Best Popular Film
Osmosis Jones
Producers: Dennis Edwards, Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, Marc S. Fischer, Aaron Parry, Zak Penn, Bradley Thomas and John Walker
Year: 2001
Length: 95 mins
Rating: PG
Description:
This highly popular and captivating live action-animation brings germs, health promotion and hygiene into the spotlight. Osmosis Jones is a staple movie with actors Bill Murray and Chris Rock exploring these concepts of health through a journey to get Murray’s character, Frank, healthy again.
Review:
Frank and Osmosis Jones are able to give a conceptual view to viruses and germs. The viewer learns from the “germs” perspective of what germs can look like, what they do, where they can live and how to prevent them. This playful educational video connects health and science based concepts.
Core Integration:
Osmosis Jones Is a thrilling movie that engages the viewer into a health+science based education lesson. This movie would be enjoyed on one of the later days after germs and hygiene have already been introduced. The theme and plot of this movie would be a great vehicle to a whole-class closing-discussion. Through the previous lessons, watching Osmosis Jones, and discussion between educator/students; students will be able to communicate basic understanding of germs and how to practice health-enhancing behaviors by orally affirming their understanding in a class discussion.
Follow-up/Extension:
A follow up or extension to this movie and lesson would be having students discuss this movie with their parents. Building the home-school connection for the lesson of hygiene is a great opportunity to build on. Students would be required to have parents sign a for communicating that the child and them were able to discuss these matters.
Learning Objective
Students will be able to communicate basic understanding of germs and how to practice health-enhancing behaviors to prevent them by participating in collaborative conversation about major themes and concepts grasped while viewing Osmosis Jones.
Standards:
National Health Education Standards
| NHES 1 | Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.
Recognize basic hygiene practices. H1.W2.Ka Describe basic hygiene practices. H1.W2.1 Understand which elements of hygiene are essential to good health. H1.W2.Kb Describe benefits of hygiene practices. H1.W2.2 Understand germs can cause diseases. H1.W3.Ka |
| NHES 7 | Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks.
Identify ways germs are transmitted. H1.W3.Kb Describe ways to prevent the spread of germs. H1.W3.1a Understand bacteria and viruses are types of germs. H1.W3.2a |
Comprehension and Collaboration:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
Documentary Video
Summary
A great animated video explaining viruses and bacteria is “Germs Movie for Kids Virus & Bacteria Introduction” posted to YouTube from makemegenius.com. It is 5:07 minutes long.
The video begins with an animated “germ” introducing himself. He says the more you understand us the more healthy you can be. Then he gives some advanced terminology about germs which isn’t necessary for K-2nd graders to know, however an introduction to those words can only help the younger students. He talks about how he makes people sick and what people can do to protect themselves. Next, a bacteria animation talks about what bacteria can do in the human body and again how to protect ourselves.
Additional Documentary
Another resource for teachers that is not animated is a Bill Nye the Science Guy video. It is season 3, episode 9 “Germs”. It is 23:09 minutes long
Bill Nye discusses what germs are, where they are, and why they are important. There’s a great demonstration with glitter showing how germs can get into the body. Nye discusses how viruses make copies of themselves and scatter to increase the infection. Eventually he goes on to HIV/AIDS discussion, which is where I would end the video if being used for kindergarten- second grade students. I would play from the beginning to 13:07 minutes.
Integration
Here’s a follow up worksheet for students to complete to demonstrate understanding of the importance of germs and how to deal with them.
National Health Education Standards
| NHES 1 | Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.
Recognize basic hygiene practices. H1.W2.Ka Describe basic hygiene practices. H1.W2.1 Understand which elements of hygiene are essential to good health. H1.W2.Kb Describe benefits of hygiene practices. H1.W2.2 Understand germs can cause diseases. H1.W3.Ka |
| NHES 7 | Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks.
Identify ways germs are transmitted. H1.W3.Kb Describe ways to prevent the spread of germs. H1.W3.1a Understand bacteria and viruses are types of germs. H1.W3.2a |
Next Generation Science Education Standards
NGSS Standard for this outcome (DCI):
K.Interdependent Relationship in Ecosystems: Animals, Plants and their Environment
(K-ESS3-3): Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information in K-2 builds on prior experiences and uses observations and text to communicate new information.
- Communicate solutions with others in oral and/or written forms using models and/or drawings that provide detail about scientific ideas (K-ESS3-3)