Classroom Ideas
Pre-K teacher, Courtney Lee Simpson, taught an important lesson to her students about germs and how they spread. When she shared it on Facebook, it went viral, for a good reason. In her post, she wrote:
“To all my teacher friends this is the grossest yet coolest experiment. I did this while teaching about germs and how they spread.”
She goes on to explain that all you need are three slices of bread, some ziplock bags, and a bunch of dirty little hands:
“You let all the kids see you put a piece of bread in a baggy with a glove on hence ‘controlled’ then you wash your hands and put a piece of bread in a baggy for ‘clean.’ Last but definitely not least you pass a piece of bread around and let every kid in class touch it then you put it in a baggy and label it dirty.”
The before and after are shocking, to say the least!
“Watch how the bread changes over time due to germs. It is so cool and a great way to teach the importance of hand washing,” Simpson wrote. “It is so cool and a great way to teach the importance of hand washing. “
via Facebook | Courtney Lee Simpson
With Flu season on its way, this is such an awesome lesson that every teacher, no matter what grade level, should share with their students. Because we can’t actually see germs, giving them this kind of visual is something they’ll never forget. Not to mention, schools are some of the biggest germ traps you can find. Kids pass germs around without even knowing it. Urging kids to wash their hands as many times a day as possible, especially after going to the bathroom and before eating, can avoid a lot of unnecessary sick days, absences, or worse.
According to the APUA, handwashing is one of the most important and easiest means of preventing the spread of infection.
For this reason, Courtney’s amazing bread lesson should be passed on to every parent, teacher, healthcare professional, and child. Flu season is coming!
