Collage & The Five Senses

Robert Moton Charter School, Kindergarten
ELA & Visual Art

At one time or another, you likely learned about the five senses. I had the pleasure of working with Mrs. Smith and her Kindergarten class to review and better understand their sense of touch. This lesson was very successful, and the foundation was relatively intuitive, but not without some trial and error.

Originally I had planned to have the students make five different collages, one for each sense, all with different textured materials. However, the day before class, I took the time to try the activity with a friend. After creating our masterpieces, we both agreed it would be more efficient for the students to simply trace their own hand and make a single collage in the shape of their hand rather than five separate collages in the shape of each sense. So later that night, I cut some fabric into small bits (enough for everyone in the class to have some), and I made sure I had several other textured materials i.e., sandpaper, aluminum foil, and construction paper.

The next day I brought my example with me and my pre-portioned materials. This particular day/class was extra exciting because my KID smART liaison (Sam King) was coming to observe the class, and it was a joy to have her there! We passed out materials, each student chose a color of construction paper that they liked, and we got to work collaging! While collaging, we reminded the students to touch and feel each material and make a note of the different textures. The collages turned out excellent, and everyone in the class had a great time!