Lesson plan Grade 1 Health & Consumer Science
Twenty Counts at the Cranesbill Lane School Sinks
A 35-minute grade 1 health lesson on scrubbing for a count of 20, shutting the tap off while soaping, and solving handwashing problems within 20.
Objectives
- Students will scrub with soap for a full count of 20 at the sink.
- Students will tell why the tap is turned off while hands are being scrubbed.
- Students will add and subtract within 20 to answer scrub-count questions.
Vocabulary
Key words: soap, scrub, rinse, germ, drain
Teacher overview
First graders wash their hands many times a day, and two parts of that routine are worth teaching as steps of their own: scrubbing long enough, and not letting the tap run through the whole scrub. This lesson separates them at the classroom sink: water on to wet, water off to scrub for a count of 20, water on to rinse. A cup held under the running tap makes the saved water visible, and the counting itself becomes the grade's within-20 addition and subtraction practice. One misconception worth naming out loud is that soap alone does the work; the soap needs the full scrub to loosen germs, and the rinse is what carries them down the drain.
Procedure
Opening at the sink (5 min). Gather the class where they can see one sink. Say: "We are going to learn a hand-washing count today." Wet your hands, turn the tap off, and scrub while the class counts slowly to 20 with you. Turn the tap back on and rinse. Ask what they noticed about the water. Take two or three answers.
The cup demonstration (8 min). Hold the clear cup under the tap and turn the water on gently. Have the class count to 20 again while the cup fills over the bowl. Show them the cup. Say: "That much water goes down the drain if the tap runs the whole time we scrub." Empty the cup, then repeat the count with the tap off. Nothing fills. Write two words on the chart paper, scrub and rinse, and draw a small faucet with a line through it beside scrub.
Practice rounds (7 min). Send students to the sink in groups of four while the rest count aloud from their seats. Each washer wets hands, turns the tap off, scrubs to 20, then rinses. Watch for the shut-off step, which is the one most students skip on the first try.
Handout (10 min). Distribute the handout and read each item aloud, one at a time, waiting for students to answer before moving on. Students may use counters or draw circles for items 1 through 6. Circulate and scribe for any student who dictates item 7 or item 8.
Formative check and close (5 min). Ask the class to show thumbs up if they can name the count we scrub to, then call on three students at random to say it. If fewer than about three-quarters of the class shows a confident thumbs up, repeat the sink routine tomorrow before moving on. Close by having the class say the three steps together: wet hands, tap off and scrub to 20, rinse.
Student Handout
Read aloud: Room 7 is a made-up class at Cranesbill Lane School. Answer each question about Room 7. You may use counters or draw circles.
- Room 7 scrubs to a count of 20. Nadia has counted to 12. How many more counts until she reaches 20?
- Owen scrubbed for 9 counts. Then he scrubbed 8 more counts. How many counts did Owen scrub in all?
- Room 7 has 18 children. 6 children washed their hands. How many children have not washed yet?
- Room 7 has two sinks. 7 children washed at the first sink. 9 children washed at the second sink. How many children washed at the two sinks?
- Suppose the tap runs the whole scrub and fills 4 cups. Suppose the tap is off during the scrub, and wetting and rinsing fill 1 cup. How many more cups did the running tap fill?
- Nadia washed her hands 5 times on Monday. She washed 7 times on Tuesday. How many times did she wash on the two days?
- Draw one thing that goes down the drain when you rinse your hands.
- Write or tell one sentence. Why do we turn the tap off while we scrub?
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Answer Key
- Answer: 8 counts. Counting on from 12 to 20 is 8 more counts, or 20 minus 12 equals 8.
- Answer: 17 counts. 9 plus 8 equals 17. Students may make ten first: 9 plus 1 is 10, and 7 more is 17.
- Answer: 12 children. 18 minus 6 equals 12 children still waiting.
- Answer: 16 children. 7 plus 9 equals 16. Making ten from 7 and 3 leaves 6 more.
- Answer: 3 cups. 4 cups minus 1 cup equals 3 more cups filled by the running tap.
- Answer: 12 times. 5 plus 7 equals 12 washes across the two days.
- Answer: Germs, dirt, or soap. Accept any drawing showing what the rinse carries off the hands and into the drain, labeled or dictated.
- Answer: So the water is not wasted while we scrub. Accept any sentence naming that the tap is not helping during the scrub, so the water would run down the drain unused.
Differentiation
Support (below grade level)
Give these students a ten-frame and counters for items 1 through 6 and let them build each number before writing. Pair them with a partner at the sink who counts aloud so the washer can focus on the scrubbing motion rather than tracking the count.
Extension (above grade level)
Ask students to figure out how many total counts three children scrub if each one scrubs to 20, then explain the strategy they used. They can also write a second sentence for item 8 that starts with the word because.
ELL supports
Pre-teach soap, scrub, rinse, and drain with the motions performed at the sink, and post a four-picture strip above the faucet showing wet, off, scrub, rinse. Accept dictated answers for items 7 and 8 in the home language, with one English word added together during scribing.
Extensions
Set up a hand-washing helper job in the class job chart. The helper stands near the sink during the first week and quietly counts to 20 with each washer, then reports before dismissal how many classmates remembered to shut the tap off during the scrub.