Active learning ideas
As 3rd Year students enter a period of significant physical and social transition, 'Growing and Changing' provides a vital space to discuss development. This topic covers the physical milestones of growth since infancy and the accompanying shift in social roles. It connects deeply to the 'Myself: Growing and Changing' strand of the NCCA curriculum, emphasizing that change is a natural, ongoing process that affects everyone differently.
Activity 01
Students work in pairs to create a comparative timeline showing physical changes and new responsibilities they have gained at ages 3, 6, and 9.
How have I grown since I was a baby?
Activity 02
Small groups design posters illustrating a 'New Responsibility' for a 9-year-old. Students walk around the room, adding sticky notes with tips on how to handle that responsibility successfully.
What new responsibilities do I have?
Activity 03
Students discuss how their reactions to certain situations (like a scraped knee or a lost toy) have changed as they have grown older, focusing on emotional maturity.
How do my feelings change as I grow?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Everyone grows at the same rate and in the same way.
Explain that growth is highly individual and influenced by many factors. Using a gallery walk to show diverse growth stories helps students visualize and accept these differences.
Growing up only means getting bigger physically.
Emphasize that emotional and social growth is just as important. Collaborative discussions about changing interests and responsibilities help surface this broader definition of maturity.
Methods used in this brief