Everything You Need to Teach About Germs!

One of my favorite units to teach is Germs.  I really love teaching any health unit, but germs is such a relatable unit for our kids.  It's perfect to teach at any time of the year, but especially during cold and flu season.

Germs Pacing Guide

I use a lot of Brain Pop, Jr. videos, picture books, and a few paper resources in my unit.  I also have a couple of hands-on, fun activities to add in when we have some extra time.

My favorite germ books are:
A Germ's Journey by Thom Rooke, MD
Sick Simon by Dan Kroll
Do Not Lick This Book by Idan Ben-Barak
Blow Your Nose, Big Bad Wolf by Steve Smallman
Germs Make Me Sick! by Melvin Berger
The Bacteria Book by Steve Mould
Achoo! The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read About Germs by Trudee Romanek
There are a lot of really good ones.  I have them all linked on my Amazon page for you.

One my favorite activities to do is a germ experiment to model the importance of washing with soap and water.  Get out the glitter and lotion for this one.
This is basically what I do:
1- Put lotion and glitter (germs) on everyone's hands.
2- Have them all shake hands, give high fives, share pencils, etc.  This shows the spread of germs.
3- Try washing with just water and shaking dry.
4- Wash with soap, water, and dry with a paper towel.
You'll model how to wash hands properly and how easily germs are spread.  It's easy, and the kids always really like it.

Another one of my favorite activities is to make germ models out of Play Doh or modeling clay.  I have them pull up pictures of germs on the iPads, and then choose one to model their germ after.  You can even have the kids do a little bit of writing about that particular germ.  Is it a bacteria?  Is it a virus?  What symptoms does it cause?  Add a little bit of whimsy by adding some googly eyes.

Another crafty idea is to make blow painted germs and then have the students write facts about germs or specifically bacteria/viruses.  Blow painting is so fun, and most of the students will have never done this before. Here's a video to model it.
You'll need: tempera paint, water, straws (1 per student), cups, and white construction paper (1 per student).
1- Add tempera paint to a cup, and mix in about 2 tablespoons of water.  I'm not exact about this.  The consistency needs to be thin enough to pick up and blow but not so thin that it's a watery mess.
2- Students will each get a straw, and they'll use the straw like a medicine dropper to pick up the paint. If you have medicine droppers, use those.  They'll be easier.  I just don't have any of those.
3- Gently blow the paint onto the paper.
4- Add a few different colors, and blow until you like the shape.
5- Once the germs are dry, draw on a little mouth with a Sharpie and add googly eyes.

You can download the writing paper here.

Throughout my unit, my students work in their germs flip books.  We don't do the entire thing at once.  We do a page or two at a time, as they coordinate with the day's lesson.  I love using a flip book, because it's pretty printer friendly and the kids find them engaging.  At the end of the unit, they have something to show their work and study from.  You can find my germs flip book here.

I also created a set of simple worksheets that coordinate with the lessons and the flip book.  I typically make them into a packet, and we work on them with different lessons.  The puzzles are nice for early finishers.  The worksheets are found here.

Germs Worksheets

I always feel like when teaching about germs, it's important to teach about healthy habits and leading a healthy life style- Nutrition, sleep, mindfulness, etc.

Balance Your Lunch Tray Game

Please Don't Pick Your Nose Poem

Here's a list of all of the resources that I use for my germs unit.  Some are in my Google Drive, and some are on TPT.
Germs Flip Book
Germs Worksheets
Please Don't Pick Your Nose poem
Bacteria and Virus writing papers 
Balanced Your Lunch Tray Game
Hand Washing Posters and Song

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Teaching Friendship with The Fruit Salad Friend

I have been a long time fan of Maria Dismondy's books.  They're wonderful for character building lessons.
Maria recently published a new book titled The Fruit Salad Friend.  In this story, a little girl named Chloe faces some challenges with friendship.  She learns and uses different strategies to to help herself feel better and find friends that lift her up.  She learns the recipe for friendship.  Super cute! ...and if your classroom is anything like mine, then everybody could use a little springtime refresher on friendship- I'm looking at you little drama queens!

Maria has collaborated with Emily Yost to create a free readers guide for you to use in your classroom.  It is EXCELLENT!  Comprehension, writing, drawing, etc.

In my own classroom, after reading the book, I focused my lesson the the traits of a good friend and on using I-Messages.  We used the I Message poster in the readers' guide along with with the scenario cards.  My students could really connect with the scenarios.  We practiced using I Messages together and in pairs.  I love using I-Messages, because it gives the students ownership over their feelings and their words.  It also helps them to figure what exactly is making them mad.  We talked about how much more powerful an I-Message is compared to whining and bickering.

Using the materials from reader's guide and some clip art from Dancing Crayon Designs, we created a display to help us remember how to use I-Messages and ways to calm down when we feel upset or angry.  I am in love with how it turned out!  They love finding their fruit, and it's nice to have the visual available when conflicts arise.

Afterwards, we made a friendship fruit salad together- naming the traits of friends as we added the ingredients.  It was fun and nutritious.  Everything is better when food is involved, right?

After the lesson, each child received a 'Friendship is Sweet' brag tag to add to their collection.  You can download it here or by clicking on the picture.  We LOVE brag tags!  They really do brag to each other about them. Haha!

Here are some quick links for finding everything you need to use The Fruit Salad Friend in your own classroom:
Book (Amazon Affiliate Link)
Reader's Guide
Brag Tags

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The Jelly Donut Difference: Virtual Book Tour

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. 

You know how sometimes you come across an author and you just LOVE everything he or she writes?  For the past two years, I have been loving all of Maria Dismondy's books.  All of her books are written to make a difference and teach valuable life lessons.  Her newest book, The Jelly Donut Difference, is no different!

