Growing Cooties
Grade Level: K-2
Goal:
This lesson teaches the students the importance of washing their hands
to reduce the spread of germs. In this lesson, students will also see
mold develop over time on a potato as a result of handling the potato
with dirty hands.
Objectives:
My students will:
• Cognitive: through this lesson my students
will know and understand the importance of washing their hands in order
to prevent the spread of germs.
• Affective: It will affect the students
attitude on washing their hands, and the necessity of washing their
hands the correct way to prevent the spread of germs and
the growth of bacteria.
• Psychomotor: The students will learn the
correct way to wash their hands, and this skill will stay with them
throughout their lives, because washing your hands is a
daily activity.
NETS Objectives:
• 1.b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
• 2.a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with
peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments
and media.
• 3.d. Process data and report results
Anticipatory Set:
I will tell the students that today we are doing a hands-on activity to
learn about germs and washing our hands. The students will not have to
sit in their desks to learn about the germs, they will literally get
their hands dirty, and learn how to correctly wash them. I will explain
that the students will get to perform an experiment where they get to
keep track of their groups potato over several weeks, and will take
digital photos of their potato each week. At the very end we will load
all of the pictures on to a computer and the students will create a
slideshow or powerpoint discussing and representing the changes in
their potato over the time frame.
Materials:
• Three clean, dry potatoes
• Three glass jars with tight fitting lids
• Soap and water
• Individual paper towels
• Hand sanitizer
• Warm place to store jars
• Soap
• Sink with hot/cold water
• Digital camera
• One computer for each group
Instructor Input:
Before we began the activity I would make sure that my students had a
clear understanding that germs will make you sick, and that washing
their hands the correct way will kill the germs or wash them away. I
would then the divide the class into three equal groups. I would give
each group one glass jar that has a tight fitting lid. The first group
would be the “clean hands” group and they would label their jar “clean
hands.” The next group would be the “dirty hands” group and they would
label their jar “dirty hands.” The final group would be the “hand
sanitizer” group and thus would label their jar “hand sanitizer.” Then
I would tell the students to move around the room and touch as much as
they possibly could (desks, pencils, books, door knobs), anything that
a lot of students handle daily. I would also encourage them to cough in
their hands. The tough part in this is that all of the students have to
touch the exact same things. So I would instruct the clean hands group
to go first, then the dirty hands group and finally the hand sanitizer
group. After all of the groups have finished touching objects in the
room I would have them gather back in to a group. The clean hands group
would then wash their hands in warm, soapy water and then dry their
hands on their own individual paper towels. Then the children of the
clean hands group will line up in front of the class and pass a clean
potato from one person to the next, being sure to handle the potato
well before passing it to the next person. The final person in the line
will then place the well handled potato in the glass jar labeled “clean
hands’ and they would screw the lid on tightly. The “hand sanitizer”
group will follow the same procedure as the “clean hands” group but
they will clean their hands with the hand sanitizer but they will allow
their hands to air dry before handling the potato. They will also stand
in front of the class and follow the same procedure. Finally, the
“dirty hands” group will follow the same procedure, but they will not
wash or clean their hands. After putting their potato in the jar I will
ask the students of the “dirty hands” group to wash their hands. All
three jars will be placed in a warm location in the classroom. I will
have one student from each of the groups take a photo of their potato
each week and save those pictures onto their groups’ computer. They
will label the photo with the week number when they save the photo, so
they know the progression of the experiment. After the final week, I
will ask the students to create a powerpoint, or slide show to present
their information and their potato to the class. They will be required
to explain what happened to their potato each week, along with the
photo of the potato. The students should see mold growing on the “dirty
hands” potato. This experiment will give the students first hand proof
that washing hands does reduce or prevent the spread of germs.
Evaluation of Student Understanding:
My evaluation of this lesson will be through the students photos and
their observations, as well as their overall finished slideshow. I will
also discuss with them the results of the experiment and why the
students think the dirty hands potato had more mold growing on it. I
will also observe how well the students wash their hands, and listen to
comments the students make about washing their hands and the experiment
and see if they have internalized the lesson.