The five senses study is one of my favorite studies to do with children. Learning about our senses allows children to explore and learn in meaningful ways. Since children are naturally curious, this is the perfect study for them. For our 5 senses circle time, I use discussion questions to ensure children are getting the most out of learning. They help to engage them in analytical discussions and build their critical thinking skills. All while having fun.
You are going to love these discussion questions. They are great for using at your five senses circle time, during small group learning, and randomly throughout the play based learning day. The pictures are real pictures that are colorful. The questions are developmentally appropriate and introduce new vocabulary words.
5 Senses Circle Time
Circle time is a great way to start every day. It gets children excited about what they are learning. For every study you do, I recommend starting with a song, vocabulary cards, and a story. This really sets the day up for a great day of learning.
If you’re not sure what to teach during circle time, my Five Senses Study has everything you need. It has detailed lesson plans for each day that include a song, vocab cards, and a book list. You can check it out here.
How to Use the Discussion Questions
After you introduce the sense that you’re learning about, hold up one of the picture cards. Ask the discussion questions on the back of the card. There are 10 pictures cards with discussion questions total, 2 per sense.
The questions on these cards are suggestions. As children answer your questions, the discussion will naturally progress to other questions you can ask. It’s fun to see their imagination soar and how engaged they get answering you. They’ll work on their critical thinking skills as they come up with answers, for example, “What does a hedgehog feel like?” or “What do lions eat?”
Download the 5 Senses Circle Time Discussion Questions PDF here.
Teacher Tips:
Keep the learning going by doing some additional activities with these picture cards.
- Make an anchor chart as children answer your questions. For the question about what lions eat, have one list of what they eat and one list of what they don’t eat.
- Write a journal entry about the picture card. What does it make you think of? What senses do you use? For flowers, we can use our sense of sight, touch, and smell.
- Hang the pictures around the room so children can look at them throughout the day and talk about them further.
