Y05W30RC Invisible Germ Trails

This week, you are investigating how germs travel from one person to another through the surfaces we touch every day. You will read to discover the steps in that invisible journey and what can interrupt it. As you read, pay attention to the cause-and-effect chain — each step leads directly to the next.

Informative — Explanation text

An explanation text is a piece of writing that breaks down how or why something happens, taking the reader through a process step by step. Writers use this form to inform readers clearly — helping them understand something that might otherwise seem complex or hard to picture. You will encounter facts, scientific ideas, and cause-and-effect relationships, organised under headings that guide you through each stage of the explanation in a logical order. The text may also include a list as a structural feature — a quick way to present several related examples clearly in one place. As you read, your job is to follow the chain of events and understand how each step causes the next one.

Before You Read

  • Scan the headings before you begin — they map out the stages of the explanation and will help you follow the process from start to finish.
  • Think about the surfaces you touch most often throughout a school day — most people would be surprised by how many shared surfaces they come into contact with without thinking about it.
  • The article includes a list of common surfaces — when you reach it, read it carefully and consider what all the items on the list have in common.

While You Read

  • Use the headings to keep track of where you are in the explanation and what new part of the process each section is adding.
  • As you move through each paragraph, track the cause-and-effect chain — notice what triggers each next step in the process.
  • When you encounter a term that is new or unfamiliar, look at the sentences around it for clues about its meaning before moving on.
  • If a section introduces two strategies or two sides of an idea, pause and make sure you understand how they are different before continuing.

Read With Purpose

  • Notice how the article describes germs moving from one place to another — pay attention to the specific steps that make this possible.
  • Follow how each touch point in the list connects to the broader process described in the sections before it — notice what makes these surfaces particularly significant.
  • Pay attention to where the article says the chain can be interrupted — notice what changes at that point in the explanation and why it matters.

Now read

The explanation text

~4 min read · ~520 words

The Invisible Germ Trail

Have you ever wondered how a cold seems to spread through an entire class in just a few days, even when no one is coughing directly on anyone else? The answer lies in something invisible: the trail that germs leave behind on the surfaces we touch every day.

How Germs Move

Germs — including bacteria and viruses — are microscopic, meaning they are far too small to see with the naked eye. Despite their tiny size, they are remarkably good at moving from one place to another. The most common way they travel is through touch.

When a person who is unwell touches a surface, they leave germs behind. Those germs can survive on that surface for minutes, hours, or even days, depending on the type of germ and the material of the surface. When another person then touches the same spot, the germs transfer — or move across — onto their hands. If that person then touches their face, particularly their eyes, nose, or mouth, the germs can enter their body and potentially cause illness.

This process is known as indirect transmission, because the germs do not travel directly from one person to another. Instead, a surface acts as a go-between, carrying the germs from the first person to the second.

Common Touch Points

Some surfaces are touched so frequently by so many different people that they become particularly efficient germ pathways. These are known as ‘touch points.’ In schools and public spaces, the most common touch points include:

  • Door handles and push plates
  • Lift buttons and stair railings
  • Shared keyboards, tablets, and styluses
  • Water fountain buttons and taps
  • Shared pens, rulers, and equipment
  • Desktop surfaces and shared trays

What makes touch points so effective at spreading germs is the combination of high frequency (many people touching the same spot) and low awareness (most people do not think about a door handle as a potential germ carrier).

Breaking the Chain

Understanding how germs spread is useful because it reveals exactly where the chain can be broken. There are two main strategies.

The first is hand hygiene. Washing hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least twenty seconds removes most germs from the skin. This is particularly effective after touching shared surfaces and before eating or touching the face.

The second is surface cleaning. When shared surfaces are wiped down regularly with appropriate cleaning products, germs on those surfaces are reduced. This lowers the chance that the next person to touch the surface will pick anything up.

Neither strategy needs to be extreme or constant. The goal is simply to reduce the number of opportunities germs have to transfer from one person to another.

Putting It Together

Germs spread through a straightforward chain: an unwell person touches a surface, the surface holds the germs, a second person picks them up, and the germs find their way into the body. Knowing where this chain is most likely to form — at everyday touch points — and knowing two simple ways to interrupt it makes a real difference to how widely germs can travel.

The trail is invisible, but the steps for slowing it down are not.

Check your vocabulary knowledge

microscopic adj.
too small to be seen without special equipment or the naked eye
transfer v.
to move from one surface or person to another
transmission n.
the process by which germs pass from one source to another
frequency n.
how often something happens or how many times it occurs
hygiene n.
practices that keep the body and surroundings clean to support health