This guide was adapted with permission from the Teacher's Guide to Rights, Respect, Responsibility: A K-12 Curriculum, produced by Advocates for Youth. It was developed to assist teachers with implementing a puberty education unit, specifically the grade 4 and 5 puberty education sequence of lessons in the New York City K-5 Health Education Scope and Sequence. The Scope and Sequence is a compilation of lessons from the New York City Department of Education's recommended curriculum, HealthTeacher; lessons from Ready, Set, Respect! GLSEN's Elementary School Toolkit; and Advocates for Youth’s Rights, Respect, Responsibility: A K-12 Curriculum.

The contents of this resource were updated on November 22, 2021.

This lesson appears on pp. 44-47 of Ready, Set, Respect! GLSEN's Elementary School Toolkit. It supplements the Grade 5, Unit 3 curriculum, "Growth and Development," and explores gender roles and diversity. The lesson is designed to help students to identify messages we receive in terms of gender roles and expectations. Through a research assignment, students will develop a lens for recognizing such messages and strategies for identifying when they are being influenced by them.

This slide deck is designed to accompany the Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 2 Supplemental Lesson, "Reproductive anatomy."  It consists of 9 slides that first introduce the function of hormones and the pituitary gland, then diagram the basic anatomy of the male and female human reproductive systems.

Updated November 22, 2021

Adapted from Advocates for Youth's Rights, Respect, Responsibility: A K-12 Curriculum, this lesson supplements the Grade 5, Unit 3 curriculum focusing on growth and development. The lesson examines hormones and body functions as well as the basic anatomy of human reproductive systems, and teaches students how to identify reliable, accurate sources of information about puberty. This document includes the following resources:

• Handout: Puberty Changes cards
• Homework: Remaining Questions
• Handout: Learning About Puberty Resources

Adapted from Advocates for Youth's Rights, Respect, Responsibility: A K-12 Curriculum, this lesson supplements the Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 5 curriculum, "Growth and Development," and focuses on communication skills. The lesson is designed to teach students how to successfully demonstrate assertive communication when expressing a difference of opinion with another person, and appropriate refusal skills when facing peer pressure. This document includes the following students resource:

• Worksheet: Conflict Situations