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The Five-Second Rule: Myth or Fact?

Name: Zachary McCormic
Brief Class Description (contextual information including number of students, subject, level,
IEP/ELL/GT or other special considerations): Class is 10-12 grade microbiology students.
Twenty-five students are in the class, one has an IEP (low vision), and three are ELLs. Students
sit in groups of five around the classroom. Student with low vision will have all handouts ready
in advance and in large font/print. One ELL is in the intermediate stage of language acquisition,
one is in the speech emergence stage, and the third is in the early production stage. Early
production and intermediate ELL sit at same table to assist with vocabulary, and speech
emergence ELL sits with only non-ELL students.
Unit and Unit Goals: Advanced Microbiology and Techniques
Lesson Topic: The Five-Second Rule: Myth or Fact?
Prior Knowledge (How do you know the students are ready for this lesson?): Students will
already have knowledge of microbiology (types of organisms, media required to grow
organisms, how organisms grow), microbiology techniques, hypothesis formation and
generation, how to complete a lab handout from previous lessons. This lesson is to be given at
the end of the unit.
Alignment: Anchor Standard 8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a
text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the
evidence.
Common Core
Objective
Assessment
Activity(ies)
Disciplinary Literacy
(Which step(s) of
Standards
DRL teach this
objective?)
1. CCSS.ELA1. Student will
1. Formative exit
1.a Motivation.
LITERACY.RST.11- summarize both sides pass
Discussion of foods
12.2 Determine the
of the five-second rule
people have eaten off
central ideas or
argument after
floor, general
conclusions of a text; reading and coding
knowledge of what
summarize complex
the document.
the 5-second rule is.
concepts, processes,
1.c Concept
or information
development.
presented in a text by
Generate own
paraphrasing them in
definition of 5-second
simpler but accurate
rule with their group.
terms.
This is needed as they
will be using it as a
framework to reading
the article.
2 Reading and

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2. CCSS.ELALITERACY.RST.1112.8 Evaluate the

hypotheses, data,
analysis, and
conclusions in a
science or technical
text, verifying the data
when possible and
corroborating or
challenging
conclusions with other
sources of
information.

2. Student will be able

to evaluate the
information provided
in the text, and design
an experiment to
evaluate the validity
of the five-second
rule.

2. Formative
generation of lab
report

coding/annotating of
article.
3 Discussion.
Students are
discussing the sides
for and against the 5second rule from the
article, and list them
on their exit passes.
1.a Motivation.
Discussion of foods
people have eaten off
floor, general
knowledge of what
the 5-second rule is.
1.b Background
Knowledge.
Discussion of types of
microbes and where
they live, provides
background to the
students replicating
the lab.
4 Re-reading.
Students will use their
codes and annotations
to discuss and assess
the efficacy of the 5second rule with their
group.
5 Writing. Students
will design their own
experiment on the 5second rule as a
group.

Writing Standards:
CCSS Anchor Standard for Writing: Text Types and Purposes 1: Write arguments to support
claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and
sufficient evidence.
CCSS Anchor Standard for Writing: Text Types and Purposes 2: Write informative/explanatory
texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the
effective selection, organization, and analysis of content

