Goals:

The students will have a better understanding of sensory remote sensing through several activities they will take part in.

As a final project, the students will develop a sensory map of their classroom using their senses.

Materials:

paper (butcher or large white sheets)

markers

pencils

rulers

rags (6-10) doused in different familiar scents

Time:

This lesson should take four hours.

Procedures:

1.  Write the term sensory remote sensing on the board.

2.  Ask the students to guess what the definition of the term is.

3.  Give the students the definition. (A technique used to gather information about an object or an area without actually touching it.)

4.  Ask the students the following question:
 

Question: What could you use to find an object without touching it?
Answer: your senses (eyes, ears, skin)
 
5.  The students will give examples of remote sensing that occur in their everyday lives (i.e. taking a picture, feeling heat from a fire, smelling perfume, etc.).

6.  Have several different rags doused in familiar scents available for students to smell.

7.  Place the rags in different places around the room. You may want to make a map to remember where each rag is.

8.  Divide the class into groups of 3-4 students.

9.  The students must create a map of the classroom including desks, windows, exits, and any other important areas in the classroom.

10.  Give the students a list of the scents they must find. However, they must locate the scents by remote sensing. (smell)

11.  When the students locate a scent, they must record the location by placing an X on their map. They may create a key of some type to represent each of the individual scents.

12.  Have a small discussion about each groups findings.

13.  Ask the students to find cold/hot places in the classroom by using remote sensing.

14.  Allow the students to use the same map as they did for scent to locate hot/cold areas. You may want to set up some prior to the activity.

15.  The students will locate areas labeling H for hot and C for cold.

16.  Explain that a satellite detects temperature and uses black, white, and shades of gray to represent the information it receives. We ourselves can not visually see the difference between hot/cold but we use our senses to aid in this.

17.  As a final project, the students will create a map of their home by using the same procedures that occurred in the classroom.

18.  Discuss how the Titanic was found and how the crew did/did not use their senses in the sinking of the Titanic.

Assessment:

The students will be assessed through their participation and peer-evaluation form they are required to fill out.

The Titanic - developed by Kelly Coleman, Nikki Cosgrove, Megan Mills, & Dorothy Weber

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