer key.

My Five Worksheet

Where Are My Five Senses?

Cut and paste the sense that is related with each body part that is pointed out.

My Five Worksheet

Match the Five

Draw a line to match the body part to the sense it is related to.

Body Parts Worksheet

What Does That Body Part Do?

Complete the sentences by using the words that are provided. This worksheet focuses on the function of your body parts.

Sense Sentence Worksheet

Sentences That Make Sense

Complete the sentences by writing a word on the blank. This is a complete synthesis activity. A word bank is not provided. You will need to have a good handle on the subject matter.

Sentence Identification Worksheet

Sentence Identification

Match each sentence to the picture that best matches it. You are matching body parts to what is being described.

Which Sense Worksheet

Which Sense?

Look at the picture and circle all the senses you can use to understand the object that is presented in each row. You would be suprised by some of these.

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Which Sense Worksheet

Amusing Senses

If you went to an amusement park, what would you use for each sense? You will explain in a sentence of your own.

My Today Worksheet

My Today

We use many of our sense throughout the day. What did you observe today?

I Can Smell Worksheet

5 Things That I Can Smell

Draw 5 pictures of things that you can smell. Write the word at the bottom of each box.

I Can Taste Worksheet

I Can Taste That!

Draw things that you can taste with your tongue. Students may need some direction here.

Hear That Worksheet

Can You Hear That?

Let the artist in you out! Draw 5 things that you can hear. Write a word that describes your picture at the bottom of the box.

See That Worksheet

You See That?

Name and draw five things that you can see with your eyes.

Touch That Worksheet

Touch That!

Name and draw 5 different things that you can touch with your hand or fingers.

What Are the Five Human Senses?

According to science, humans have five senses connecting us to our environment. However, what are these five senses, and how do they work?

We all have five senses that help us better understand what is around us. We can see things with our eyes. This helps us react to what is around us. We can taste things with our tongue. This can tell us if something we are about to eat is good or bad for us. We can hear things with our ears. This allows us to react to things that we can't see clearly or at all. We can smell things with our nose. This helps us sense danger and react based on the things we smell. We can touch things with our body especially our fingers. This can help us better understand the detail of things. All of these things help us adjust to any change that the world can throw at us. It also helps us understand how to change things that are around us. We will explore the five human senses and which body parts are responsible for each particular sense.

The five human senses are smell, touch, taste, sight, and hearing. We hear, feel, smell, taste, and see things through our senses. The absence of even a single one can completely change our lives, natural responses of the body, and even instincts.

Let's look at the five human senses and discuss how they work together to help us understand the world around us. I'll tell you about each sense and teach you what happens if one of them is missing.

How Do Human Senses Work?

The human senses work through our sensory organs. These organs are a part of our Sensory Nervous System that gather information about our surroundings through special sensory receptors. The neurons then carry this information to the brain as impulses.

After receiving the information, the brain sends signals to our body, generating a response.

Understanding the Five Human Senses

The human senses are pretty complicated since they are how our bodies process information and understand the world around us.

For example, smells can tell us if there's food nearby, and a good whiff of some delicious food can make us feel hungry. Likewise, touch can tell us if something is sharp or too hot to touch, helping us protect our bodies from harm.

Smell

Your sense of smell comes from the olfactory bulb in your nose. This specialized nerve starts from within your nose and is directly connected to your brain, giving you a strong sense of smell.

Airborne molecules captured by the nose stimulate the olfactory bulb and activate your sense of smell. The concentration of the molecules determines how strong or light the scent is.

Touch

The sensory organ for touch is the skin. The receptors in the skin collect information from our external environment. This information reaches the nerves that transmit it to our brain.

The skin has several types of receptors that collect different information. For example:

Thermoreceptors detect temperature.
Nociceptors sense pain.
Mechanoreceptors feel a physical change.

Interestingly, our sense of touch can also generate different reactions or feelings, showing a connection between our sense of touch and emotional communication. A single touch can make you feel warm, happy, uneasy, unpleasant, etc.

Taste

According to Live Science, adults have 2000 to 4000 taste buds. The taste cells in these buds attach to the food molecules and create impulses that reach your brain, which tells you how the food tastes.

Your tongue can detect different tastes - salty, sweet, sour, savory, and bitter.

According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the sides of tongues are more sensitive to taste than the center.

Sight

The sense of sight is your ability to see through your eyes. It is a complex process, so let's simplify it.

Light enters your eyes and passes through the cornea and pupil. It then reaches the lens, which bends the light and focuses it on the retina. The nerve cells in the retina send the impulses to the brain through the optical nerve. This process creates an image.

You cannot send the correct information to the brain without light. That is why our pupils dilate in the dark to receive as much light as possible.

Hearing

The sense of hearing works through our ears. The sound enters through the external ear. It then passes through the auditory canal to reach the eardrum and causes vibrations.

The vibrations travel through the middle ear and its three tiny bones called ossicles. Next, the vibrations reach the inner ear, passing through several structures to enter the Organ of Corti - the hearing organ.

The Organ of Corti contains small hair cells, which turn the vibrations into electrical impulses. These impulses reach the brain through nerves.

Humans can hear sounds ranging from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Your sense of hearing can also protect you from specific hazards. For example, a smoking alarm can tell you about a potential fire.

Can Senses Work Together?

Senses can work together to help us understand what is happening around us. We can touch, taste, smell, feel, and hear simultaneously, giving us a realistic idea of what something is.

Each sensory organ is independent. However, scientists believe that our senses can and do work together. For example, we use at least four senses that respond to food. We see the food, touch the texture, smell the aroma, and then taste it to decide whether we like it.

This interaction between two or more sensory organs is called cross-modal perception.

What Happens if One of Our Senses Fails?

When one of our five senses fails, our body adapts to the loss by relying on the remaining four senses. In some cases, we can develop the ability to control our other senses better to compensate for the loss of one.

For example, losing sight can compel you to use your other senses more. You can tell much about your surroundings through touch, smell, taste, and hearing.

An Interesting Fact - Senses and Our Memory

Do you know your senses can trigger memories? For example, a particular smell can take you down memory lane.

The brain stores your memories in the hippocampus. So, when the smell passes through your hippocampus, it can trigger a memory associated with that smell.

Though losing a sense can change your life significantly, it does not prevent you from living. However, you may have to work harder for your body to adapt to the loss.

Moreover, Your senses can deteriorate with age, but you can keep them sharp for as long as possible through a healthy diet, habits, and special exercises.

Conclusion

The human senses, which are smell, touch, taste, sight, and hearing, help us understand what's happening around us. Our senses can protect us from danger, help us find food, recall memories, and find what we are looking for.