Puberty Basics: Understanding Physical Changes

1. PUBERTY BASICS Physical changes IDEAL FOR GRADES 4-8 Created by Natalie Chelsom Nov 2018 Natalie.Chelsom@sd68.bc.ca Slides 1-5 are for educators • slides 6-44 are for educators to use with students in the classroom Adapted from: Puberty: Understanding Your Changing Body. SexualityandU.ca, 2010

2. ‘Go To’ Resources for Educators https://sexual-education.sd68.bc.ca Email Sex Sense line or call 1-800-739-7367  • Nanaimo OPT clinic https://www.optionsforsexualhealth.org/providers/nanaimo-opt-clinic • Printable puberty guides (3) Look for ‘Go To Resources’ tab https://sexual-education.sd68.bc.ca/educators/grades-k-7/#ac_3 • www.Amaze.org (cartoons) • www.Kidshealth.org (health info by topic) • www.Teachingsexualhealth.ca (lessons) common Q and A • Scope and Sequences on • https://sexual-education.sd68.bc.ca/educators/grades-k-7/#ac_2 • Grade by grade breakdown in laypersons terms • https://sexual-education.sd68.bc.ca/documents/2018/06/personal-sexual-health-physical-health-education-curriculum.pdf

3. Goal Practice and Incorporate Language and Style That: • Creates Comfort • Is Inclusive of All Students and Diversities Who modeled to you how to do this? What do you remember from your sexual health education (good/bad/ugly)

5. Goal for Puberty Lessons • Normalize their experiences • Build empathy (a lot more alike than you might realize) • Empower them to care for their body, and build self esteem, have healthy relationships, know how to get help • Validate and reflect each experience (your use of language and examples!)

6. The Changing Me. . .What’s Happening?

7. Ground Rules • It’s Body Science • Be Private • Respect Self and Others • Giggly Wigglies • Think Like A Scientist • ‘Interesting’ • No Personal Questions • All other questions are OK! • Who you can talk to after • Click here for Ground Rules in word document • Link to setting up ground rules and helpful phrases to use when doing Q and A

8. What Makes Humans Mammals?

9. What makes us Mammals?

10. What are all the different stages of life a human goes through?

11. 3 Major Growth Spurts 1. Conception to Birth 3. Puberty 2. Birth to one year old

12. What is puberty? • Time of change from child to adult • When the body reaches maturity (fully grown) • Emotions and feeling change • Bodies become fertile (able to reproduce)

13. When do I start puberty? 8--------- 14 10-------- 16 12-------- 18 14-------- 20 15-------- 21 What age will my body stop growing? What are some ages people might notice body changes starting?

14. What makes puberty start? The pituitary gland sends a signal to the body to produce the hormone that starts puberty.

15. Does everyone produce the samehormone? • If you have ovaries, the pituitary gland sends a signal to produce Estrogen. • If you have testicles, the pituitary gland sends a signal to produce Testosterone.

16. How does my body change during puberty? • Stairs Spurt • Ninja Spurt • Bean Sprout Spurt • Shocker Spurt Which one do you think you’ll be like?

17. What other changes happen? To all bodies?

18. Bigger feet Grow taller Bones grow (aches and pains) Hips and shoulders get wider Sweat more (body odour) Weight gain is normal and healthy Hair and skin become oily and you will get pimples Voice gets a little deeper Hair growth (pubic areas, under the armpits, and legs) May have mood swings, sexual thoughts and feelings (all due to your hormones!) Want more privacy and independence

19. What Changes Happen Due To Testosterone? • May get more hair on arms, armpits, legs, chest and back and face • Chest may get a bit lumpy and sensitive • Voice gets deeper • Penis and testicles grow • Sperm is produced

20. What Changes Happen Due to Estrogen? • Hair grows under armpits and in pubic area • Hair on arms and legs may grow darker • Breast and nipples get larger • Chest gets sensitive • Vaginal discharge: a little bit of white/grey/yellow fluid • Menstruation (period) begins

21. Activity • Word sort: what happens to boy’s, girl’s both (change to bodies with testicles/ovaries/ all bodies) from www.teachingsexualhealth.ca • Cool Puberty Cartoonswww.amaze.org

22. What does fertile mean?

23. Sperm • During puberty, testes make 50,000 sperm cells a second! • Sperm build up in tubes around the testicles • They travel along some tubes and mix with fluids from glands • The semen gets absorbed back into the body or is released through ejaculation

