Puberty & Reproduction: A Refresher

This lesson is an important refresher for Year 7 & 8. Many students won't have received this information in primary school. It can be delivered in 2 x 45 minute lessons or one 90 minute lesson.

Learning intentions:

  • Understand the changes that occur during puberty
  • Develop positive feelings about being healthy during puberty
  • Recognise the reproductive body parts and their role in the process of fertilisation, pregnancy and birth

Digital Educator: Vanessa

  • 12-30 learners

    Class size

  • 7+

    Year Level

  • 45-90 minutes

    Course duration

  • Two

    Student Handouts

    Preparing for the lesson

    Information
    Resources

    ACHPE Objectives

    UNESCO Objectives

    Safety & Wellbeing

    Sequence
    Extension
    This Puberty & Reproduction: A Refresher lesson should be run at the beginning of the year to ensure everyone has a solid foundation and is comfortable with language relating to body parts, changes, and sexual activity.  

    There are several interactive activities in this lesson along with a number of videos and audio explanations. It is difficult to cover the enormous amount of information relating to puberty, reproduction and childbirth at the best of times. We strongly suggest that you point to key areas on diagrams as the audio explains them. As you become more comfortable with explaining menstruation, conception, fetal development, and childbirth you can adapt the lessons to suit your style. 

    There are no videos or images of childbirth in this lesson. There are several post-birth photos that show the umbilical cord, a water birth, and a c-section. We recommend you view these first and warn students before showing the class so students who do not like blood or have particular sensitivities can close their eyes. 

    Each lesson ends with a consolidation activity, inviting students to list 1 thing they have learnt from the lesson, 1 thing they already knew, 1 piece of advice they would share with a friend, and 1 adult or organisation that would be helpful in relation to the lesson topic.

    Facilitator Printouts

    You should have a demonstration Period Kit including pads, tampons, period pants, and a cup if available. You can demonstrate key aspects of how the item works while reading the information on the screen eg. peeling the pad and sticking it to your hand.

    The Sustainable Period Project provides free educational kits to schools in Australia and New Zealand.

    Student Printouts

    The Reproductive Body Parts Worksheet can be printed double sided however it is easier for students to complete if it is single sided and they can lay the sheets next to each other.
    AC9HP8P02: Analyse the impact of changes and transitions, and devise strategies to support themselves and others through these changes.
    • Evaluating and practising coping, communication and problem-solving skills to manage changes and emotions associated with puberty and getting older
    • Investigating the changing nature of peer and family relationships and proposing strategies to manage these changes


    AC9HP8P01: Analyse and reflect on the influence of values and beliefs on the development of identities
    • Examining how their values and beliefs, as well as those of family and friends, influence the development of identities
    • Examining how cultural beliefs about the physical changes experienced during puberty can influence gender, cultural and sexual identities
    Key Concept 6: The Human Body & Development
    6.1 Sexual and Reproductive Anatomy and Physiology
    • Key idea:  During puberty and pregnancy, hormones impact many processes involved with maturation and reproduction
    • Key idea: All cultures have different ways of understanding sex, gender and reproduction, and when it is appropriate to become sexually active


    6.2 Reproduction     
    • Key idea: There are differences between reproductive functions and sexual feelings and these can change over time
    • The menstrual cycle has different stages, including the time around ovulation in which, if sperm are present, pregnancy is most able to occur


    6.3 Puberty
    • Key idea: Puberty is a time of sexual maturation that leads to major physical, emotional, social and cognitive changes that can be exciting as well as stressful throughout adolescence
    • This is a fun and informative lesson however puberty can be a difficult time for trans and gender diverse youth. The development of secondary sex characteristics that do not match their gender identity is distressing and often leads to anxiety and depression if left unaddressed. 
    • Mostly, students love learning about their changing bodies and where babies come from. Be prepared to protectively interrupt as students tend to reveal personal family information in this lesson such as "when my Sister got her period" or "when my Mum was pregnant". 
    • Students often have a lot of questions about reproduction including how twins occur (and conjoined twins), whether childbirth hurts, rainbow families, what happens if the baby gets stuck, and what happens if the baby dies. There will be students in your class who have had family experiences of a wide range of positive and negative birthing outcomes.
    • It is also not uncommon to have students share that there was a pregnancy that did not result in a live birth. This can be distressing for other students to hear. However, be mindful that this student may also not have had an avenue to share their grief and complex feelings around this experience so it is important to follow up with them after class. 
    • There will also be students in your class who no longer live with their birth parents or who were conceived through IVF and surrogacy. The videos capture these experiences sensitively, however, it is useful to keep this in mind throughout the lesson and avoid speaking in absolutes.
    • Contraception, pregnancy, and childbirth are biological processes and should be separated from the concepts of families and love and/or marriage.
    • It can helpful to get all questions through the anonymous Question Box so you have time to prepare to answer them before the next lesson. 
    Get The Facts: Western Australian high school students discuss puberty and growing up

    Period Planet by UKotex (note: this is a promotional website)

    Planet Puberty: Family Planning NSW

    Ideally, you will have scope to deliver all of the lessons in your program. However we understand that many schools have limited capacity to do so. Should you find yourself having to implement part of this program, we have provided a suggested sequence of lessons within the broader skills and knowledge categories of relationship, consent, gender, and cybersafety. We recommend delivering at least one lesson from each category.

    1. Group Agreements & Pod Mapping should be the first lesson as per best practice.
    2. Puberty & Reproduction: A Refresher should be delivered early in the program to ensure students have an understanding of the physical, emotional, and social changes of puberty including menstruation and sperm production.

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