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Materials Needed (Include Text Macrostructure):
-Article 5-Second Rule Rules, Sometimes (Skarnulis, L.)
-Powerpoint explaining coding technique/next steps of lesson
-Exit pass
-Template handout
Technology Integration/Needs: Student with IEP will be given all materials in advance, and in
large font. Article has option online to be read aloud. This article has a Flesch-Kincaid score of
9.6, so just below grade level for these students. For the ELLs in the class, I am using repetition
(the concepts used in this lesson have already been used in previous classes), collaboration (the
exit slip and template handout are both done as a group), background knowledge (the
introduction pulls from real life and eating food that has fallen to the floor), and am using
sentence starters for the exit slip and template for ELLs
Lesson Procedure:
1.a. Readiness: Motivation Activity: Show of hands who here knows what the 5-second rule
is? Since we are all very clean microbiologists and dont do anything unsanitary or gross, and
are the cleanest people ever (WINK), do you know of anyone who follows this rule? What foods
have PEOPLE YOU KNOW eaten off the floor?
Time Allotted: 3 min
Adaptations (for IEP, ELL, culture, and other special needs): Notes left on
powerpoint and printed out. Background knowledge and repetition are used for ELLs.
Transition (explicitly linking concepts/activities/objectives): (After naming
several foods) Great! Now what microorganisms do you think could be found on different
surfaces (and via ppt)? Would this vary? What about a bathroom versus a handrail? A kitchen
counter versus a lab bench?
1.b. Readiness: Background Knowledge Activity: Lets go to the powerpoint. What kind of
microorganisms do you think we will find at the following places (kitchen counter, floor,
bathroom, public corridor, surgical suite)? Go ahead and feel free to use your notes from the past
couple days, including any lab forms we have been working on. So Kitchen counter. What
types of things come in contact with a kitchen counter? (uncooked foods, unwashed fruits and
vegetables) What kind of bacteria might these have on or within them? (salmonella, E.coli,
hands-staph aureus) (Im not having the students write this in their notes, but they are taking it
from previous lessons)
Time Allotted: 3 min
Adaptations: Notes on powerpoint and printed out. Background knowledge and
repetition are used for ELLs.

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Transition: (After going through slide, we will regroup back to the intro of the 5second rule). And the Surgical suite? None, right? What about hospital-acquired infections? (C.
difficile, MRSA, A. baumannii are all good). Good answers! Now lets circle back to the 5second rule.
1.c. Readiness: Concept Development Activity: (Students will be asked to come up with a
working definition of the 5-second rule for their group the 5-second rule is the only vocab
word for the lesson) So what I want you to do next is to come up with a working definition of the
5-second rule with your group. Take ideas from everyone, and compile them in one working
definition. Each group is going to write the working definition at the top of their exit pass, which
I am handing out right now (hand out exit pass).
Time Allotted: 5-7 min
Adaptations: Large-font handouts given in advance. Group collaboration is used,
and sentence starters will be given to ELLs (if they want or need them).
Transition: Now that each group has their working definition, can I have a
representative from each group share their definition?
1.d. Readiness: Purpose for Reading Activity: We have our definitions of the 5-second rule, Im
going to give you an article from WebMD that discusses the 5-second rule. While you read, code
or annotate the article. Coding or annotating is where you take notes through symbols on the
paper. I want you to code the things you agree with, disagree with, question, would like more
information on, and any ideas for expansion, and to annotate where you wish to elaborate on
what you are reading. For example, you might have a ? and annotate How did they come to that
conclusion? The codes will be on the powerpoint (+ Agree, - Disagree, & More information, ?
Question, $ Expansion, # Interesting). Is there anything else you would like to add to the list?
And dont be afraid to make notes with the codes. For example, if you really agree, put +yes!
next to what you want to highlight. I will hand out the article in a few moments. It is only a few
pages long, but I want you to really read the article closely, and make thoughtful annotations
and notes. I want you to pay close attention to the comments by the different research teams and
medical personnel throughout the article, as it will tie in with the final product for our unit.
Time Allotted: 3 min
Adaptations: Large-font article and code sheet given in advance. Notes left on
powerpoint and printed out. Audio of article needed for IEP student if they want to use that
instead of the large print version. ELLs will be given the article in advance to read and tell me of
any terms they do not understand, and any terms above their vocabulary level will be discussed
prior to handout being delivered. Using my codes, I will generate a summary of the article and
key points and ideas for the ELL learners as well.
Transition: Give students the article (5-Second Rule Rules, Sometimes) and
have code bank on powerpoint. I am passing out the article 5-Second Rule Rules, Sometimes.

