The Curriculum
The Puberty: The Wonder Years™ curriculum is organized into three grade levels with lessons that are designed to be taught as a unit for students in each grade. Thus, lessons are provided 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. Or, they may choose to teach the curriculum at a different grade level than the one designated by the curriculum guide.
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. 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. Therefore, abstinence from sexual intercourse is the desired behavior for all students in grades 4, 5, and 6. The Puberty: The Wonder Years™ curriculum provides the knowledge, skills, and supports students need to delay sex as long as possible.
Puberty: The Wonder Years Curriculum Information
Review the following documents for additional information about Puberty: The Wonder Years™:
- Synopsis of Puberty: The Wonder Years™ Grades 4, 5, 6 (revised 2017-3-12)
- Puberty: The Wonder Years Brochure (2018)
- Puberty: The Wonder Years Evaluation Infogram (2018)
- Puberty: The Wonder Years™ Flyer (revised 2017-4-20)
- Puberty: The Wonder Years™ Price Lists (revised 2018-11-17)
- 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
Educators who purchase the curriculum guide 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. Videos come in DVD format. If you need videos in USB format, please contact us to request a quote. The following two documents 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
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 Map of Sales as of May 2019
“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.”
