Classroom Activities
Goals and Objectives: In the activities for this unit, students will identify, explain, and demonstrate how handwashing can prevent germs from spreading. They will identify and explain how handwashing is one technique to keep our bodies healthy from germs. They will use classroom materials to demonstrate how to properly wash hands to eliminate germs.
Activity One: Introduce Staying Healthy
Over two lessons, introduce the focus of this unit with the books Germs Are Not For Sharing, by Elizabeth Verdick and, Germs vs. Soap by Didi Dragon, which explains in child-friendly language and with humor, the benefits of proper handwashing.
Show the video and sing the song Wash Your Hands by The Singing Walrus on YouTube.
Record on chart paper the ways students learned they can keep from sharing germs.
Either prepare a coloring page with this sentence or have students write it for themselves “Germs absolutely, postively do NOT like soap!” Students will draw themselves washing their hands. Encourage them to include soap, a sink, bubbles, and a towel - components needed for proper handwashing.
Activity Two: Handwashing with Finger Paints
Materials: finger paint of various colors, painting smocks, access to sink(s), hand soap, paper towels
Finger paints are non-toxic water-based paint and thicker than tempera paint. They seem to adhere to hands a little better and are better for supporting instruction on proper handwashing.
Procedure for teaching proper handwashing using finger paint:
Show the children the picture of the culture of the child’s hand (above). Explain the things they see growing on the culture plate are a mix of “good” and “bad” microbes and that we all have microbes on our bodies all the time.
Ask the children what they know about germs and how bacteria and viruses are transmitted. Record their comments on chart paper or the board.
Ask the children what they know about how you can prevent or slow down the transmission of illnesses. Record their comments on chart paper or the board.
Discuss methods for preventing or slowing the transmission of germs, referring to strategies from Activity One.
Again, show the video and sing the song Wash Your Hands by The Singing Walrus on YouTube.
Review proper handwashing techniques and have the children practice handwashing in the air for 20 seconds. They need to be sure to rub the inside and backs of their hands as well as between their fingers and their fingernail beds while singing Happy Birthday two times OR the ABCs once.
Place a dollop about the size of a nickel of finger paint on each child’s hand. (Depending on your group size and how many sinks are accessible, it may be done as a whole class or in small groups.)
Tell them to rub the paint all over their hands and be sure to spread it between their fingers and on their fingernails. (If children touch objects in the classroom, they will also see how paint/microbes are spread through contact.)
Line them up at the sinks to wash their hands.
Have them wet their hands with running water, put soap on their hands, and then wash their hands rubbing all parts of their hands while singing (Happy Birthday 2x or the ABCs 1x). Ask them to watch the paint on their hands, and wash until all the paint is gone. How easy/hard is it to get all the paint off their hands? How long did it take to get all of the paint off every part of their hands?
After the activity is complete, re-group as a class and debrief the activity talking to the children about what they observed and again discussing ways they can keep themselves and their families and classmates healthy.
Activity Three: Handwashing with Cake Decorating Sprinkles
Materials: jar(s) of sprinkles (small dot-sized if available), painting smocks, access to sink(s), hand soap, paper towels
Using sprinkles provides opportunities to teach about both proper hand washing and transmission of bacteria/viruses. In this activity, children shake hands or do fist bumps to reinforce what happens when they touch each other’s hands.
Put sprinkles on your own hand and then shake the hands of the children in the room. OR Put sprinkles on the hands of a few students.
Ask the children to go around the room and shake hands with their classmates or exchange fist bumps.
Gather everyone for a whole class discussion.
Remind the children of the picture of the culture of the child’s hand and that there are “good” and “bad” microbes.
Ask the children what they remember from our reading about germs and how bacteria and viruses are transmitted. Record their comments on chart paper or the board.
Ask the children what they know about how you can prevent or slow down the transmission of illnesses. Record their comments on chart paper or the board.
Again, show the video and sing the song Wash Your Hands by The Singing Walrus on YouTube.
Review proper handwashing techniques and repeat air washing practice as in Activity Two.
Show the children you have some sprinkles on your hands. Tell them you shook children’s hands and touched several classroom objects. Place a small amount of sprinkles in the hands of a few students and ask them to walk around to shake their friends’ hands.
Ask them to look around the classroom and explain what they see. Discuss how easily and rapidly the sprinkles spread from student to student and from person to object. Discuss how germs spread with person-to-person contact and by touching surfaces.
Connect these observations to the importance of frequent hand washing and regular wiping down surfaces (handles, tabletops, phones, tablets…).
Have the children wash their hands for 20 seconds, using proper technique, in the classroom sink using soap and water.
Put soap and water on wet paper towels and wipe down tabletops or surfaces that people touched during the activity. Depending upon the age of the children and availability you may choose to use other cleaning products.
After the activity is complete, re-group as a class and debrief the activity talking to the children about what they observed and discussing again ways to keep themselves and their families and classmates healthy.
Activity Four: Transmission of Microbes
Materials: Glo Germ and UV light (purchased items), access to sink(s), hand soap, paper towels, worksheet from Glo Germ website for Kindergarten students
Working with Glo Germ provides opportunities to teach about both proper hand washing and transmission of bacteria/viruses. Inform parents about this experiment, letting them know the product, provide the website for their information, and invite them in for the day of the experiment.
Show the five-minute video on DragonflyTV/PBS Learning Media that shows two students using Glo Germ in an experiment to show how germs might be transmitted.
Give each child a dollop of Glo Germ powder or liquid and ask them to rub the product all over their hands.
Gather everyone for a whole class discussion.
Remind the students of the picture of the culture of the child’s hand.
Ask the children what they remember about germs and how bacteria and viruses are transmitted and record their comments on chart paper or the board.
Ask the children what they know about how you can prevent or slow down the transmission of illnesses, again recording their comments on chart paper or the board.
Tell the children that, just like they saw in the video, the Glo Germ product is visible under UV light. Turn off the lights in the classroom. Go around the room with UV flashlights. As the children have been sitting many of them probably touched their clothes, faces, and objects around them. Without shining the flashlight in anyone’s eyes. Look to see where the Glo Germ product has spread.
Ask the children to share their thoughts and observations.
Discuss how easily and rapidly the Glo Germ was spread. Discuss how germs spread with person-to-person contact and by touching surfaces.
Review proper handwashing techniques, and have the children wash the Glo Germ off of their hands. Use the UV light to show they were successful.
Activity Five: Using Hand Sanitizer
Materials: Purell
In this Mystery Science five-minute video, scientist Doug takes a question from a second grader who is asking “How does hand sanitizer work?”
Ask the children what they know about how and when they should use hand sanitizer, again recording their comments on chart paper or the board.
Review the information that:
Sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands in many situations. They are helpful when you cannot wash with soap and water. However, they do not get rid of all types of germs. Hand sanitizers are not as effective when hands are visibly dirty or greasy.
Teach the correct procedure and have the students practice:
Pour or pump a dime-sized amount of the gel into the palm of one hand
Cover all surfaces of hands.
Rub your hands and fingers together until they are dry. This should take around 20 seconds.
Do not use a towel to dry hands – they should air dry to be most effective.
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