Life Skills: Planning Ahead for Family - HS Health & FACS Lesson5

Students will discover why it’s vitally important to make careful choices before forming a family. This lesson explains the challenges of teen and unplanned pregnancy, and guides teens to make a personal plan to optimize their health and readiness. 51 PPT slides, 4 workbook pages, standards based.

Lesson Content

Students will gain awareness of the ways in which pregnancy timing and their health habits can affect their future children. Key points are supported by a rich array of statistical data and scientific health information. Historical trends and international comparisons are included.

The lesson identifies common factors that lead to unplanned pregnancy and the vulnerability of young adults between initial fertility and adult maturity (ages 15 to 25). The perils of teen parenting are explored. Workbook exercises help students consider how they can make responsible choices with their partner. (Note: This lesson does not cover sex education or methods of pregnancy prevention. The goal is to help teens understand “why” before “how”.)

Risky health behaviors (alcohol, drugs, tobacco) are explored for their detrimental effect on preconception and prenatal health. In their workbook, teens will make a plan to address these risks and optimize positive health factors. The valuable role of male partners for enhancing and protecting maternal and child health is also discussed.

The Instructor Guide (15 pages) provides you with presentation notes, expansion topics, suggested activities, and extra information for curious teachers and students. An annotated reference section for the data sources is also included with notes and direct quotes for those who enjoy a deep dive.

Your students will be empowered with information and planning skills in this lesson to begin creating a healthy foundation for their future children and family.

Here’s why you’ll LOVE this Lesson!

✅ No Prep!

✅ Fully engaging & inclusive across genders, cultures, faiths, family structures

✅ Great discussion-starter questions

✅ Supports social-emotional learning (SEL)

✅ Utilizes Motivational Interviewing techniques

Aligns perfectly with National Standards (Lesson meets all or a subset of listed standards - An itemized list included with lesson)

✅ Common Core ELA – Language and Speaking & Listening grades 9-12

✅ Health Education / Healthful Living – Standards 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6

✅ FACS Areas of Study: 6.0 – Family, 12.0 – Human Development, 15.0 – Parenting

What students and teachers are saying

⭐️ “I liked how educational and eye-opening it was.” Male Student (15)

⭐️ “I will start planning my future and make sure I’m ready before I have a kid.” Female student (14)

⭐️ “This entire lesson is great!!! It's awesome and teaches everything I try to in a complete and holistic way. I truly love this lesson.” High School Educator

Lesson Materials

• PowerPoint (51 slides) – Suitable for teacher-led or independent student learning.
• “Timing and Health for Family” Workbook (4 pages) – PDF file with fillable fields, also printable.
• Student Lesson Plan (1 page, editable PPT) - Overview of the lesson, editable for student instructions, due dates, links to slides and workbook files, etc.
• Curriculum Correlation to National Standards PDF
• Google Apps™ digital version of all materials linked on PPT Slides in the Zip file
• Instructor’s Guide (17 pages) - Based on years of experience conducting this lesson in the classroom, this document provides helpful tips for implementation: full inclusion of all students, classroom activity ideas, additional discussion topics, and additional resources.

✏️ Students will do these activities

• Describe how they hope to begin (or expand) their family
• Create a plan to make sure they choose the right time to start a family with a partner
• Prepare a back-up plan in the event of an unplanned pregnancy
• Assess risks of alcohol, drugs, tobacco to fetal health during preconception and prenatal periods
• Identify the steps they and their partner will take to optimize health before and during a pregnancy

Students will learn

• The ways teen parenting negatively impacts each member of the family – including percent who are single parents and percent who don’t finish high school
• Historical trends in U.S. rates of teen births and how the U.S. compares with other modern countries
• The increased likelihood of unplanned pregnancy with drug and alcohol use
• A definition of preconception health
• Stages of prenatal development
• How alcohol and tobacco affect pregnancy and fetal development, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
• Responsibilities of both partners in choosing the timing and optimizing health prior to pregnancy

Pairs well with other ETP lessons

• Goals for Family – Lesson 3 - Students identify the goals they have for their children, themselves as parents, their home, and their family. Lesson includes a life skills exercise to help students understand the dynamics of daily decision-making as steppingstones to achieve their goals. With their goals in mind, students will find Lesson 5 useful for helping them fulfill their dreams.
• Relationships for Family – Lesson 4 – Student learn about the social dynamics of forming a family and communication skills. Topics include: healthy relationships, marriage, single parenting, fatherhood responsibilities with special consideration of a child’s experience. With this knowledge prior to Lesson 5, they will have a clearer understanding of how two adults can work together to plan their timing and preconception health for family.

HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED ADVICE? Feel free to email me at rrubenstein@eduparents.org . I’m happy to assist you.

➕ Stay connected with Educate Tomorrow’s Parents!! Click the green Follow Me star beneath my store’s name (Educate Tomorrow’s Parents) to receive notices of free resources and new products.