Effect of Pubertal Changes on Body Image and Behaviour Basic Science JSS 2 First Term Lesson Notes Week 9

Basic Science Lesson Plan – JSS 2, First Term, Week 9

Subject: Basic Science
Class: JSS 2
Term: First Term
Week: 9
Age: 12 – 13 years
Topic: Effect of Pubertal Changes on Body Image and Behaviour
Sub-topic: Pubertal Stage, Effects on Body Image and Behaviour, Media Misconceptions about Beauty, Individual Uniqueness
Duration: 40 minutes

Behavioral Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Define the pubertal stage.
2. State the effects of pubertal changes on body image and behaviour.
3. Explain the misconceptions about beauty as presented in the media.
4. Recognize individual uniqueness despite media portrayals.

Keywords

• Puberty
• Body Image
• Behaviour
• Misconceptions
• Uniqueness

Set Induction (5 minutes)

The teacher will ask students if they’ve noticed any physical or emotional changes in themselves or their peers as they grow older. The teacher will then introduce the topic of puberty, linking it to these changes.

Entry Behavior

Students are familiar with body changes and may have observed the effects of puberty on themselves or others.

Learning Resources and Materials

• Diagrams showing physical changes during puberty
• Posters showing media portrayals of beauty
• Projector to display images and videos

Building Background/Connection to Prior Knowledge

Students are aware of changes happening in their bodies, but they may not fully understand the relationship between these changes and body image or behaviour. This lesson builds on their knowledge by explaining the pubertal stage and its effects.

Core Skills

• Critical thinking
• Self-awareness
• Emotional intelligence

Learning Materials

• Lagos State Scheme of Work
• Basic Science textbook

Content

Definition of Pubertal Stage: Puberty is the stage of development in which a child’s body undergoes physical and hormonal changes, transforming them into an adult capable of reproduction. This period typically begins between the ages of 9 and 14 for most children.

Effects of Pubertal Changes on Body Image and Behaviour:

1. Physical Changes: During puberty, boys and girls experience various changes such as the growth of body hair, changes in voice, the development of breasts, and the onset of menstruation for girls. These changes can impact how young people perceive their bodies.
2. Body Image: Puberty can lead to increased awareness of one’s appearance, and adolescents may become more conscious of their looks. This can lead to either a positive or negative body image depending on societal standards, peer comments, and media influence.
3. Behavioural Changes: The hormonal changes during puberty also influence behaviour. Adolescents may experience mood swings, increased interest in peer relationships, and sometimes a desire to fit into societal or peer group norms regarding appearance.
4. Emotional Sensitivity: Many adolescents become more sensitive about their appearance and may struggle with self-esteem as they adjust to their changing bodies.

Misconceptions About Beauty as Presented in the Media:

1. Unrealistic Standards: The media often promotes unrealistic beauty standards, showing digitally altered images of people with perfect bodies, flawless skin, and specific body shapes.
2. Pressure to Conform: Adolescents are often pressured to conform to these beauty ideals, which may lead to dissatisfaction with their own bodies.
3. Focus on External Appearance: The media emphasizes external appearance over internal qualities like kindness, intelligence, or talents, which can negatively influence self-worth.

Individual Uniqueness:

• Diversity: Every individual is unique in terms of body shape, size, skin color, and personality. There is no one-size-fits-all definition of beauty.
• Self-acceptance: Understanding and accepting one’s uniqueness is essential for developing a healthy body image.
• Confidence: Confidence in one’s uniqueness leads to a positive self-image and the ability to resist media pressures.

