ESL Holiday Lessons.com: National Sense of Smell Day

THE READING / TAPESCRIPT

National Sense of Smell Day is an annual event sponsored by the Sense of Smell Institute. It is an American holiday that takes place every year on the last Saturday of April. Many different events are organized at children’s museums and science centers across the country. There are usually many hands-on (or nose-on) activities for children to do to learn about the sense of smell. Activities can include finding out about different smells from around the world and remembering the smells from your childhood. The aim of the day is to raise awareness of how important the sense of smell is. We rarely think about how useful it is to be able to smell, and how it helps us survive in our lives.

How important is your sense of smell to you? Most people say it is the least important of our five senses. Humans generally have a poor sense of smell. Dogs have noses that are up to one-hundred-million times more sensitive than ours. However, we can smell thousands of different things, whereas we can only separate taste into five different tastes. Most of us have a normal sense of smell, but some people have problems smelling. People who suffer from anosmia cannot smell at all, while people who have hyperosmia are very, very sensitive to smells. An unusual disorder is dysosmia – things smell differently than they should. Perhaps chocolate smells like gasoline and roses smell like the sea.

Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and assorted sites.

PHRASE MATCH

Match the following phrases from the article.

Paragraph 1

1.	an annual	a.	across the country
2	museums and science centers	b.	is to raise awareness
3.	activities for children to do	c.	able to smell
4.	remembering the smells	d.	event
5.	The aim of the day	e.	from your childhood
6.	how useful it is to be	f.	to learn about the sense

Paragraph 2

1.	the least important	a.	more sensitive
2	Humans generally have a poor	b.	cannot smell at all
3.	one-hundred-million times	c.	sense of smell
4.	some people have	d.	of our five senses
5.	People who suffer from anosmia	e.	than they should
6.	things smell differently	f.	problems smelling

LISTENING GAP FILL

National Sense of Smell Day _____________________ sponsored by the Sense of Smell Institute. It is an American holiday that takes place every _____________________ Saturday of April. Many different events are organized at children’s museums and science centers across the country. There are _____________________ -on (or nose-on) activities for children to do to learn about the sense of smell. Activities can _____________________ about different smells from around the world and remembering the smells from your childhood. The _____________________ raise awareness of how important the sense of smell is. We rarely think about how useful it is to be able to smell, and _____________________ survive in our lives.

How important _____________________ smell to you? Most people say it is the least important of our five senses. Humans generally have a poor sense of smell. Dogs have _____________________ one-hundred-million times more sensitive than ours. However, we can smell thousands of different things, _____________________ separate taste into five different tastes. Most of us have a normal sense of smell, _____________________ problems smelling. People who suffer from anosmia cannot smell at all, while people who have hyperosmia are very, _____________________ smells. An unusual disorder is dysosmia – things smell differently than they should. Perhaps chocolate smells like gasoline and roses _____________________.

WHILE READING / LISTENING GAP FILL

Put the words into the gaps in the text.

National Sense of Smell Day is an annual __________ sponsored by the Sense of Smell Institute. It is an American holiday that takes place every year on the __________ Saturday of April. Many different events are organized at children’s museums and science centers __________ the country. There are usually many __________ -on (or nose-on) activities for children to do to learn about the sense of smell. Activities can include __________ out about different smells from around the world and remembering the smells from your childhood. The __________ of the day is to raise awareness of how important the sense of smell is. We __________ think about how useful it is to be able to smell, and how it helps us __________ in our lives.

across
hands
aim
event
rarely
finding
survive
last

How important is your sense of smell to you? Most people __________ it is the least important of our five senses. Humans __________ have a poor sense of smell. Dogs have noses that are up to one-hundred-million times more __________ than ours. However, we can smell thousands of different things, whereas we can only __________ taste into five different tastes. Most of us have a normal sense of smell, but some people have problems __________. People who suffer from anosmia cannot smell at all, while people who have hyperosmia are very, very sensitive to __________. An unusual __________ is dysosmia – things smell differently than they should. Perhaps chocolate smells like gasoline and roses smell like the __________.

say
smells
separate
sea
sensitive
generally
disorder
smelling

CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD

Delete the wrong word in each of the pairs of italics.

National Sense of Smell Day is an annual evening / event sponsored by the Sense of Smell Institute. It is an American holiday that takes place every year on the last / lasting Saturday of April. Many different events are organized at children’s museums and science centred / centers across the country. There are usually many hand-on / hands-on (or nose-on) activities for children to do for / to learn about the sense of smell. Activities can include finding out about different smells from in / around the world and remembering the smells from your childhood. The aim / aims of the day is to raise awareness of how important the sense of smell is. We rarely think about how useful it is to be able to smell, and how it helps us survival / survive in our lives.

