Activities Overview
Level III

1 - AREAS SUSCEPTIBLE TO GERMS

Objectives
- Understand the role of skin.
- Identify susceptible areas where germs multiply most.

Material
- Pupil's sheet no 1
- Pupil's sheet no 2.

Time: 45 minutes.

Method
- Give out the sheet and do the exercise.
- Summarize situations in which germs multiply considerably:

• After sport.
  
• In the damp areas of the body.
  

- Conclude on the need to wash after sport and to change clothes regularly.
- Emphasize to the children not to forget to drink during sport, so as to replace fluid lost through the skin.

Correction
1) Skin covers our entire body.
2) Skin is thicker on the palms of our hands.
3) All three answers are correct.
4) Skin is alive, because it continuously renews itself.
5) - When I perspire, fluid evaporates from my body. Perspiration enables our body to keep at an even temperature during physical effort, when we run a temperature or when our surroundings grow hotter.
- Perspiration eliminates excess fluid from my body.
- Armpits / Groin / Between the toes / Whole body after sport.

2 - HANDS - A TARGET FOR GERMS

Objectives
- Awareness that our hands harbour large quantities of germs.
- Find out a good way of washing hands.

Material
- 4 petri dishes (or more).
- Adhesive tape
- Pupil's sheet no 3.

Time: 1 30-minute session + 10 minutes observation for 2 days.

Method
- In 4 petri dishes, do the following experiment:

• 1st dish: a pupil puts an unwashed hand on the substrate
• 2nd dish: a pupil puts a hand washed in water only
• 3rd dish: a pupil puts a hand washed in soap and water
• 4th dish: control dish.

- Identify and close the dishes with adhesive tape.
- Leave the dishes at ambient temperature, but out of direct sunlight.
- Observe the 4 petri dishes every day, analyse progress and fill in the pupil's sheet.
- Encourage suggestions on the degree of marks in the dishes - what do they relate to?
- Everyone draw a conclusion, using as evidence connection between germs and the marks left by dirty hands: the more marks there are, the more germs on the hands.
- Conclude on the necessity of thorough hand washing and describe the procedure we should use, as set out in the sheet.

3 - GERMS MULTIPLY FAST

Objectives
- Think of what bacteria are.
- Visualize how bacteria reproduce.

Material: Pupil's sheet no 4.

Time: 45 minutes.

Method
- Hand out the pupil's sheet.
- Review the principle of radial, or line, symmetry and do the exercise.
- Concentrate on the diversity in size and shape of germs.
- State again the speed of bacteria development, making it necessary to wash every day to avoid proliferation.

4 - SPRAY EXPERIMENT

Objectives
- Realize that germs are also airborne.
- Understand:

• The need to put your hand in front of your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
• That it is essential to wash your hands after coughing or sneezing.

Material: Water in spray.

Time: 45 minutes.

Method
- The pupils begin by assuming that a spray of water is like a sneeze.
- Examine the suspended particles of a spray. Use sufficient light.
- Choose 3 groups of 2 pupils and stand them sideways to the class.
- In each group, a pupil sprays his partner.
- Get the class reactions:

• How did the water particles pass from one pupil to the other? (airborne)
• What can we compare the water particles to? (germs / droplet infection)
• What can we compare the spray to? (cough / sneeze)
• What can we compare the diffusion of water particles to? (contamination by sneezing).

- Next moisten the pupils' hands; get them to touch different surfaces and see the marks:

• How is moisture and dirt transferred from hands to the surfaces? (contact)
• What can we compare the moisture and marks to? (moisture from droplets and germs)
• What can we compare the spread of marks to? (contamination by contact)

- The children conclude from the experiment that, to avoid transmitting germs:

• We should put our hand in front of our mouth when we cough and sneeze.
• We should wash our hands after coughing and sneezing.

- The teacher could ask the children to write the answers in their science exercise books.
- Conclude on the advisability of keeping our nose clean to avoid contaminating others and emphasize the importance of using a disposable paper handkerchief.

