Second Grade
Worksheets
How to Catch (or Not to Catch!) a Cold
When you play catch with your friends, you want to catch the ball. When you play Frisbee, you want to catch it, too. But there is one thing you don't want to catch when playing with your friends - a cold! Colds are caused by viruses. They are not fun! After catching a cold you feel sick. You may have a sore throat and a runny nose. You can also have a cough and a headache. Sometimes colds make your entire body ache.
Most kids catch between six and eight colds every year. That's a lot of sniffles! In fact, more people go to the doctor because they have a cold than for any other reason. So, how do you catch a cold? More importantly, how can you keep from catching one? Colds are very contagious. They are able to be spread very easily. The virus that causes colds is too small to see. It is in tiny droplets of fluid. These germs can spread through the air. They can be inhaled. When you breathe in the germs that cause a cold, you can get sick. The germs can also be transferred by touch. When someone with a cold touches something, they leave their germs behind. If a healthy person touches that same object, the germs are transferred. Then before you know it, that once-healthy person has the sniffles and sneezes, too!
