Sneeze safe

Teachers' zone

Lesson 2: How colds are spread

Learning objectives

Pupils should learn:

Curriculum focus

England

Early Years Foundation Stage 40–60+ months:

• Personal development: Self-care: dress and undress independently and manage their own personal hygiene.
• Physical development: Health and bodily awareness: recognise the importance of keeping healthy, and those things which contribute to this.

National Curriculum PSHE – 3. Developing a healthy, safer lifestyle:

• 3a How to make simple choices that improve health and wellbeing
• 3b How to maintain personal hygiene
• 3c How some diseases spread and can be controlled.

Wales

Early Years:

• Personal and social development: begin to take responsibility for personal hygiene

Key Stage 1 Personal and social education framework:

• Physical aspect: know that exercise and hygiene and the right types and amount of food are important to keep their bodies healthy

Scotland

Early Years:

• Knowledge and understanding of the world

5–14 Health Education:

• Physical Health Level A
  
• Social Health Level A

5–14 Environmental Studies:

• Science – Knowledge and understanding: living things and the processes of life Level A

Northern Ireland

Foundation stage:

• Personal Development and Mutual Understanding

Primary:

• Become aware of key issues which affect their physical, social and mental well-being and that of others
• Develop an awareness of their own personal safety

Republic of Ireland

The Sneezesafe* materials will support the Framework for Early Learning (launching in late spring 2008), Wellbeing theme.

Preparation

You will need to familiarise yourself with the website and set up Story 2 so that it is ready to show the class. It will also be useful to try out Online Game 2, ‘Who needs a tissue?’.

Vocabulary: cold, germ, tissue, sneeze, sniff, wipe, cough.

Resources: a box of tissues and pocket-sized packets of tissues (request samples); two soft toy characters or puppets. Sneezesafe* poster, parents’ letter and certificates.

Differentiation: Supervision and help can be provided for younger or less able pupils when playing Online Game 2, ‘Who needs a tissue?’.

Time: Approximately 40 minutes (20 minutes for the presentation, 10 minutes for the game and 10 minutes for follow up activities).

Classroom activities and follow-up ideas

1) Introduce the topic by briefly asking the pupils who has ever had a cough and who has ever sneezed. Ask them what causes sneezes and runny noses, explaining that hayfever is not the same as a cold. Hayfever can cause sneezing, a runny nose and itchy and watery eyes but it is caused by an allergy to pollen.

Explain that the pupils are now going to find out more about colds and germs and how they are spread, with Nathan Noseblow and Suki Sneeze.

2) Show Story 2: Stop the germs! Here are some suggested questions which can be discussed during the presentation:

• Screen 1–2: How does the cold make Nathan feel?
• Screen 5–6: Can you really see cold germs in the air like that? Why not?
• Screen 9: What should Nathan have done instead of sniffing?
• Screen 17: If you have cold germs on your hands, how can you get them off?
• Screen 19: Why is using a tissue to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze better than using a hand to cover your mouth?
• Screen 21: How do you think Suki caught Nathan’s cold?

Talk briefly about anything in the story which the class may not have understood fully. Emphasise that getting germs into our bodies (usually through the mouth/hand-to-face contact) can spread colds.

3) Follow up the story with a practical activity: getting the pupils moving and responding through drama is a good way to do this. Ideally, a space such as the hall or outside should be used for this. Ideas for an extended mime sequence:

a) Imagine that someone has sneezed and you are a nasty cold germ floating through the air. Move around slowly, turning and waiting for someone to come close. Don’t touch any other germs. Eventually you float down and land on the floor: you wait and wait…

b) Now sit up and pretend to be someone who has a cold. You feel tired… you have a runny/stuffy nose, you have no energy, you rest your head on your hands… and now your nose starts to tickle… you twitch it but you can tell that you’re going to sneeze… You turn around and there’s a box of tissues there. You take one from the box, spread it in your hand and a… a… a… tishoo! You sneeze into the tissue.

c) Right, stand up, fold up the tissue and walk over to the bin and drop it in. Now, there might be cold germs on your hands so you’d better wash them. Go to the wash basin, turn on the tap, wet your hands pick up the soap and rub it over your hands carefully, both sides, between your fingers… now rinse your hands under the tap, both sides… then turn off the tap and dry your hands on a paper towel then throw it in the bin and sit down.

d) Right, it’s the next day. Your cold is starting to pass and you’re feeling better. Your nose isn’t running any more and you don’t feel tired now. You get up and have a stretch… that’s it… now you try a little walking around…. then you bounce on the spot and jump! You feel fine, your cold’s gone at last.

4) An alternative follow-up activity for younger pupils can be done in the classroom. Use two soft toy characters, one in each hand, e.g. a teddy and a doll. Explain that they’re talking about colds and germs but they keep disagreeing. The pupils need to listen to what they both say then point to the one who is right:

• Teddy says you can see cold germs; Doll says you can’t see cold germs. Who is right? (Doll)
• Teddy says that cold germs can move through the air; Doll says they can’t. (Teddy)
• Teddy says you should sneeze into your hand; Doll says you should sneeze into a tissue. (D)
• Teddy says that you should wash your hands if possible after blowing your nose; Doll says you should not. (T)
• Teddy says it’s good to wipe your nose on your sleeve; Doll says that this can spread cold germs so it’s bad. (D)

This game can be extended by asking pupils to point to places to answer questions from the soft toys, e.g.:

• Point to a place where cold germs could be.
• Point to somewhere that cold germs can get into our bodies (mouth, nose).
• Where are the tissues kept in the classroom?
• Where can you wash your hands?
• Where should you put tissues after you’ve blown your nose?
• Where do germs come out when you cough?

5) To strengthen learning about how colds are spread and about using tissues to prevent colds spreading, the pupils can be shown Online Game 2: ‘Who needs a tissue?’ The teacher can show this to the whole class as a demonstration of how it works and let individual pupils take turns at working the mouse. Pupils can later try out the game in small supervised groups at a desktop machine. The game can be used to stimulate discussion around the following topics:

• When should you use a tissue?
• What can happen if you don’t cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue?
• How could cold germs spread from one person to another?
• How do tissues help prevent cold germs from spreading?

6) To encourage pupils to wash their hands correctly you can have a practical session where you show pupils the technique approved by the Health Protection Agency which is shown step-by-step in this PDF.

7) Print and give out the Sneezesafe* certificates to pupils, and send them home with a copy of the parents' letter, to reinforce what they have learnt in class.