LESSON 6:
Changes
©
My Future - My Choice
™
A sexual health curriculum for teens
BEFORE YOU GO
INTO THE CLASSROOM
MATERIAL LIST
“Ground Rules” poster
Vocabulary cards
Video segment 13
Television
Chart paper
List of changes (3)
Resource list
*Paper for question box
Question box
*Homework
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
• Divide class into three equal mixed-gender groups.
•Address some prepared responses from the question box.
• Redistribute pieces of paper for the question box.
*Copies for each student.
LESSON 6: CHANGES
6A
LESSON 6: CHANGES
OBJECTIVES
By the end of the lesson, students will:
• Become acquainted with the vocabulary used
in this curriculum
• Be able to describe physical changes that occur
during puberty
• Be able to explain male and female
reproductive systems and their relationship
to conception and pregnancy
ACTIVITIES
Puberty changes
Vocabulary matching
OREGON HEALTH
STANDARDS
ADDRESSED
Concepts
Self management
Accessing information
6B
LESSON 6: CHANGES
ADOLESCENCE
INSTRUCTIONS:
If time permits, address some prepared responses from the question box. If
additional time is necessary, continue at the end of class.
Redistribute pieces of paper for questions during this lesson.
Today we are going to learn about some of the changes our bodies go through
during puberty and how these changes can sometimes affect how we feel about
ourselves and others.
Puberty includes changes to our sexual, reproductive and emotional health. One
major change caused by puberty is that a person may now be able to become
pregnant or cause a pregnancy.
Before we get started let’s review our ground rules.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Review ground rules from poster.
LESSON 6: CHANGES
1
VOCABULARY
Vocabulary words are important when talking about any subject.
Can someone give me detailed instructions on how to make a peanut butter and
jelly sandwich?
INSTRUCTIONS:
Ask for a volunteer to explain how to make the sandwich.
Now let’s pretend some people in the room don’t know what bread, peanut butter
or jelly are.
Explain again how to make the sandwich without using the words peanut butter,
jelly or bread.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Have the same student give instructions, making sure
the student does NOT use the above words.
Which explanation do you think was easier?
We can see how much easier it is to talk about something when everyone
understands the words being used. We may use words during our discussion that
are new to many of you. It’s important that we all know what they mean.
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LESSON 6: CHANGES
VOCABULARY MATCHING ACTIVITY
Now we are going to do an activity to help you learn the vocabulary terms that
relate to puberty. Each of you will receive a vocabulary card or definition. The goal
of this activity is to find your partner whose term or definition matches yours.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Use the term/definition cards for this activity. Hand out one term and one
definition card to each student. It is OK if you have some leftover
cards and need to give each student more than one.
Instruct students to get up and search the room for their
term or definition card match.
Once they find their matches, they should continue to stand together.
Once the class is finished, allow each pair to share their
term and definition out loud.
When appropriate, identify parts of the male and female reproductive systems
using visuals provided in the Classroom Handouts packet.
This activity incorporates some movement in the classroom and helps
students to learn a few key terms and concepts.
LESSON 6: CHANGES
3
VOCABULARY MATCHING ACTIVITY — continued
Throughout our lives, our bodies go through changes. Some of those changes are
easy to see. Some are inside of us and are not visible or easily seen.
Changes occur in adolescence between the ages of about 9 to 16.
Your body begins to change physically, and your emotions go through changes too.
Can anyone tell me what kind of emotional changes a person might feel
during puberty?
INSTRUCTIONS:
Write answers on the board:
Possible answers include mood swings, having crushes, wanting to fit in, peer
pressure, looking for an identity, feeling self-conscious, self-expression, and
having sexual feelings.
Another important change that happens for people your age is being more aware of
their gender. You might notice that people expect you to act a certain way, or have
stereotypes about what a boy or girl should look like or do. You get to decide how
you want to express yourself.
It is common for physical and emotional changes to happen at different rates for
everyone, and some of you may be experiencing some of those changes already.
Puberty is when your body physically begins to change from being a child to
becoming an adult. Everyone will experience changes. Females generally begin
puberty before males.
One of the biggest changes for students your age is that you may now be able to
become pregnant or cause a pregnancy.
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LESSON 6: CHANGES
PUBERTY
Sometimes when young people start experiencing changes during puberty, they
wonder if they are normal. They question whether their peers are also experiencing
the same things emotionally and physically, or if they are ahead of or behind
everyone else in the developmental stages.
I hope the information we cover today will help everyone become more familiar with
the changes experienced during puberty and help you understand that everyone has
different experiences when it comes to puberty. Keep in mind, teasing people about
their bodies is a form of bullying and is not OK. I want to remind you to follow the
ground rules to respect each other during these lessons.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Show Video Segment 13.
