Causes of Water-Borne Diseases, Examples and Prevention for Pre-School Level 4

Class: Pre-School Level 4
Term: Third Term
Week: 8
Age: 5 years
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Health Habits
Curriculum Theme: Health Habits
Previous Lesson: Personal Hygiene: Bathing, Brushing Teeth, Hair Care
Topic: WATER-BORNE DISEASES: CAUSES, EXAMPLES AND PREVENTION
Subject Matter: Water-Borne Diseases: Causes, Examples and Prevention

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

Cognitive Domain

• Tell the meaning of “water-borne disease” in simple terms.
• List at least two examples of water-borne diseases.
• Identify common causes of water-borne diseases.
• State simple ways to prevent water-borne diseases.

Affective Domain

• Show willingness to drink clean water.
• Appreciate the importance of handwashing for preventing illness.

Psychomotor Domain

• Demonstrate proper handwashing techniques.
• Point to pictures of clean and dirty water.

Social Domain

• Participate in group discussions about healthy habits.

Reference Materials

• NAPPS National Unified Teaching Scheme for Pre-School Level 4
• Early Childhood Care and Education resources
• Relevant picture charts and posters

Instructional Materials

• Charts showing clean and dirty water
• Posters illustrating water-borne diseases (e.g., a child with stomach ache)
• Posters showing prevention methods (e.g., handwashing, covered food)
• Mp4 player/tablet for video
• Pictures of various foods and drinks (some clean, some potentially contaminated)
• Soap and water for handwashing demonstration
• Two clear bottles: one with clean water, one with muddy/dirty water

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson is essential for 5-year-olds as it introduces them to the concept of water-borne diseases in a simple, practical way. Understanding how germs spread through water and learning basic prevention methods like handwashing and drinking clean water empowers children to protect their health and develop lifelong hygiene habits, reducing the risk of common illnesses.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils can identify different types of water (e.g., drinking water, bath water) and understand that some things are clean while others are dirty. They may also have some basic knowledge of personal hygiene like bathing and brushing teeth.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

Water-Borne Diseases: Causes, Examples and Prevention

What are Water-Borne Diseases?

• Water-borne diseases are sicknesses that people get from drinking or using dirty water.
• These diseases have tiny germs that live in dirty water.

What the Teacher Should Show or Draw

• Show two bottles: one with clean, clear water and one with muddy or dirty water.
• Display pictures of children looking sick (e.g., holding stomach) and children looking healthy.

Causes of Water-Borne Diseases:

• Drinking water that is not clean (dirty water).
• Using dirty water to wash fruits or vegetables.
• Using dirty water to cook food.
• Not washing hands with soap and clean water before eating or after using the toilet.
• Eating food that has been touched by dirty hands or flies.

Examples of Water-Borne Diseases:

• Diarrhoea: When you have a runny stomach and visit the toilet many times.
• Cholera: A very serious sickness that makes you lose a lot of water from your body.
• Dysentery: Another sickness that causes stomach pain and runny stool.

How to Prevent Water-Borne Diseases (Stay Healthy!):

1. Drink Clean Water: Always drink water that has been boiled or filtered. Don’t drink water from dirty sources.
2. Wash Your Hands: Wash your hands with soap and clean water:
   • Before eating food.
   • After using the toilet.
   • After playing outside.
3. Wash Fruits and Vegetables: Wash all fruits and vegetables with clean water before eating them.
4. Cover Food: Always keep food covered to protect it from flies and dust.
5. Keep Your Environment Clean: Don’t throw rubbish near water sources.

Clean Water Song

Tune: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”

Lyrics:

Clean, clean water, clear and bright,
Helps us stay healthy, day and night.
Drink it up, don’t drink what’s bad,
Happy bodies, never sad.
Wash our hands with soap and care,
No more germs for us to share!

Actions: Line 1-2: Point to a bottle of clean water, then hug self. Line 3-4: Pretend to drink, shake head “no” for bad water, pat stomach happily. Line 5-6: Rub hands together as if washing, then spread hands out.

How to use the rhyme: Sing the song with actions after discussing prevention methods to reinforce the importance of clean water and handwashing.

Watch and Practise

Let’s watch a short video about washing our hands properly to keep germs away!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiF_e1r94qA

Key Words

• Water-borne: Sickness that comes from dirty water.
• Germs: Tiny things that make us sick, too small to see.
• Diarrhoea: A sickness that makes your stomach run.
• Prevent: To stop something bad from happening.
• Hygiene: Keeping clean to stay healthy.

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Play-based Learning, Demonstration, Guided Practice, Songs and Rhymes, Picture Talk, Question and Answer, Role-play, Repetition, Practical Activity.

