LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Identify different types of germs and the impact they can have on health; understand how to protect yourself from harmful germs; separate facts from myths about germs.

HEALTH ED STANDARDS

NHES 7: Demonstrate practices and behaviors to support health and well-being of self and others.

CASEL: Self-management, responsible decision-making

KEY VOCAB

contaminate

vigorously

immune system 

Lesson Plan: The Dirt on Germs

Your world is crawling with trillions of germs. They’re not all bad for you, but you should try to avoid the nasty ones. Here’s how.

PREPARING TO READ

Before you read the article “The Dirt on Germs,” ask your students the following pre-reading questions:

What are germs, and how can you protect yourself from the bad ones?

READING AND DISCUSSION

  • Have your students read the article “The Dirt on Germs”; read the article out loud to them; or have students partner-read the article out loud.

  • After they’ve read the article, revisit the pre-reading questions. Have their answers changed? 

BUILDING COMPREHENSION

Check students’ comprehension of and engagement with the story with the following assessment tools:

  • Comprehension Quiz with Vocabulary Questions

EXPANDING SEL OPPORTUNITIES

Continue the learning journey with the following writing prompt:

In GERMS UP CLOSE, have your class work together to create a list of subtopics addressed in the article, such as “germiest spots,” “bacteria versus viruses,” or “good versus bad bacteria.” Aim for 6-8 subtopics. From there, have students work in small groups to create slide presentations, each examining a different subtopic. Have them start by writing down a few questions they still have about their subtopic. Remind students to use a mix of online research and information from the article to prepare their presentations. 

Print the Lesson Plan

Text-to-Speech