Fill-in-the-Blank Questions with Options

1. ______ is the stage of development during which children undergo physical changes to become adults.
   a) Adolescence
   b) Puberty
   c) Childhood
   d) Infancy
2. A major physical change in boys during puberty is the deepening of the ______.
   a) Eyes
   b) Voice
   c) Skin
   d) Hair
3. Puberty typically begins between the ages of ______ and ______.
   a) 7, 10
   b) 9, 14
   c) 5, 8
   d) 15, 18
4. ______ is how a person perceives their own body appearance.
   a) Self-image
   b) Body image
   c) Confidence
   d) Personality
5. Media often promotes ______ beauty standards that are hard to achieve.
   a) Unrealistic
   b) Perfect
   c) Usual
   d) Easy
6. The hormonal changes during puberty can lead to changes in ______.
   a) Behaviour
   b) Knowledge
   c) Intelligence
   d) Interests
7. Individual uniqueness is reflected in differences in ______.
   a) Body shape
   b) Age
   c) Time
   d) Weight
8. Adolescents may experience ______ due to changes in their appearance during puberty.
   a) Confidence
   b) Emotional sensitivity
   c) Happiness
   d) Indifference
9. Media often promotes the idea that beauty is based on ______ appearance.
   a) Internal
   b) External
   c) Family
   d) Mental
10. Everyone has ______ traits that make them unique.
    a) Similar
    b) Different
    c) Common
    d) Average
11. By —, no one has an automatic or natural right to anything else in life. A. nature B. right C. kindness D. experience
12. Profound differences exist among people in their —- qualities. A. self-made B. self inflicting C. human right D. none of the above
13. The mass media powerfully influence our —- of beauty, our attitudes toward others, and our own self-image. A. perceptions B. understanding C. scope D. level
14. Young girls, especially, are subject to psychological turmoil as a result of an early sexualized body and identity confusion, often resulting in lasting negative effects to their concepts of —- and self-worth. A. body image B. experience C. self-worth D. self esteem
15. The lasting impact of excessive body consciousness, as well as a premature exposure to sexual exploitation, affects —- girls into their adolescence and adulthood. A. precocious B. infancy C. adolescent D. age group

15 FAQs with Answers

1. What is puberty?
   Puberty is a stage of development where children’s bodies change to become adults capable of reproduction.
2. At what age does puberty usually begin?
   Puberty typically starts between ages 9 and 14.
3. What are some physical changes during puberty?
   Physical changes include the development of body hair, breast growth, voice deepening, and menstruation in girls.
4. How does puberty affect body image?
   Adolescents may become more self-conscious about their appearance during puberty, impacting their body image.
5. What behavioural changes occur during puberty?
   Adolescents may experience mood swings, emotional sensitivity, and a desire to fit into peer groups.
6. What role does the media play in body image?
   The media often promotes unrealistic beauty standards, leading adolescents to feel dissatisfied with their appearance.
7. What are some misconceptions about beauty?
   Misconceptions include the idea that beauty is solely based on external appearance and that there is only one ideal body type.
8. How can adolescents develop a positive body image?
   By accepting their uniqueness, focusing on health, and avoiding comparisons to media portrayals.
9. Why is it important to recognize individual uniqueness?
   Recognizing uniqueness helps individuals appreciate their own value and resist societal pressures.
10. How can hormonal changes during puberty affect behaviour?
    Hormonal changes can lead to mood swings and emotional sensitivity.

Presentation Steps

Step 1: Revising the previous lesson on body image and its factors.

Step 2: Introducing puberty and discussing the physical and behavioural changes associated with it.

Step 3: Exploring the effects of media on body image and addressing misconceptions about beauty.

Step 4: Encouraging students to appreciate their individual uniqueness.

Teacher’s Activities

• Explain the physical and emotional changes that occur during puberty.
• Use diagrams to show the changes in both boys and girls.
• Highlight how the media creates misconceptions about beauty and how students can build self-confidence in their uniqueness.
• Engage students in discussions about their experiences with puberty.

Pubertal and body Image

Puberty is the natural process of hormones signaling the growth of estrogen and female sexual characteristics in girls or testosterone and male sexual characteristics in boys. It usually begins between the ages of 10 and 14. However, “precocious puberty” is defined as the beginning of this physical transformation before the age of 8. Precocious puberty may be diagnosed in girls under 8 years old who experience menstruation, breast development, the growth of pubic or underarm hair, acne and/or a rapid growth in height. It may be the diagnosis in boys under 9 years old who experience the growth of pubic or underarm hair, enlargement of the genitalia, a deepening voice, acne and/or a rapid growth in height.

