Home›Lesson Plans›PE & Health›Health · Grade 2

Keeping Germs Away

Second graders learn how germs spread and the simple habits that keep them away — washing hands, covering coughs, using tissues — so they can stay healthy and help others stay healthy too.

Grade 2Personal Health35 minutes1 class periodSHAPE / Skills-BasedExplicit teaching4 StandardsSHAPE
Start the Lesson
Assign or share this lesson
Share to Google Classroom Share to Microsoft Teams

Copy link works with Canvas, Schoology, Moodle and any other LMS — paste it in as a resource or assignment.

Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Explain how germs spread.
  • ✓Tell habits that stop germs.
  • ✓Cover coughs and wash.
  • ✓Keep germs away.
Essential Question

Germs are so tiny you can’t even see them — but they can make you sick! The good news? Simple habits keep germs away. What are they?

0
Lesson Phases
0
Vocabulary Terms
0
Standards Aligned
0
Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Stops Germs or Spreads Germs?

Project this and sort each action into one that stops germs or one that spreads germs.

🦠 Sort each — stops germs or spreads germs?Try it
👍 Stops Germs
👎 Spreads Germs
Tap an action, then tap a bucket.
The Lesson · Health & PE Flow (Warm-Up · Learn · Practice · Apply · Cool-Down)

35 minutes, five moves

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

1

Warm-Up — Tiny Germs

5 min

Germs are too tiny to see — how do we keep them away?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Talk about germs.
  • Ask how to stay healthy.
  • Get ready.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Think.
  • Wonder.
  • Get ready.
2

Learn — Stop the Germs

8 min

Children learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain how germs spread.
  • Explain washing and covering coughs.
  • Explain tissues.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Learn spread.
  • Learn washing.
  • Learn tissues.
3

Practice — Stops or Spreads

9 min

Children practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send children to Stops or Spreads Germs?
  • Sort each action.
  • Talk about them.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort them.
  • Talk.
  • Check.
4

Apply — Apply

8 min

Children apply.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Practice covering a cough.
  • Practice washing hands.
  • List germ-stopping habits.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Cover it.
  • Wash.
  • List them.
5

Cool-Down — Cool-Down

5 min

Children close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a way to stop germs.
  • Say why it helps.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Say why.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to SHAPE America National Health Education & Physical Education Standards.

SHAPE
HE.1

Comprehend concepts about germs and health.

SHAPE
HE.7

Practice healthy behaviors to stop germs.

SHAPE
HE.3

Access valid health information.

SHAPE
HE.5

Use decision-making for personal health.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Germ-habit picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “To stop germs, I ___.”
  • Practice covering a cough.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with washing hands.
  • Sort one at a time.
  • Use pictures.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Explain how germs spread.
  • List times to wash hands.
  • Make a germ-stopping poster.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🧼Soap and tissues
  • 💻Stops Germs or Spreads Germs?
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 📋A habits chart
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

germa tiny thing that can make you sickspreadto pass from one to anotherwashto clean with soap and watercoverto put over your mouth when you coughtissuepaper for your nosehealthyfeeling good and wellsicknot feeling wellcleanfree from germs
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 to stop germs from spreading.
Wash your hands, cover your cough, or use a tissue.
QUESTION 2
Where should you cough if you don’t have a tissue?
Into your elbow.
QUESTION 3
Why should you wash your hands?
To wash away germs so you don’t get sick or spread germs.

Cool-Down: stop the germs.

Have children practice covering their coughs with their elbow and washing their hands well at home. A printable germs sheet 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.

🃏 Keeping Germs AwayFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
0

Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

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

📝 Keeping Germs AwayQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

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.

🖨️ Keeping Germs AwayPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: clean, cover, germ, healthy, sick, spread, tissue, wash
  1. paper for your nose
  2. not feeling well
  3. to pass from one to another
  4. to clean with soap and water
  5. a tiny thing that can make you sick
  6. to put over your mouth when you cough
  7. free from germs
  8. feeling good and well

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name one way to stop germs from spreading.
  2. Where should you cough if you don’t have a tissue?
  3. Why should you wash your hands?
Answer key — Part A: 1) tissue · 2) sick · 3) spread · 4) wash · 5) germ · 6) cover · 7) clean · 8) healthy
Part B: 1) Wash your hands, cover your cough, or use a tissue. 2) Into your elbow. 3) To wash away germs so you don’t get sick or spread germs.