Teaching Guide
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.
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Start Here!
This Sexual Health Teaching Guide is your go-to resource for teaching comprehensive sex education and sexual health as part of a skills-based health education program. It includes a clear answer to the question “what is sexual health,” explains why it matters, and outlines a grade-level-specific teaching progression aligned with both the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards and the National Sex Education Standards from SIECUS. In this teaching guide, health teachers will find engaging sex education resources including: lesson ideas, instructional videos, and real-world examples to help students explore their sexual self, build body awareness, and develop the confidence and skills needed for lifelong sexual well-being.
What’s in This Guide:
Grade-Level Specific Teaching Ideas →
An Introduction to Teaching Sexual Health
Let’s start with
The Basics
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For Students → For Parents →
What is Sexual Health Education?
Sexual health education is a holistic approach to helping students understand, embrace, and express their sexual self. It goes beyond simply preventing disease or pregnancy and also focuses on the physical, emotional, mental, and social aspects of sexuality. This comprehensive approach is supported by the World Health Organization’s definition of sexual health, emphasizing body autonomy, healthy relationships, inclusive identity development, and informed decision-making.
Through sexuality education in schools, students learn comprehensive sexual health concepts such as how their bodies work, how to communicate and set boundaries, how to care for their well-being, and how to navigate relationships with confidence and respect. It equips students with the knowledge, skills, and self-awareness they need to make empowered, values-aligned sexual choices throughout their lives.
Why Sex Ed Matters
Sexual health is a core part of life and well-being.
It’s deeply connected to emotional, mental, physical, and social health. It influences how we see ourselves, how we care for our bodies, and how we build and navigate relationships.
Most of what we see about sex is performance, not education.
We are surrounded by sexual imagery and messages, but these messages are dramatized, unrealistic portrayals of sex and relationships. Without real education, those messages can create a harmful foundation for a student’s sexual framework.
School-based sex ed is often the only source of real information.
Health class is frequently a student's only access to comprehensive, medically accurate, emotionally neutral information about sex, sexuality, and sexual health.
Sex ed is about more than sex, it’s about self-awareness, communication, and respect.
High-quality sexual health education helps students build confidence, recognize and honor their boundaries, advocate for their needs, and set higher expectations for healthy, respectful relationships.
Knowledge leads to confidence and wise choices.
When students are informed, they’re more equipped to make decisions that align with their values and enhance their well-being.
Sexual Health Education Teaching Progression
Grade-Specific Cultural Health Education Teaching Ideas
Explore K-12 grade-specific comprehensive sex education teaching ideas. Each guide provides clear sexual health standards-based learning objectives, essential functional knowledge, engaging teaching activities, and meaningful assessments. Health teachers will find everything needed to deliver impactful, developmentally-appropriate sexual health education.
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Learning Objectives/Outcomes
Comprehensive sex education learning objectives clearly define what elementary students will know and be able to do as a result of each lesson. These sexual health objectives focus on developing functional health knowledge, building understanding related to the dimensions of health, and applying essential health skills to real-life situations. Every objective is designed to align with the SHAPE America National Health Education Standardsand the National Sex Education Standards from SIECUS, ensuring that instruction is comprehensive, skills-based, and promotes lifelong well-being.
The Goal: Build a foundation of body knowledge, body autonomy, and confidence through age-appropriate, non-sexual conversations.
Learn the correct names for body parts, including sexual and reproductive anatomy, and understand the basic functions of the body
→ Related SHAPE America Standard: #1 Build and Apply Functional KnowledgeUnderstand the difference between healthy, harmful, and helpful touch and begin identifying personal physical boundaries.
