S3-5 Puberty Teacher Notes
Introduction
This section covers aspects of Standard Grade Biology. The intention is to provide online content and activities for pupils, along with additional teacher support in the form of suggestions and ideas for classroom work and downloadable activity sheets.
The pupil content provides information on the basic facts about the female and male changes during puberty. These materials can be used to support teachers as part of the new framework for Sex Education in Scotland.
The content and structure of the unit enables teachers to direct pupils to key content relevant to their teaching approaches.
Curriculum references
Standard Grade References
Biology Topic 3
Sub topic b Reproduction
Classroom Applications
Female changes
This section begins with a reminder of the Primary Sexual Characteristics of a female baby.
The role of pituitary hormones from the brain and the hormones Oestrogen and Progesterone from the ovaries is described.
The development of Secondary Sexual Characteristics is detailed to include OVULATION, MENSTRUATION and other classic body changes.
Learning outcomes
- Recognise that reproductive organs mature during puberty as a consequence of growth and circulating hormones.
- Describe the role of oestrogen in promoting secondary sexual characteristics.
Extension work
Measure the height of the children in the class. Tabulate and group the data to enable plotting of a class HISTOGRAM.
Learning outcomes
- Understand that variation between individuals arises from genetic and environmental causes and from a combination of both.
- Present data about height in an appropriate chart or graph.
Male changes
This section begins with a reminder of the Primary Sexual Characteristics of a male baby.
The role of the pituitary hormones from the brain and Testosterone from the testes is described.
The development of Secondary Sexual Characteristics is detailed to include SPERM PRODUCTION and other classic body changes.
Learning outcomes
- Recognise that reproductive organs mature during puberty as a consequence of growth and circulating hormones.
- Describe the role of testosterone in promoting secondary sexual characteristics.
Adolescence / puberty
A suggestion that physical changes are not the only ones associated with puberty.
Emotional change
This section looks at the psychological effect that the sex hormones have during puberty and the general problems faced by adolescents as they begin to assert themselves in a more adult way.
Learning outcomes
- To appreciate the emotional changes associated with puberty.
Summary
A brief synopsis of the information covered.
Revision time
A typical exam question to test the students knowledge.
Useful web links
The Government's guidelines on SRE are available at:
The Sex Education Forum of the National Children's Bureau is online at:
Lil-lets-talk.com is a web site from Lil-lets, offering advice and information about puberty, periods and other teenage changes.
Further information on contraception is available at:
Information on family planning is available from the fpa (formerly The Family Planning Association) which is a registered charity working to improve the sexual health and reproductive rights of all people throughout the UK. The site is available at:
For the latest information on HIV and STIs data in the UK visit the Public Health Laboratory Service site at:
The Department of Health information web site on sexual health is available at:
The National AIDS Trust (NAT) aims to promote a wider understanding of HIV and AIDS.
Downloads
Pupil Section Exe Files
These are versions of the pupil material for this topic that you can download and use offline. Simply save the .exe file to your desktop and double-click it.
Puberty
PDF files
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