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Webquest on Sexual Health:
 Presenting the Reasons to Wait

Prepared By: Mary Shannon & Doug McCall  
Sponsored By: www.sexualityandu.ca

 See the Teacher's Guide to this Webquest


 

Number of People for this WQ

  • Three to four students. An individual student can complete this webquest alone.

Outcomes for this WQ:

  • realize that many young people are not regularly having sexual intercourse until their late teens

  • understand the health, emotional, values-related and other reasons for postponing sexual intercourse

Materials for this WQ

  • No specific materials are required for this webquest

 Documents for This WQ
 

No documents for this WQ

 Student Tools for this WQ

Evaluation Criteria/Procedure

 

Participation  

 


 

Introduction

Abstaining from sexual intercourse is becoming a more popular choice among young people these days. This webquest explores the issue of abstinence and asks participants to identify and then consider the reasons for waiting longer before they engage in sexual intercourse.

Task 

The task of this webquest is to prepare an editorial for your school newsletter or for your community newspaper that presents the arguments for abstaining from sexual intercourse until a person is in a long tern, committed relationship and is in a stage in their life where the intensity of a sexual relationships fits with their goals and aspirations.

Process and Steps

(Don't forget to take notes on your activities in this webquest. Use section 3.2 of your Personal Health Journal)

  1. Visit the www.sexualityandu.ca web site and read the brief section Reasons to Wait and then read the article that site recommends entitled: Virginity: A Very Personal Decision.
     

  2. The next step in this webquest is to gather the facts related to abstinence. Read the following articles and fact sheets and compile the arguments for deciding to abstain from sexual intercourse (and other intense forms of sexual activity) until it fits with your life plans and you are in a committed, long-term relationship.

    • medical, health reasons
    • emotional, psychological reasons
    • philosophical, ethical, spiritual, moral and values related reasons
    • social, economic and career related reasons

    The assigned readings are:

  3. Prepare a summary and commentary report on the assigned readings. Each member of the group should prepare an individual report and then the group should prepare a final group report.


  4. Now go to the Lesson Plan listed on the www.sexualityandu.ca web site (Postponing vs. Having Intercourse) and review the arguments presented in that lesson plan. Did your list cover the arguments for postponing?

    Next, examine the arguments listed in that lesson plan for why young people choose to have sexual intercourse. Prepare a list of counter-arguments and realistic alternatives that respond to the arguments for having intercourse. These counterarguments will be needed for your editorial.


  5. Working as a group, prepare an editorial (750 words) that can be placed in your school newsletter or community newspaper expressing the reasons why young (and older) people should abstain from sexual intercourse and other intense sexual activity until it fits with their life goals/situation and they are in a committed long term relationship.

    Use Section 3.7 of the Personal Health Journal to organize and develop your arguments. Read the Evaluation Criteria for Writing to Persuade to see how your editorial will be evaluated. Also, review editorials in your daily or community newspapers to see how they are written.


  6. Go to the PBS show on sexual youth behaviours Everybody is Doing It..Not!. Watch the two video clips from that show (“Peers, Pressure and Personal Experiences” and “Truth, Consequences and Alternatives”). List the points being made by the young people on those video clips. (You will need to start and stop the clip in order to do this.). Note when the young people make some of the arguments that you have developed Do you think the arguments and points of view expressed by the young people are realistic?

    Next, assume that actors, instead of real people, did the video clips from the PBS show. Assess and describe how “real” to the teens on that show would seem to young people you know. Also, identify the best and worst part of the scenes from those clips from the perspective of portraying their messages about youth and sex. What worked and what did not work?

    The group should prepare a one-two page review of the online videos (Use Section 3.6 of your Personal health Journal to identify questions that you can answer in preparing your review. Note: Not all of those questions will apply to this webquest and to these specific videos.)

How Your Work will be Evaluated

Each member of the group will be evaluated on their own Summary/
Commentary Report as well as the group report. The group will be assessed on how well their Editorial makes the arguments for postponing sexual intercourse and how well it responds to the reasons that motivate young people to have intercourse. The evaluation criteria for Writing to Persuade will be used to assess your work..

Finally, assess how well your group worked together on this webquest using the criteria for Individual and group participation found in Section 3.3 of your Personal Health Journal

See your teacher for how all of these evaluation criteria will be applied to your webquest.

Your work on this webquest will be evaluated on the basis of your Summary and Commentary Report on the assigned readings for the webquest.

Conclusions and Extensions

Submit your editorial to your local community or school newspaper.

Go to the related webquest, Implementing your Decision to Postpone Sex.

Want to talk with someone about these issues? Why not call the Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868 or visit their web site. Also read these tips on how to use Hotline Information.