Activities Overview
Level I

1 - AREAS SUSCEPTIBLE TO GERMS

Objective
Enable the child to identify areas where germs multiply.

Material
- Pupil's sheet no 1.
- Small red labels.

Time: 20 minutes individually and 15 minutes everyone together.

Method
- Give a sheet to each child and talk it through, relating the pictures to their own experiences:

• What is it about?
• What are the children's names?
• What have they been doing?
• Are they clean? Are they dirty?
• When you play outside, what do Mum and Dad ask you to do?

- Do the exercise.
- 'The exercise can be personalized by asking the children to colour the people.
- Put up some differing results and talk about them together.
- Go over the different areas again, drawing attention to those which are not obvious.
- Draw attention to hands, mouth and nose.

2 - BE CLEAN - IT'S UP TO YOU

Objectives
- Develop the previous activity.
- Find out hygiene routines appropriate to different areas of the body.

Material
- Pupil's sheet no 1.
- Board or large sheet of paper.

Time: 1 hour.

Method
The exercise is done individually and continued all together.

- Do the exercise.
- Finish by establishing that we always need water to wash.
- Do this by:

• Pointing out all the times we wash during the day.
• Emphasizing bath or shower time and cleaning teeth. Specify how and with what we wash (role played by flannel, bath towel, toothbrush, etc.).
• Having the children draw washing situations on the board, and so building a complete overview.
• Defining the time(s) of day when we wash which parts of the body.
• Pointing out that our hands are often dirty because we touch so many things.
• Finding out how the whole body can become dirty: perspiration, dust, etc. Establish that water is necessary for washing.
• Getting the children to say what they dislike about washing, e.g. soap in their eyes, and what they like most, e.g. playing about with water!

3 - SPRAY EXPERIMENT

Objectives
- Ensure the child understands how necessary it is to put your hand in front of your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
- Understand that it is absolutely essential to wash your hands after coughing or sneezing.

Material: Water in spray.

Time: 45 minutes.

Method
- Compare spray with a sneeze:

• What happens when we sneeze?
  

• Necessity of putting your hand in front of your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
• Need to keep your nose clean to avoid contaminating anyone else (emphasize importance of using disposable handkerchiefs).
• Necessity of washing hands well, explaining the different steps to follow.

4 - WASHING OUR HANDS

Objective
Know how to wash our hands properly.

Material
- School washroom.
- Soap or liquid soap.
- Clean towel.

Time: 30 minutes.

Method
This activity should be fun: hand washing is often a game, children love water, and pumping out liquid soap is particularly popular.
- At the washbasin, look at your hands. Say where the dirty parts are: on the back, on palms, ends of fingers (nails), between fingers (identify by name).
- Wet hands. Say what it feels like.
- Take some soap. How does it smell? Describe how it feels: a smooth and slippery bar, or a liquid.
- Play at making bubbles by blowing through soapy fingers.
- Rinse and dry. Describe the feel of the towel: soft, nice smell, does it dry well, etc.
- Smell the smell of clean hands.

Further Options
- In class, draw what you have done, to show parents. Older ones should write "I am washing".
- Using drawings already prepared by the teacher, children should put them in logical order: dirty hands, wet hands, clean and dry hands.

5 - ALL ABOUT TEETH

Objective
Teach the child to realize the importance of brushing to keep teeth healthy.

Material
- Pupil's sheet no 2.
- Each pupil's toothbrush.
- Toothpaste in assorted flavours and colours.
- Plastic cups.

Time: 30 minutes.

Method
- Do the exercise.
- Using the printed sheet, take the class to the school washroom to brush their teeth.
- Proceed as for hand washing, going through each stage in detail:

• Wet the toothbrush.
• Look at the toothpaste.
• Smell the toothpaste. How does it smell? Does it smell nice?
• Taste the toothpaste. How does it taste? Nice or nasty? What's the toothpaste like at home?
• Hold the toothbrush at an angle.
• Brushing the top teeth.
• Brushing the bottom teeth.
• Brushing the front teeth.
• Rinse out the mouth.
• Dry the mouth.
• Look at your clean teeth, and show them to others. Let others smell your mouth.
  

- Go over again the points set out in the sheet.

• Using a circular movement, brush from the gums towards the teeth.
• Go round all the teeth, not forgetting the tips and behind.
• Hold the toothbrush at an angle.
• Brush top and bottom teeth separately.
  

- Children will understand the importance of brushing when they realize that long, stiff bristles can get between teeth and remove food debris.

6 - WHY CHANGE OUR CLOTHES?

