Health Sorting Activity: What is Sexual Health?
This “What is Sexual Health” instant activity is the perfect addition to any sex ed curriculum!
This sorting activity introduces students to a holistic definition of sexual health. It helps students understand that sexual health is about more than just "sex" or what’s happening in the body. The activity breaks sexual health into two essential parts: How the Body Works (i.e. biological aspects) and How the Head and Heart Work (i.e. the social and emotional aspects). It’s an easy, low-stakes way to introduce students to a complex topic (that they tend to think they know a lot about).
Table of Contents
How to Define Sexual Health
Sexual health is the lifelong process of understanding, embracing, and expressing your sexual self. It involves caring for your body’s physical functioning while also navigating the emotional, relational, and cultural aspects of sexuality with awareness and intention.
It’s important to stress that being sexually healthy is NOT just about the sex someone is having or not having and whether there’s consent and protection. It’s all about having the emotional, mental, and physical capacity to embrace and express your sexuality.
How the Matching Activity Works
After printing, cutting out, and organizing (I like to put them in ziplock bags) sets of the cards, here’s how to use this instant activity in your classroom:
Ask students to get into groups of 2-3 (I tend to let kids choose their own groups, I find that they work better).
Students sort each aspect of sexual health as either “How the Body Works” or “How the Head and Heart Work.”
Debrief as a class.
Debrief and Reflection
Here are a few prompts students can discuss after the activity:
What surprised you about this definition of sexual health?
What aspects of sexual health have you observed in the media?
What aspect do you think people are most misinformed about?
Overall, I love using this sorting activity to bring a complex topic like sexuality into the learning experience. I can’t wait to use it when I teach our sex ed curriculum again!