The INFORMED ADOLESCENCE (TM) middle-school curriculum supports teen resilience through social and emotional skills; sexual health through developmentally tailored reproductive information and consent-focused context for sexual thoughts and feelings; and boundary setting through self-trust, risk mitigation, and practical skills for personal safety.
Heidi Sproull, LMSW, CST, is a psychotherapist and sexual health professional with more than 30 years of experience. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she has developed, written, and taught her INFORMED ADOLESCENCE (R) Middle School Curriculum with Lessons on Teen Resilience, Sexual Health, and Boundary Setting and Personal Safety since 2010. Heidi is an AASECT-certified Sex Therapist. Her psychotherapeutic work specializes in sexual health, recovery from sexual trauma, chronic pain, and in supporting mental, physical and emotional wellness throughout the life span. Additionally, Heidi teaches self-defense and boundaries workshops, Consent Certainty workshops, and is involved in social justice work.
INFORMED ADOLESCENCE (TM) Introduction to the INFORMED ADOLESCENCE (TM) Curriculum Teacher Preparedness Fifth Grade The Fifth Grade INFORMED ADOLESCENCE Curriculum Addresses Students' Curiosity About The Changes to Come and Calls Them into Conscious Awareness of Their Ability to Impact Positive Relationships With Themselves and Others Fifth Grade Teen Resilience Module R1: What Qualities Make a Good Friend and What is Community?17 Module R2: Social Media and Electronics25 Fifth Grade Sexual Health Module S1: Defining Health Module S2: Causes of Puberty Module S3: Effects of Puberty Module S4: Managing the Changes of Puberty Fifth Grade Boundary Setting & Personal Safety Module B1: Introductory Boundary Setting and Personal Safety Skills73 Sixth Grade The Sixth Grade INFORMED ADOLESCENCE Curriculum Supports Students as they Cross the Threshold into More Self-Awareness & Addresses Sexuality as Part of Overall Health Sixth Grade Teen Resilience Module R3: What are Respect and Compassion? Module R4: Creating Classroom Agreements Module R5: Consent vs. Compliance vs. Coercion Module R6: The Basics of Bystander Intervention Module R7: Understanding Emotions and the Web of Connection Exercise Sixth Grade Sexual Health Module S5: Birth Sex and Gender Module S6: Sexuality and Sexual Orientation Sixth Grade Boundary Setting & Personal Safety Module B2: Continuing Boundary Skills & Assertiveness Seventh Grade The Seventh Grade INFORMED ADOLESCENCE Curriculum addresses Teen Challenges & Decision-Making, Reproductive Sex, Pregnancy, and Birth Seventh Grade Teen Resilience Module R8: Othering, Bias, Prejudice, and "isms" Module R9: Sexual Slang Language Module R10: Navigating romantic and sexual attraction and Behavior in relationships Module R11: The Consent Certainty Matrix Module R12: Making Sense of Sexually Explicit Media and Pornography Module R13: Middle School Problem-Solving, Part One Seventh Grade Sexual Health Module S7: Introduction to Human Reproduction Module S8: Male Reproductive System Module S9: Female Reproductive System Module S10: Sex for Reproduction Module S11: Pregnancy & Gestation Module S12: Labor, Delivery, Birth, and Variations Seventh Grade Boundary Setting & Personal Safety Module B3: Continuing Boundary Skills, Assertiveness & Self-Protection Eighth Grade The Eighth Grade Curriculum Supports students as they ask, "What do I need now and as I transition to high school?" Eighth Grade Teen Resilience Module R14: The Candy Consent Game Module R15: Values Discernment for Decision-Making Module R16: Mental Health and Wellness Module R17: Alcohol and Substance Awareness and Decision-Making Module R18: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Teen Dating Violence (TDV) Module R19: Middle School Problem-Solving, Part Two Module R20: Navigating the Transition to High School Module R21: High School Panel Discussion Eighth Grade Sexual Health Module S13: Pregnancy Prevention Module S14: Sexually Transmitted Infection, Sexually Transmitted Disease, and Safer Sex Practices Module S15: Body Positivity, Self-Acceptance, and Sexual Health Eighth Grade Boundary Setting & Personal Safety Module B4: Continuing Boundary Skills, Assertiveness & Self-Protection Concluding Thoughts Parent Support Materials Module P1: The Value of Comprehensive Sexuality Education Module P2: Parenting Through Puberty Workshop Classroom Activities Appendix Bibliography About the Author
The use of multiple modalities and approaches to this important subject ensures successful execution and active, engaged student learning. Key concepts of consent and parent/teacher support are particularly unique and valuable. From a pedagogical lens, the content is presented in modules that strategically build upon each other. The curriculum includes additional resources and support for teachers, as well as an imperative Parent Support Module, which ensures sustained integration of the information into the student's community and coming of age. Additionally, the emphasis on diversity and inclusion, on social emotional skills and on bystander intervention are essential, valuable and much needed in this field. This curriculum has a practical, inclusive approach that makes the content accessible to a wide range of bodies, genders, and experiences. -- Aiyana Masla, Sexual Health and Wellness educator, Interdisciplinary Artist, DEIJB Educator & Facilitator with Alma Partners, and co-author of LETS TALK (Liberatory Education Tools' Teach Affirm Learn Know) Sexuality and Gender for K-4 Heidi Spoull's creative approach of intertwining her skillset as a sexual health educator and self-defense instructor lends to a unique curriculum for adolescents to learn consent negotiations and self-confidence -- Kristen Lilla, LCSW, CST-S, CSE-S, and author of Vaginas and Periods 101: A Pop-Up Book, Colors of You, and Boxes and How We Fill Them: A Basic Guide to Sexual Awareness