24. Ovum • Can be referred to as an egg

25. These are the cells necessary to make a new human: Sperm + Egg = Baby

26. Developing in the Uterus

27. People with a penis Urethra Penis Testes or Testicles Scrotum

28. People with a penis Bladder Seminal Vesicle Prostate Gland Urethra Penis Epididymis Testicle or Testes Scrotum

29. What is an erection? A penis gets erect when blood rushes to it. If semen is going to come out, the penis is likely to be erect. What is an ejaculation? • Muscles push the semen (which contains sperm) into the urethra and out the penis • This is called ejaculation

30. What causes an erection? • Erections happen for all kinds of reasons • When a person with a penis has to go to the bathroom • When nervous or anxious • By touching their penis • Sometimes for no reason (happens even as a baby, for no reason)

31. When does ejaculation happen? • If a person with a penis wakes up and finds a wet, sticky spot on his sheets or pajamas - semen came out when he was sleeping. This is called a “wet dream”. • If a person with a penis touches or rubs his penis and it gets erect and semen comes out. This is called masturbation. • Some have wet dreams - some don’t. • Some masturbate, some don’t.

32. People with a Vulva Fallopian Tube Ovaries Uterus Cervix Vagina

33. People with a Vulva Fallopian Tube Ovary Uterus Bladder Cervix Clitoris Rectum Urethra Vaginal Opening

34. What are periods and why do they happen? • A person with a vulva is born with hundreds of thousands of tiny eggs, called ova – one is called an ovum • At puberty, hormones tell the ovaries it is time to start releasing an ova every month • Usually one egg at a time (usually once a month) develops and is released from an ovary

35. What are periods and why do they happen? At the same time, the uterus starts to grow a thick lining on the inside wall • The lining has lots of tiny blood vessels • The lining is there to protect and feed an egg if it has combined with a sperm (a fertilized egg)

36. What are periods and why do they happen? • If an egg does not meet a sperm • The lining sheds (cramps) • It mixes with some blood and water and comes out the uterus into the vagina and then out the vaginal opening • This is called menstruation or a period.

37. What is a menstrual cycle? • The menstrual cycle is the process just described: • Formation of the uterine lining, • Release of the egg, • Breakdown of the unfertilized egg and uterine lining, • Release of the lining (start of the cycle)

38. When will I get my period? • No one can tell exactly when it will start • Usually around same age as when their mother got hers • Many get some white or yellow stuff on their underwear • It is called vaginal discharge and is a sign that the period is coming sometime within the next year How long will the bleeding last? • Each female is different. It can vary from 3 – 8 days • During a period only a few tablespoons to about half a cup of blood is lost – not a lot

39. How often will I get a period? • At first there may not be any pattern to when you will get your next period • Some people never have a regular pattern • Most people eventually have a regular cycle – they know approximately when their next period will happen • The length of a cycle is from the first day of bleeding to the first day of bleeding the next time it happens • Each person is different so some may have a period every 23 days, some every 28 days and some every 35 days Keep a calendar to help keep track of when you have your period and how long it lasts.

40. What do I do when I get my period? • Pads or tampons are used to catch the blood that comes from the vagina • Pads are made of material that absorbs the blood • Most have a sticky strip on one side to hold the pad to the underwear • Pads come in a variety of sizes and shapes

41. What do I do when I get my period? • A tampon made of soft material that fits inside the vagina to absorb the blood • Some people like to use tampons, especially if they are doing physical activities, but pads are fine too • They are good if you’re going swimming • Some people find them painful to insert: if so wait until older

42. Puberty Kit and Hygiene

43. What about feelings? Everyone experience many different feelings or emotions as they grow up. What are some of the feelings?

44. What about feelings? Everyone can experience lots of feelings as they grow up

45. Where can I get more information? • Parents or other family members • Other trusted/safe adults (teachers, counselors) • Health professionals (nurses and doctors) • Kids Help Phone.ca or 1-800-668-6868 • www.kidshealth.org

46. Best websites • www.kidshealth.org • www.amaze.org • Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (demo calling it in class) • Puberty lessons www.teachingsexualhealth.ca Printable Puberty Guides • Northern Health: Printable Puberty Guide #1 -Grade 4-7 with assessment • Growing Up OK! Printable Puberty Guide #2 Gr 4-8 smaller guide with summaries • PHE Canada: Printable Puberty Guide #3  Gr 5,6,7

47. Questions? Conmon questions and answers about puberty: https://teachingsexualhealth.ca/teachers/sexual-health-education/student-faqs/