Dental Health Preschool

About this resource

A dental health preschool unit with one smiling tooth to color, cut and glue, plus count the teeth ten-frames, brushing steps in order, a snack sort, a chant and writing on three levels, in one print-and-go PDF for PreK to 2nd grade.

The craft is a big smiling tooth holding up its toothbrush, with a dab of paste, sparkles and bubbles. It is cut into 9 equal squares in three columns and three rows, so every cut is a straight line and there are only a few cuts. Children color the black-and-white pieces (or use the ready-colored set when coloring is not the goal that day), cut them out and glue each piece on its faint twin. Every glue box is exactly the size of its piece, and the nine pieces make the whole picture. A picture step page shows every step with one short sentence each, and a small finished model sits on the page so a child can check their work.

Then the tooth goes to work. On the Count the Teeth page children count the teeth in 5 rows and color that many boxes in a ten-frame. On the brushing steps page they cut 5 cards, glue four steps in order (get your brush, add a little paste, brush up and down, smile in the mirror) and put the card that is not a brushing step in its own box. On the snack sort they cut 8 snack cards and glue each one under healthy snacks or sometimes treats. My brushing day has a morning box, a night box and a box to draw what a grown-up says. Our own original chant, five short lines with a picture for each, gives you something to say and clap together. Three writing pages start from the tooth: trace and draw, fill in the sentences with a word bank, or write freely. A speech-bubble page asks what the tooth says. Every student page has one short instruction with a picture and a "My name" line.

What'S Inside

• Start Here: how the craft works, a note on the steps and the sort, the three levels and a five-day plan
• Meet the tooth: the finished picture with 6 labels (sparkle, eye, cheek, tooth, toothpaste, brush) and 4 word pictures (tooth, toothbrush, dentist, mirror)
• A word bank page: 6 words (tooth, brush, dentist, apple, milk, mirror) to trace and write on handwriting lines
• Our chant: five lines, each with a picture
• The tooth craft: a picture step page, 9 pieces to color and cut, the same 9 pieces ready-colored, and a glue page with the 9 twins
• Count the teeth: 5 rows of teeth to count, with a ten-frame and a number box in each row
• Brushing steps: 5 cards (4 steps and 1 that does not belong) and 5 glue boxes
• A snack sort with 8 cards and 8 glue boxes
• My brushing day and a color-the-scene page with two sentence starters
• Writing on three levels (trace and draw, fill in, write freely) and a speech-bubble page
• A "Who Did What This Week" class data page, with the answers
• A family letter to send home
• A credits page (font and art license)

21 pages in all, 16 of them for students.

Cutting Built For Small Hands

Every cutting page has big squares or cards lined up edge to edge: 2.1 inches for the picture pieces, 1.45 by 2.1 inches for the step cards and 1.7 inches for the snack cards. 31 pieces to cut in all (9 black-and-white pieces, 9 ready-colored pieces, 5 step cards and 8 snack cards). You will need crayons, scissors and glue sticks. Card stock suits the craft pages.

Three Skill Levels

A small shape beside the name line marks each leveled page (circle, square or triangle). Easier: trace and draw, or a partner who holds the glue stick. Harder: writing freely and the speech-bubble page.

Who This Is For

Preschool, PreK, kindergarten and 1st to 2nd grade classrooms, self-contained special education classrooms, and paraprofessionals who want a dental health unit with a craft, counting and writing attached, ready to print.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

A printable PDF (print and cut). It is not Google Slides, Docs or PowerPoint, and it has no fillable fields. It is a craft, counting, sequencing and writing unit: it does not teach medical or dental care and makes no claim about any student's age or rate of progress. Where a child asks why, the pages say to ask a grown-up. The snack sort is a talking activity; use your own school and family guidance.