Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 1

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• Identify three daily hygiene practices.
• Explain why each practice is important.
• Show how to wash your hands properly.
• Describe how germs can spread and how to stop them.

Lesson summary

This lesson focuses on revising and consolidating what we learned in Life Skills during Week

5. Week 5 is crucial because it establishes fundamental principles about hygiene and healthy habits and how they affect our well-being and relationships with others. Understanding and practicing good hygiene isn't just about staying clean; it's about respecting ourselves and others, preventing the spread of germs and illnesses, and feeling good about ourselves. In a country like South Africa, where access to resources can vary, knowing how to stay healthy even with limited resources is especially important.

Lesson notes

Hygiene: Keeping Ourselves Clean and Healthy Hygiene is all about keeping ourselves and our surroundings clean to stay healthy and avoid getting sick. It’s like having superhero powers to fight off germs! We need to practice hygiene every day.

Daily Hygiene Practices: Washing Hands: This is the number one superhero power! Germs are tiny little creatures that can make us sick. They are everywhere – on door handles, our toys, even on our own hands! Washing our hands with soap and water washes those germs away.

How to Wash Your Hands: Wet your hands with clean water. Put soap on your hands. Rub your hands together for at least 20 seconds. Sing "Happy Birthday" twice to know you’ve washed long enough! Make sure to scrub between your fingers, under your nails, and the back of your hands. Rinse your hands well under the water. Dry your hands with a clean towel or air dry them.

When to Wash Your Hands: Before eating. After using the toilet. After playing outside. After touching animals. After coughing or sneezing.

Brushing Teeth: Imagine your teeth are little houses, and food is like trash. If we don't clean the trash away, the houses will become dirty and smelly, and the bad germs will come and damage them. Brushing our teeth twice a day keeps our teeth clean and strong.

How to Brush Your Teeth: Put a small amount of toothpaste on your toothbrush. Brush all parts of your teeth - front, back, and top. Brush gently in small circles. Brush your tongue to get rid of germs there too! Spit out the toothpaste and rinse your mouth with water.

Bathing/Showering: Washing our body helps to remove dirt, sweat, and germs that build up throughout the day. It also makes us smell fresh and clean!

How to Bathe/Shower: Wet your entire body with water. Apply soap or body wash to a washcloth or your hands. Wash your entire body, paying attention to areas like your underarms, between your toes, and your groin. Rinse your entire body with water until all the soap is gone. Dry yourself with a clean towel.

Keeping Our Clothes Clean: Our clothes can pick up dirt and germs too! Wearing clean clothes helps us stay healthy and feel good about ourselves. Covering Our Mouth When We Cough or Sneeze: When we cough or sneeze, we spray tiny droplets of germs into the air. Covering our mouth and nose with our elbow or a tissue helps prevent those germs from spreading to others. Remember to throw the tissue in the bin and wash your hands afterward!

How Germs Spread: Germs can spread in many ways: Touching: When we touch something that has germs on it, like a doorknob or a toy, the germs can get onto our hands. If we then touch our face, we can get the germs into our bodies.

Air: When someone coughs or sneezes without covering their mouth, the germs can travel through the air and land on other people or surfaces.

Food and Water: Germs can also get into our food and water if they are not handled properly.

Insects and Animals: Some insects and animals can carry germs and spread them to humans.

Worked example

Scenario: Sipho is playing soccer in the park and falls in the mud. What should Sipho do first when he gets home to practice good hygiene?

Solution: Sipho should wash his hands with soap and water to remove the mud and germs he picked up while playing. This prevents the spread of germs and keeps him healthy.

Scenario: Aisha is about to eat her sandwich at school, but she realizes she just finished playing with the building blocks. What hygiene practice should Aisha follow?

Solution: Aisha should wash her hands with soap and water before eating her sandwich. The building blocks may have germs on them, and she doesn't want to eat those germs with her food.

Scenario: Thando feels a sneeze coming on. He doesn't have a tissue. What should Thando do to prevent spreading germs?

Solution: Thando should sneeze into his elbow. This helps to contain the droplets and prevents them from spreading to others.

Guided Practice (With Solutions)

Question: List two things you should do every day to keep yourself clean and healthy.

Solution:

Wash your hands with soap and water.

Brush your teeth.

Commentary: This question reinforces the concept of daily routines for hygiene. It is important to prompt the learners to think of these activites on a daily basis and why this is important.

Question: Why is it important to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze?

Solution: It’s important to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze to prevent germs from spreading to others.

Commentary: The question aims to ensure learners understand the reason behind the action and not just the action itself.

Question: Imagine you are at school, and you don't have soap to wash your hands before lunch. What could you do?

Solution: I could ask my teacher for hand sanitizer, or I could wait to wash my hands properly with soap and water after lunch if possible.

Commentary: This assesses problem-solving in a real-life situation where resources might be limited. It encourages them to think of alternatives.

Independent Practice (Questions Only)

Name three times you should wash your hands during the day.

What could happen if you didn't brush your teeth?

Why is it important to wear clean clothes?

Describe the steps to wash your hands properly.

Your friend doesn't want to take a bath because they say it takes too long. What would you tell them to encourage them to bathe regularly?

Name one way that germs can spread.

What is the importance of taking a bath/shower daily?