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2. Silent Reading Activity: Students will read and code/annotate article. I want you to take the
article, code and annotate it using the codes we have discussed. They will be left on the
overhead. Please make good codes and annotations, as this will drive out next activity.
Time Allotted: 10 min
Adaptations: Code bank left on powerpoint, will be printed out in large font as
well. Article has option online where it can be listened to instead of being read, which will be an
option for student with IEP. Article can also be printed in large font and given in advance. ELLs
will be given the article in advance to read and tell me of any terms they do not understand, and
any terms above their vocabulary level will be discussed prior to handout being delivered.
Transition: Once students are done reading and coding, I will have the students
regroup with their group and discuss their findings. Who in the article agreed with your
position? Who disagreed? Did this article change your definition of the 5-second rule?
3. Discussion Activity: With your groups, I want you to discuss the following from your
annotations (on ppt) what you agreed with, what you didnt agree with, what you would like to
discuss more, what you would like more information on, and what you would like to expand upon
(if there are any more discussed in class, list here). Use your annotations to drive your
discussion. After a few minutes, we will regroup and discuss this as a class. (after a few minutes,
and we are back as a class) So, after discussing this with your group, were there any points either
the author or the people they interviewed made that you agree with? Anything you didnt agree
with? After reading, did it change your definition of the 5-second rule? Did this article further
cement your view of the 5-second rule? Does anyone have any questions they would like to ask
based on the article we read? (This is the open activity where other students will be invited to
answer the questions raised by their peers) Now, with your group, please fill out the remainder of
your exit pass, including the 3 arguments for and against the 5-second rule. It needs to have
input from all members of the group, and needs to be completed before you receive your
extension handout. Please copy the working definition, arguments for and arguments against in
your notes.
Time Allotted: 7-10 min
Adaptations: Key of codes left up on powerpoint. If student with IEP elects to be
the recorder for the group, use of visual and technological aides will be available (computer,
large-font handouts, voice-to-text software). Handout will be large print if needed. For the ELLs,
group collaboration is being used, and the handout has sentence starters.
Transition: As groups begin to talk more and turn in their exit passes, I will
prompt the class to think about what they would do to test the 5-second rule. After all exit passes
are collected from the groups, I will show the next slide on the powerpoint that goes into the lab
design. Im starting to hear more chatter, so I assume you are finishing up. Can one person from
each group please bring their groups exit pass to my desk and pick up a brainstorming sheet for
each member of your group.

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4. Re-reading Activity: Thank you for the exit passes. Here is a brainstorming sheet (Template
handout). What I want you to do, is take this handout and use it to make notes and to jot down
ideas from questions and prompts from the handout. Please refer back to the article, exit pass,
and any notes or annotations you took or ideas from the group discussion, and fill out the
brainstorming sheet. You can either fill it out by yourself, or with your group. I will give you
about 7 minutes before we regroup. You dont have to answer every question, this is to stimulate
your imagination for the next section.
Time Allotted: 10 minutes
Adaptations: Handout given in advance and in large font. Technological aides
available for filling out handout and taking notes. Group collaboration is used for ELLs, and
sentence starters are added to the handout for the ELL learners.
Transition: (this is a hard-stop). Okay class, thats been about 7 minutes. Can
someone name one of the section headers? (Introduction, Materials, Methods, Results are the
possible choices) Does this look familiar to anyone? Yes! It looks similar to the standard
laboratory report format we use in class! Any ideas as to why? You will be testing the 5-second
rule through an experiment you design!
5. Follow Up Writing Activity (Closing Activity): (Here I will be introducing the experiment)
For this experiment, you and your team are group of scientists who have been asked to
determine if the 5-second rule is a myth or fact. The handout has the primary categories you
should be thinking about, but dont forget to add (bring up ppt) what foods you want to test, how
you want to test them, surfaces to test, etc. Be sure to think of how you are planning to collect
data, what materials you will need, and how you want to evaluate your study. Please be sure to
include your groups definition of the 5-second rule from your exit sheets, and a hypothesis you
want to test, something like The 5-second rule is true and valid as not enough time is allotted for
microbes to transfer from surface to the food or The 5-second rule is false as microbes transfer
immediately upon contact between food and a dirty surface. You will have the rest of class
today, and all of class tomorrow to design your experiment and ask questions. Use all the
resources you have been given today, including the article and the brainstorming handout.
(NOTE: This lines up with my two literacy standards, as the students need to find the central
idea of the text [the 5-second rule, its definition, and how it can be tested], and design a
hypothesis about the rule from their reading and test it)
After the Lesson:
Reflection (How did you adjust instruction based on student responses to your formative
assessments? What are the implications for future instruction?): Overall, I think this lesson was
very fun for the students. The article was right around their reading level, and had only limited
vocabulary related to microbiology. I may want to find a tougher article to challenge students
going forward, or incorporate multiple texts and have students work from different texts, making
each set of hypotheses different. The coding and annotating was not the best, but students will
get better at this as they practice and become more familiar with doing it. I need to have more
than one and a half days for experiment design, and it would be a good idea to check their work
before letting them go forward with the experiment. For AP students, the review would not be

