122 The Five Senses: Supplemental Guide 5A | I Use My Skin to Touch
Show image 6A-3: Nerves diagram
You r skin is able to feel because it contains nerves. Say the word
nerves with me.Nerves are like tiny wires running through your whole body that carry
messages to your brain.[Point to the nerves running through the body and to the brain in the picture.]
If you get too close to a fire, the nerves send a message to the brain
that something feels hot. If you make a snowball without wearing
gloves, the nerves send a message saying that something feels cold.Some parts of your body have more nerves. We say those parts are
more sensitive. Your fingertips are very, very sensitive, which makes
them especially good for feeling things.[Point to the fingertips in the picture.]
Show image 6A-4: Foot being tickled with feather
If you have any ticklish spots, like the bottoms of your feet, those are
also examples of sensitive areas that have a lot of nerves.[Ask students if they are ticklish on particular parts of their body. Repeat their
answers using the word sensitive, like, “Oh, so are you sensitive under your
arms!”]
Show image 6A-5: Textures
You can use your sense of touch to feel the texture of things. Say the
word texture with me. Texture is the way objects feel when you touch
them. To describe texture, we use words like soft and hard, wet and
dry, or smooth, bumpy, and rough. For example, carpet is soft.[Point to the carpet in the picture.]
Say soft with me.[Point to the glass jar.]
This glass jar is smooth.Say smooth with me.[Point to the red leather.]
This red leather is bumpy.