Growing Through Changes

Lesson Overview

In this 60-minute Health lesson, students use a moderated Padlet wall to evaluate strategies for managing realistic personal, physical and social changes as they grow older. The lesson builds critical thinking about health information and support options, and focuses on respectful inclusion actions aligned to PD4-10.

Learning Intentions & Success Criteria

Students will:

• Evaluate strategies to manage personal, physical and social changes as they grow older (ACPPS071).
• Apply respectful, practical inclusion actions when supporting themselves and others through changes (PD4-10).
• Critically assess whether strategies are suitable, effective and realistic for different situations.

Success criteria (students can…):

• Describe the change clearly in each column using realistic examples.
• List and evaluate at least two strategies per post (one self-management and one help-seeking).
• Include one respectful inclusion action that supports belonging for self or others.
• Provide peer feedback that is supportive and includes either a question or suggestion that strengthens inclusion.

Curriculum links

• ACPPS071: evaluate strategies to manage personal, physical and social changes as they grow older.
• PH5-IPS-01: evaluate effectiveness and suitability of health information, products and support services to improve safety, health and wellbeing.
• PD4-9: apply skills to promote their own health, safety and wellbeing and understand risk management in health contexts.
• PD4-10: identify and practise respectful relationships and inclusion actions to support individuals and groups.

Lesson Sequence (60 minutes)

1. 0–8 min · Hook + setup. Teacher uses the introduction slides to show a scenario: “What if your friend is changing in ways you’re not sure how to support?” Teacher asks: “What strategies actually help—what doesn’t?” Students do a quick think then share one idea with a partner.

2. 8–15 min · Direct teaching: strategies framework. Teacher explains how to evaluate strategies using a simple lens: self-management (what I can do) and help-seeking (who/what support I can use), plus inclusion action (how I include/support people respectfully). Teacher revisits ACPPS071 and models one example post. Students listen and note a strategy checklist item.

3. 15–20 min · Padlet briefing and privacy. Teacher displays the introduction slides “Padlet rules” and checks understanding. Students confirm they can follow respectful language norms. Teacher emphasises: no identifying details, no personal medical claims, no jokes about bodies, and content is about general strategies, not personal disclosures.

4. 20–40 min · Padlet task (create 3 posts). Students open the shared wall (set by teacher) and create three posts:

• Personal: emotional/identity change prompt
• Physical: puberty/body changes prompt
• Social: relationships/inclusion prompt Each post must include: (a) describe the change, (b) evaluate at least two strategies (one self-management + one help-seeking), (c) include one respectful inclusion action aligned to PD4-10. Teacher monitors, using the introduction slides “teacher conferencing prompts” on the side of the screen.

5. 40–51 min · Peer review (comment on at least two peers). Students read at least two classmates’ posts and leave two comments total (at least one must include a supportive suggestion; another must include a question that promotes inclusion). Students use sentence starters from the displayed rubric.

6. 51–60 min · Debrief and verbal wrap. Teacher returns to the introduction slides for a whole-class “Verbal wrap”: “Name one self-management strategy you think is realistic” and “Name one help-seeking support people should feel comfortable using.” Students share orally; teacher captures themes on the board.

Resources/Prep (including Padlet)

• the introduction slides: hook, strategy lens, Padlet rules, post prompts, teacher monitoring cues, wrap questions.
• the strategy checklist rubric: printable checklist/rubric with sentence starters (teacher distributes before Padlet; used as a guide, not collected for grading).
• Padlet wall with one wall and three columns labelled: Personal, Physical, Social.
• Teacher Padlet set-up: moderation on, anonymous/real-name option as determined by school policy (teacher to use class-safe mode).
• Student access code or link shared by teacher (no external sharing beyond class).
• Prepared student sentence starter strips (on the strategy checklist rubric).
• Teacher notes sheet for observation checklist aligned to PD4-9/PD4-10 and ACPPS071.

Padlet set-up instructions (teacher)

• Create a single wall with three columns: Personal, Physical, Social. Disable posting without teacher moderation.
• Privacy & consent: ensure Padlet access is restricted to the class account/code; confirm student participation follows school digital consent processes.
• Moderation: enable pre-approval for new posts and comments.
• Ground rules (display before posting):
• No personal identifying information (names, addresses, schools, phone numbers).
• No graphic descriptions; respectful and factual language only.
• No rumours or judging; focus on strategies and inclusion.
• If a post is concerning or disallowed, teacher removes it and redirects the student.
• How to respond to posts respectfully:
• Use “I notice…” “A supportive next step could be…” and ask “What inclusion action would help someone feel welcome?”
• Avoid “That’s weird/gross”; reframe to supportive language.
• Teacher response plan: during the activity, like and prompt with general feedback (not private personal discussion). If a student shares something sensitive, direct them to a school support pathway privately after class.

Assessment & Evidence

• Formative observation checklist (teacher) during Padlet:
• Evidence of strategy evaluation: identifies at least two strategies, one self-management and one help-seeking, with suitability/effectiveness reasoning.
• Evidence of inclusion action: shows a respectful inclusion step aligned to PD4-10.
• Evidence of respectful peer engagement: comments include supportive suggestion and/or inclusion-promoting question.
• Teacher notes: record examples of strong posts and misconceptions to address in the verbal wrap.
• Optional verbal wrap only (no written exit slip): teacher selects 2–3 student responses to confirm understanding of self-management + help-seeking + inclusion.

Differentiation

• Support (literacy needs):
• Provide sentence starters and a checklist on the strategy checklist rubric.
• Offer a “fill-in” model post structure on the introduction slides (brief example for each column).
• Allow students to draft orally with teacher before typing.
• Extension (advanced students):
• Challenge: add a brief justification of why the help-seeking option is trustworthy/suitable (e.g., “what support service could provide and why it would help”).
• Add an “alternative strategy” or “if it doesn’t work” contingency.
• EAL/SEN:
• Sentence starters scaffold language functions: describe, evaluate (because/so), and inclusion action (I can include…).

Safety & Wellbeing

• Digital safety: teacher-moderated Padlet; no identifying details; only school-approved platforms/accounts.
• Respect and safeguarding: respond to any concerning disclosures by pausing the student posting and following school safeguarding procedures (private conversation after class).
• Emotional safety: ensure scenarios remain general; do not pressure students to disclose personal experiences.
• Language expectations: reinforce respectful terms; redirect any derogatory or body-shaming comments immediately.

Teacher Reflection prompts

• Which posts showed the clearest evaluation of strategies (self-management vs help-seeking)?
• Were students’ inclusion actions realistic, respectful and aligned to PD4-10?
• What misconceptions emerged during peer review, and how will I address them next lesson?
• Did I provide enough targeted conferencing to students who needed literacy scaffolds?