Middle School
Middle School, Second Edition, Table of Contents
Grade 6 Lessons
Lesson 6-1: Creating the Classroom Climate
Classroom expectations and group rights and responsibilities are established. Students are introduced the key Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills they will focus on in the program: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making. Students play a game to get to know each other and begin to become comfortable talking about sexuality in the class.
They brainstorm caring adults to whom they can to with questions or concerns.
Lesson 6-2: Communication and Refusal Skills
Students are introduced to effective communication skills and practice active listening and assertive communication. They discuss refusal tactics and various refusal techniques that can help them say “no” clearly and effectively, as well as the importance of respecting another person’s refusal.
Lesson 6-3: Relationships and Boundaries
Students examine relationships and identify the different relationship circles in their lives. They explore the idea of physical boundaries and the importance of respecting others’ personal space. Then they discuss qualities of healthy versus unhealthy relationships, including some of the risks of young people dating older partners. They practice communication skills for establishing clear boundaries and resisting peer pressure.
Lesson 6-4: Anatomy and Reproduction: The Penis and Related Parts
This lesson on reproductive anatomy and physiology focuses on the penis and related parts. Students test their knowledge and then review and label parts of the reproductive system using a poster and handout. The teacher explains how pregnancy occurs, and the role of condoms in preventing pregnancy. Then students play a game to review what they’ve learned.
Lesson 6-5: Anatomy and Reproduction: The Vagina and Related Parts
This lesson on reproductive anatomy and physiology focuses on the vagina and related parts. Students test their knowledge and then review and label the parts of the reproductive system using a poster and handout. The teacher explains the processes of ovulation and menstruation. Then students play a game to review what they’ve learned.
Lesson 6-6: Puberty
Students examine the physical and emotional changes of puberty, identifying which changes are related
to a particular sex assigned at birth and which happen to most young people. They explore the range of
feelings young people going through puberty might have in a variety of situations.
Lesson 6-7: Abstinence
This lesson introduces abstinence—choosing not to participate in any sexual behaviors that can result in pregnancy or STI. Students brainstorm examples of risky or unhealthy behaviors in general and examine the concept of abstaining to protect one’s health. They examine motivations for becoming sexually active and the benefits of delaying sex. They apply their learning by giving advice to the characters in
different scenarios on how to remain abstinent in pressure situations.
Lesson 6-8: Decision Making and Values
Students discuss how responsible decision making reduces unhealthy behaviors. They examine their personal values around a variety of situations and discuss how values affect behavior choices. They learn a decision-making model that can help them understand the risks of various choices and how to use their values and short-term goals to support responsible and healthy decisions.
Lesson 6-9: Grade 6 Conclusion and Review
This culminating lesson reviews the topics covered in Get Real Grade 6 and reinforces the importance of abstinence and refusal skills. Students develop a character case study and role-play the refusal skills this character could use in a sexual pressure situation to make a healthy decision. They consider messages about sexuality they could give to someone younger to promote healthy choices.
Grade 7
Lesson 7-1: Creating the Classroom Climate
Classroom expectations and group rights and responsibilities are established. Students review the key Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills they will focus on in the program: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making. They review the decision-making model by applying the steps to a scenario, and brainstorm caring adults and other
resources they can go to with questions or concerns. They also play a game to review sexual and
reproductive anatomy.
Lesson 7-2: Media Literacy and Sexuality
This lesson focuses on media literacy and sexuality. Students identify different types of media and discuss the ways sexuality is portrayed on television. They examine the effects of advertising on body image and critique an ad to understand how it uses sexuality and people’s insecurities to sell a product.
Lesson 7-3: Gender and Sexual Identity
In this lesson on gender and sexual identity, students explore stereotypes around gender and sexuality, and then review definitions of various terms related to gender and sexual identity. They use a visualization to explore characteristics of attraction and what it feels like to be attracted to someone.
Lesson 7-4: Creating a Safe School Environment
With the intention of creating a safe school environment, students clarify their understanding and values around bullying. They define harassment and discuss what it means to be an ally who supports others’ rights, using a scenario case study. Then they practice identifying and stopping harassment using
role-plays.
Lesson 7-5: Deciding About Sexual Behavior
Students examine risks and decisions around sexual behaviors in this lesson. They begin by defining different sexual behaviors and examining factors that influence a person’s decision to engage in these behaviors. Then then categorize various behaviors according to the risk they pose for pregnancy and STI transmission. The lesson concludes with a discussion of what dating means and the kinds of dating
activities seventh graders can safely enjoy.
