Tuning in

These teaching strategies help students to:

• consider and reflect on their own and others' current knowledge, skills, beliefs and attitudes
• identify changes in their own knowledge, skills, beliefs and attitudes
• work collaboratively to learn from and share with others
• generate ideas and cover several issues or aspects efficiently
• classify, group and generalise.

Before and after

• Devise a set of statements or questions that identifies students' understanding, beliefs and attitudes towards relationships and sexual health issues. Place them on a table such as the example below. The focus may be on one issue (e.g. contraception) or a range of issues (see the example provided below).
• Ask students to respond to each statement/question before commencing a unit or focus area. Collect the sheets.
• Once students have participated in one or several of the learning experiences in the unit or focus area have them complete the ‘after' column.
• In pairs or small groups, ask students to reflect on any changes in their understanding or attitudes towards the issue. 

Card clusters  

• Place students in groups.
• Give each student two or three slips of paper.
• Pose a problem or question related to a health or safety issue. For example: What strategies do you use to help protect yourself from blood-borne viruses?
• Students individually write responses on the slips of paper. Only one idea should be written on each slip of paper.
• Students place their responses in the middle of the group then through discussion with other group members cluster them by identifying similarities. A heading or title may be given to each pile of slips.
• All groups come together to share their card clusters. 
• Responses may be represented graphically in a mind map or bar graph, or in written form by using each idea as a new sentence.

Graffiti

• Divide the class into small groups. 
• Give each group a large sheet of paper and different coloured felt pens (a different colour for each group member allows for individual contributions to be tracked). 
• Provide each group with a different question, issue or statement to consider.
• Within a designated time, groups ‘graffiti' their paper with words, phrases or drawings related to their question, issue or statement. 
• Advise students that they ‘own' the word/comments/drawings they record. This means that they could be asked to explain or clarify information where necessary.
• The graffiti sheets are then passed to another group. 
• Instruct students to avoid repetition of ideas by ticking the comments they agree with, writing comments next to ideas and writing their own new responses on the graffiti sheet.
• The process is repeated until the graffiti sheets are returned to their original owners. 
• Groups read, discuss and summarise the graffiti sheets. Comments may be categorised in order to draw conclusions or present a brief summary presentation to the class. 
• Planning for further learning experiences can be carried out using the students' responses.
• Variation: Graffiti walk - Display the graffiti sheets around the room. Students walk around to different sheets to contribute.

A-Z race

• Poste a topic (e.g. Thoughts about puberty), question (e.g. What do you know about STIs?) or statement (e.g. Things that help make a respectful relationship).
• Students have to think of an answer for every letter of the alphabet and write it down. 
• E.g. Thoughts about puberty: A = Ahhhhhh help! B = Body changes lots! C = Coping with friendship changes.
• Group that finishes all 26 letters first are the winners.
• Share answers with class. 
• This can be a great way to begin or end a topic to evaluate pre and post learning.

Shared reading

• Use a picture book or simple novel as a starting point or to reinforce key messages and understandings. See Resource library for ideas on various topics. 
• Provide students with a short period of time to preview the text silently either individually or as a group.
• Ask students to share their predictions of the main ideas with a partner or the class. Suggested question prompts include:
  • What do you think the story will be about?
  • How do you know?
• After reading, use these prompts to help students to think critically about the text:
  • How did the illustrations make you feel?
  • What is the message of this story?
  • What would the character/s have felt like? Have you ever felt like that?
  • What feelings did the other characters in the story show? Why?

KWL (know, want to know, learnt)

• Pose a question, statement or issue for students to consider (e.g. Safer sex issues for young people).
• One a piece of paper with 3 columns labelled K, W, L students brainstorm:
  • K - what they already know about the topic
  • W - what they want to know about a topic
  • L - what they have learnt.
• The K and W are completed at the start of a lesson or series of lessons and the L is completed afterwards' to identify what students have learnt and if there have been any changes in attitudes.
• Determine if further learning experiences are required for students to achieve the outcomes.

One minute challenge

• Give students exactly ‘one minute' to write down all they know or would like to know about a certain sexual health or relationship topic.
• Students share their writing with a partner or group.
• Use common areas of interest to guide the choice of future learning experiences.
• Variation: have students reflect on their understandings and attitudes:
  • What was the most important or useful piece of information you learnt from these activities?
  • What two questions do you still have?
  • What would you like to know more about?
• Variation 2: A-Z one minute challenge
  • Write down a word for each letter of the alphabet for the topic. 
  • See how many letters you can complete in one minute. 

Question partners

• Devise a set of question and answer cards related to the unit or focus area. Alternatively, students can research information and write their own question and answer cards.
• Explain that each question card has a matching answer card.
• Hand out cards to students.
• Students move around the room to find the person with the matching card.
• In pairs, students discuss the question and answer.
• Collect the cards and repeat the activity to let students find out more about the issue.
• Determine the questions that students would like to further investigate and select appropriate learning experiences from the focus areas.

Quiz

• Students or the teacher devise a set of quiz questions related to the health or safety topic.
• Students individually complete the quiz then discuss the questions as a class.
• Use the questions that students had difficulty answering to guide the selection of further learning experiences.

• Variation: True/false

  • Students indicate answers with thumbs up/thumbs down/thumbs sideways.
  • This allows for a very quick, informal assessment and allows you to identify students who may need extra support next lesson.

   

Using songs and stories

• Songs and stories can be used to facilitate learning of a particular topic. See Resource library topics and filter by music or video for ideas.
• Examples: 
  • To learn parts of the body, emotions, etc.
  • To unpack gender roles and expectations.
  • To look at sexualisation in music/media.

Scribble emotions

• Use different kinds of music that evoke different emotions.
• Have students paint, draw or move to show the emotion. 
• Discuss colour, shape, lines, etc. 

• Compare and contrast with class.

   

Picture talk

Using a picture to pose questions and focus a group discussion.

• Adverts (fragrances, deodorant, make up, clothes, alcohol, tampons, etc) - discuss gender stereotypes, gender roles, over-sexualised images, body image, etc.
• Social media posts - pose questions around unrealistic body image (photoshopping images, camera angles and filters); start a debate on respectful/disrespectful behaviour.
• Photograph from the past - discuss how bodies change, how society has changed, etc.
• Storybook page - discuss why the character is feeling this way, what has happened previously, what might happen next, what they could do differently, what choices they have.
• Freeze frame from a movie/tv show - discuss characters' choices and decision making, respectful/disrespectful behaviour, etc.
• Picture packs - packs of picture cards can be purchased from places such as Innovative Resources. These cards can be used in a number of ways and can be purchased in different languages.
  • Feelings cards: bears, funky fish
  • Strengths cards: strength cards, strength cards for kids, can-do dinosaurs, choosing strengths

Pow wow

• Sitting in a circle facing each other, introduce students to a topic and invite them to share their opinions, one at a time.
• Avoid going around the circle in a linear way as this places pressure on the next person in line to speak.
• Remind students about their 'right to pass' in the group agreement especially when discussing sensitive topics.
• Use a 'talking stick' - an object used to indicate who is talking (to ensure that only one person is speaking at a time). A soft object, such as a foam ball or toy, can be passed or rolled to the next student that would like to speak.