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Tissue, Please!

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Subjects

  • Arts & Humanities
    --Literature
    --Visual Arts
  • Health
    --Our Bodies

Grade

  • Pre K
  • K-2

 

Brief Description

Share a read-aloud story and a fun art project to teach cold-season manners.

Brief Description

Students

  • learn proper manners to reduce the risk of spreading or catching colds and flu.
  • discern good cold-season manners from reading aloud Tissue, Please!
  • complete an art project to reinforce good cold-season manners.

Keywords

health, colds, germs, manners, tissue, Kleenex, cold season, flu

Materials Needed

Students

  • Tissue, Please! by Lisa Kopelke (If your school library does not have this book, you might request it via your state's inter-library service; in the meantime, suggest to your librarian that this title be added to the books-to-buy list.)
  • paper plate (dinner size)
  • tissues (aka Kleenex)
  • markers, crayons
  • art supplies that might be used for transforming paper plates into a child's face/head -- for example: yarn for hair, buttons for eyes, construction paper to create a nose or ears

Lesson Plan

It's cold season. Young children are sneezing all over the place, and wiping dirty noses on sleeves. It's time for a lesson in good health manners. This simple art project will help you to emphasize some important lessons this cold and flu season.

Reading Suggestion

Frog and his friends can't stop sniffling. What's worse, they wipe their noses on their arms. Frog's runny nose is making it hard to concentrate in dance class, and it's disgusting his teacher, Miss Tutu. What Frog and his friends need are tissues! In Tissue, Please!, Frog discovers nirvana when he finally uses a tissue to blow his nose. But what will happen when Frog is caught in the middle of his dance recital with a runny nose -- and no tissue? Lisa Kopelke's humorous text and exuberant art enliven this comedy of manners.
 

Before doing the art project, you might talk with students about good manners during cold season. Students will likely offer suggestions such as covering their mouths and noses when sneezing and saying "excuse me" after a sneeze. You might share a fun read aloud, Tissue, Please! (see sidebar), which will introduce cold-season manners in a fun way. After reading the book, make a list of good manners that all children should follow during cold season.

After the discussion and read-aloud, provide art supplies (crayons and markers, yarn, buttons, and so on) so students can transform their paper plates into likenesses of themselves.

Students should trace their hands onto a sheet of construction paper. This can be a challenge for young children, so they might trace each other's hands or you might trace their hands for them. After tracing, students can cut out their paper hands.

After they have finished creating the paper-place likenesses, provide a tissue. Have students crumple the tissue a bit and glue it over the nose drawn on the paper plate, so it is in the position a tissue might be if the child is blowing his or her nose.

Then have students glue their cut-out paper hands over the tissue, in the position they might be if the child is blowing his or her nose.

Display students' artwork on a bulletin board and draw attention to it in the weeks ahead as reminders of cold-season manners are warranted.

Cold Season Manners

Keep Your Germs to Yourself
  • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when sneezing, coughing, or blowing your nose.
  • Throw used tissues in the trash as soon as you can.
  • Always wash your hands after sneezing, blowing your nose, or coughing, or after touching used tissues or handkerchiefs.
Keep the Germs Away
  • Wash your hands before eating, and before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
  • Wash your hands after touching anyone else who is sneezing, coughing, blowing their nose, or whose nose is running.
  • Don't share things like towels, toys, or anything else that might be contaminated with cold germs.
  • Don't share food, utensils or beverage containers with others.
Source: Washington State Department of Health
 

Assessment

Do students remember their cold-season manners in the days ahead? Turn their attention back to this project if they seem to forget. Or simply bring it up again to reinforce their awareness of good manners.

Lesson Plan Source

EducationWorld.com

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins

National Standards

FINE ARTS: Visual Arts
GRADES K - 4
NA-VA.K-4.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
NA-VA.K-4.3 Choosing and Evaluating A Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas
NA-VA.K-4.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines

PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH: Health
GRADES K - 4
NPH-H.K-4.1 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
NPH-H.K-4.3 Reducing Health Risks

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For additional health lesson plans, see these Education World resources:

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Copyright© 2009 Education World

Originally published 01/30/2006
Last updated 12/01/2014