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How Clean Is Your Routine?

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Lesson Plan

Sparkling Habits Blueprint

Students will explore personal hygiene habits, identify areas for improvement, and develop a personalized daily cleanliness routine. By lesson end, they will list key hygiene practices, explain their importance, and commit to actionable steps for their own health.

Good hygiene prevents illness, builds confidence, and fosters lifelong wellness. This lesson equips 6th graders with self-awareness and practical skills to maintain personal cleanliness and healthy routines.

Audience

6th Grade

Time

45 minutes

Approach

Interactive poll, slide presentation, active team challenge, reflective journaling.

Materials

Prep

Prepare Materials

10 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: Hygiene Poll

5 minutes

  • Distribute the Hygiene Poll Handout to each student.
  • Read aloud each question (e.g., “How often do you wash your hands?”) and have students circle their answer.
  • Quickly tally results on the board and highlight one surprising finding.

Step 2

Explore Germs: Slide Presentation

10 minutes

  • Present the Germs Under the Microscope Slide Deck.
  • Discuss how germs spread and why regular hygiene practices (handwashing, showering, brushing teeth) matter.
  • Pause for student questions and real-life examples.

Step 3

Main Activity: Routine Relay Race

15 minutes

  • Divide students into teams of 4–5.
  • Place baskets of Routine Relay Race Cards at one end of the room.
  • On go, one student from each team races to pick a card (e.g., “Wash hands for 20 seconds”), returns, and demonstrates or explains the step.
  • Rotate until all cards are collected; award points for correct demonstrations and teamwork.

Step 4

Reflection: My Clean Plan Journal

10 minutes

  • Hand out the My Clean Plan Reflection Journal.
  • Instruct students to write down three hygiene habits they do well, two to improve, and one new habit to adopt.
  • Encourage honest self-assessment and specific action steps (e.g., “I will wash my hands after recess every day”).

Step 5

Share & Informal Assessment

5 minutes

  • Invite volunteers to share one habit they plan to improve and how they will do it.
  • Collect journals to review student commitments and provide individualized feedback.
  • Conclude with a reminder: small daily steps lead to lasting healthy routines.
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Slide Deck

Germs Under the Microscope

Invisible living organisms all around us.

Welcome students to our exploration of germs! Introduce the title and ask: “Who can tell me what a germ is?” Explain that by the end of this deck, we’ll know where germs hide and how to keep them away.

What Are Germs?

Tiny living organisms invisible to the naked eye.

Explain that germs are so small we need a microscope to see them. Emphasize they can make us sick if they enter our bodies.

Types of Germs

• Bacteria
• Viruses
• Fungi
• Protozoa

Briefly define each type and give a real-life example: bacteria (strep throat), viruses (cold), fungi (athlete’s foot), protozoa (amoebas).

Where Germs Live

• Surfaces (doorknobs, phones)
• Hands
• Air (cough/sneeze droplets)
• Food & water

Show images of a doorknob, faucet, phone, and ask students where else they think germs live. Stress they’re everywhere!

How Germs Spread

  1. Direct contact (handshakes)
  2. Indirect contact (contaminated objects)
  3. Airborne droplets (coughs/sneezes)

Demonstrate a handshake and then touching your face. Explain direct vs. indirect spread, and how coughs carry droplets.

Why Hygiene Matters

Prevents sickness, keeps you healthy, protects others.

Refer back to the Hygiene Poll results: note any surprising findings. Stress how good hygiene prevents missed school days.

Proper Handwashing

  1. Wet hands
  2. Apply soap & lather 20 sec
  3. Rinse thoroughly
  4. Dry with a clean towel

Walk through each handwashing step. Have students practice lathering for 20 seconds by singing “Happy Birthday” twice.

Key Hygiene Habits

• Wash hands before eating
• Brush teeth twice daily
• Shower or bathe daily
• Cover coughs & sneezes

Quickly discuss each habit and invite students to add any others they follow at home.

Play the video and pause to highlight key moments: scrubbing nails, rinsing everywhere.

Next Up: Routine Relay Race!

Get ready to practice hygiene steps in a fun relay challenge.

Transition into the Routine Relay Race activity. Explain teams, rules, and have materials ready.

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Warm Up

Hygiene Poll

Circle your answer for each question:

  1. How often do you wash your hands?
    a. Less than once a day
    b. 1–2 times a day
    c. 3–4 times a day
    d. 5 or more times a day



  1. How many times do you brush your teeth?
    a. Once a day
    b. Twice a day
    c. Only when I remember
    d. Never



  1. How often do you shower or bathe?
    a. Every day
    b. Every other day
    c. A few times a week
    d. Rarely



  1. When you cough or sneeze, do you:
    a. Always cover with a tissue or elbow
    b. Sometimes remember to cover
    c. Rarely cover
    d. Never cover



  1. How often do you change into clean clothes?
    a. Every day
    b. Every other day
    c. A few times a week
    d. Rarely



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Activity

Routine Relay Race

Overview: Teams will compete in a fun relay to collect and demonstrate daily hygiene steps, reinforcing why each habit matters.

Materials Needed:

  • Printed Routine Relay Race Cards
  • Baskets or containers for cards (one per team)
  • Timer or stopwatch

Setup:

  1. Divide students into teams of 4–5 and assign each team a base line on one side of the room.
  2. Place a basket of Routine Relay Race Cards at the opposite side for each team.

Instructions:

  1. On “Go,” the first student from each team races to their basket, selects one card, and returns to their team base.
  2. The student reads the task aloud and either demonstrates the step (e.g., miming proper handwashing) or explains the habit clearly.
  3. After a correct demo/explanation, the next teammate goes to pick another card.
  4. Continue until all cards are collected.
  5. Award points for:
    • Accurate demonstrations or clear explanations
    • Teamwork and encouragement
    • Speed (optional tie-breaker)
  6. Declare the team with the highest points the winner.

Routine Relay Race Cards:

  • Wash hands for 20 seconds (lather with soap)
  • Brush teeth for 2 minutes
  • Cover a cough or sneeze with your elbow
  • Shower or bathe thoroughly
  • Change into clean clothes
  • Apply deodorant
  • Tie hair back or clip it neatly
  • Clean under fingernails
  • Rinse your face with water
  • Wipe down a personal item (e.g., phone or desk)

Encourage excitement, proper form, and positive teamwork as students practice each hygiene habit!

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Journal

My Clean Plan Reflection

Use this journal to think deeply about your personal hygiene habits and set clear goals for improvement.

1. What hygiene habits do I already do well?

List three habits and explain why each one is important to you.












2. Which two hygiene habits would I like to improve?

Describe the habit, why it’s challenging, and what barriers I might face.







3. What is one new hygiene habit I want to adopt?

Explain how you will integrate this habit into your daily routine and why it matters.







4. How will I remind myself to practice this new habit?

Outline specific strategies (e.g., alarms, checklists, habit trackers, support from family).







5. In what ways will improving my hygiene benefit my health, confidence, and daily life?

Discuss at least two benefits and how you expect to feel or see changes.







6. How will I know I’ve succeeded?

Identify one or two clear signs that show your plan is working (e.g., fewer missed wash days, compliments from others).




Once you’ve completed your reflections, keep this page somewhere you can revisit it. Small, consistent steps lead to big improvements in your health and well-being!

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How Clean Is Your Routine? • Lenny Learning