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Declare Germ Warfare!

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Declare Germ Warfare!
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Print Declare Germ Warfare! Reading Comprehension

Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	high interest, readability grades 4 to 5
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	3.09

Vocabulary

challenging words:

helping, quarter-sized, greatly, naturally, harmless, sanitizer, backs, palms, defend, health, proper, onto, liquid, such, prepare, downward

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Declare Germ Warfare! By Patti Hutchison

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¹     What have you touched today? Did you play with your dog? Did you take out the garbage? We touch things all day long without even thinking about it. Now think about this: how many times have you washed your hands today?
 
²     No matter what you touched today, you came into contact with germs. Germs are bacteria and viruses. Bacteria are living things. Viruses are different. In order to do all the things that a living thing does, viruses need to use your body's cells. Both bacteria and virus are tiny. They are so small that they cannot be seen without a good microscope. These germs or "bugs" are everywhere. They are on everything you touch. There are billions of them in and on your body. Most are helpful or harmless, but some can make you very sick. They cause illnesses such as colds, flu, and stomach problems. How can you defend yourself against these enemies? Wash your hands.
 
³     Did you know that most cold germs are not spread through the air? They are spread when someone touches their own nose, mouth, or eye after touching someone who is sick. You can also get colds by touching something a sick person has touched.
 
⁴     Children miss over twenty thousand school days each year just because of colds. According to most health experts, this number could be reduced greatly. If people washed their hands correctly and more often, there would be less illness.
 
⁵     When should you wash your hands? Naturally, if they look dirty, you should wash them. But even if they don't look dirty, there are germs on them. You should always wash your hands after using the bathroom.

Paragraphs 6 to 15:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

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