Lesson 7-6: Defining and Maintaining Abstinence
In this lesson, students define abstinence—choosing not to participate in any sexual behaviors that can result in pregnancy or STI—and analyze which behaviors fit this definition. They determine their own abstinence guidelines and how the concept of postponement can help them avoid engaging in sexual behaviors until they are older. They review key components of refusal skills, including avoiding alcohol and
other drug use and respecting a partner’s boundaries, and practice responding to challenges to abstinence.
Lesson 7-7: Introduction to Sexually Transmitted Infections
Students learn about STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and how they are prevented. After defining STI and reviewing some statistics, the teacher reviews various STIs, including modes of transmission, which can be treated and which can be cured. Students identify important ways to prevent or avoid STIs, and then participate in a handshake demonstration to model how STIs can spread based on the number
of sexual partners a person has.
Lesson 7-8: Introduction to Protection Methods
After reviewing abstinence as a safe and effective choice for people their age, students discuss questions people should consider before becoming sexually active and reasons to use protection. They learn about various protection methods and the effectiveness rates of different methods. They review why condoms are the one method besides abstinence that protects against both unplanned pregnancy and STI
transmission, place the steps to correct condom use in the proper order, and watch a condom demonstration by the teacher. They also review how hormonal contraceptive methods work and the different forms of emergency contraception.
Lesson 7-9: Grade 7 Conclusion and Review
This culminating lesson reviews the potential consequences of sexual activity and the decision-making
model. Students also practice skills for refusals and negotiating condom use through role-plays. They
reflect on ways that negotiation and refusal skills will help them keep themselves safe.
Grade 8
Lesson 8-1: Creating the Classroom Climate
Classroom expectations and group rights and responsibilities are established. Students review the key Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills taught in the program: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making. They complete a “roadmap to resources” in which they identify people and places they could go to for questions about sexuality or
relationships, and review the decision-making model by applying the steps to a scenario.
Lesson 8-2: Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships
Students explore the characteristics of healthy versus unhealthy relationships. They are introduced to two diagrams that present the different characteristics associated with power and control in unhealthy relationships and those associated with equality in healthy relationships. Then they analyze scenarios to identify the aspects of power and control and/or equality depicted in each. To personalize the learning,
students make their own plan for having a healthy relationship.
Lesson 8-3: Addressing Obstacles to Abstinence
After reviewing the definitions of abstinence and postponement, students identify positive outcomes of abstinence and suggest strategies for making it effective. They brainstorm obstacles to abstinence and write advice columns to a teen who wishes to remain abstinent.
Lesson 8-4: Comprehensive Protection Methods
This lesson reviews protection methods. Abstinence is reinforced as a healthy and safe choice for eighth graders, and students discuss why protection is important when a person decides to become sexually active. Students play a game to review what they know about various contraceptive methods, and are shown samples of the methods, including a condom demonstration by the teacher. They explore obstacles to condom use and reasons for using condoms. As homework, they create a 1-page fact sheet on one of the protection methods they’ve learned about.
Lesson 8-5: STI/HIV Transmission
In this lesson, a simulation introduces students to patterns of STI transmission, then students examine feelings and responsibilities associated with STIs. They discuss the risk of multiple partners and compare how sequential versus concurrent partners affects transmission of STIs. Students examine the risk of various behaviors, and review the importance of testing. They review facts about HIV transmission in preparation for the speaker presentation in the next class.
Lesson 8-6: Living with HIV
In this lesson, students hear a presentation by and participate in a question-and-answer session with a speaker who is living with HIV (or watch a video featuring people living with HIV). They reflect on the experience by writing a thank-you letter to the speaker (or a letter to someone in the video). As homework, they create HIV awareness posters that contain information about modes of transmission,
how to get tested and ways to reduce risk.
Lesson 8-7: Refusal Skills
Students debrief the speaker presentation or the video from the last class. Then they review communication, refusal and negotiation skills and practice these skills using roleplays with different scenarios involving both resisting pressure to have sex and maintaining abstinence and negotiation of protection methods.
Lesson 8-8: Goals and Decision Making
Students brainstorm future wishes and ideas of what they want to become, and link the SEL skills to these desired outcomes. They work in small groups to consider how the consequences of sexual activity might affect the characters in various scenarios, both positively and negatively, and review protection and risk-reduction.
Lesson 8-9: Get Real Capstone Project
In this culminating lesson, students create media projects to demonstrate the positive messages of Get Real. They are shown examples of public service announcements, pamphlets, educational posters and print ads, then are given class time to work on their projects. They conclude the lesson by reflecting on their own personal limits around sexual behaviors and how they can address challenges to those limits.