Grade 3 · Unit 4: Our five senses

Hearing and touch

Your ears and skin send messages to your brain.

Five senses

We have five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. Each sense uses a sense organ: eyes, ears, skin, tongue and nose. Sense organs send messages along nerves to your brain.

Your brain puts all the messages together. When you eat a hot samosa, you see it, smell it, feel it and taste it – all at once!

How we hear

Sounds are made when things vibrate. The vibrations travel through the air into your ear. They make your eardrum shake, and your brain hears a sound.

The shape of your outer ear helps to collect sounds. Some animals, like rabbits and foxes, can turn their ears to listen in different directions.

Touch

Your skin is your biggest sense organ. It feels hot and cold, rough and smooth, soft and hard, and pain. Your fingertips are very sensitive. Blind people can read Braille with them.

Feeling pain is useful. It warns you to pull your hand away from something hot or sharp before it hurts you badly.

Looking after ears and skin

Very loud sounds can damage your hearing for ever. Keep music at a safe volume and cover your ears near loud noises. Protect your skin from strong sun with shade, a hat and clothes.

What I learnt

• I can name the five senses and their sense organs.
• I know how sound reaches my brain.
• I know how to protect my ears and skin.