5 - ACID OR ALKALINE?

Objective
Know the link between acidity and tooth decay, as well as the need for good oral hygiene.

Material: pH paper.

Time: 45 minutes.

Method
- With the pH paper, test various liquids chosen by the children (lemon juice, saliva, water, etc.).
- Get the children's opinions.
- Explain that the colour varies according to the degree of acidity.
- Establish the link between acidity and tooth decay. Explain that teeth do not like acidity, that it encourages decay and that we can avoid acidity by removing food debris after every meal.

6 - TEETH AND HEALTH

Objective
- Understand the importance of brushing to keep teeth healthy.
- Be aware of the need to visit the dentist.

Material
- Pupil's sheet no 5.
- Pupil's sheet no 6.

Time: 30 minutes.

Method
- Give out the pupil's sheets and do the exercises.
- Using the stages illustrated on sheet no. 6, explain an efficient way of brushing teeth.
- Stress the role of the dentist.
- The teacher could also get the children to hold a toothbrush (How do we hold it? Where do we keep it?) and arrange a tooth-brushing session (see activity sheet no 2, level 1).

Correction
            . Sheet no 5
- An adult has more teeth than a child.
- Milk teeth are replaced when they fall out.
- Adult teeth are not replaced if they fall out.

            . Sheet no 6
It is important to keep our teeth healthy.
To avoid tooth decay, we should avoid eating anything sweet if we cannot clean our teeth afterwards.
We should brush our teeth for three minutes, three times a day if possible.
Visit the dentist at least once a year.

7 - LICE HUNTING

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

Material
- A hat.
- A classroom chair.
- A pillow.
- A lamp.
- A coat.
- A scarf.
- A book.
- A pair of woollen gloves.
- Poster or photo of a girl's head.
- Poster or photo of a boy's head.
- Dried lentils.
- Box or transparent pot labelled "Lice sanctuary".

Time: 45 minutes.

Method
- Get children's reactions to the subject of lice.
- Place the material in front of the class.
- Hand out 10 lentils to each pupil.
- Explain that each lentil represents a louse. Therefore each pupil has 10 lice.
- Divide the class into teams of two. Each team therefore has 20 lice.
- Aim: to get rid of your lentils.
- Rules:

• The game has 3 stages, corresponding to 3 basic themes (What are lice? Where are they found? How do we get rid of them?)
• At each stage, the teacher asks the class 10 questions.
• After a question, team members consult each other, and raise their hand if they think they know the answer.
• The teacher questions the first team to raise a hand.

- With every correct answer, one of the team members puts 2 lice in the lice sanctuary.
- With every wrong answer, the teacher gives 1 louse to the team.
- The first team to get rid of all their lice wins.
- Suggested questions and answers:


Part 1: What are lice? Answers: True or False
1. The louse is an insect. True.
2. A louse measures about 3 mm. True.
3. There are male and female lice. True.
4. A louse egg is called a nit. True.
5. Nits latch on to the ends of your hair. False.
6. A female louse lays a hundred nits a day. False (ten).
7. Lice feed on blood. True.
8. Lice can be seen with the naked eye. True.
9. Lice are dangerous. False.
10. Lice only like dirty hair. False.


Part 2: Where do lice hide? Answers: Yes or No
Question the children on the objects previously put out at the front. For each object, the teacher asks "Do lice hide in...?
1. Hats. Yes.
2. Classroom chairs. No.
3. Pillows. Yes.
4. Lamps. Yes.
5. Coats. Yes.
6. Scarves. Yes.
7. Books. No.
8. Woollen gloves. No.
9. Girls' hair. Yes.
10. Boys' hair. Yes.


