Short Lessons on Colds and Flu

Well it's that time of year when classrooms aren't full because kids have a cold or the flu. 25% of my students were out today. I've been running a fever all afternoon. The only upside to this for me is that I am reminded of a few short video lessons about colds and flu.

Colds, the Flu, and You is a video from SciShow Kids that is appropriate for elementary school classrooms.



How is a cold or flu passed from person to person and what exactly is it doing to your body? NPR answers those questions in the following animated video.



Did you get your flu shot this year? This TED-Ed lesson explains why you should get one every year.


Here's one more explanation of the difference between a cold and flu.

Colds, Flu, and Boogie Wipes - Timely Science Lessons

As anyone who has heard me speak this week can attest, I'm getting over a miserable cold. I'm not the only one as this cold has affected my kids and many others in our community. We're going through a lot of boogie wipes in our house. Thankfully, none of us have had the flu. But what's the difference between a cold and the flu? How can you avoid catching either one? Those questions and more are answered in the following videos.

Colds, the Flu, and You is a video from SciShow Kids that is appropriate for elementary school classrooms.




How is a cold or flu passed from person to person and what exactly is it doing to your body? NPR answers those questions in the following animated video.



Did you get your flu shot this year? This TED-Ed lesson explains why you should get one every year.

Why You Should Get a Flu Shot Every Year

I was at my local pharmacy yesterday and they had a sign encouraging people to get a flu shot. The small print on the sign pointed that you should get a flu shot every year. Your students might be wondering, "why do I have to get a flu vaccine shot again this year?" If that's the case, have them watch the new TED-Ed lesson titled Why Do You Need To Get A Flu Shot Every Year? The lesson does a nice job of explaining why influenza changes and why a new vaccine is developed.

Animated Explanation - How a Virus Invades Your Body

As the weather continues to change cold and flu season will upon us again. In fact, we've already had one mild cold get passed around my school. So how is a cold or flu passed from person to person and what exactly is it doing to your body? NPR answers those questions in the following animated video.



Applications for Education
You might want to use this video in junction with some of the educational resources available for Global Handwashing Day coming up on October 15. The National Science Foundation's Scrub Club also has some lesson ideas for teaching students to prevent the spread of colds. You might also want to pair this video with Explania's animated explanation of the colds and the flu.

H/T to Open Culture for the NPR video. 

Clorox Offers Free Lesson Plans About Germs

In an effort to help elementary school teachers educate their students about germs and disease prevention (and to sell disinfectant) Clorox has developed a website for teachers. Clorox Classrooms offers ten lesson plans, four "take home" activities, and a couple of interactive whiteboard activities for K-5 classrooms. Each of the ten lesson plans are designed to help students understand what germs are and how to prevent the spread of germs. Most of the lesson plans include an "extension" activities for interactive whiteboards.

Applications for Education

There are K-2 and 3-5 versions of four lesson plans; The Case of Invisible Invaders, Follow Those Germs, The Usual Suspects, and Science Fair Investigation. For 3-5 only there is How Clean is the Scene? And for K-2 only there is Removing the Evidence. The lesson plans are published as PDFs with handouts for students. The lesson plans are designed to get students out of their seats and actively engaged in problem solving.

What is the Flu? What is a Cold?

If the pharmaceutical commercials on television are any indication, we're right in the middle of cold and flu season. What is the difference between having a cold and having the flu? Explania has the answer in the video below.

What is ‘flu? - Explania

Applications for Education

When I saw this video I immediately thought of our school nurse who reminds at nearly every staff meeting to wash our hands and stay home if we're sick with a cold or the flu. This video won't replace her messages to us, but it could be a nice supplement to her message. The video is also a good resource for a health class.

Scrub Club Teaches Kids About Disease Prevention

Scrub Club is a website designed to teach students why they need to wash their hands. The Scrub Club offers videos, comics, and games designed to promote healthy hygiene habits to prevent the spread of diseases like the flu. For teachers, Scrub Club offers free downloads of posters, cartoon books, and lesson plans to promote hand washing. The downloads are available in English, Spanish, and French.

Applications for Education

With the flu and cold season upon us, it's a good time to remind students of the importance of hand washing. The Scrub Club offers some nice resources for sharing those reminders with students in grade K through 3.

Here are some related items that may be of interest to you:
Food Play - Resources About Food and Diet
Sugar Stacks - How Much Sugar is in Your Snack?
Cool Food Kidz Teaches Kids About Diet & Fitness

Bill Nye Tells Kids to Wash Their Hands

Clif Mims posted this video yesterday I just had to pass it along. It's a quick music video reminding kids to wash their hands to prevent the spread of germs. The video goes nicely with these ten videos that I linked to last week. The video also goes well with these lesson plans about preventing the spread of germs.