RSHEGrowing up: body, periods and hygiene20 min★ difficulty

Puberty: what changes and why

Puberty is when your body starts changing from a child's body to an adult's. Everyone goes through it, just at different times.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand the changing adolescent body and personal hygiene

Key learning points

• Changes that happen to everyone
• Using the right names
• Changes for people with ovaries
• Changes for people with testicles

This lesson at a glance

20 minutes
18 parts to scroll through
4 quick checks
Marked quiz at the end
Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

changingadolescentpersonalhygienechanges

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 18 · Intro6%

Introduction

Part 1 of 18

Puberty: what changes and why illustration

Visual introduction

Picture this

Puberty: what changes and why

Puberty is when your body starts changing from a child's body to an adult's. Everyone goes through it, just at different times.

In a nutshell

Understand the changing adolescent body and personal hygiene

What you already know

Part 2 of 18

Before we start

What you already know

You know that hormones are chemical messengers in the body (from science).

Key words

Part 3 of 18

Key words

Words you'll need today

puberty: The years when the body changes from a child's to an adult's, usually between about 8 and 16.
hormones: Chemical messengers made in the body. Oestrogen and testosterone lead most puberty changes.
vulva: The correct name for the outside parts of the female genitals. The vagina is the passage inside.
penis and testicles: The correct names for the male genitals. Testicles make sperm after puberty.

Learning cycle

Part 4 of 18

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1: Changes for everyone

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 18

Learn

Changes that happen to everyone

Most people have a growth spurt, grow hair under their arms and around their genitals, sweat more, and may get spots. Moods can feel bigger for a while as hormones settle. All of this is normal.

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 18

Learn

Using the right names

Doctors use words like vulva, vagina, penis and testicles. Knowing the correct names isn't rude. It helps you explain things clearly to a doctor or a trusted adult if something feels wrong.

Quick check

Part 7 of 18

Quick check

What leads most puberty changes?

Reset break

Part 8 of 18

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Quick check

Part 9 of 18

Quick check

Why use correct body names?

Learning cycle

Part 10 of 18

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2: Different bodies, different timings

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 18

Learn

Changes for people with ovaries

Breasts develop, hips widen, and periods begin, usually between 10 and 16. The ovaries start releasing an egg roughly once a month.

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 18

Learn

Changes for people with testicles

The voice gets deeper, shoulders broaden, facial hair grows, and the testicles start making sperm. Erections and 'wet dreams' (releasing fluid while asleep) can happen without warning. They're normal and nothing to be embarrassed about.

Quick check

Part 13 of 18

Quick check

When do periods usually start?

Quick check

Part 14 of 18

Quick check

Is a wet dream a sign something is wrong?

Common mix-ups

Part 15 of 18

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

Puberty doesn't start at the same age for everyone. Being earlier or later than friends is normal.
Correct body names aren't rude words. They're the words doctors use.

Challenge round

Part 16 of 18

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

Mastery quiz

Part 17 of 18

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Puberty: what changes and why

3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

1. Which change happens to almost everyone in puberty?
2. What's the correct name for the outside female genitals?
3. A friend starts puberty two years before you. This is:

Lesson round-up

Part 18 of 18

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Case study

The group chat

Ellie is added to a class group chat with twenty-six people in it. At first it is jokes and homework questions. Then someone screenshots a private message from a girl in another class and posts it. Several people laugh. Two people leave the chat. Ellie says nothing, and feels bad about it that evening.

The next day the girl is off school. A teacher asks the class about the chat. Nobody wants to be the one who tells.

Staying silent can feel like the safest choice in the moment. It also leaves the person who was hurt on their own.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

What choices did Ellie have at the moment the screenshot was posted?
Who could she tell, and what would each of them be able to do?
Write what you would do in this situation and why, in 6–8 sentences.

Thinking it through
Writing
Write what you would do in this situation, who you would ask, and why.
6–8 sentences

Write your answer, notes or working here

Saved as you type.

Photos of paper work, diagrams or working outHow many minutes did the written work take?

Part 1 of 18 · Introduction

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