The Curriculum
Puberty: The Wonder Years™ is organized into three grade levels with lessons that are designed to be taught as a unit for students in each grade; thus, there are lessons for three consecutive years. However, because each community is unique, local districts may choose to adapt the curriculum. They may decide to teach one, two, or all three years of the curriculum. They may choose to teach the curriculum at a different grade level than the one designated by the curriculum manual.
Each school district’s curriculum council or sex education advisory committee will determine which lessons should be taught at each grade. Repetition from year to year is helpful, even desirable. Because individual students develop according to their own timeline and pace, the information is likely to be assimilated differently each year. Each grade level of curriculum reinforces some of the information taught at the previous grade level, but also adds new information that sets the stage for the following grade level.
Puberty: The Wonder Years™ teaches students the knowledge and skills needed to lay a foundation for choosing to delay the initiation of sexual activity. Abstinence from sexual intercourse is the desired behavior for all students in grades 4, 5, and 6. Surveys of student behavior, such as the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, confirm that the vast majority of young people in these grades are not engaging in intimate sexual behavior. Puberty: The Wonder Years™ provides the knowledge, skills, and supports students need to delay sex as long as possible.
For additional information about Puberty: The Wonder Years™ review the following documents:
- Synopsis of Puberty: The Wonder Years™ Grades 4, 5, 6 (revised 2017-3-12)
- Puberty: The Wonder Years™ Flyer (revised 2017-4-20)
- Puberty: The Wonder Years™ Price Lists (revised 2018-3-31)
- Logic Model for Puberty: The Wonder Years™
Click on the menu to the right for helpful information about Puberty: The Wonder Years student learning objectives, how families are engaged, alignments to other health initiatives, and how the 2015 edition is different from previous editions.
Online Teacher Resources
With the purchase of each curriculum guide, educators also receive access to the many Online Teacher Resources that are needed to implement the lessons and enhance instruction. These resources include teacher masters, student worksheets, family resources, and full-color, animated PowerPoint slides. Family resources are available in English and Spanish.
Videos and Other Supplemental Materials
Videos and other supplemental materials are NOT included with the Puberty: The Wonder Years curriculum guides. However, selected videos are available for sale via this website for your convenience. They are sold as DVDs. If you need them as USB versions, please contact us to request a quote. The following two documents will assist educators in selecting the videos that are needed to implement the lessons:
- Video and Materials List, Grades 4, 5, and 6 (revised 2017-5-10)
- Video Selection Checklist (revised 2017-5-10)
Companion Materials for Puberty: The Wonder Years™
We offer companion materials to support educators and enhance student learning.
- Optional lessons for grade 6
- Student assessment surveys for grades 4, 5, and 6
- Student workbooks for grades 4, 5, and 6
- Trainer’s Toolkit: The Puberty: The Wonder Years™ Trainer’s Toolkit is a comprehensive set of materials to support professional development facilitators in delivering a one-day training workshop for educators to equip them to effectively deliver the Puberty: The Wonder Years curriculum to their students.
Professional Development Options
Three options are available for training on Puberty: The Wonder Years™:
- Face-to-face workshop
- Trainer’s Toolkit
- Online Training Course
“Puberty: The Wonder Years doesn’t just stick to puberty. The curriculum also includes lessons on topics that I think are necessary, such as bullying and social-emotional components. There’s also a lot of scripting for really good conversation and prompts for the teachers.”
