Web Page: What Are Your Senses?
Web Page: Sensory Detail and Figurative Language
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Asking Sensory Questions
Our senses help us take in the world. Asking sensory questions will help you to fully experience the people, places, and things around you.
What am I sensing?
Ask sensory questions to heighten your awareness of your surroundings, enliven your experiences, and mark your memories. Use descriptive words to record scenes in a sensory chart.
Sensory Chart
What do I . . .
See? | North Michigan Ave., city landscape, stoplight stuck on red, blinking red hand, bustling black coats, block of skyscrapers, yellow fire hydrant, cars, buses, line of sparse green trees, hazy gray sky |
Hear? | low rumble of engines, cars honking, shoe soles shushing, whistle of the wind, hushed conversations, crinkle of shopping bags |
Smell? | exhaust, fresh pretzels, approaching rain |
Taste? | grilled flatbread veggie sandwich, mustard |
Touch? | chilly lamppost, rough pavement, steel bench, cool breeze, crinkly paper sandwich wrapper |
Using Sensory Questions with Projects
Asking and answering sensory questions can provide you with a wealth of information about school projects, as shown below.
Assignment: Write a lab report for a chemistry experiment.
Possible sensory questions: How can I describe what I am observing? What changes do I see over time? In color? In sound? In texture? Do I notice a specific odor? What does it smell like? Does it get stronger or weaker at any point?Project: Design a scale model.
Possible sensory questions: What specific parts do I see? What details stick out? What color are they? How does the object feel? Smooth? Rough? What materials will replicate the textures?Project: Produce a digital story.
Possible sensory questions: What do I want my viewer to see? Should the pictures be in color or black and white? Bright or dark? How can I use sound to convey emotion? Should I use background music?