Lesson 3: Microbe Madness
Grade Level: K-6
Suggested Time: 60 mins
Overview
Students will learn about microbes, explore various types, create a model of a microbe, and learn about illnesses associated with specific microbes.
Vocabulary
- Germs
- Hand washing
- Bacteria
- Virus
- Illness
- Chicken Pox
- Flu
- Cold
Objectives
- Students will be able to name types of germs that cause illness and disease.
- Students will be able to identify symptoms of common illnesses and diseases.
- Students will be able to identify common ways to prevent the spread of germs.
- Students will create their own germ.
- Students will learn how hand washing prevents illness.
- Students will practice washing hands using “Cocoa Powder”.
- Students will learn how to wash hands properly.
- Students will create a virus model.
Required Project Materials
- Paper
- Pencils
- Crayons/Colored Pencils
- Construction paper
- Non-toxic paint heavily watered down
- Plain paper
- Straws – piercing these with a pin near the top should help prevent children from drinking paint
- A medicine dropper is useful, but not essential!
- Felt tip markers
- Googly eyes – you might like to add other collage materials such as pom-poms for a 3D effect
- Cocoa Powder
- Bread
- Play-Doh
- Q-tips-broken in half
Multimedia Resources
Optional Multimedia Resources
- Germs Make Me Sick. Melvin Berger
- Germs! Germs! Germs! Bobbi Katz
Before the Lesson/ Background Information
- Make a sample blow painting for a model for students
- Get some soap and paper towel (if not available) for hand washing or hand sanitizer
- Create a Virus Model
The Lesson
Part 1: Microbe Types
- Show “Germ Introduction” to students.
- Read stories about Germs then have class discussion/question and answer time.
- Discussion/Questions:
- What are Germs? Germs are very small organisms that we cannot see with the naked eye. In order to see them we need a very powerful microscope. Germs are everywhere. They can cause sickness in people at any age, from birth to when we are 100 years old.
- What kinds of germs are there? There are two types of germs that usually cause us to get sick.
a. Bacteria- tiny germs that are a made up of only one cell. That is really small! (We are made up of millions of cells). Common diseases bacteria cause:
- Strep Throat - infection of throat. Symptoms: sore throat, fever.
- Some kinds of food poisoning-infection of the intestinal tract. Symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
b. Viruses- also one-celled germs, but are much smaller than bacteria. Diseases viruses cause:
- Chicken pox Symptoms: skin rash, fever.
- Flu Symptoms: fever (usually 100 degrees or higher), chills, runny nose, headache, sore throat, cough, and body aches or pains.
- Common Cold Symptoms: runny and irritated nose, sneezing, sore throat, cough, general achy feeling.
How do we prevent the spread of germs to other people?
- Hand washing
- Covering our mouths when we cough or sneeze
- Wash our dishes before we use them again
- Keep food that needs to be cold in the fridge
- Cook foods, especially meats, properly
4. Students will create a blow painting with straws, watered down paint and paper. Students willadd mouth, nose and eyes when dry.
5. Students can decide what type of disease their germ causes.
Part 2: Hygiene
- Discussion questions:
- Why do we need to wash our hands? Hand washing is important because it reduces the spread of germs from one person to the next. By washing our hands, we prevent germs from getting into our bodies as well as passing them onto other people.
- When is it important to wash our hands? We need to wash our hands before we do the following things:
prepare or eat food
treat a cut or wound
help someone who is sick
- We need to wash our hands after we:
go to the bathroom
handle uncooked food (particularly raw meat, poultry or fish)
change a diaper
blow your nose
cough or sneeze
play with or touch a pet
handle garbage
help someone who is sick
- What is the correct way to wash our hands?
Use warm or hot running water
Use soap
Wash all surfaces thoroughly, including wrists, palms, back of hands, fingers and under
fingernails (if possible with a nail brush)
Rub hands together for at least 10 to 15 seconds (sing happy birthday song or similar)
When drying, begin with your forearms and work toward your hands and finger tips, and pat
your skin rather then rubbing to avoid chapping and cracking
Apply hand lotion after washing to help prevent and soothe dry skin
2. Students will dip hands into Cocoa Powder and rub hands together to try and try to remove powder by brushing off.
3. Have students rub hands on bread to see the residual Cocoa Powder left on hands. Explain to students that improper hand washing or no hand washing leaves many germs behind.
4. Teacher will demonstrate the proper way to wash hands/use hand sanitizer after discussion/questions.
5. Students will show teacher how to best watch their hands using the method the teacher demonstrates.
6. Remind students to sing Happy Birthday all the way through when washing hands to make sure of cleanliness.
7. Students will color a picture of a person washing hands (teachers choice) or glue pictures on construction paper of hands, soap, sink, and water drops.
8. Alternatively, students can draw pictures about the methods to prevent the spread of germs.
Part 3: Microbe Models
- Show students pictures of viruses and bacteria.
- Remind students that colds and chicken pox are caused by viruses.
- Tell students that viruses are good at making people sick because they are designed to attach to other healthy cells.
- Students will create a virus model using Play-Doh and broken Q-tips.
- Teacher may add small pieces of Play-Doh onto Q-tips to demonstrate viruses attacking various or many cells.
Accommodations
- Stand near the student(s) when giving directions.
- Provide a print out and visual of the Germ discussion/questions.
- The Germ discussion/questions can also be a fill-in-the blank. These notes can be put into an interactive notebook.
- Provide a print out of pictures of steps on washing your hands.
Modifications
- Use daily or frequent grading averaged into a grade for the quarter.
- If a student is unable to create the virus model, they can discuss with you what a virus is and what happens when it attacks cells.