Teachers' zone
About the games
Game 1: Don’t catch a cold
The learning objectives here are:
- That colds make us feel unwell
- That cold can be passed on by cold germs
- That cold germs can move through the air and be passed on through contact with objects and other people
Suki Sneeze sneezes and the aim of the game is to zap all the cold germs in the air before they reach Nathan. The germs move slowly across the screen and Nathan will catch Suki’s cold if they reach him. Teachers should explain to pupils that germs can’t be ‘zapped’ in real life but that they can try to stop them spreading.
In Level 2 of the online game the germs will be moving more quickly to make them harder for the pupils to click making the online activity more challenging.
Game 2: Who needs a tissue?
The learning objectives here are:
- To always use a tissue for coughs, sneezes and to blow your nose
- To show that correct respiratory hygiene and tissue use can help prevent other people from becoming ill
- Tissues can help prevent the spread of germs from runny noses, coughs and sneezes
This game features six faces which carry out small actions (sneeze, cough, runny nose, hiccup, yawn). Four faces appear on the screen at any one time and carry out the actions in random order: some of these require a tissue and some do not. There are four tissues below the faces and the aim is to drag the tissues onto the faces that need them before the time runs out. The actions which need a tissue are: sneeze, cough, runny nose; the actions which don’t need a tissue are hiccup and yawn.
There is feedback for right and wrong use of the tissues and if pupils miss one of the actions that needs a tissue, all the children catch a cold.
Game 3: Tissue Power!
The learning objectives here are:
- To learn the basic message of good respiratory hygiene: use a tissue for runny noses and to cover the mouth when coughing and sneezing, throw the tissue away, wash your hands promptly
- To learn which behaviours will and won’t help prevent cold germs from spreading
- To learn how to blow your nose properly
In this simple grid, Suki is shown carrying out six good or bad respiratory hygiene behaviours. Players simply click a tick or a cross to show which is which. There is a fun game-show type scoreboard which shows the pupil’s score, and once a player has identified the correct answers, a ‘You’ve got Tissue Power!’ sign flashes and a victory tune plays.
Good behaviours include correct nose blowing, with mouth closed and unfolded tissue, throwing away a used tissue, using tissues for cough and careful hand washing. Bad behaviours include sniffing, wiping nose on a sleeve, sneezing without a tissue and coughing into a hand.
