A Web-based
Grid
to Catalogue Lesson Plans
and Learning Activities
About this Site
A Web-based Catalogue
(Gateway) Lesson Plans and Learning Activities
This on-line catalogue (gateway) of classroom lesson plans and learning activities for
teachers of sexuality education has been prepared by the
Canadian Association for School Health, with
funding from the
Division
of Sexual Health Promotion and STD Prevention Control, Health Canada.
This gateway will assist teachers and other educators in finding
ideas for their teaching. However, educators should respect and consider the curriculum
guidelines that have been established by their respective education ministries and school
boards and also exercise their professional judgment in determining the appropriateness of
the lesson plans or learning activities for their students.
The Table of Lesson Plans and Learning Activities
The lesson plans and learning activities are presented on this
gateway within six learning domains and three additional categories:
¨
Functional
Knowledge about Sexuality (Learning Domain)
¨
Beliefs/Attitudes/Perceptions/Understandings
(Learning Domain)
¨
Self
Knowledge/Intentions/Image (Learning Domain)
¨
Skills
or Practiced Behaviours (Learning Domain)
¨
Access
to Social Support/Motivation/Resisting Social Influences (Learning Domain)
¨
Access
to Preventive Health Services (Learning Domain)
¨
Special
Needs
¨
Special
Situations
Lesson plans (LP), published learning resources/programs (LR) and
on-line learning activities (OL) are listed within those domains by grade level. Click on
the lesson plans within the table and you will find the items. Please note that some
topics are covered in more than one domain. Also, you will find a more detailed set of
specific learning outcomes under the topics. Educators will find those detailed
explanations useful in planning their lessons.
The learning domains used in this project are based on research
advice located in the limited search done for this project (Allensworth & Symons,
1989: Basch, 1989; King et al, 1989). They are also congruent with the “components of
sexual health education” as described in the
Canadian Guidelines for Sexual
Health Education (Health Canada, 1994). Also, please note that some learning outcomes
are not appropriate for some grades/ages and consequently, we do not present any lesson
plans for those grades/ages
The Limits of this Gateway
Please note that we only identify lesson plans and learning
resources on this site. There is a considerable amount of other information, such as
effective curriculum/program design, recommended supports for good teaching, links to
non-instructional strategies to promote sexual health and effective lesson planning that
will also be available through links to the site, but which is presented only briefly in
the background information section of this web site.
The primary source for the overall organization of this site was
the
Canadian Guidelines for
Sexual Health Education (Health Canada, 1994). The content was further developed from
a variety of sources that are listed in the references. We also used a Report from
Consultations on a Framework of Sexual and Reproductive Health (Health Canada, 1999). This
framework identifies several sexual health issues that are most relevant to youth and
young adults. We also consulted with a number of Canadian experts in sexuality education.
Please note that the complex nature of sexuality and health often
requires an elaborate definition or even a discussion of topics. This is not possible in
the publication of a gateway website like this.. The necessary complexity and sensitivity
needs to be captured in the lesson plans, learning activities and actual teaching
practices.
Further, the concepts of sexual health and sexuality are influenced
by the values, beliefs and customs of the individuals, families, communities, cultures and
societies in which they are considered. Each province/territory, each local community,
each school, each teacher and each parent and each young person should make choices that
are relevant to them, after critical and careful consideration. Consequently, this list of
potential topics is not meant to be exhaustive, nor definitive. We are simply trying to
create a useful method of cataloguing what exists on the Internet and make that
conveniently accessible to classroom teachers and others.
Having said that, we believe that there are some shared views of
appropriate goals for sexuality education programs in schools. For example, the Department
for Education and Employment in the United Kingdom (2000) has defined these goals for
school-based sexuality education.
“Sexuality education in schools can help parents, communities
and society to prepare young people to develop positive values and a moral framework that
will guide their decisions, judgment and behaviours. In doing this, schools can encourage
and enable their students to consider carefully the values of their parents, accept
personal responsibility for their choices, respect the choices being made by others and
understand the influences on those choices that are derived from community norms,
religious beliefs, cultures, and the media.”
The
Canadian Guidelines for Sexual
Health Education (Health Canada, 1994) has also identified several shared expectations
in an Appendix to that document. The Canadian document notes that sexuality can contribute
to positive health outcomes and reduce risk from negative health concerns.
Sexuality education can contribute to these positive outcomes:
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present sexual health
as a positive and essential part of human development
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how how sexuality contributes to
one’s self esteem and fulfillment in life
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develop respect for
self and others
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show that
non-exploitive sexual satisfaction is healthy and positive
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show that sexuality is
part of a healthy relationship with another person
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help young people to
appreciate how sexual health is tied to the joy of intended parenthood
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Sexuality education can also help youth to avoid or reduce these
negative outcomes:
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unintended pregnancy
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sexually transmitted
disease
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sexual coercion and
misuse of sexuality
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