Date: April 5, 2000
Grade Level(s): 3
Subject(s):
Duration: two 40 minute sessions
Description: In teaching that germs on and in the body need to be gotten rid of, this lesson teaches that plaque that forms on the teeth can be removed with brushing and flossing.
Goals: Personal hygiene health unit; Standard 3: Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks. Strand 4: Demonstrate strategies to improve or maintain personal health; and Standard 5: Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health; Stands 3 & 5- Demonstrates healthy ways to express needs, wants, and feelings & demonstrates attentive listening skills to build and maintain healthy relationships.
Objectives: Cognitive-analysis: Following a video demonstration and explanation on what plaque is and how plaque builds up on unbrushed/unflossed teeth, the 3rd grade health student will experiment with how brushing/flossing removes plaque with 90% accuracy.
Materials:
1. The teacher will state the objective and introduce the lesson on brushing/flossing (oral).
2. The teacher will define plaque as build-up on our teeth.
3. Use a mouth model and "invisible" (clear plastic) plaque tiles to demonstrate how plaque builds up
after eating without brushing and flossing. Tell them that acids produced by plaque can damage teeth
by making holes called cavities (visual & oral)
4. Show the instructional video on brushing/flossing (visual & oral).
5 Reinforce: Demonstrate by using the mouth model, toothbrush, and plaque tiles that brushing and flossing will rid teeth of plaque (visual).
6. Instruct the students to take turns brushing and flossing the mouth model (tactile & kinesthetic; checklist).
7. Have several students place plaque tiles on the teeth chart (tactile & kinesthetic).
8. Have several students brush and floss the "plaque" off the chart teeth (tactile & kinesthetic; checklists).
9. The students will explain to the teacher how brushing/flossing removes plaque from teeth (verbal-assessment; checklist).
10. Those waiting their turn to explain to the teacher, and early finishers, will chew the red
"plaque" tablets that show where plaque is on teeth, and looking in a classroom mirror, observe and
chart on graph paper (for their portfolio) where the darkest red stains are on their teeth (tactile,
kinesthetic, and logical-mathematical respectively). Acceleration: They will write their hypothesis
(for their portfolio) on why they have darkened red stains on some teeth more than others and toward
the top of the tooth more than at the gumline (intra-personal; portfolio assessment).
11. They will compare their teeth to each others and discuss their graph results. (interpersonal and logical mathematical; cooperative learning).
12. The students will brush the red stains off their teeth using toothpaste at the classroom's sink (authentic assessment, tactile, kinesthetic).
Review and Closure Activities: The teacher will ask the following questions: What is plaque? How does it hurt or damage teeth? If it is invisible, then how can you know if it's on your teeth? What gets rid of plaque? What could happen if you didn't brush and floss your teeth? Do you think it makes a difference in which direction you brush your teeth (up and down, side to side, or circular)? Why or why not? How does plaque get in between teeth? Are brushing and flossing the only ways to get rid of plaque? (open-ended questions)
Assessment: Open-ended questions; teacher observation used with checklists; cooperative learning, verbal explanation assessment, and portfolio