Too Small to See

"Are there things in the air we cannot see at all?"

• Different sized objects (basketball, tennis ball, marble, grain of sand, glitter)
• Magnifying glasses
• Pictures of germs from microscopes
• Chart paper for size comparison

Teacher Says:

"We learned about dust and pollen floating in the air. We could see them in the light or catch them on sticky paper. But what if I told you there are even TINIER things floating in the air? Things so small we cannot see them at all! These are called germs."

Line Up Sizes:

1. Show a basketball: "We can see this easily!"
2. Show a marble: "Smaller, but still easy to see!"
3. Show a grain of sand: "Very small! Hard to see."
4. Show glitter: "Super tiny! Need to look closely."
5. Use magnifying glass: "This helps us see small things better!"
6. "But germs are even smaller than glitter! Too small even for magnifying glasses!"

Discussion Questions:

• "Can you see air?"
  No! But we know it is real because we can feel it and breathe it.
• "Can you see the wind?"
  No! But we can see what it does - leaves move, hair blows.
• "Can you see germs?"
  No! But we know they are real because they can make us sick.

Show Microscope Pictures:

Show simple, colorful images of germs from microscopes (available online). Keep it simple and not scary!

• Germs are too small to see with our eyes
• Scientists use special microscopes to take pictures of them
• Some germs can make us sick if they get inside our bodies
• That is why we wash our hands - to wash germs away!

Review Unit 2:

• "Is air empty?" (No! Tiny things float in it!)
• "What can we see in the light?" (Dust!)
• "What comes from flowers?" (Pollen!)
• "What is too small to see?" (Germs!)

Students can:

• Name things that float in air (dust, pollen, smoke)
• Understand that some things are too small to see
• Know that germs are real even though invisible
• Connect handwashing to keeping germs away