How to Teach Health & Puberty to Grade 5
Puberty is a confusing and chaotic time for a teenager, and more so when the child is on the threshold of puberty, like kids in Grade 5. It is a stage of life that every single person must go through, and helping students understand emotional and physical changes taking place will allow them to perceive puberty and adolescence in a positive manner. The more preteens understand the different changes occurring in their bodies, the better equipped they will be cope with them.
Things You'll Need
- Videos or DVDs related to puberty
- Diagrams of the reproductive systems
- Activity sheets
Instructions
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1
Obtain permission from the parents to teach puberty as part of the school's curriculum. Follow the school's policy on how to acquire the permission. Through the permission letter, inform parents of the topics that will be covered as part of the program and the date when the program is due to commence.
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Divide the class based on gender. Some of the activities and lessons concentrate solely on girls, while others are meant for boys. Hence, the teacher should check out the activities and lessons, and accordingly make a schedule to conduct the different classes. Separating the genders will also encourage an honest and frank discussion and prevent any kind of embarrassment among the students.
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3
Teach the students about the reproductive systems with the help of diagrams. Cover the male as well as female reproductive systems with both groups of students. This will help the students learn the physiology of the body and apply correct terminology for the various parts of the reproductive systems.
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4
Explain the menstrual cycle to the girls and teach them about the feminine protection products that are available for use. Explain to the girls how they can still continue with normal activities while having their periods. Teach the boys about the physical changes that they will experience with the onset of puberty. Discuss the body changes, like growth of facial hair in boys, body hair in boys and girls, change of voice in boys, and development of breasts in girls.
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5
Point out the increase in body odor in both genders. Explain how sweat glands under the armpits and groins become more active, leading to increased body odor, and therefore, they need to take particular care about their personal hygiene.
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Examine the emotional changes, like mood swings and emotional instability experienced by both boys and girls. Explain how these occur due to fluctuations in hormonal levels. Also, discuss how their self confidence is affected negatively due to the physical changes taking place. Explain that these changes are normal and every single person has to go through it. Teach the Grade 5 students some coping methods to handle their emotions.
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Allocate time at the end of the session for the students to ask questions that may be troubling them. This session is important to let the students address anything that confuses them. A teacher can also check their understanding by handing out some activity sheets that have simple true or false statements. This will allow the teacher to gauge the effectiveness of the lesson.
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