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needed, but for a class with under and upperclassmen, the added review is needed. I am still
debating introducing the complete lab write-up during this lesson, as it may help the students
take notes, but may prove overwhelming too, knowing up-front that this article is going to be
used to drive a large assignment that will take over a week to complete. The objectives lined up
well with the assignment, and were met (via the exit pass and the template handout). Timingwise, the introduction took more than the allotted 3 minutes, which cut into experiment design
time at the end of class. We did get good discussion going though, which I believe led to more
creative ideas in the experiment design portion of the lesson. Leaving the coding key and what to
look for on the powerpoint worked well, as I could see heads looking up and down to see if they
were using the codes correctly and that they were looking to answer the questions they needed to
in the lesson. I would like to leave more time for discussion next time, as this ran into re-reading
a bit, but I was fine with adding to discussion time and reducing re-reading time.

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References
Skarnulis, L. (2007). 5-Second rule rules, sometimes. Retrieved from
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/5-second-rule-rules-sometimes-.

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Exit Pass
Group Members:________________________________________________________________
Date:______________

Class:___________________

Five-Second Rule:_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

The Five-Second Rule

PRO

CON

1.

1.

2.

2.

3.

3.

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Template
Group Members:________________________________________________________________
Date:______________

Class:___________________

Our Hypothesis:________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Section
Introduction

Questions to consider:
What is the five-second rule?

Do you believe it is true or false?

Why do you want to test it?

What other studies have been done that you are using as background?

Materials

What kind of things do you want to test?

What surfaces will you test?

What media will you need to grow any bacteria?

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Methods

How will you go about testing your hypothesis?

What times will you be testing?

What will you be using as a control?

How will you culture from your samples?

How many days will your experiment take?

How will you know if anything has grown from your cultures?

Results

What do you think will happen?

What tables and charts will you use?

Will you be using any graphs? How?

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Code/Annotation Key
Code

What

Example
The author brings up a good point. I think bacteria are immediately
transferred from surface to food, not after 5 seconds.
The restaurant thing is gross. How could a restaurant serve food
that hit the floor?
How common are foodborne illnesses among people with regular
immune systems?
Why did they not test gum? Sounds like a common food to put
back in ones mouth!

Agree

Disagree

&

More Information

Question

Expansion

Who is conducting these additional experiments?

Interesting

A doctoral candidate conducted the study! Riveting.

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Rubric:
Group Members:________________________________________________________________

Exit Pass: 10 points

What
Definition

Pro
Con

Value

Criterion

4 points

Did they have a definition that

included time, a food, and
bacteria/germs.

1 point
each
1 point
each

Did they have three pros

related to the 5-second rule?
Did they have three cons
related to the 5-second rule?

Scale
4 if all included, 3 if
missing 1, 2 if missing
2, 1 of missing all 3, 0 if
blank
1 point per pro, 3 points
overall
1 point per con, 3 points
overall

Earned

TOTAL

Template: 20 points (completion, but will have notes from me for areas to improve)
What

Value

Introduction 5 points
Materials

5 points

Methods

5 points

Results

5 points

TOTAL

Criterion
Are questions answered? Are they
showing a good understanding of
the WHY to the lesson?
Different foods, surfaces and
times listed? Media listed?
Did they list how they want to
test? Time from start to
completion? Effort put in to how
they will culture, and how they
will determine if they found
anything
Did they list what they thought
would happen, and what
tables/charts/graphs they will be
using?

Scale
Completion
Completion

Completion

Completion

Earned