Science · Year 2 · Our Senses and Body · Term 4

Caring for Our Skin, Nose, and Tongue

Students will learn about ways to protect their skin, nose, and tongue and maintain good hygiene.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9S2U01
• AC9S2H01

About This Topic

Students investigate practical strategies to protect their skin, nose, and tongue, ensuring the senses of touch, smell, and taste function effectively. They discover that regular hand washing removes dirt and germs, preventing infections that impair touch sensitivity and overall health. Sunscreen, hats, and shade keep skin safe from harmful UV rays, much like sunglasses protect eyes. Brushing teeth twice daily clears plaque and bacteria from the tongue, sharpening taste perception and reducing decay risks.

This content connects to the Australian Curriculum through AC9S2U01, where students observe how external factors affect body parts, and AC9S2H01, emphasizing hygiene for wellbeing. It fosters early understanding of prevention, links senses to daily actions, and introduces cause-and-effect reasoning essential for science.

Active learning shines here because concepts are personal and immediate. When students experiment with visible 'germs' under UV light or role-play protection scenarios, they internalize habits through direct experience. Collaborative hygiene challenges build peer accountability, making abstract health rules concrete and memorable.

Key Questions

1. Explain how washing hands protects our sense of touch and overall health.
2. Compare how protecting our skin from the sun is similar to protecting our eyes.
3. Analyze the importance of brushing our teeth for our sense of taste.

Learning Objectives

• Explain how washing hands removes germs to protect the sense of touch and overall health.
• Compare methods of protecting skin from the sun with methods of protecting eyes from bright light.
• Analyze the importance of brushing teeth for maintaining a healthy tongue and sense of taste.
• Identify specific actions that keep skin, nose, and tongue clean and healthy.

Before You Start

Parts of the Body and Their Functions

Why: Students need a basic understanding of what skin, nose, and tongue are and what they do before learning how to care for them.

Introduction to Health and Safety

Why: Students should have a foundational awareness of staying safe and healthy before exploring specific hygiene practices.

Key Vocabulary

germs	Tiny living things, too small to see, that can make us sick if they get into our bodies.
hygiene	Practices like washing hands and brushing teeth that keep our bodies clean and help prevent illness.
sunscreen	A lotion or spray applied to the skin to protect it from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.
plaque	A sticky film of bacteria that forms on teeth and can cause tooth decay if not brushed away.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Sun protection is only needed on hot days.

What to Teach Instead

Skin damage occurs from UV rays on cloudy days too. Role-plays showing burns on cool days help students test assumptions. Group discussions reveal patterns in protection needs year-round.

Common Misconception

Brushing teeth is just for pretty smiles, not taste.

What to Teach Instead

Bacteria dull taste buds over time. Taste tests before and after cleaning demonstrate sharper senses. Peer sharing of results corrects this, linking hygiene to sensation.

Common Misconception

Germs on hands do not affect nose or tongue.

What to Teach Instead

Touch transfers germs to face, causing issues. Glitter germ demos trace spread. Hands-on tracking shows washing prevents chain reactions, building hygiene chains.

Active Learning Ideas

Stations Rotation: Hygiene Heroes

Create three stations: hand washing with soap timers and glitter germs, sunscreen application on paper skin models, and tooth brushing with oversized models and floss. Groups rotate every 10 minutes, drawing before-and-after pictures. Discuss findings as a class.

45 min·Small Groups

Role-Play: Sun Smart Challenge

Divide class into pairs to act out sun exposure scenarios: one applies protection, the other does not, using props like hats and lotion. Switch roles and vote on safest choices. Chart class preferences.

30 min·Pairs

Taste Test Experiment

Students brush teeth models then taste strong flavors like lemon on crackers before and after simulated plaque (yogurt). Record taste intensity on scales. Share how clean tongues detect better.

25 min·Pairs

Nose Sense Sort

Provide safe scents in jars; students sniff through clean vs. dusty cloths, sorting by intensity. Clean noses with tissues between trials. Graph results to compare.

35 min·Small Groups

Real-World Connections

• Doctors and nurses regularly wash their hands between seeing patients to stop the spread of germs, protecting themselves and others.
• Lifeguards at swimming pools and beaches advise swimmers to wear sunscreen and hats to prevent sunburn, similar to how optometrists recommend sunglasses for eye protection.
• Dentists teach children how to brush their teeth properly to remove plaque, which is essential for keeping their sense of taste sharp and their teeth healthy.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Ask students to draw a picture showing one way to protect their skin, nose, or tongue. Have them label their drawing and explain their choice to a partner.

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'Why is it important to wash your hands before eating?' Guide students to connect hand washing with removing germs that could affect their sense of taste or make them sick.

Exit Ticket

Provide students with a slip of paper and ask them to write down two things they learned about keeping their skin, nose, or tongue healthy. Collect these to gauge understanding of key hygiene practices.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you teach Year 2 students about skin protection from the sun?

Use visual aids like UV beads that change color in sunlight to show invisible rays. Compare skin to fabric fading. Hands-on lotion application races reinforce habits, with class pledges for daily use. Link to eye protection for relatable connections, meeting AC9S2H01.

What activities build hygiene habits for nose and tongue?

Incorporate scent jars for nose hygiene demos, showing how dust blocks smells, and flavored taste strips post-brushing to highlight tongue care. Group challenges track daily routines via charts. These tie senses to actions, promoting AC9S2U01 observations.

How can active learning help students understand body care for senses?

Active methods like glitter germ hunts and role-plays make hygiene visible and fun, turning rules into discoveries. Students experiment with soap's germ-lifting power or UV paper fading, retaining concepts 70% better than lectures. Peer teaching in groups strengthens application to skin, nose, and tongue.

Why link hand washing to sense of touch in Year 2 science?

Infections from dirty hands reduce skin sensitivity. Glow-in-dark powder demos under blacklight trace germ paths. Students wash and recheck, graphing clean results. This builds causal links per curriculum, fostering health inquiry skills.