I recently read that students with poor oral hygiene are estimated to miss as much as three times more school than students who engage in regular oral care. I had no idea the two were so closely aligned.
Teaching students to brush their teeth during dental hygiene week in the classroom is one of my favorites. We are lucky to have a local dentist that offers a free toothbrush and other oral hygiene care items to all of the students on my caseload.
You can feel the excitement whip through the room when those bright green bags appear with all of the healthy tools inside. To support my teaching during this exciting and oh-so-important week, I created a mini-unit that I use throughout the week with my littles. I'm going to give you all the deets in case you want to use it too!
How it Looks in my Classroom
I created this mini unit with all the bells and whistles to help me teach oral hygiene in my classroom.
I like to start by reading the social story to the whole group. Then, I pass out the small half sheets and allow students to read it themselves and color the pictures. Over the next few days, I reinforce the vocabulary and process of teeth cleaning using sequencing cards.
Wrapping the skills into other parts of our week is equally important. I incorporate the hygiene theme into my Daily 5 style reading station rotations using the vocabulary and word work pages. To round out the week I have the students work on the color-by-number page.
By the end of the week, I am surrounded by students proficient in oral hygiene! To extend the learning I follow up with this personal hygiene unit. I hope this helps you get your students to increase their independence with this life skill.