Title – Dental Hygiene: Homemade Toothpaste

By – Lisa Beattie

Primary Subject – Health / Physical Education

Grade Level – K-1

Lesson: Importance of dental hygiene

Standard: 2.1 – All students will learn health promotion and disease prevention concepts and health enhancing behaviors.

Indicator: Describe a healthy child and identify factors that contribute to good health.

Objective: At the end of this lesson students will know the importance of brushing their teeth, how to properly brush their teeth, and become involved, excited, and motivated to brush their teeth.

Materials:

• Baking soda (4 teaspoons per student)
  
• Salt (1 teaspoon per student)
  
• Flavoring – vanilla, peppermint, or almond extract (1 teaspoon per student)
  
• Air tight container for each student (ask to bring own one from home)
  
• Plastic stirrers
  
• Measuring spoons
  
• Fun toothbrushes (one per student)
  
• Paper/tape/scissors (or blank labels)
  
• Markers, crayons, colored pencils

Procedure:

1. At beginning of class or during previous class go over dental hygiene
• why we brush our teeth
  
• when we should brush our teeth
  
• proper techniques for brushing teeth
  
• how long – suggest finding a song they like that is about 2 minutes long or learn what part of a song plays after 2 minutes. When they brush their teeth they can start playing the song and when the 2 minute-mark is reached, they are done

2. Each student mixes 4 teaspoons of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of desired extract (teachers help measure and distribute ingredients)

3. On a piece of paper or label, ask students to write down what they learned about brushing teeth (why, when, etc.). They can then color or make designs on the paper/label. Use this as an assessment for evaluating what the students learned about dental hygiene.

4. Have students peel and stick labels to their containers or help them cut paper to the appropriate size and tape it to their container.

5. At the end of the lesson, students get to pick out a new toothbrush.

Connections: Art – designing the labels

E-Mail

Lisa Beattie

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