Something smells

Produced by FunKids Radio and the RSC, this short snippet uses Kareena and her superhero friend K-Mistry to introduce children to different senses.

This podcasts can be used as a ’hook’ when introducing the topic to your students, or at the end of a lesson to stimulate discussion about what they have learnt.

If you teach primary science, see the headings below to find out how to use this resource:

Skill development

Children will develop their working scientifically skills by:

• Asking their own questions about scientific phenomena.
• Drawing conclusions and raising further questions that could be investigated, based on their data and observations.
• Using appropriate scientific language and ideas to explain, evaluate and communicate their methods and findings.

Learning outcomes

Children will:

• Identify, name, draw and label the basic parts of the human body and say which part of the body is associated with each sense.

Concepts supported

Children will learn:

This activity could provide a way into exploring the different senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste. After listening to the recording, children could work in groups to use their different senses, particularly their sense of smell, to identify objects and food that they are unable to see. They could explore whether they need just one sense or all of them to discover what the mystery object is. 

Suggested activity use

This activity could provide a way into exploring the different senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste. After listening to the recording, children could work in groups to use their different senses, particularly their sense of smell, to identify objects and food that they are unable to see. They could explore whether they need just one sense or all of them to discover what the mystery object is. 

Practical considerations

You will need a range of different foods and objects for the children to attempt to identify.

You may need blindfolds or scarves to ensure that children are not peeping at the foods or objects.

Please take into account any health and safety considerations, particularly with regards to allergies to different foods.