Year 7
Lesson
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55 minutes

GDHR Topics

Learning objective

Students explore the physical, emotional and social changes associated with puberty.

Take home messages

  • Puberty is the period of time when your body changes from a child to an adult
  • There is a wide range of 'normal' when it comes to the physical changes of puberty.
  • Puberty positivity - it's not something to be scared of.

Materials

  • Laugh and Learn video - puberty part 1 (2min 44sec) (external link)
  • Preferred media for large and small group work and individual work (e.g. paper and textas, or ipads/tablets)
  • Sticky notes/post-it notes
  • A4 coloured card or paper
  • Small squares of scrap paper for question box

Before you get started

  • Protective interrupting - Teachers need to know and understand how to use this technique to prevent students form potentially disclosing sensitive information or abuse in front of other students.
  • Dealing with disclosures - Teachers must be aware of the school and legal procedures if a student discloses personal issues, particularly disclosures of sexual abuse.
  • Question box - Have a question box available in every lesson to allow students the opportunity to ask questions that may be too embarrassing or unsafe for them to ask openly in class. See Setting up the question box for further information. For ways to answer some of the curly questions, see Student FAQs.
  • Preview the Laugh and learn - puberty 1 video (2min 44sec) to determine suitability for your students.

Learning activities

Group agreement

Teaching tip: A group agreement must be established before any RSE program begins to ensure a safe learning environment. Read: Essential tool Establishing a group agreement for tips on how to create one and what to include..

  1. Revise or create the class group agreement.

 

Introduction: Brainstorm

  1. Remind students that many of them have probably covered puberty in Years 5 and 6, but there may also be some students who have missed out on formal lessons about puberty. This lesson aims to revise and extend their knowledge.
  2. Say:

 “During this session I want you to think about what you wish you had known about puberty even a year or two ago. What do you think would make it easier for you to deal with the changes of puberty? You may also have young people around you who are asking you questions about puberty. This session can help you to be sure that information that you may want to share will be accurate.”

  1. Brainstorm - Write at least 5 single words (adjectives) that describes how someone might feel about puberty. (Recording options: sitcky notes; wordcloud makers; Mentimeter - wordcloud)
  2. Ask for words and record the number of students who have written the same word. Rank and discuss the most common words.

E.g wordcloud creates an image where the most common word is largest.

 

  1. Ask:

  Are they generally positive, negative or neutral words?

  (They are likely to be negative words)

  Why do you think these words might be the most common?

  (Puberty is often not talked about openly and the unknown can be scary. Movies often portray the awkwardness of puberty. There is a lot of       stigma around menstruation in the media and adverts often talk about period products in metaphors. We often focus on the negative and don't talk about the positives of puberty) 

Laugh and learn - puberty part 1 video

  1. Watch Laugh and learn video - puberty part 1 video (2 min 44 sec)  
    Puberty part 1
  2. Ask the following questions:

  What do you think of the use of humour in this video?

  Does it help get the information across?

  What is the message/information you took from this video?

Puberty myths and facts

 

  1. In pairs, on sticky notes, write two myths that students have heard about puberty or that they heard in the video.
  2. With the whole class, facilitate grouping these into same/similar myths into a T-chart (labelled 'myths' and 'facts'). See which myths are most common.
  3. Work through each myth and ask students if they can provide a fact to dispel each myth. See the table below for possible answers. Discuss the corresponding facts addressing any misconceptions, and record on the T-chart.  
MythFact
You 'catch' pubertyPuberty happens to most people. It's not contagious like an infection or disease. You can't 'catch it.
Puberty happens overnight.Puberty takes time.
Puberty happens at the same time for everyone.Generally puberty starts somewhere between 9 and 15 years.
Puberty is scary!Puberty doesn't have to be scary or something to worry about. In some cultures and families it is a time of celebration.
etc 

 

Background teacher notes: Puberty and Menstrual cycle provide teachers with additional professional reading.

Students can use the following free resources as references if required:  
   

  1. Students nominate two myths they wish to work with (make sure all myths are covered). In pairs, write one myth on one side of their A4 coloured card and illustrate with a cartoon. On the other side, write the corresponding fact. Repeat with the other myth. (This activity could also be completed on electronic media.)
  2. Share with whole class.

3-2-1 Reflection

  • 3 x recalls: state three facts about puberty
  • 2 x so what's: write two things about why this information is relevant and important
  • 1 x questions: write one question. For example:
    • Why is it that...?
    • In the future, what will....?
    • How does this affect...?

Health promoting schools

Background teacher note: Health promoting schools framework.

Partnerships with parents

  • Talk Soon. Talk Often: a guide for parents talking to their kids about sex is a free hardcopy resource that can be bulk ordered by schools and website. Send a copy home to parents prior to starting your RSE program. The booklet offers ages and stage related information on puberty (and other topics) so that parents can reinforce the topics covered in class. (How to order hard copies.) Provide the link to parents on school websites and social media.
  • Order copies of Puberty and Relationships, sex and other stuff to be sent home for parents. Provide the link to parents on school websites and social media.
  • Run a parent workshop and run this activity with parents to model the content that will be covered in your RSE program.
  • Run a parent and child evening session, where the children can teach the parents what they have been learning about.

Partnerships with school staff

  • Invite the school nurse to your class to answer some of the question box questions. This serves two purposes - they may be able to answer some of the questions you are unsure of and helps to build a relationships between the students and the nurse.
  • The school nurse may like to take small groups of students requiring additional or specialised care to run separate activities with on this topic.  

Have a question?

Email the GDHR Team at gdhr@health.wa.gov.au

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