Best practices in comprehensive sexuality education call for rights-based, factual lessons that provide healthy options and are sensitive to the varied contextual factors affecting participants. Further, lessons are to better balance positive and negative outcomes of sexual expression that reflect the sexual realities of (young) men and women.…

This lesson plan is designed to stimulate awareness and reflection on personal attitudes toward gender expression and sexual orientation. Participants are guided to identify and analyze how external influences from various socialization agents shape gender and sexual orientation norms and, consequently, personal attitudes about gender expression…

Why might intelligent, assertive females overlook sweet, caring guys, choosing instead to date males whose traditional masculinity makes them popular with other powerful males but who treat females and "weaker" males poorly? This lesson provides a structure for, reflection on, and critique of contemporary gender stereotypes. Students…

The Turn the Tables Technique (T[cube]) is an activity designed to provide group facilitators who lead HIV/STI prevention and sexual health promotion programs with detailed and current information on teenagers' sexual behaviors and beliefs. This information can be used throughout a program to tailor content. Included is a detailed lesson plan of…

Sexuality professionals have long called for the inclusion of sexual pleasure in sexuality education programs, however, facilitators are often ill-equipped to do so. This lesson plan will help educators conceptualize the topic of sexual pleasure in order to successfully integrate it into their lessons. This lesson also reviews challenges of…

Teaching pregnancy prevention to large groups offers many challenges. This article describes the use of film clips, with guided discussion, to teach pregnancy prevention. In order to analyze the costs associated with teen pregnancy, a film clip discussion session based with the film "The Gloucester 18" was the keynote of a youth summit. The lesson…

This lesson plan is designed to help students become more aware of how advertisements play a role in shaping societal attitudes about gender and sexuality and how these messages effect their own beliefs. This lesson plan will outline how to effectively accomplish this goal in any course focusing on gender and/or sexuality.

Young people need to know that abstinence is a far more complex, difficult concept than it is often portrayed. Abstinence is a decision about sexual behaviors that a person may make throughout his or her life. It is a choice made at a specific time in a specific situation, for a specific period of time, whether one is in a partnered relationship…

Intimacy can be a complex subject. However, holistic and healthy intimacy exists in many forms and can be achieved not only with a romantic other but also with one's friends, family, professional colleagues, and self. As part of lifespan development, it is ideal to build a knowledge base and skill set to comprehend the multiple facets of intimacy.…

While virtually all sex ed curricula are designed to be used with children, teens and young adults, "Older, Wiser, Sexually Smarter: 30 Sex Ed Lessons for Adults Only" ([C] 2009, Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New Jersey) offers lessons to help participants fully embrace the possibility of sexual pleasure and intimacy from mid-life through…

Many public health students receive little, if any, formal training in communicating health information to the public. Public health practitioners, however, are regularly asked to use communication strategies to convey health information. The lesson plan was designed to teach students mass communication strategies in the context of sexual health…

Homophobia and gay-related teasing are already present among young children. This lesson introduces the term "prejudice" and places the concept of homophobia within the context of bullying and teasing with which 8-11 year olds are already familiar. The lesson builds empathy as children think about and discuss how they have felt when they have been…

This lesson helps participants examine their own attitudes and feelings about being faced with an unplanned pregnancy and understand the difficult choices involved when women need to make a decision about unplanned pregnancy. The lesson uses brainstorming, discussion, an examination of "case studies," and role-playing to help participants develop…

The term "sexual health" is often used in sexuality education without any concrete, operational definition, and students are left to ascertain the meaning for themselves. In the absence of a clear definition, students may adopt diverse or narrow understandings of this vague term, without learning the full scope of everything that sexual health…

Relationship abuse is among the most challenging topics sexuality educators have to address in their classrooms. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, it is important to allow time for content (which is to be provided in a subsequent session) as well as an exploration of one's own values and beliefs. This full-session activity is designed to…