Hey, teachers! Try out these engaging sensory activities incorporating sight, taste, touch, sound and smell to help your students focus, self-regulate, and strengthen sensory skills.

<h2>Engaging Sensory Activities and Strategies to Use With Your Students</h2><p>Typically, occupational therapists use sensory integration therapy (SIT) to help students with sensory processing difficulties. However, <strong>teachers</strong> can also incorporate similar strategies into the classroom to help students <strong>focus, self-regulate, and strengthen sensory skills</strong>.</p><p><strong>Note:</strong> Teachers of students diagnosed with sensory processing disorders must follow the accommodations and strategies outlined in students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). To read more about sensory processing disorders and the occupational therapists’ role, visit <a href="https://www.aota.org/~/media/Corporate/Files/AboutOT/Professionals/WhatIsOT/PA/Facts/SI-and-Adults-Fact-Sheet.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AOTA’s Sensory Integration Fact Sheet</a>. The activities listed here are intended to serve as strategies for teachers to help <strong>all students</strong> strengthen their sensory skills and cope with sensory challenges.</p><h2>About Sensory Processing</h2><p>Generally, individuals who struggle with sensory processing are either over- or under-responsive to stimuli or a combination of both. They may also crave stimuli or have trouble with posture, motor skills or sensory discrimination. Sensory issues can be auditory (hearing), gustatory (taste), olfactory (smell), tactile (touch), visual (sight), vestibular (balance/gravity), proprioceptive (muscles/joints) or interoceptive (internal organs) (<a href="https://sensoryhealth.org/basic/subtypes-of-spd" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sensoryhealth.org</a>).</p><h2>Sensory Strategies and Activities for the Classroom</h2><p>These activities and strategies are divided by sensory type. Some will be appropriate for children who are under-responsive to stimuli, while others will be best for those who are over-responsive.</p><h3>Auditory Sensory Activities and Strategies</h3><ul><li>Guess That Sound – Have children close their eyes and guess sounds (play recorded sounds online or use bubble wrap, kazoo, chimes, etc.)</li><li>Red Light, Green Light and Simon Says – Have students play games designed to strengthen auditory discrimination skills</li><li>Freeze Dancing – Play music for the class and have students dance and then freeze when the music stops to strengthen self-regulation</li><li>Offer noise reduction headphones for students who struggle to focus and tune out ambient sounds.</li><li>Create a quiet zone to allow children who are sensitive to noise to have a break</li><li>Play the Quiet Game – Have all children sit silently and listen for any sounds they can identify</li></ul><h3>Gustatory Sensory Activities and Strategies</h3><ul><li>Compare textures – Have students try foods and describe their textures (crispy, chewy, slippery, dry, moist, tough)</li><li>Compare tastes – Have students describe foods of different tastes (sweet, sour, tart, bitter, salty)</li><li>Edible plants – Have students try different types of herbs and describe them (basil, oregano, mint, rosemary, cilantro, thyme)</li><li>Bendy straw – Allow children who don’t like to drink from classes to use a winding straw or accordion straw.</li><li>Snake test – Encourage children who don’t like a certain food to use the “snake” test first and lick the food before refusing it</li><li>Food prep – Involve children who are sensitive to foods in the preparation of food, so they can see the process from start to finish.</li></ul><h3>Olfactory Sensory Activities and Strategies</h3><ul><li>Smell Walk – Lead students on a smell walk, noticing any smells and describing them or writing them down</li><li>Name That Smell – Bring in several scents and have students name them (bubble gum, lemon, cinnamon, apple, etc.)</li><li>Let kids play with scratch and sniff stickers or use markers that have different smells.</li><li>Smell-free zone – Create an area where smells aren’t allowed, so kids with sensory issues can escape</li><li>Avoid using strong-smelling permanent or dry-erase markers, and don’t wear perfume or scented lotion to class</li><li>Put a VOC filter in the classroom or have masks available for students who struggle with odors</li></ul><h3>Tactile Sensory Activities and Strategies</h3><ul><li>What’s That Object? – Have students reach their hands into a box to identify mystery objects</li><li>Describe the Texture – Have students feel and describe different textures (sandpaper, feathers, cotton, aluminum foil, etc.)</li><li>Modeling clay – Allow students to play with Play-Doh or other modeling clay; encourage them to make balls, snakes, pinch pots or other objects.</li><li>Personal space – Give children who are over-responsive to touch personal space and teach others about the importance of personal space.</li><li>Clothing – Suggest that parents allow children who are tactilely sensitive to wear loose clothing, cut out tags or choose seamless items</li><li>Give alternatives for games that involve touch – instead of high-five, a student can give a thumbs up; instead of clapping, wiggle fingers in the air</li></ul><h3>Visual Sensory Activities and Strategies</h3><ul><li>Measuring activities – Have students use rulers to measure lengths, widths, and heights of objects.</li><li>Color categories – Lead students into grouping objects of different shades of color into piles (all blue objects – navy blue, sky blue, baby blue, cobalt blue – go in a blue pile)</li><li>Transparent, translucent, or opaque – Have students categorize different materials from transparent (all light passes through) to translucent (some light) to opaque (no light)</li><li>Have an area that is free of fluorescent or LED lighting for kids who are sensitive to light – use incandescent lamp on a dimmer</li><li>Encourage students who are light-sensitive to wear sunglasses and a hat if going outside.</li><li>Minimize screen time for students who are over-responsive to visual stimuli.</li></ul><p>Thanks for reading our resource on sensory strategies and activities for your classroom! We hope you find it a valuable addition to your teaching toolkit.</p><p>While you’re here, check out our other resources for teachers, including:</p><p><a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/adhd-and-stimulation-seeking-behavior" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ADHD and Stimulation-Seeking Behavior</a></p><p><a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/classroom-management-transitions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Classroom Management – Transitions</a></p><p><a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blog" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">And much more on our educational resources blog.</a></p>

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