→ Related SHAPE America Standard: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge and #8 AdvocacyExplore the concept of body autonomy, recognizing your body boundaries and that everyone has the right to their own body and personal space
→ Related SHAPE America Standard: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge and #8 AdvocacyLearn age-appropriate, non-sexual concepts of consent (e.g., asking permission, saying no, respecting others’ choices)
→ Related SHAPE America Standard: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge, #4 Communication, and #8 AdvocacyIntroduce the basic idea of how a baby is made in an developmentally-appropriate, factual, and values-neutral way
→ Related SHAPE America Standard: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge -
Functional Knowledge
Functional knowledge refers to the essential Comprehensive sex education concepts elementary students need to understand in order to build awareness of how sexual health shows up in their lives. This knowledge helps students make informed choices and lays the foundation for managing this aspect of their well-being with intention and confidence.
To build a strong foundation in sexual health, elementary students need basic body knowledge, an understanding of personal boundaries, and the language to talk about their bodies with clarity and confidence.
The Names and Functions of Body Parts
Students learn the correct names for all body parts, including genitals, and understand their basic functions. This builds body confidence, reduces shame, and lays the groundwork for safety and future learning.The Different Types of Touch: Healthy, Harmful, and Helpful
Students explore examples of different types of touch and learn how to recognize what makes a touch safe or unsafe. This supports early boundary setting and safety awareness.
What Body Autonomy means and How Your Body, Feelings, and Thoughts Help Define Your Body Boundaries
Students are introduced to the concept of body autonomy and begin practicing how to say no, ask for space, and respect others’ bodies and boundaries.
What Consent Means in a Non-Sexual Context
Students learn that consent means asking for and receiving clear permission before touching someone or using their belongings. They practice giving and denying consent respectfully and recognizing when someone else’s answer is “no.”
How a Baby is Made (Basic, Non-Sexual Level of Understanding)
Students learn that making a baby involves a sperm, an egg, and a uterus, offered in clear, factual, and values-neutral language appropriate for their developmental level. -
Activities
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Assessments
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Learning Objectives/Outcomes
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Functional Knowledge
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Activities
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Assessments
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Learning Objectives/Outcomes
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Functional Knowledge
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Activities
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Assessments
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For Students
Discover a catalog of teen health guides packed with essential healthy living tools. Each health guide features topic overviews, self-assessment check-ins, red flag indicators, actionable resources, and more to help students take charge of their health and well-being.
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For Parents
The ultimate guide for parents to raise healthy kids, foster open communication, and become their child’s trusted go-to adult. Discover our parent health guides filled with conversation starters, topic overviews, curated resources, and practical tools to confidently support your child’s health and well-being.
Teach the SHAPE Standards
____ Teaching Ideas Connected to SHAPE’s Health Skills
Explore the health skills table below to discover teaching ideas that connect body image education to SHAPE America’s National Health Education Standards. By linking body image lessons to skills like decision-making, self-management, and analyzing influences, you can create meaningful, skills-based learning experiences that help students develop a positive and healthy relationship with their bodies.
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Building and Applying Functional Knowledge
Learning and Using Health Knowledge
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Analyzing Influences
See What Shapes Your Choices
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Accessing Valid Information
Find Good Health Info
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Interpersonal Communication
Communicate Effectively
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Decision Making
Make Enriching Health Choices
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Goal Setting
Set and Reach Health Goals
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Practice Health Enhancing Behaviors
Take Care of Your Well-being
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Advocacy
Speak Up for Health
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Teaching Ideas for Authentic Practice
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Teaching Ideas for Authentic Practice
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Teaching Ideas for Authentic Practice
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Teaching Ideas for Authentic Practice
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Teaching Ideas for Authentic Practice
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Teaching Ideas for Authentic Practice
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Teaching Ideas for Authentic Practice
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Teaching Ideas for Authentic Practice
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Meet Project School Wellness
Your Go-To Partner in Health Education!
At Project School Wellness, we are dedicated to making health education simple, effective, and life-changing.
As your one-stop health education hub, we offer ready-to-use curriculum and resources for teachers, expert guidance for parents navigating tough topics, and trusted insights for students building lifelong health skills. Whether you’re in the classroom, at home, or learning on your own, we’re here to help you build the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to live their healthiest, happiest lives.
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