This video covers physical and emotional changes that occur
during puberty and how pregnancy happens.
LESSON 6: CHANGES
5
PUBERTY CHANGES ACTIVITY
Let’s identify some of the changes young people experience during puberty.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Divide the class into three groups for the puberty changes activity.
Have each group pick a recorder and give the recorder a marker.
Hang three pieces of poster paper around the room with each reflecting a
different title: “Mostly MALE” — “Mostly FEMALE” — “EVERYONE.”
Give each group a Physical Changes list as well as refer the class to the
emotional changes listed on the board. Assign each group to a poster.
Instruct the group to write down all the physical and emotional changes that
apply to the group’s assigned poster title.
Give instructions and allow two minutes or so; then have groups rotate to a
different poster paper and do the same thing.
Once all groups have had a chance to write things down on each of the
poster papers, have students take their seats.
Move from poster to poster debriefing the lists.
Make corrections as necessary.
Each group needs to select a recorder for that group.
Ready? Go!
Each recorder will get a marker to record the answers for the group.
We have three posters on the wall. One says “Mostly MALE,” one says “Mostly
FEMALE” and one says ”EVERYONE”
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
6
LESSON 6: CHANGES
PUBERTY CHANGES ACTIVITY—continued
Each of your groups will get a list of physical changes that happen during puberty.
Working in your group, decide if each item on the Physical Changes and the
Emotional Changes lists we put up on the board earlier happens mostly to males,
mostly to females, or to everyone.
Once your group has decided on your answers, your recorder will then write them
on the poster paper. When I call time, your group will move to the next poster
and decide which changes apply. Each group will have the opportunity to write its
answers on each poster.
Any questions before we start?
Ready? Go!
LESSON 6: CHANGES
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PUBERTY CHANGES
INSTRUCTIONS:
Go over the puberty changes activity using the following information. Start
with the physical changes and then discuss the emotional changes. Keep in
mind that most of these physical and emotional changes occur for everyone
during puberty (this is covered in the video).
Puberty changes extend over an 8–10-year period.
These physical changes include:
Everyone:
Mostly females:
• Acne;
• Beginning of
ovulation;
• Growth of hair
under arms;
• Onset of
menstruation.
• Appearance of pubic hair;
• Growth of internal and
external sex organs;
• Period of maximum
growth in height;
• Enlargement of breasts;
• Body odor;
• Nocturnal emissions
or “wet dreams.”
• Development of facial hair;
• Marked voice changes;
Mostly males:
• First ejaculation;
• Beginning of
sperm production.
These emotional changes include:
Everyone:
• Mood swings;
• Having sexual feelings;
• Wanting to fit in;
• Peer pressure;
• Looking for an identity;
• Feeling self-conscious;
• Self-expression;
• Having crushes.
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LESSON 6: CHANGES
PUBERTY CHANGES
The way your body physically and emotionally changes during puberty is
different for every person. Everyone’s individual adolescent development is normal
for that person.
Physical and emotional changes are a natural part of becoming an adult. It takes
time to learn ways to handle the changes that adolescence brings, especially newly
developing sexual feelings.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Be sure to have information available on how students can access
their local resources; e.g., school-based health center, school nurse,
local health department or clinic.
Having sex is natural and normal. Some teens don’t see having sexual intercourse as
putting them at risk for pregnancy because they think it won’t happen to them.
The fact about reproduction is that once puberty starts, sexual intercourse between
a male and a female places them at risk for producing a pregnancy.
If you would like more information on the things we talked about today, you can
always talk to a parent/guardian or trusted adult, and there are some additional
resources in our community that you can access.
Next time we will learn to recognize some of the risks of sexual involvement. I’m
going to pass out a homework sheet about the information we learned today. It is
for you to take home and discuss with a parent/guardian or trusted adult.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Pass around the question box. Remember, all students should put a piece of
paper in the question box regardless of whether they wrote anything on it.
LESSON 6: CHANGES
9
LESSON SIX: WORKSHEET
Dear parent/guardian,
As part of the My Future-My Choice program please work with your student to
complete the following worksheet assignment.
This week we talked about some of the physical and emotional changes that occur
during puberty and how these changes can sometimes affect how we feel about
ourselves and others. We also learned about the male and female reproductive
systems. Please take some time this week to share your own experiences.
1 List five physical changes that youth experience during puberty.
2. List five emotional changes that youth experience during puberty.
3. Discuss what you think is the most challenging part of puberty.
LESSON 6: CHANGES
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