Amanda Scheel

ETE 306 Lesson Plan 1

Title: Growing Germs

Rationale/Focus Statement: This lesson will be taught to 16

kindergarteners aged 5 and 6 years old. This is a hands-on science

experiment focusing on germs and hygiene through observation and

comparison.

Objectives:

Students will be able to make observations on the mold growing on the

pieces of bread and draw their findings.

Students will be able to discuss the differences on the bread that was

not touched and the bread that has their germs on it.

Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1: Participate in collaborative conversations

with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers

and adults in small and larger groups.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5: Add drawings or other visual displays to

descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.

Procedure:

1. The students will be seated on the rug in their normal spots and

the teacher will ask a general question about what they know

about germs already.

2. The students will discuss with each other and with the teacher

briefly about what they know about germs.

3. The teacher will then introduce the book, Germs! Germs!

Germs! by Bobbi Katz and begin reading. While reading, the

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ETE 306 Lesson Plan 1
teacher will stop to ask the students comprehensive questions

about the book and germs in general.

4. After reading the book, the teacher will ask the students how

germs are spread and they will discuss how they can stop it.
5. The teacher will then explain to the students that they will be

testing to see how many germs are on their hands and how well

they actually wash their hands. In order to do this, they will be

doing an experiment with bread. The bread will get moldy faster

if there are more germs on it.

6. The teacher will take out the loaf of bread, a plastic glove, and

plastic sandwich zip top bags. The first piece of bread will be

taken out of the loaf using a glove and go right into the zip top

bag and sealed. The teacher will explain that this one will be

plain with no germs on it since she is wearing a glove.

7. The next piece of bread will show how germy the students hands

are. The teacher will take out another piece of bread and pass it

around the circle for each student to hold. Each student should

hold it in both of their hands, not just pinch the top of the bread

with their fingers and pass it on. Once it makes it around the

circle, the teacher will take it and place it in the zip top bag

marked dirty hands and seal it.

8. The teacher will now instruct the students to go wash their hands

(two at a time) and then come back to the carpet without

touching anything. Once at the carpet, the students should put

their hands up in the air until everyone has washed their hands.
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ETE 306 Lesson Plan 1
9. After washing, the teacher will take a third piece of bread out and

pass it around the circle for the students to hold, the same as

with their dirty hands. This will then be placed in the bag marked

clean hands and sealed.

10. The students will go back to their seats with their

observation papers. The teacher will explain that the top row will

be for their predictions about what they think each one will look

like after the mold starts to grow. The students can use crayons

or pencils to illustrate what they think each slice will look like.
11. After a week (or when there is significant mold growth) the

teacher will gather the students again to draw what they see on

the slices of bread. The teacher will put the slices of bread (still

in the bags) on the document camera so all of the class can see

it better. Once they draw their observations, the class will come

together to discuss what their predictions were and if they were

correct. The teacher will also talk about ways the students can

help stop germs from spreading in the classroom.

Assessment:

The main assessment for this lesson will be done through the

student observation and documentation worksheets. The students will

complete the first half of the worksheet on the first day with their

predictions about what will happen and which will grow the most mold.

The second half of the worksheet will be done once there is significant

growth on the slices. The students will draw what they actually see and
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ETE 306 Lesson Plan 1
then come together as a class to discuss their findings. The teacher will

also use this discussion to talk about what they have learned about

how germs spread and how to keep them from spreading.

Materials:

3 slices of bread (preferably homemade or from a bakery with

few preservatives)
3 zip top bags labeled: plain, clean hands, dirty hands
One plastic glove
Access to a sink
Student observation worksheets
Crayons & pencils
Document camera

Vocabulary

Germs; mold; predict (predictions); observe; result

Accommodations

If this lesson was done in a class with a student with an allergy to

bread/grain, this same activity could be done with potato slices or

apple slices. This could be modified so the student could still take part

in the activity and have the hands on experience instead of watching

from the side. This lesson already takes into account students who

cannot read yet, as the assessment worksheet involves students

drawing pictures and they could add captions if they wanted to. The

worksheet is only part of the assessment and discussion is the other

part, so there are multiple opportunities for students to express their

knowledge in various ways.

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ETE 306 Lesson Plan 1
Plain Bread Dirty Hands Clean Hands

PREDICTI
ON

RESULT