How important is your sense of smell to you? Most people say it is the least / less important of our five senses. Humans generally have a poor / poorly sense of smell. Dogs have noses that are up to one-hundred-million times more sensitive than our / ours. However, we can smell thousands of difference / different things, whereas we can only separate taste into five different tastes. Most of them / us have a normal sense of smell, but some people have problems smelling. People who suffer / sufferer from anosmia cannot smell at all, while people who have hyperosmia are very, very sensitive / sensitivity to smells. An unusual disorder is dysosmia – things smell differently than they / it should. Perhaps chocolate smells like gasoline and roses smell like the sea.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

National Sense of Smell Day is an annual event (1) ____ by the Sense of Smell Institute. It is an American holiday that takes place every year on the (2) ____ Saturday of April. Many different events are organized at children’s museums and science centers across the country. There are (3) ____ many hands-on (or nose-on) activities for children to do to learn about the sense of smell. Activities can (4) ____ finding out about different smells from around the world and remembering the (5) ____ from your childhood. The aim of the day is to raise awareness of how important the sense of smell is. We rarely think about how useful it is to be able to smell, and how it helps us (6) ____ in our lives.

How important is your sense of smell to you? Most people (7) ____ it is the least important of our five senses. Humans generally have a poor sense of smell. Dogs have noses that are (8) ____ to one-hundred-million times more sensitive than ours. However, we can smell thousands of different things, (9) ____ we can only separate taste into five different tastes. Most of us have a normal sense of smell, but some people have problems (10) ____. People who suffer from anosmia cannot smell at all, while people who have hyperosmia are very, very (11) ____ to smells. An unusual disorder is dysosmia – things smell differently than they (12) ____. Perhaps chocolate smells like gasoline and roses smell like the sea.

Put the correct words from this table into the article.

1.	(a)	sponsor	(b)	sponsored	(c)	sponsorship	(d)	sponsors
2.	(a)	lasting	(b)	lasted	(c)	last	(d)	lasts
3.	(a)	usual	(b)	unusual	(c)	unusually	(d)	usually
4.	(a)	inclusive	(b)	including	(c)	included	(d)	include
5.	(a)	smells	(b)	smelly	(c)	smelling	(d)	smelled
6.	(a)	survival	(b)	surviving	(c)	survives	(d)	survive
7.	(a)	tell	(b)	speak	(c)	say	(d)	talk
8.	(a)	down	(b)	up	(c)	across	(d)	over
9.	(a)	wherever	(b)	as	(c)	whereas	(d)	anywhere
10.	(a)	smell	(b)	smelly	(c)	smells	(d)	smelling
11.	(a)	sensitive	(b)	sensitivity	(c)	sensitivities	(d)	senses
12.	(a)	should	(b)	must	(c)	have to	(d)	need to

SPELLING

Spell the jumbled words (from the text) correctly.

Paragraph 1
1.	an nnaaul event
2.	children’s usmemus
3.	gfinnid out about different smells
4.	smells from your ohodcihdl
5.	We aerylr think
6.	it helps us svrueiv
Paragraph 2
7.	saetl important
8.	one-hundred-omliinl times more
9.	a rnlamo sense of smell
10.	People who fuesrf from anosmia
11.	very iseesnvti to smells
12.	smells like isangloe

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	differently than they should. Perhaps chocolate smells like gasoline and roses smell like the sea.
( )	smelling. People who suffer from anosmia cannot smell at all, while people who have hyperosmia are very,
( )	museums and science centers across the country. There are usually many hands-on (or nose-on) activities
( )	different smells from around the world and remembering the smells from your childhood. The aim
( )	very sensitive to smells. An unusual disorder is dysosmia – things smell
( )	How important is your sense of smell to you? Most people say it is the least important of our five senses. Humans
( )	generally have a poor sense of smell. Dogs have noses that are up to one-hundred-million times more
( )	sensitive than ours. However, we can smell thousands of different things, whereas we can only separate
( 1 )	National Sense of Smell Day is an annual event sponsored by the Sense of Smell Institute. It is an American
( )	taste into five different tastes. Most of us have a normal sense of smell, but some people have problems
( )	holiday that takes place every year on the last Saturday of April. Many different events are organized at children’s
( )	for children to do to learn about the sense of smell. Activities can include finding out about
( )	of the day is to raise awareness of how important the sense of smell is. We rarely think about how
( )	useful it is to be able to smell, and how it helps us survive in our lives.

SCRAMBLED SENTENCES

With a partner, put the words back into the correct order.

1.	an year every place takes that holiday American
2.	usually are There nose-on hands-on activities or many
3.	can Activities smells different about out finding include
4.	awareness day The is aim to of raise the
5.	rarely We is it useful how about think
6.	important our senses least of five the
7.	of sense poor a have generally Humans smell
8.	things can thousands different we smell of
9.	we into can five only different separate tastes taste
10.	smell who from cannot People suffer anosmia

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

THE SENSE OF SMELL DAY SURVEY

Write five questions about National Sense of Smell Day in the table. Do this in pairs/groups. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

Without your partner, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Return to your original partner(s) and share and talk about what you found out. Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

WRITING

Write about National Sense of Smell Day for 10 minutes. Show your partner your paper. Correct each other’s work.

______________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about National Sense of Smell Day. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about National Sense of Smell Day. Write about what happens around the world. Include two imaginary interviews with people who did something on this day.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

4. POSTER: Make your own poster about National Sense of Smell Day. Write about what will happen on this day around the world.

ANSWERS

Check your answers in "THE READING / TAPESCRIPT" section at the top of this page.

ESL Holiday Lessons.com English Lesson Plan on National Sense of Smell Day