Part 3: How do we get rid of lice? Answers: True or False.
Problem: I've caught lice at school. What should Mum do? What should I do?
1. I should tell my parents if my head itches. True.
2. Mum thoroughly washes my clothes and sheets. True.
3. Mum washes my hair with ordinary shampoo. False.
4. Mum warns the teacher and my friends to look out for lice. True.
5. I can lend my scarf. False.
6. I don't lend my comb or hairbrush. True.
7. I should not lend my hat. True.
8. Mum should wash my hair with lice treatment shampoo, carefully reading the instructions first. True.
9. There is no longer any need to keep a watch on my hair after the lice treatment shampoo. False.
10. I cannot go to school if I have lice. False.

- At the end of the game, the teacher can ask the class to write down the answers in their exercise books.

8- PERSONAL HYGIENE CHART

Objectives
- Recognize the different categories of personal hygiene.
- Know personal hygiene methods for each particular area.

Material
- Large poster paper.
- Felt pens, paint, scissors, glue, etc.
- Magazines to cut out.

Time: 11/2 hours.

Method
- By discussing the children's own experiences, establish:

• The 6 categories of person hygiene (Bodily hygiene, Clothing hygiene, Hand hygiene, Oral hygiene, Nasal hygiene, Injury hygiene).
• People susceptible to germs (babies, old or sick people, pregnant women, etc.).
• Areas susceptible to germs (hands, nose, mouth, damp areas, etc.).
• The best ways to keep clean and avoid diseases.
• Different personal hygiene products appropriate to each area.

- Analyze pictures illustrating where hygiene is very important (hospital, babies, sick people, etc.).
- The teacher can ask the children to find at home pictures illustrating the different subjects.
- Together draw up the 10 commandments of personal hygiene.
- Stick cut-out pictures or a drawing on the chart.
- Hang up the chart in school.

9 - WHAT DO THEY DO IN OTHER COUNTRIES?

Objective
Learn how hygiene differs from one country to another.

Material: Pupil's sheet no 7.

Time: Variable.

Method
- Hand out the study sheet to the pupils and let them research in the library, on the Internet or at home.
- The next week, pool the answers and correct.
- Ask some pupils to give a presentation on how hygiene customs differ from country to country.

Correction
- Hot springs = Japanese.
- Icy water = Swedish.
- Wash glove* = French.
- Roots = Kalahari Bushmen
- Left hand = Indian.



*: If a wash glove is not changed regularly, there could be a build-up of germs.

10 - HYGIENE GAMES

Objective
Reinforce hygiene knowledge.

Material: Pupil's sheet no 8.

Time: 15 minutes each game.

• Game 1: True or False?

Correction
1. True. And don't forget to wash your other clothes to avoid germs growing.
2. False. It varies from 30ºC (soles of the feet) to 35ºC (under the arms).
3. False. Those called "commensal" do not harm man. Some can even help by fighting other germs.
4. True.
5. True.
6. False. Linen handkerchiefs harbour germs and should not be used.
7. False. Teeth should be brushed after every meal, but for a minimum of three minutes.
8. True.
9. True. And not just to be polite. You do it to avoid spreading germs in the air.
10. True. Sometimes more than ten million per square centimetre.

• Game 2: Quiz

Correction
1. Wash your hands with soap and water, rinse well and dry with a clean towel.
2. A louse.
3. A mite.
4. Sneezing. Coughing. Putting something dirty in your mouth. Rubbing your eyes, etc.
5. Hands and mouth.
6. Babies, the elderly or sick, pregnant women.
7. The skin.
8. Between 10 and 50ºC (cold to very hot).

11 - WHO WAS LOUIS PASTEUR?

Objective
- Learn that the concept of good personal hygiene is quite recent.
- Find out about the person and his work on hygiene.

Material
- Encyclopaedias, dictionaries, computers.

Time: 1 hour + writing time.

Method
This activity is done in two stages: collectively and individually.

- Organize research on Louis Pasteur in an encyclopaedia or on the Internet.
- The teacher can ask for the research to be done in class or at home.
- The pupils compose a short 15-line biography of Louis Pasteur in their science exercise book.
- Talk about the role of Louis Pasteur in personal and food hygiene.