Young girls, especially, are subject to psychological turmoil as a result of an early sexualized body and identity confusion, often resulting in lasting negative effects to their concepts of body image and self-worth.

Effect of Pubertal changes on body image and behaviour                                          

1. Girls who develop early face a difficult choice: whether to associate with their cognitive age group or with the age group that their bodies more closely resemble.
2. The shape of a woman’s body, such as large breasts and round hips, is explicitly sexualized in our society; and young girls are not mature enough to shoulder this societal burden.
3. Girls who develop physically faster are assumed to be more sexually active than their peers, and must struggle with that social stigma.
4. Adults tend to feel uncomfortable with precocious girls with shapely bodies, often associating them with social deviance.
5. Early developers are also more likely to engage in relationships of a sexual nature before they are emotionally prepared to do so.
6. The lasting impact of excessive body consciousness, as well as a premature exposure to sexual exploitation, affects precocious girls into their adolescence and adulthood.
7. The physical maturation of young males is considered a socially positive and rewarding endeavor, while the development of the mature female shape is associated with provocative or deviant behavior.
8. Precocious puberty, or more precisely society’s reactions to early maturation, has the potential to harm the self-esteem and body image of girls and boys alike.

Misconceptions about beauty as presented in the media

Where do we get our ideas about bodies and beauty? The list is seemingly endless. We inherit such ideas from our parents, our peers, our teachers and mentors, from our places of worship, our schools, and increasingly from the mass media. In high-tech societies such as ours, there are few settings into which the mass media do not intrude. And even if we are beyond the reach of TVs, billboards and MP3 players, we still carry in our minds media messages about appearance and desirability. The mass media powerfully influence our perceptions of beauty, our attitudes toward others, and our own self-image.

INDIVIDUAL UNIQUENESS

People are not equal in value or worth. Only in the rights to their own lives and property are people equal. Those and only those rights are inalienable for all human beings. By nature, no one has an automatic or natural right to anything else in life. Moreover, beyond the equality of individual or property rights, nothing is, can, or should be equal between human beings. Profound differences exist among people in their self-made qualities such as character development, earned skills, self-worth, extrinsic worth, aspects of intelligence, self-esteem, life-lifting capacity, psychology – pleasures capacity.

CERTAIN FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUENESS ARE:

1. Genes influence
2. Social habit
3. Influence of homes
4. Environment
5. Nutrition

Learners’ Activities

• Observe diagrams and participate in discussions.
• Share personal experiences regarding the changes they have noticed during puberty.
• Reflect on how media influences their view of beauty.

Assessment

1. Define the pubertal stage.
2. List two effects of pubertal changes on body image.
3. How does media present misconceptions about beauty?
4. Why is it important to accept individual uniqueness?
5. What are some emotional changes that occur during puberty?

Evaluation Questions

1. What is puberty?
2. List two physical changes that occur during puberty.
3. How does puberty influence body image?
4. What misconceptions about beauty are promoted by the media?
5. What is emotional sensitivity, and how is it related to puberty?
6. Why do adolescents experience mood swings during puberty?
7. How can accepting individual uniqueness improve self-image?
8. What is the role of genetics in individual uniqueness?
9. How can adolescents resist unrealistic media portrayals of beauty?
10. Explain how media influences behaviour during adolescence.
11. What happens to the Girls who develop physically faster?
12. Mention five effect of Pubertal changes on body image and behaviour
13. What is puberty?
14. What is precocious puberty?
15. What is the age range of puberty?
16. Where do we get our ideas about bodies and beauty?
17. How does the mass media powerfully influence us?
18. Where do we get our ideas about bodies and beauty?
19. How does the mass media powerfully influence us?
20. In what are people equal?
21. What are the profound differences that exist among people?
22. What is precocious puberty?

Conclusion

The teacher will summarize the key points of the lesson, emphasizing the importance of accepting individual uniqueness and developing a positive body image despite the changes that occur during puberty. Assignments will be marked, and corrections made.