What is a sensory bin?
A sensory
bin is an approach that appeals to children by presenting them with an
opportunity to explore touch, taste, sight, sounds or smells. Usually, a choice
of filling goes into a clear container and then extra items can be examined
using a variety of tools. Our favourite fillings are rice, lentils, buttons,
marbles, water beads and shredded paper). The extra items can be linked to a
theme you are focusing on, such as conkers if you are learning about autumn or
magnetic letters if you are practising their phonic skills. The possibilities
truly are endless!
How can
you use them?
There are
countless creative ways in which you can use sensory bins. However, we bring
you our current top four.
Special Days
Sensory bins are a superb way of getting your younger students, as well as those with additional needs, involved with ESL activities. This March Sensory Bins pack includes resources linked to St Patrick’s Day. This is a perfect hands-on activity for learning and practising key vocabulary. Simply print and laminate the resources, then hide them in a sensory bin with your favourite filling. One of our all-time favourites is rice, and if you dye it green, it’s even more topical. To do this, put a little rice into a sturdy zip-lock bag and then squeeze in a small amount of green paint. Seal it tightly, then move the rice around and give it a shake. Once it is completely covered, tip it out onto a baking tray and allow it to dry thoroughly. Mixing the rice with some dried split peas and a handful of golden coins along with some plastic cauldrons (get them cheap after Halloween!) can make it even more fun for your class.
1.
Question and answer
If you have
been learning about a particular topic or story, you can challenge children to
find the answer to your questions using sensory bins. This New Testament
Stories pack could be perfect. Simply print off
the picture cards, cut, laminate and cut again, then hide a selection inside
your chosen sensory bin. Ask your students questions such as Who turned
water into wine? The children could then scavenge through the
sensory filling to find the Jesus character. If you wanted to challenge some of
your more competitive pupils, have two sensory bins filled and ready to go at
the same time. Once they have discovered the answer, you could ask them to put
the answer into a full sentence, Jesus turned water into wine, for
example.
2.
Perfect pairings
Salt and
pepper, black and white, Beyoncé and Jay-Z... some things just go together
automatically. You usually think of them in unison without even really having
to do much work. When children learn about traditional fables, it is common for
them to have to work hard to remember which two animals go together, such as
the tortoise and the hare. Using laminated pictures of characters from this Fables pack, you could ask children to find the
characters that go together, such as theLion and the Mouse. Alternatively,
present them with one half of the duo and ask them to find the corresponding
one. To challenge your more able students, give them combinations where there
is more than one possible answer like the Ant and the Grasshopper, and the Ant
and the Dove.
3. Rhyming words
One of the
key early language development skills is rhyming words and playing with
language using rhymes. Choose an engaging topic for the children, such as fairy tales, and create a sensory bin around
it. Give children a word, such as head, and the students should delve
into the bin to find a rhyming word, like bed. With a bit of practice,
children will enjoy playing this game independently with a peer.
4.
Storytelling
This is one
of my absolute favourite activities. You have to be able to think on the spot
(I think most of us teachers have that ability!) and work with whatever
happens. Add a whole selection of small world figures to the sensory bin with
people, animals and maybe a few other props included. Start by telling a
generic story such as One day, I was walking along the road when suddenly...
Ask a child to delve into the sensory bin and pull out one of the additions.
Weave that into the story a giant purple pig stepped out in front of me and
demanded that I hand over my wallet. Next, pass the sensory bin to another
child (or if working one to one, ask them to choose another item at random) and
ask them to select an item. Incorporate that into your story too luckily, as
I was searching through my rucksack, I found a banana. I peeled it, then threw
the skin at the pig who slipped over. I managed to escape. Of course, the
more English your students know, the more prominent role they can play in this.
Encouraging them to use their imagination and create their own story, even if
they only use English nouns, is such a fun way of encouraging speaking in the
target language.
Engage your ESL/EFL students with this fun and hands-on sensory bin activity. Your students will love searching for the target vocabulary cards. A great way to learn and review vocabulary and practice using the words in context. Students can search for a specific item or they can find a card and provide the name.
Easily differentiate the activity to meet the needs of your students. Some students may need to work on single words and vocabulary recall, while other students might be ready to use the new vocabulary in sentences. These vocabulary picture cards make it so easy to meet each student where they are.
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