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How Germs Spread

Fourth graders learn what germs are, the main ways they travel from person to person, and the everyday habits that stop them from spreading, then check what they know.

Grade 4How Germs Spread45 minutes1 class periodSHAPEExplicit teaching4 StandardsSHAPE
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Explain what germs are.
  • ✓Name how they spread.
  • ✓List stop-the-spread habits.
  • ✓Protect others too.
Essential Question

One sneeze can send germs across a room, and a doorknob can pass them to the next hand. How do germs spread, and how do we stop them?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Germs Check · Interactive

Germs Check

Project this and answer each question about how germs spread and how to stop them — read the explanation after each one.

🦠 Check what you know about how germs spreadTry it
Answer each question about how germs spread and how to stop them.
The Lesson · Health & PE Flow (Warm-Up · Learn · Practice · Apply · Cool-Down)

45 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Hook — The Invisible Travelers

5 min

One sneeze can send germs flying across a room, and a doorknob can pass them to the next hand. How do germs get around, and how do we stop them?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Mime a sneeze.
  • Ask where germs go.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Think.
  • Share.
  • Get ready.
2

Use — Germs Check

12 min

Students answer questions about how germs spread.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to the Germs Check.
  • Answer each question.
  • Read the why.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Answer.
  • Check.
  • Read it.
3

Modify — Trace the Spread

13 min

Students map a germ's path.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Pick a way germs spread.
  • Trace how it reaches someone.
  • Name a habit that stops it.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Pick.
  • Trace.
  • Name.
4

Create — Stop-the-Spread Poster

15 min

Students make a health poster.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • List three stop-the-spread habits.
  • Draw one in action.
  • Add a reminder slogan.

🎒 Student Actions

  • List.
  • Draw.
  • Add.
5

Reflect — Stopping the Spread

5 min

Students reflect on germs.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name one way germs spread.
  • Why cover a cough with your elbow?
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the SHAPE America National Standards for Health Education and Physical Education.

SHAPE
HE.1

Explain how germs cause illness and how they spread.

SHAPE
HE.7

Demonstrate habits that reduce the spread of germs.

SHAPE
HE.5

Identify situations that call for healthy hygiene practices.

SHAPE
HE.8

Encourage others to practice habits that keep everyone healthy.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Spread-and-stop picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “Germs spread by ___ , so I ___ .”
  • Answer one question at a time.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with coughs and handwashing.
  • Use a glitter-on-hands demo.
  • Review one idea at a time.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Trace a germ through a whole school day.
  • Compare bacteria and viruses.
  • Research how vaccines help stop spread.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🦠Germ-spread picture cards
  • 💻Germs Check
  • 🧼Soap and tissues
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

germstiny living things, like bacteria and viruses, that can cause illnessbacteriaone type of germ, some helpful and some harmfulvirusa tiny germ that causes illnesses like colds and fluspreadto pass from one person, place, or thing to anotherdropleta tiny drop of liquid from a cough or sneezehygienehabits that keep you clean and healthypreventto stop something before it happenscontagiouseasily spread from person to person
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Name one way germs spread.
Through coughs and sneezes, or by touching a surface and then your face.
QUESTION 2
Why should you cover a cough with your elbow?
It keeps germ-filled droplets off your hands and off shared surfaces, so they do not spread.
QUESTION 3
Name one habit that stops the spread of germs.
For example, washing hands with soap, covering coughs, or staying home when sick.

Create: a stop-the-spread poster.

Have students list three stop-the-spread habits, draw one in action, and add a reminder slogan, so healthy habits stick. A printable germs worksheet is in the PE & Health library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 How Germs SpreadFlip
Card 1
Term
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Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 How Germs SpreadQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ How Germs SpreadPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: bacteria, contagious, droplet, germs, hygiene, prevent, spread, virus
  1. to pass from one person, place, or thing to another
  2. a tiny drop of liquid from a cough or sneeze
  3. to stop something before it happens
  4. easily spread from person to person
  5. a tiny germ that causes illnesses like colds and flu
  6. habits that keep you clean and healthy
  7. tiny living things, like bacteria and viruses, that can cause illness
  8. one type of germ, some helpful and some harmful

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name one way germs spread.
  2. Why should you cover a cough with your elbow?
  3. Name one habit that stops the spread of germs.
Answer key — Part A: 1) spread · 2) droplet · 3) prevent · 4) contagious · 5) virus · 6) hygiene · 7) germs · 8) bacteria
Part B: 1) Through coughs and sneezes, or by touching a surface and then your face. 2) It keeps germ-filled droplets off your hands and off shared surfaces, so they do not spread. 3) For example, washing hands with soap, covering coughs, or staying home when sick.