Objectives
- Realize that germs multiply on clothes.
- Review conditions in which germs multiply i.e dust, warmth, perspiration and other body secretions, etc.

Material
- Three airtight plastic bags.
- Damp and dirty white T-shirt
- Dirty and dusty T-shirt.
- Clean and dry white T-shirt (control).
- Adhesive tape.
- Pupil's sheet no 3.
A napkin or towel could be used instead of a T-shirt.

Time: 1 session of 30 minutes + 10 minutes observation over four weeks.

Method
- Do the experiment using 3 plastic bags:

• Bag 1: a pupil inserts the damp white T-shirt.
• Bag 2: a pupil inserts the dirty and dusty T-shirt.
• Bag 3: a pupil inserts the clean and dry white T-shirt.
  

- Identify and close the bags with adhesive tape.
- Leave the bags out on view in the classroom, in a warm place, but out of direct sunlight.
- Observe the 3 bags every day without opening them, analyse progress and fill in the pupil's sheet.
- Encourage suggestions on the degree of staining in the bags - what do they relate to?
- In week 4, the teacher should remove the clothes from the bags. Observe:

• The stains have different shapes, some smaller, some larger, etc.
• The clothes smell.
  

- All together draw a conclusion, using as evidence connection between germs and the marks on the clothes: the more there are, the more germs on the clothes.
- Explain the importance of washing clothes and of changing clothes often, to avoid proliferation of germs.
- Mention specifically that underclothes, which are in contact with body secretions and away from fresh air, should be changed every day.
- Finally, throw away all material used in the experiment and wash hands thoroughly.

Correction
-F-T-F-F-T.
-No (Temperature variations / Seasons / Dirty clothing).

7 - LICE

Objectives
- Be aware of the risks of contamination and how it happens.
- Learn the way to combat lice.

Material: Pupil's sheet no 4.

Time: 30 minutes.

Method
- Get children's reactions to lice.
- Question the children on how lice contaminate and how we can combat them.
- Draw a collective conclusion from work done on the pupil's sheet.

Correction
- F / T / T.
- Hat / Bed / Boy's head / Coat / Scarf / Girl's head.
- 4 / 1 / 3 / 2.
- Yes / No / Yes / No / Yes.

8 - WHEN I HURT MYSELF

Objective
De-dramatize wounds by finding out how you can easily prevent infection.

Material
- Large sheet of paper with the drawing of a man.
- Pupil's sheet no 5.

Time: 20 minutes and throughout the year.

Method
- Do the exercises on sheet no. 5.
- In the classroom, put up the drawing of the man.
- With the children, find a title (e.g. Mr Hurty).
- Each time a children has an accident, he marks it on the man.
This de-dramatizes the incident and improves knowledge of the body.

10 - HYGIENE EXHIBITION

Objectives
- Reinforce personal hygiene knowledge.
- Make other pupils at the school and parents aware the importance of personal hygiene.

Material
- Poster paper in different colours, large sheets of drawing paper.
- Felt tips, paint, etc.
- Magazines to cut out, etc.

Time: Variable.

Method
- Suggest that the children put on a personal hygiene exhibition.
- List the various exhibition components (posters, captions, drawings, photos, etc.)
- Share out the tasks.
- The exhibition should demonstrate the need for good personal hygiene and the actions required to ensure it.

11 - PERSONAL HYGIENE GAMES

Objective
Reinforce personal hygiene knowledge.

Time: 30 minutes each game.

Material: Pupil's sheet no 6.

Method: The games can be done individually, in small groups or collectively.

• Game n° 1: Crossword

Correction
Bath - Brush - Soap - Toothpaste - Foot.

• Game n° 2: What a mix-up!

Correction
- The little Buurki was very sad.
- His teeth were all decayed.
- The little Buurki would have loved to be a Netoon.

• Game n° 3: What is the Netoon saying?

Correction
By having a good wash, I've changed my life.

• Game n° 4: Crossword

Correction
1. Mouth / 2. Ears / 3. Nails / 4. Nose / 5. Hair / 6. Body / 7. Wound / 8. Hands / 9. Teeth / 10. Clothes
Result: Good health!

12 - THE LITTLE BUURKI WHO WANTED TO BE A NETOON

Objective
Recognize fundamental principles of personal hygiene from understanding the text.

Material
Pupil's sheet no 7.

Time: 45 minutes.

Correction
Sad / Athlete's foot / Peach / King Prosper / from the Good Fairy's grotto / Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and fragrance / A lovely little Netoon.