Click the photo above to see a preview of the program and have the option to download the program for free. I recommend using Power Point to run the program.
I created this interactive program to be used when teaching students the K.2 Virginia SOL. "The student will investigate and understand that humans have senses that allow them to seek, find, take in, and react or respond to information in order to learn about their surroundings.
Key concepts include:
a) the five senses and corresponding sensing organs; and
b) sensory descriptors used to describe common objects and phenomena."
"The Five Senses" Smart Board program is meant to allow and encourage Kindergarten students to actively conceptualize the connection between human body parts and the senses they are associated with, as well as applying that knowledge. To provide scaffolding, I incorporated learning aids to assist students that may need extra help. Students that may struggle with reading can click on the sense word to have it read to them. In addition, students can click on the question mark icon, available through out the game, for extra assistance. These instructions can even help if the student is struggling with the technology, for example, if they are not sure what to click on to proceed. Learning to use a help tool in software is one of the basic skills that someone needs to be computer literate. And, it is my belief that allowing students the tools to find information and figure things out for themselves is beneficial and empowering. It fosters independence. It also makes the game more personalized, as not every student will need extra assistance. Students can access only the aid that they need. Others may choose to challenge themselves and complete the task without any assistance.
I envision the game being utilized during a lesson plan that incorporates Station Rotation. Each child could take a turn using the touch screen of the Smart Board, going through the identification of the five senses, or they could work in pairs. For each sense, the student must identify the word displayed (the sense) and then identify the corresponding body part by clicking on it. This will assist the student in both mastering the SOL as well teaching literacy skills. All this could be done in between other learning activities.
***Note: Make sure to put the PowerPoint in presenter mode to access all function on the Smartboard.