Adolescent Health Curriculum

Option #1 Making A Difference (Middle School)

The goals of the Making a Difference! program are to:

• Help young people change behaviors that place them at risk for HIV, STDs and pregnancy.

• Delay the initiation of sex among sexually inexperienced youth.

• Reduce unprotected sex among sexually active youth.

• Help young people make proud and responsible decisions about their sexual behaviors.

The Making a Difference! curriculum includes a series of fun and interactive learning experiences designed to increase participation and help young adolescents understand the faulty reasoning and decision making that puts them at risk for HIV/STDs and pregnancy. Activities are designed to increase comfort with practicing abstinence, address concerns about practicing abstinence, and provide strategies for overcoming concerns and obstacles to practicing abstinence.

The activities incorporate social cognitive-behavioral skill-building strategies (i.e., presentation, modeling, and the practice of abstinence negotiation skills). The curriculum involves culturally sensitive video clips, games, brainstorming, role-playing, skill-building activities and small-group discussions that build group cohesion and enhance learning. Each activity lasts a brief time, and most are active exercises in which the adolescents get out of their seats and interact with each other. In this way, it is possible to maintain interest and attention that might fade during a lecture or lengthy group discussion.

Below are some example activities used in Making a Difference!:

• The goals and dreams activity focuses on having the adolescents consider their goals for the future and how participating in sexual activity at their current age might thwart the attainment of their goals. It makes clear that their best strategy is to abstain from sex.

• Video clips are used to depict young adolescents in various situations. These videos evoke feelings, thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, and stereotypes about HIV/STD and pregnancy, and the importance of practicing abstinence.

• The role-play scenarios are designed to provide participants with the confidence and skills to negotiate abstinence and delay sexual involvement. These realistic role-play scenarios provide young adolescents with a variety of ways in which they could use the negotiation-refusal skills that they learn in this program.

• The curriculum incorporates the “Make a Difference! Be Proud! Be Responsible!” theme that encourages the participants to make a difference and abstain from sex, to be proud of themselves, their family and their community, and to behave responsibly for the sake of themselves, their family and their community.

How to review the curriculum: 

To access the Making A Difference (Middle School) curriculum, please visit this website: Sample – ETR Making a Difference 

https://www.etr.org/sample/?c=madreg&p=1

  An account must be created to access the online curriculum for 30 days. This same link is provided to administration, school board members, and parents if they would like to review the material covered in Making A Difference.

Option #2   Making Proud Choices (High School) 

Making Proud Choices! provides adolescents with the knowledge, confidence and skills necessary to reduce their risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV and pregnancy by abstaining from sex or using condoms if they choose to have sex. It is based on cognitive-behavioral theories, focus groups and the authors’ extensive experience working with youth. Making Proud Choices! is an adaptation and extension of the original Be Proud! Be Responsible! curriculum that integrates teen pregnancy prevention along with HIV/STI prevention. The curriculum can be adapted to create a school version with 14 shorter modules that will fit a school schedule. 

Description

To reduce STI and pregnancy risk related sexual behaviors, adolescents not only need an awareness of personal vulnerability, but also positive attitudes towards condom-use skills and confidence in their ability to use condoms. The Making Proud Choices! curriculum is designed to meet those needs.

The goal of Making Proud Choices! is to empower adolescents to change their behavior in ways that will reduce their risk of an unplanned pregnancy or becoming infected with HIV and other STIs. Specifically, this curriculum emphasizes that adolescents can reduce their risk for STIs, HIV and pregnancy by using a condom, if they choose to have sex.

The program has four major components. The first component focuses on goals, dreams and adolescent sexuality. The second is knowledge, covering information about the etiology, transmission and prevention of HIV, other STIs and teenage pregnancy. The third focuses on beliefs and attitudes. The fourth focuses on skills and self-efficacy, covering negotiation-refusal skills and condom use skills and providing time for practice, reinforcement and support.

The role of sexual responsibility and accountability is stressed, and the curriculum teaches participants to make responsible decisions regarding their sexual behavior, to respect themselves and others, and the importance of developing a positive image. Participants discuss what constitutes sexual responsibility, such as condom use and learn to make responsible decisions regarding their sexual behavior (i.e. that abstinence is the best way to prevent HIV, STI and teen pregnancy, however, if they choose to have sex, they must use a condom).

A series of fun and interactive learning experiences increase participation and help adolescents understand the faulty reasoning and decision-making that puts them at risk for STIs, HIV and unplanned pregnancies. Activities are designed to increase comfort with practicing condom use, address concerns about negative effects of practicing safer sex and build skills in condom use and negotiation, and incorporate social cognitive-behavioral skill-building strategies (i.e., presentation, modeling, and the practice of condom use negotiation skills).

The curriculum involves culturally sensitive video clips, games, brainstorming, role-playing, skill-building activities and small group discussions that build group cohesion and enhance learning. Each activity lasts only a brief time and involves adolescents getting out of their seats and interacting with each other. In this way, it is possible to maintain interest and attention that might fade during a lecture or lengthy group discussion.

At the completion of the program, youth will

• Have increased their knowledge of HIV, STIs and pregnancy prevention

• Believe in the value of safer sex, including abstinence

• Have improved their ability to negotiate abstinence/safer-sex practices

• Have increased their ability to use condoms correctly

• Have stronger intentions to use condoms if they have sex

• Have a lower incidence of HIV/STI sexual risk-taking behavior

• Take pride in choosing responsible sexual behaviors

How to review the curriculum: 

To access Making Proud Choices, please visit: Sample- ETR Making Proud Choices

https://www.etr.org/sample/?c=mpc&p=1

Similar to Making a Difference, one must create an account to access the online curriculum.

Option #3 Positive Prevention Plus (America’s Youth Version) High School 

Topics covered: 

• Group Agreements and Sexual Health of Teens

• Life Planning

• Love, Intimacy, and Healthy Relationships

• Bullying and Relationship Abuse

• Human Trafficking

• Preventing Unplanned Pregnancies

• Teen Pregnancy and Making Informed Decisions

• Gender Roles and Sexual Orientation

• HIV /AIDS Epidemic

• Preventing Sexually Transmitted Infections

• Risk Recognition and Communication

• Media and Peer Pressure

• Accessing Community Services

• Steps to Success

How to review the curriculum: 

Sample- Positive Prevention Plus (America’s Youth)

https://positivepreventionplus.com/contact-us/curriculum-review-form/

When requesting access, please select the “Other” option and enter “High School America’s Youth 2021 Version.” This is the version we use that is specific to Arizona.

Those who review this curriculum, have access for 7 days but may request to view at a later time again.

Option #4 Teen Outreach Program (TOP) curriculum (AZ Pilot) 

Topics Include: 

• Exploring my Emotions

• Flipping your Lid

• Famous Failures

• Pathways to Success: Overcoming Barriers

• Circles of my Community

• I See You 

• Developing Empathy

• Practicing Interviewing

• Conflict Resolution

• Talking about Body Image

• THINK about Social Media

• Adolescent Brain Development

How to review the curriculum: 

 Sample- Wyman Teen Outreach Program

https://view.protectedpdf.com/portal/wymancenter/LogIn