KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAM

Teacher Candidate: Morgan & Tatiana Date:

Cooperating Teacher: Coop. Initials

Group Size: Allotted Time 50 minutes Grade Level 3rd Grade

Subject or Topic: Smell Section

STANDARD: (PA Common Core):

3.1.3.A9. - Use simple equipment (tools and other technologies) to gather data and
understand that this allows scientists to collect more information than relying only on
their senses to gather information.

3.1.3.A9. - Use data/evidence to construct explanations and understand that scientists

develop explanations based on their evidence and compare them with their current
scientific knowledge

I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes)

A. The third grade students will be able to classify the different smells using their
nose and log their predictions and recordings in their science notebooks.

II. Instructional Materials

A. YouTube “Smell” Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzOSzX_HXE4
B. Small paper cups (20)
C. Honey
D. Garlic
E. Soap
F. Lemons
G. Bananas
H. Pine needles
I. Coffee
J. Dirt
K. Mint
L. Vinegar
M. Marker *to label cups by number
N. Book: You Can’t Taste a Pickle With Your Ear by Harriet Ziefert, Chapter 4
“Smell”
 O. RAN Chart

III. Subject Matter/ Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, New Content)
A. Prerequisite Skills
a. Smell with their nose
b. There are many smells to many things in the world, living and non living
c. Good scientists use the five senses to observe and classify things in the
world.
B. Key Vocabulary: (Descriptive Words)
a. Pleasant- giving a sense of happy satisfaction or enjoyment
b. Unpleasant-causing discomfort, unhappiness, or revulsion, disagreeable
c. Sweet-pleasing, delightful, having the characteristic of sugar; not salty,
sour, or bitter
d. Powerful-having great power or strength
e. Reek- smell badly and offensively
f. Aroma-any property detected by the sense of smell
g. Scent- odor by which a person or animal can be traced
h. Odor- a distinctive smell, especially an unpleasant one
i. Stink- smell badly
C. Big Idea- Smelly Cups
D. New Content
a. To identify smells, you breathe or sniff the air to move it past smell
detectors in the upper part of your nose
b. Smells can trigger a memory
c. Smells can cause an emotional reaction
d. Smells can signal danger
A. Fire/Smoke
B. Chemical

IV. Implementation

A. Introduction –
1. Review with the students that they smell with their noses; ask them “Can
you think of one of your favorite smells right now?” Ask the students to
tell their table that their favorite smells is, Raise hands and share some
answers. Asking why? Remind the students that good scientists use their
senses to observe things in the world.
2. Hand out the RAN Chart and have the students complete the first row of
the chart “What I Think I Know”
3. Tell the students that are noses are more “powerful” they we know, Start
the YouTube video on “Smells and our noses”
4. Discuss the connections to today’s topic of the nose and our sense of
 smell.
5. Ask students to discuss how they think our nose detects different smells,
discuss the answer in a whole group and record our findings and
descriptive words that pop up on the board.
6. Tell the student that today they will be able to do what good scientist do
and use their observation skills to classify smells without using their
sense of sight.

B. Development –
1. Place all of the vocabulary words for the sense of smell up on the board.
Divide up the vocabulary terms between groups of students and have
them write down their thoughts of the specific word in their science
notebooks.
2. Go over as a whole class the definitions of the vocabulary terms and
allow time of the students to write them down/correct their thoughts into
their notebooks.
3. Talk and categorize if each word is “good” or “bad”/ “pleasant” or
“unpleasant”
4. Tell the children that next we will be completing a fun activity that
involves your scientific minds and memory to categorize and classify
smells using only your sense of smell.
5. Review the rules for working with our next activity:
a. There will be 2 stations set up with 10 cups each labeled (1-10).
b. You must not lift the foil that covers each of the cups.
c. You are to pick up a cup, smell where the holes are poked and
classify the smells in each of the 10 cups.
d. You can classify them how you would like, good or bad/ pleasant
or unpleasant/ by trying to name exactly what could be in the cup/
etc.
6. Give time for each student to write down and smell the 10 cups and make
their predictions and classifications of what could be in the cup and
complete their ideas and thought in their science notebooks. (20 minutes)
Monitor students to make sure they are not lifting at the foil.
7. At this time, allow the students after their smelling to sit down at their
desks and finish writing down their thoughts, while you ,the teacher, go
to the front of the room and place each object that is in the cups (honey,
garlic, soap, lemon, banana, pine needles, coffee, dirt, mint, vinegar) on
the front desk where everyone can see them.
8. Tell the students on the count of 5 to stop what they are doing/ pencils
down, we will be discussing what they explored using their sense of
smell and categorize them.
9. Lead the students to see that their sense of smell allowed them to figure
out what some of the items in the cup were because they were familiar
 and they were a memory.
10. At this time, go over each individual smell (cups 1-10) and ask “what
kind of descriptive words would you use for cup #1?” then ask “does
anyone know what could be in cup#1” and learn their classifications and
predictions made. Repeat this through all 10 cups.
11. Then show the students the 10 items that have a certain smells on the
front desk and go over each of the items, ask the students as a group to
classify each numbered cup to go with one item on the front desk (Ex:
Cup #4 is the banana, Cup #6 is the garlic)
12. Once every student has completed this prediction, go over the answers as
a class.
a. Cup #1- Honey
b. Cup #2- Garlic
c. Cup #3- Soap
d. Cup #4- Lemon
e. Cup #5-Banana
f. Cup #6-Pine Needles
g. Cup #7-Coffee
h. Cup #8-Dirt
i. Cup #9-Mint
j. Cup #10-Vinegar
13. Next, have the students complete the rest of the RAN chart at their seats.
Monitor students by asking each group to share their thoughts. Ask the
group what they may have had misconceptions on.

C. Closure –
1. Review what has been learned about he sense of smell today and about
our noses.
2. Ask the students if they can tell me a memory that they remember from
one of the specific smells they smelled today.
3. Have the students then answer the questions on the board about their
sense of smell, and our activity we completed today in their science
notebooks
4. Assignment- have students write down five different big descriptive
words they smelled with today’s items in the cups and name three of their
most favorite smells in the world in their journals. Then have them create
a chart in their science notebooks with each of the items used today and
chart them on a smell graph from best smell to worse smell.

D. Accommodations / Differentiation -
1. For the classifying of smells instead of writing down their thoughts and
predictions about what they smelled, they can draw pictures of their
 ideas of what could be in the cup.

E. Assessment/Evaluation plan
1. Formative
- Students’ science notebooks will be completed to demonstrate an
understanding of the different vocabulary words for smell. An
observation checklist will be used to document learning.
- Students will demonstrate what good scientist can do to classify
uniquely different smells by answering the questions on the board
into their science notebook based on the simulated activity
completed with the smelly cups.

V. Reflective Response

A. Report of Students’ Performance in Terms of States Objectives (Reflection on

students performance written after lesson is taught, includes remediation for
students who failed to meet acceptable level of achievement)

B. Personal Reflection(Question written before lesson is taught.)(Reflective

answers to questions recorded after lesson is taught.)

Please note:
 Do not try to fit your lesson plan into the spaces on this format sheet. Scan this
form or retype it. Adjust the spacing to match the needs of your individual
lessons.
 After the cooperating teacher has approved and initialed the plan, any
recommendations or revisions should remain on the plan.

VI. Resources (APA Format)

 Ardley, N. (1992). The Science Book of the Senses. Florida: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich
 YouTube Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzOSzX_HXE4
 Ziefernt, H. (2002). You Can’t Taste a Pickle With Your Ear. Maplewood, NJ.
Blue Apple Books
RAN Chart