TEACH PRESCHOOL SCIENCE
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      • Follow That Scent
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      • We Need Healthy Teeth
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      • Blowing Bubbles
      • Magnify!
      • Ways to Measure Time
      • Magnetic Attraction
      • Ramps in Motion
      • Ice Melting
      • Sink or Float a Boat
      • Sponges and water
      • Dropping Things Through the Air
      • Static Electricity
      • Battery Electricity
      • Properties of Soap and Water
      • Weights and Balances
      • How Can Heat Change Things?
      • Tools Can Help Us Do Things
      • Lifting with Levers
      • Earth and Sky Science Index >
        • Shadow Chasing
        • Sun Effects
        • The Night Sky
        • Kinds of Clouds
        • Dressing for the Season
        • Classifying Rocks
        • Colors of the Rainbow
        • Who Has Seen the Wind?
        • Rain
        • Snow
        • Litter Hunt
        • We Can Take Care of the Earth
      • Wheels
      • Predicting How Simple Machines Will Work
      • Computers and Other Devices
      • Discoveries With Straws
      • Different Ways of Making Light
  • Teaching Notes
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We Need Healthy Teeth


Core Learning Experience + Supplies and Equipment

  • ​Purchase a new toothbrush for each of the children, or have them bring one from home. Have some toothpaste available, and have them each brush their teeth while you watch, comment and encourage. When done, check out the bright smiles.
  • Show a photo of a baby smile with no teeth. How do babies chew with no teeth? Discuss food that baby eats and drinks, and the difference between “then and now”.
  • Give the children a long slice of apple (or similarly crunchy) to eat. Point out which teeth they use to bite, and which to chew. How many times do they chew before they swallow?
  • Show, explain, and use dental floss.

Possible/Expected Discoveries

  • ​People need teeth to chew most of their food before they swallow it. People need to eat food to stay alive and healthy. Most people are omnivorous, so they have the kind of teeth that can chew both plants and meat. It is very important to keep teeth healthy, so they won’t decay.
  • We can help keep our teeth healthy by brushing at least twice a day, after breakfast and after dinner.
  • We also need our teeth to help us when we talk. Let’s say some words and letter sounds, and figure out how we use our teeth when talking. (sounds d, l, n, t, th, come to mind)
  • The food we eat affects the health of our teeth. Eat sugary or sticky food in moderation, and try to brush after eating it.
  • Many animals have teeth. Animals that eat mostly meat (carnivores) have strong sharp teeth to chew their food, and animals that eat mostly plants (herbivores) have smaller, flatter teeth. Some animals have no teeth at all. Let’s read some books and look online to find out about animal teeth.(See web site below)

Extended Learning and Other Curriculum Areas

  • ​​Count your teeth.
  • Categorize healthy food for teeth, and sugary sticky food. Use real food, or make a chart with drawings or clipart, and label the food.
  • Use an old, used, recyclable toothbrush to paint with. (Using a new one sends a conflicting message.)
  • Compare 3 different kinds of toothpaste. Look, smell, rub between fingertips, taste. Discuss differences and similarities. Squirt a sample of each on a piece of card, and compare colors. Will it dry? Wait and see. (Painting with toothpaste also sends a conflicting message).
  • Cut out a big red construction paper smile, and have the children use small sponges or blocks to print a row of teeth towards the top, and a row of teeth towards the bottom.
Preschool science activities - we need healthy teeth
Picture

Activity Packs and Printables

Websites

​http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/tech/teeth/newsid_3830000/3830847.stm (excellent for simple explanations)

Books

USEFUL LINKS

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Privacy Policy
This site is sponsored and supported by the preschool themes site www.KidSparkz.com
Activities written by (c) Susan Portman
Pre-K, Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, Homeschooler - TeachersPayTeachers.com
Copyright © 2005-2023 Teach Preschool Science - Permission granted to reproduce for personal educational use only. Commercial copying or selling is prohibited. No part of this resource may be uploaded to, or published on, any other site for any reason.
  • Home
  • Lesson Plans Index
    • Life Science Plants and Animals >
      • Comparing Leaves
      • Exploring Pumpkins
      • Shucking Corn
      • Earthworm Observation
      • Parent and Baby Animals
      • Collecting Ants
      • Spider Season
      • Visit to a Pet Store
      • Living and Non Living Things
      • Animals Come in Many Shapes, Sizes and Colors
      • Ways Animals Move
      • Animals Need to Eat
      • Difference Between Wild and Tame Animals
      • People Can Use Products Provided by Animals and Plants
      • Animal Coverings - Hair, Fur, Feathers, Scales and Skin
      • Animals Live in Different Places
      • Metamorphosis and Change in Biology
      • Nocturnal Animals
      • Egg Science
      • Exploring Fish
      • Tree Skin Bark
      • Roots Growing Potatoes in Water
      • Stems - Making Daisy and Clover Chains
      • Flowers
      • Digging in the Dirt
    • Life Science People Index >
      • Parts of Our Body and How We Use Them
      • Our Heart
      • Our Hands
      • Our Feet
      • Fun With Balance
      • Sound Search
      • Sense of Touch
      • Exploring the Sense of Sight
      • Follow That Scent
      • Stop That Germ!
      • Interesting Tools That Doctors Use
      • We Need Healthy Teeth
      • Keep Those Muscles Moving!
    • Physical Science Index >
      • Blowing Bubbles
      • Magnify!
      • Ways to Measure Time
      • Magnetic Attraction
      • Ramps in Motion
      • Ice Melting
      • Sink or Float a Boat
      • Sponges and water
      • Dropping Things Through the Air
      • Static Electricity
      • Battery Electricity
      • Properties of Soap and Water
      • Weights and Balances
      • How Can Heat Change Things?
      • Tools Can Help Us Do Things
      • Lifting with Levers
      • Earth and Sky Science Index >
        • Shadow Chasing
        • Sun Effects
        • The Night Sky
        • Kinds of Clouds
        • Dressing for the Season
        • Classifying Rocks
        • Colors of the Rainbow
        • Who Has Seen the Wind?
        • Rain
        • Snow
        • Litter Hunt
        • We Can Take Care of the Earth
      • Wheels
      • Predicting How Simple Machines Will Work
      • Computers and Other Devices
      • Discoveries With Straws
      • Different Ways of Making Light
  • Teaching Notes
  • Links
  • Contact