The Puberty Project
Just had the great opportunity of doing this presentation live for the PhysEdSummit 3.0
You can watch it on YouTube- just make sure you drag the cursor to start from the beginning.
Online health searches are the third most popular activity on the web… have we equipped our students (and ourselves?) with the tools needed to search safely and effectively?
Go to Choices for the lesson plan for the classroom:
Activity Sheet- Evaluating Health Websites
Rubric- Evaluating Health Websites
Puberty Concern #1: Growing Up & Filling Out
- Why am I getting so tall?
- Why am I still so short?
- Do my arms look freakishly long to you?
- Why are my thighs all the sudden so fat?
- Am I getting man-boobs?
- How did I gain 10 pounds so fast?
Resources:
KidsHealth.org (the gold standard)
It’s My Life from PBS Kids
BAM- Body and Mind from the CDC
For older students: #LoveYourSelfie from The Today Show has some great news and resources.
Lesson Plan Resources for Teachers: Health Trek
Puberty Concern #2: Who is that in the Mirror?
- Why do I have so many pimples?
- What am I supposed to do with them?
- How come I’m growing a mustache?
- How come I’m not growing a mustache?
- Should I be shaving my legs?
- When should I start wearing make-up?
Resource: Brain Pop/ Personal Health (I heart you, Tim and Moby. You’d never steer us wrong.)
Resource: Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls (so funny, yet so wise)
Puberty Concern #3: What is going on with my brain?
- Why am I so upset all the time?
- What is causing me to be so moody?
- Seriously? Am I going crazy?
- I can’t sit still? Do I have ADHD?
- Am I addicted to Minecraft?
- Why do I feel so nervous all the sudden?
Resources:
Teen Mental Health (the video on the main page is a great intro to a lesson on mental health)
For additional teaching resources, check out this post from TeenBeing: Addressing Mental Health Issues Without the Stigma
Puberty Concern #4: Crushes and Friend Drama
- How do I get a boy to like me?
- How do I get a girl to like me?
- What if I’m a boy and I don’t want a girl to like me?
- Why is my friend acting all boy crazy now?
- None of my friends like me anymore. How can I get them to take me back?
- Everyone at school keeps talking about me. How can I get them to stop?
- Why did everyone block me from Skype?
Resource: Stay Teen (Play the Paper Girlfriend/ Boyfriend game. Good times.)
Resource: It Gets Better Project (An amazing resource for LGBT teens. Take the time to mention it in a lesson… it can help the kids who need it know it’s there.)
Resource: I Wanna Know (Teen site from The American Sexual Health Association- better for older grades.)
Puberty Concern #5: What’s Going On Down There?
Uh, oh. Better call in the big dogs.
Resource: KidsHealth.org from Nemours (Two words: Bookmark. Bar.)
For Kids, For Teens, For Parents, and For Teachers
Resource: Planned Parenthood
Different is Normal: Changing Bodies and Genitals (this useful video explains that just like the rest of our body parts, genitals all look different too!)
Additional Resources:
Healthy Body Image Curriculum by Kathy Kater
Or, if you’re still uncomfortable with the topic, you could always just show this video…
