110 The Five Senses: Supplemental Guide 4C | I Use My Tongue to Taste
Next time you have to taste something you don’t like, try holding your
nose. When you close your nostrils, the odor molecules are blocked
from reaching the smell receptors. Without the extra help from the
sense of smell, you won’t be able to taste things as well.Raise your hand if you had a stuffy nose before. How was your sense
of taste when you had a stuffy nose?When your nose is congested—or filled with mucus—and so your
sense of smell cannot help your sense of taste. If your nose is really
congested, you may not be able to taste anything at all! Show image 5A-5: Variety of foods
Here’s something else—very important!—to remember about taste
and taste buds: just because something doesn’t taste as good as
your favorite food, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it, especially if
it’s healthy for you, like spinach and yogurt.Ask your partner if there is a food s/he is afraid to try. Then tell your
partner, “Try it! You might like it.”[Allow thirty seconds for students to talk.]
Taste buds can be trained to like lots of different tastes. Some tastes
can seem unpleasant at first, but then your taste buds get used to
them, and before you know it, you’ve learned to like those tastes.For your taste buds to get used to different tastes means that you
have tried that taste many times and that taste does not bother you
anymore.Tell me about some foods that you didn’t like when you were younger,
but are used to now.[Call on a few students to answer.]