The Jelly Donut Difference is a quick read about a pair of siblings who learn that a small act of kindness can really change someone's day.  Such an important lesson for kids to learn!

I love this book as both a teacher and a mom.  In my classroom, I used it as a mentor text during a lesson on acts of kindness.  I always take the month of February to focus on kindness, and I was so pleased to be able to add The Jelly Donut Difference to my collection of kindness books.  It's a pretty quick read, but it made for a great discussion on ways that kids can spread kindness to others around them.  If you teach about random acts of kindness in your classroom or to your own children, this is the perfect book to use to introduce the idea!  I think it would be so fun to have your students deliver donuts to the faculty and staff around the school.  Think of the smiles that would bring!  However, #teacherbudget...

Instead, we brainstormed easy ways that kids can spread kindness to people that they care about without spending a penny.  I wanted them to get out of that mindset that kindness has to be a physical present that you give someone.  We also made a Crockpot Jelly Cake.  My recipe came from Rachel at Archer's All-Stars.  My class had a ball making the cake, and most of them liked it.  It made our classroom and hallway smell wonderful!  One of cuties said, "I think our act of kindness to all of the teachers is making the school smell so good instead of like sneakers and lunch." Hahahaha Right on, kiddo.

You can grab a copy of The Jelly Donut Difference on Amazon, along with all of Maria's fabulous books.  My other favorites are Spaghetti on a Hot Dog Bun, The Little Linebacker, and Chocolate Milk, Por Favor.  You can grab each book by clicking on the title or on the book covers below.

   

 

Be sure to follow Maria Dismondy on Instagram and Facebook to catch all of her virtual blog tour events.  I can't wait to see what she has in store for all of her readers!

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Teaching About the Summer Olympics Through Reading

I LOVE the Olympics!  I have always loved the Olympics, and I get very excited when it's an Olympic year.  The summer Games are my favorite, especially the gymnastics and swimming.  The Olympics is also a high-interest topic for students.  The summer Games are a perfect theme for the end or beginning of a school year, and it's a great theme for summer school, as well.

When I have a theme that I'd like to teach but is not in my curriculum, I always start with guided reading.  I am very lucky to have a Reading A-Z subscription through my school district.  On the Reading A-Z site, there are several different books that are leveled and perfect for an Olympic theme.  My favorite is titled Summer Olympic Events and is available in levels H, K, & Q.

In my Gold Medal Literacy resource, I have two mini books that I also use: The Summer Olympics and Where in the World is Rio de Janeiro?  They're perfect, because students can highlight and write directly in their books.  The nice thing about those little books and the A-Z readers is that they come with comprehension activities and worksheets.  My Gold Medal Literacy packet is loaded with word word and writing activities that can help you run a mini-unit on the summer Olympics.  I used it during the last week of school, and my kids had a blast!  They're definitely excited for the Games in August.

You can find my Gold Medal Literacy resource here.

Over the years, I've collected Olympics trade books as I've found them.  They are kind of few and far between, at least the good ones are.  I've linked up a few of my favorites and a few on my wish list. (These are Amazon affiliate links.)

What Are the Summer Olympics? I LOVE this series!

Magic Treehouse: The Hour of the Olympics- Excellent for guided reading or as a read aloud.

Ancient Greece and the Olympics: Nonfiction Companion

G is for Gold Medal- I love the variety of information in this book.  It's not a great read aloud, but it is perfect to add to a themed bookshelf.

Elympics- This one looks really cute, although I do not own it.

How to Train with a T.Rex and Win 8 Gold Medals- I think this one looks so cute!

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman- There are tons of great biographies about Olympians, and this one is one of my favorites.  Excellent book!

Olympia the Games Fairy- My girls love these fairy books, so this is a good one to add to the bookshelf.  It is always chosen.

...and if you're looking for some more fun ideas for teaching about the Olympics.  Click on the photos to access the link.

(image and link to The Chaos and the Clutter)

(image and link to Classy Mommy)

(image and link to Fun-a-Day)

My summer Games math resource on TPT. 

 Math and Literacy together!

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The Little Linebacker Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway

I have been a fan of Maria Dismondy's books since I first discovered them a few years ago.  Spaghetti on a Hot Dog Bun is one of my go-to books for the beginning of the school year and for class meetings.  All of Maria's books are a perfect addition to any book shelf for teachers and parents, because they all focus on character education- being yourself, anti-bullying, celebrating diversity, etc.

When presented with the opportunity, I was so pleased to do a review and promotion of Maria's latest book, The Little Linebacker, that she co-authored with NFL star, Stephen Tulloch.  This adorable story is based on Stephen's own experiences as a child and football player.  He wrote the book to teach kids that, "If you put your mind to anything, no matter what people tell you, you can always achieve your goals and dreams!"  Stephen has been recognized for years for his community service efforts through his organization, The Stephen Tulloch Foundation and through Operation 55.  Operation 55 supports children and families in the Metro Detroit area.

The Little Linebacker is a wonderful book to teach determination and having a can-do attitude.  Throughout the story, the main character, Stephen, faces challenges in school, in sports, and in friendships.  He doesn't give up on his dream, even when he encounters set-backs and challenges. The story is very relatable for kids.  Watch a trailer for the book here.

My school has begun using Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Happy Kids this year.  I used The Little Linebacker on a lesson for Habit 1- Be Proactive.  Habit 1 teaches the importance of having an optimistic attitude.  This book was perfect.

Emily from Third in Hollywood created an adorable reader's guide that you can download for free here.

I'm excited to be able to give away a copy of The Little Linebacker to one of my readers.  Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter.  Giveaway runs 5/23-5/25.


  a Rafflecopter giveaway

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