Colds, Flu, and Germs Explained

As much as I love winter, I don't love the onset of cold and flu season. How do colds and flu get passed from one person to the next? A new TED-Ed lesson titled How Do Germs Spread has some answers for us. The video is embedded below.


What is the difference between having a cold and having the flu? Explania has the answer in the video below.


What is ‘flu? - Explania


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.


The Obligatory Fall Sick Song offers a fun reminder about getting rest, eating vitamins, and washing your hands.

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.

Clean Up the Classroom - Tips for Fighting Germs

Clean Up the Classroom is a website created by Clorox for the purpose of helping teachers educate students about fighting the spread of germs in their classrooms. On Clean Up the Classroom teachers will find lesson plans and games for educating students about preventing the spread of germs. Teachers will also find classroom posters and letters that can be sent home with students.

Thanks to Michael for the tip about Clean Up The Classroom sent via email.

Applications for Education
Although they don't state it, Clean Up the Classroom's lesson plans and games are probably best utilized in elementary school and middle school classrooms.

Here are some related items that may be of interest to you:
10 Good Videos About Flu Prevention
Food Play - Resources About Food and Diet
Sugar Stacks - How Much Sugar Is In Your Snack?