1. Senses
A Science A–Z Life Series
Word Count: 269
Senses
Written by Katie Knight
Visit www.sciencea-z.com www.sciencea-z.com

2. Senses
KEY ELEMENTS USED IN THIS BOOK
The Big Idea: All animals have senses. Some have a very acute sense
of vision, hearing, or smell. But what makes humans unique as a
species is our ability to make informed, intelligent decisions based
upon the information we gather through our senses. We also react
emotionally to sensations, such as a pleasant smell, a bothersome
noise, or a soothing sound. It is important for students to appreciate
and protect their senses, so they can learn from the world around
them and have a lifetime full of rich experiences.
Key words: brain, ears, eyes, feel, hear, hearing, information, learn, mouth,
nose, see, senses, sight, skin, smell, taste, tongue, touch
Key comprehension skill: Cause and effect
Other suitable comprehension skills: Main idea and details; classify information;
identify facts; compare and contrast; elements of a genre
Key reading strategy: Summarize
Other suitable reading strategies: Ask and answer questions; connect to prior
knowledge; visualize
Photo Credits:
Front cover (top), page 4 (top): © Royalty-free/Vladmir Mucibabic/iStockphoto; Front cover (left),
page 4 (bottom left): © Royalty-free/Tom Young/iStockphoto; Front cover (bottom), page 4 (bottom
right): © Royalty-free/Elena Elisseeva/iStockphoto; Back cover (top left), page 5 (top left): © Royalty-
free/Duncan Walker/iStockphoto; Back cover (top right), page 5 (top right): © Royalty-free/Bobbieo/
iStockphoto; Back cover (middle left), page 5 (bottom right): © Royalty-free/Anne Kreutzer-Eichorn/
iStockphoto; Back cover (middle right), page 5 (middle left): © Royalty-free/Thomas Perkins/
iStockphoto; Back cover (bottom right), page 5 (bottom left): © Royalty-free/Eileen Hart/iStockphoto;
Title page (top): © Royalty-free/Anneke Schram/iStockphoto; Title page (middle left): © Royalty-free/
Bonnie Jacobs/iStockphoto; Title page (bottom right): © Royalty-free/Paul Kline/iStockphoto; page
3: © Royalty-free/John Young/iStockphoto; page 6 (top left, top right), page 7 (top right), page 14
(top left): © Royalty-free/Christine Balderas/iStockphoto; page 6 (bottom left): © Royalty-free/Jason
Lugo/iStockphoto; page 6 (bottom right): © Royalty-free/Elena Aliaga/iStockphoto; page 7 (top left):
© Royalty-free/John Rodriguez/iStockphoto; page 7 (bottom left): © Royalty-free/Simon Askham/
iStockphoto; page 7 (bottom): © Royalty-free/Eric Isselee/iStockphoto; page 8 (top): © Royalty-free/
Lev Dolgatshjov/iStockphoto; page 8 (bottom): © Royalty-free/Gene Chutka/iStockphoto; page 9
(top left): © Royalty-free/Pathathai Chungyam/iStockphoto; page 9 (top right): © Royalty-free/Carlos
Santa Maria/iStockphoto; page 9 (bottom left): © Royalty-free/Anneke Schram/iStockphoto; page
9 (bottom left): © Royalty-free/Yali Shi/BigStockphoto; page 10 (top): © Royalty-free/Marmion/
iStockphoto; page 10 (bottom left): © Royalty-free/Ryan Tacay/BigStockphoto; page 10 (bottom
right): © Royalty-free/Tomasz Tulik/iStockphoto; page 11: © Royalty-free/Mik111/iStockphoto;
page 12 (top): © Royalty-free/Geo Martinez/BigStockphoto; page 12 (bottom): © Royalty-free/
Bjorn Heller/iStockphoto; page 13 (top): © Royalty-free/Cristina Fumi/iStockphoto; page 13 (left):
© Royalty-free/Edyta Linek/iStockphoto; page 13 (bottom): © Royalty-free/En Tien Ou/iStockphoto;
page 14 (middle right): © Royalty-free/Kate Tero/iStockphoto; page 14 (bottom): © Royalty-free/
Diane Diederich/iStockphoto; page 15 (top): © Royalty-free/Carole Gomez/iStockphoto; page 15
(bottom): © Royalty-free/Geoff Kuchera/iStockphoto; page 16: © Royalty-free/Bonnie Jacobs/
iStockphoto
Illustration Credits:
Written by Katie Knight Page 14 (top right): Cende Hill
Senses
© Learning A–Z, Inc.
Written by Katie Knight
www.sciencea-z.com
All rights reserved.
www.sciencea-z.com

3. You use your senses.
Your senses give you
information.
They tell you where you are.
Do you see the barn? Hearing
Do you hear the cows
mooing?
Do you smell the grass?
How can you tell you are
on a farm? Touch Smell
3 4

4. Eyes You see with your eyes.
see.
Your eyes and your brain
work together.
Noses They tell you what you see.
Ears hear.
smell.
Red
Tongues taste. Hands feel.
Green
You have five senses.
They are sight, hearing,
touch, taste, and smell. Blue
They work together to
gather information. Yellow
5 6

5. Your ears hear sound.
Your ears and your brain
work together.
They tell you what you hear.
Busy street
Red ball
You see tall trees
Tall tree with
and short dogs. green leaves
You see red balls
and green leaves.
Your eyes and
brain tell you Short-legged dog
when a street is
Your ear hears sound, even through a
too busy to cross. tin-can telephone.
7 8

6. You touch things with your skin.
Your skin and your brain work
together.
Loud They tell you how things feel.
Soft
High Low
You hear loud trucks. Soft
You hear soft whispers.
You hear high whistles and
low drums. Hard Cold
9 10

7. You taste with your tongue.
Your tongue
and your brain
work together.
They tell
you how
things taste.
Bitter
Hot
You feel a hot fire.
You learn not to touch.
You feel a soft blanket.
You learn it feels good
to touch. Salty
11 12

8. How do you smell things?
You smell with your nose.
Your nose and your brain
work together.
Sweet
Nose and brain smell.
Sour
Chips are salty. Popcorn
Lemons are sour. Perfume
Medicine is bitter.
Luckily, bananas are sweet! Fresh pie
13 14

9. Good smells Our senses are important.
make us want
The five senses work with
to get closer.
the brain.
A flower
They help us understand
smells good.
the world around us.
Flowers
Bad smells make smell good.
us want to get away.
You walk away from skunks.
Skunks smell bad.
Which senses are these students using?
15 16