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Growth, Development, and Sexual Health

Kindergarten - Grade 3

Overview

Kindergarten to Grade 3 students are very curious about how living things grow and mature. Most are ready to describe their own physical characteristics including their own body parts and functions as well as the five senses. Becoming more aware of their surroundings, students describe ways people are different or the same and identify trusted adults who promote healthy growth and development.

Curriculum and Lessons

PBS Learning Media: Birth Growth, and Development Lesson

In this lesson, students come to understand that all living things have a life cycle that includes being born, developing into an adult, reproducing, and eventually dying. Lesson for grades K-2.

 

Learn More

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Book List

Kindergarten

The image depicts a smiling doctor surrounded by several children, with a medical x-ray image in the background and a %22Let's Meet a Doctor%22 title at the top.

Let’s Meet a Doctor

by Bridget Heos (2013)

The image depicts a children's book cover titled %22Let's Meet a Dentist%22 featuring a smiling female dentist and three diverse children in a dental office setting.

Let’s Meet a Dentist

by Bridget Heos (2013)

The image depicts a young girl in a red dress being examined by a female doctor in a medical office setting.

Going to the Doctor

by Anne Civardi (2006)

The Berenstain Bears visit the dentist, with the family members sitting in the dentist's chair and examining the dental equipment in the background.

Going to the Doctor

by Anne Civardi (2006)

The image depicts a young boy and a stuffed animal sitting in a dentist's office, surrounded by various dental equipment and toys.

What to Expect When You Go to the Dentist

by Heidi Murkoff (2009)

The image depicts a young child, likely a boy, sitting in an optometrist's office. The child is wearing a red shirt and jeans, and appears to be looking at the camera. The background shows various medical equipment and furnishings associated with an optometrist's office.

I Need Glasses: My Visit to the Optometrist

by Virginia Dooley (2002)

A fluffy white dog wearing glasses and the text %22ARLO NEEDS GLASSES%22 against a bright blue background.

Arlo Needs Glasses

by Lauren Child (2009)

The image depicts two cartoon-style characters, a girl and a boy, both wearing glasses and expressing the sentiment that the girl %22must have glasses%22.

I Really Absolutely Must Have Glasses

by Lauren Child (2009)

The image depicts a colorful children's book cover titled %22Inside Your Outside!%22 featuring illustrations of the Cat in the Hat and a skeleton figure, along with other cartoon characters, all set against a bright yellow background.

Inside Your Outside: All About the Human Body

by Tish Rabe (2003)

The cover of the album %22My Bodyworks%22 features a group of children playing on a colorful playground, surrounded by a lush green landscape.

My BodyWorks: Songs About Your Bones, Muscles, Heart and More!

Bby Jane and Steven Schoenberg (2104)

The image depicts the cover of a children's book titled %22My Five Senses%22 by Aliki, featuring a cartoon illustration of a young boy's face with large eyes and ears.

My Five Senses

by Aliki Brandenberg (1989, 2015)

The image depicts a young boy with glasses and a cheerful expression, surrounded by various objects representing the five senses - look, listen, taste, touch, and smell.

Look, Listen, Taste, Touch, Smell

by Pamela Nettleton (2004)

The image depicts a diverse group of families gathered together, with a woman holding a birthday cake in the center. The background features colorful balloons and a vibrant, patterned design.

All Families Are Special

by Norma Simon and Teresa Flavin (2003)

1st Grade

The cover of the %22First Human Body Encyclopedia%22 book features various anatomical illustrations, including a close-up of a hand's skeletal structure, a person performing a yoga pose, and other icons representing the human body and its functions.

First Human Body Encyclopedia

by DK (2005)

The image is a visual encyclopedia of the human body, featuring a detailed illustration of the internal organs and systems, including a prominent depiction of the heart.

Human Body: A Visual Encyclopedia

by DK (2012)

The Magic School Bus book cover features a yellow school bus filled with students, surrounded by a colorful, whimsical background.

The Magic School Bus: A Journey into the Human Body Kit

by The Young Scientists Club

The image depicts the cover of a children's book titled %22I See the Animals Sleeping: A Bedtime Story%22 featuring a close-up view of two tigers resting amidst lush foliage.

The Magic School Bus: A Journey into the Human Body Kit

by The Young Scientists Club

The book cover features a diverse group of people, including adults and children, with a baby in the center. The background is a bright, vibrant green color.

It’s Not the Stork! A Book About Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families and Friends

by Robie H. Harris (2008)

3rd Grade

The image depicts a book cover titled %22Tom, Johnny and the Growing Arm Bone%22 with illustrations of a doctor examining a young boy and a woman with a child.

Tom, Johnny, and the Growing Arm Bone

by Anat Shabi and Arjun Mohan (2016)

Classroom Activities

Rows of yellow chairs and desks in a colorful, organized classroom setting.
  • Sing the “Skeleton Dance” or the “Hokey Pokey” song while pointing to corresponding body parts.
  • Create an “I Am Me” life-size cutout for each student to decorate and personalize.
  • Have students create anatomy flipbooks that display various internal and external organs.

Partnerships

A simple black house icon on a white background.

​Partnering with the Family​​

  • Families are encouraged to help reinforce that every child has similarities but is also unique and special​.
  • Families are encouraged to share their own experiences with growth and development​. 
  •  Families are encouraged to set a foundation for dialogue at this early age to establish a comfortable rapport between students and their parents, caretakers, or guardians as ​they encounter more complex subjects related to growth and development.​​​
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Partnering with your School

  • Host a classroom open house for other grades to come visit the class pets or plants and hear students talk about the life cycle.
    *Be sure to check for pet allergies before having a class pet or inviting other students to a room with a pet. Also, follow school and district allergy and animal policy.
  • In classrooms that can not have pets, student drawings and photo collages of pets can be displayed.
  • Host a Healthy Apple Campaign where students create and decorate apple cut-outs identifying healthy behaviors and place them around the school.
The image depicts a simple black silhouette of a person with an oval-shaped head and five smaller oval shapes surrounding it, suggesting a group or team.

Partnering with your Community

  • Invite guest speakers who defy traditional gender roles that include individuals of all genders, including people who are transgender.
  • Students can write and illustrate a collective letter inviting health care works to speak in the classroom. 
  • Partner with local dentists who provide free, preventive services. 
  • School nurses can provide mandated vision and hearing assessments for all kindergarteners. 
  • In person or virtual field trip to local farm, zoo, or aquarium to see how living things grow and mature.