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 didn’t. In fact it shocked me! 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 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. I incorporate the hygiene theme into my Daily 5 style 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 experts in oral hygiene! To extend the learning I follow up this lesson with my Morning Routine for special education product.