Lesson Plans

Learning Zone - Run Against Hunger in the classroom

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE

KS1
Summary
This lesson plan aims to raise awareness about Action Against Hunger’s water and sanitation programmes, and
the importance of these in preventing disease. Action Against Hunger helps provide a supply of clean water
and the knowledge of how to use and care for it properly, teaching communities to maintain water equipment
and prevent disease.

It also aims to explore the links between disease and malnutrition. A malnourished child is weaker and more
vulnerable to disease, and a sick child is more likely to suffer malnutrition, so we must fight disease to combat
hunger. Action Against Hunger has public health programmes to train medical staff, provide medicine and
control epidemics in order to prevent malnutrition.

Learning Objectives
1. To know about hygiene
2. To understand how to keep oneself clean
3. To be able to tell a classmate why it is important to keep clean

Starter exercise – Guessing Game

The teacher is to fill a glass with water and hide it under something such as a box or tea towel. Ask ‘What is
the most important and valuable thing in the world? I have it here.’ Write suggested answers on the board. The
answer is of course Water. Ask a pupil to ‘unveil’ it.

Activity 1 – Keeping clean

Discuss why water is so important for us. Put ideas on the board. We have seen the children in Afghanistan
having lessons on keeping themselves and their drinking water clean. Now fill in the worksheet ‘Keeping clean’
(Insert 4).

Activity 2 – Class discussion

How much water does a person in Afghanistan use per day? And someone in a country like ours? Get your class
to think about when they use water every day. When did you last use it? Split the children into groups of 3-5 and
give each group a piece of A3 sugar paper. Ask them to write or draw their water use e.g. washing up, flushing
the toilet, bath, shower, cleaning teeth.

Activity 3 – Photo comparison “Spot the Difference”

Using the Action Against Hunger photograph ask the children to spot differences and discuss what the
consequences might be. Some of the children in Afghanistan can’t go to school because they have to help get
water for their families. How would you feel if you couldn’t go to school? What would you miss? (Insert 5)

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 Lesson Plans

Learning Zone - Run Against Hunger in the classroom

Activities for other subjects

Maths – Ask students to complete a set of instructions for a robot to get from the classroom to the toilet/water
source. This includes ¼ turns and paces.

Music – Talk about the sound of water. Use different objects and materials to recreate the sound of a river, the
sea and rain.

English – Write a poem about water. Think about how it moves, what it sounds like and how it makes you
feel.

Geography – Describe the landscape in Afghanistan. What is drought? Incorporate ICT and use the internet to
find out more about it. Think about how long drought would affect communities.

Science – In Afghanistan the temperature in the summer can be as hot as 50°C, but in winter as cold as -30°C.
Using a thermometer, find out how warm it is in your classroom and outside in your playground today.
What do you think 50°C would feel like?
What clothes would you need if you were there in winter or summer?
Incorporate ICT and use http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather or http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/ to find out the
temperature in your town and other towns today.

Science – class project Place two cress plants on a sunny windowsill. Give one lots of water but the other
hardly any, and compare how well they grow.

Plenary
Question and answer
• Why do we need to keep clean?
• How do we keep ourselves clean?

Homework
Have a look at where and how you use water at home and make a list of its various uses.

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 Lesson Plans
Learning Zone - Run Against Hunger in the classroom

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE

KS1 – Insert 4
Keeping Clean - Can you think of all the things we have to keep clean?

Can you think of any others?

..........................................
.........................
..........................................

.........................
..........................................

..........................................

..........................................
.........................
..........................................

......................... .........................

.........................

How often do you? ( )

Everyday Morning and Night Once a week Twice a week
Wash your hair?
Brush your teeth?
Have a shower?
Change your clothes?
Wash your hands?
Wash your face?
Change your socks?

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 Lesson Plans

Learning Zone - Run Against Hunger in the classroom

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE
KS1 – Insert 5
Spot as many differences between this image and your own daily lives

© ACF

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