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Engaging/Recalling

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils and asks them what they do to stay healthy (e.g., bathe, eat good food). The teacher then shows a picture of a child drinking water and asks if all water is safe to drink. The teacher introduces the topic: “Today, we will learn about sicknesses that come from dirty water, how we get them, and how to stop them.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to questions about staying healthy and observe the picture. They listen attentively to the introduction.

Learning Point: Pupils recall previous knowledge and are introduced to the lesson topic.

Step 2: Meaning of Water-Borne Diseases

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explaining/Visual Aid

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher shows the two bottles of water (clean and dirty). The teacher explains, “Water-borne diseases are sicknesses we get from drinking or using water that has germs, like this dirty water.” The teacher uses simple language and points to the dirty water. “These tiny germs make us sick.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils observe the water samples and listen to the explanation. They repeat “water-borne disease” after the teacher.

Learning Point: Pupils understand the basic meaning of water-borne diseases.

Step 3: Causes of Water-Borne Diseases

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explaining/Discussion

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher discusses common causes using pictures. “How do these germs get into our bodies? By drinking dirty water, using it to wash food, or not washing our hands.” The teacher asks, “What happens if we drink this dirty water?”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils look at pictures and respond to the teacher’s questions, identifying actions that might lead to sickness.

Learning Point: Pupils identify common ways water-borne diseases are contracted.

Step 4: Examples of Water-Borne Diseases

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Naming/Association

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher shows posters of children with symptoms. “When we get sick from dirty water, we might have diarrhoea (runny stomach), cholera, or dysentery (bad stomach pain).” The teacher explains each simply, focusing on what the child might feel.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils observe the posters and repeat the names of the diseases after the teacher. They describe what they might feel if they had these sicknesses.

Learning Point: Pupils learn common examples of water-borne diseases.

Step 5: Prevention Methods (Clean Water and Handwashing)

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Demonstrating/Practical

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher focuses on two key prevention methods. “To stay healthy, we must always drink clean water.” (Points to clean water bottle). “And we must always wash our hands with soap and clean water.” The teacher demonstrates proper handwashing, inviting pupils to air-wash their hands with her. The teacher then leads the “Clean Water Song.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils observe the handwashing demonstration and practice air-washing. They sing the “Clean Water Song” with actions.

Learning Point: Pupils learn and practice key prevention methods: drinking clean water and handwashing.

Step 6: Other Prevention Methods and Video Reinforcement

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Reinforcing/Visual Learning

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher quickly mentions other prevention methods: washing fruits/vegetables, covering food, and keeping the environment clean. The teacher then plays the “Wash Your Hands Song” video, encouraging pupils to sing and do the actions along with it.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the additional prevention tips and actively participate in singing and doing the actions with the video.

Learning Point: Pupils reinforce their understanding of handwashing and other prevention methods through visual and auditory learning.

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 4–5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher checks pupils’ understanding through short questions and practical tasks.

1. What is a water-borne disease? (Show dirty water bottle)
2. Name one sickness you can get from dirty water.
3. Show me how you wash your hands properly.
4. What kind of water should we always drink? (Show clean/dirty water pictures)

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond orally and demonstrate the required skill where appropriate.

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Step 8: Conclusion

Time: 1 minute

Teaching Skill: Summarising/Encouraging

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher praises the pupils for their participation and reminds them to always drink clean water and wash their hands to stay healthy. “Remember, clean water and clean hands keep the germs away!”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the summary and repeat the reminder.

Learning Point: Pupils are encouraged to apply the learned habits in their daily lives.

Lesson Keywords

• Water-borne – Sickness that comes from dirty water.
• Germs – Tiny things that can make us sick.
• Diarrhoea – Having a runny stomach.
• Prevent – To stop something bad from happening.
• Clean water – Water that is safe to drink and use.

Differentiation

• Support: For pupils who struggle, use more physical cues like pointing directly to clean/dirty water. Provide fewer choices when asking for examples of diseases or prevention methods. Guide hand-over-hand during handwashing demonstration.
• Extension: Encourage quicker pupils to name another way germs can spread (e.g., coughs, sneezes) or to explain why covering food is important. Ask them to identify other items that need to be washed before eating.

Note for teachers using this lesson plan

Prepare the visual aids (clean/dirty water bottles, charts/posters) beforehand. The concept of “germs” can be abstract for 5-year-olds, so emphasize the visible effect (dirty water makes you sick) and the actions they can take (wash hands, drink clean water). The handwashing demonstration should be practical and involve all children. Repeat the song and the key phrases (“drink clean water,” “wash your hands”) frequently throughout the lesson. Observe pupils’ actions during the handwashing practice to gauge understanding. Focus on making the lesson actionable and positive, empowering children to make healthy choices rather than instilling fear.