PUBERTY:
LESSON: Remembering Puberty
Discuss the “perfect” celebrity image and some of the ways that this image is achieved (i.e. airbrushing, Botox, surgeries, etc.) Also discuss the celebrity off camera. Some of your students may have seen candid photos of celebrities off camera. Have them talk about some of the things they’ve seen and heard when these candid photos are revealed.
Tell students we often see the celebrity only when they have become an adult (even though they may be portraying much younger people in TV programs and movies). We’re going to take a look at some of these famous people when they were growing up. What did they look like then? The students will enjoy seeing some of the photos shown on websites and videos featuring “then” and “now” photos.
It would, of course be interesting to know a lot more about what it was like for the celebrity as they grew and changed from the young person depicted in the “before” photo to the person they are today as an adult in the “after” photo.
Tell your students that it would be fun to try to fill in the blanks and learn about some of the challenges the celebrities faced when they were growing up, especially as they were going through that time of life called puberty.
Since none of us have easy access to a celebrity we could ask about how it was for them when they were going through puberty, your assignment is to do the following:
The interview questions that students develop along with the essays they write will provide the basis for assessment here.
LESSON: Remembering Puberty
Overview
With all the bombardment of media images throughout this particularly vulnerable stage of development, it is little wonder that many boys and girls become dissatisfied with their bodies. Of course, most adolescents don’t devote much time to considering all the airbrushing, Botox, and costly surgeries that are going on behind the scenes to help create the celebrity image. Yet, despite all the additional help, many of these celebrities off camera look surprisingly like other “real” people with bad hair days, pimples, and even a little extra fat in a few spots that are often disguised when they’re in front of the camera.
As we begin to think about celebrities as “real” people, it’s also good to occasionally try to imagine what life must have been like for them as they were growing up. Were they always as attractive as they now appear before camera? This lesson opens with a look at some old photos of celebrities as youth; many of these photos may prove surprising given the way these people currently appear when they’re in front of the camera.
The purpose of this assignment is to encourage the student to probe more deeply into the challenges an adult they admire remembers confronting when they were the student’s age. Since the students won’t be able to arrange an interview with the celebrity of their choice to actually find out what life was like for them at this stage of their development, this lesson asks the students to conduct an interview with an adult in their personal lives that they admire.
With all the bombardment of media images throughout this particularly vulnerable stage of development, it is little wonder that many boys and girls become dissatisfied with their bodies. Of course, most adolescents don’t devote much time to considering all the airbrushing, Botox, and costly surgeries that are going on behind the scenes to help create the celebrity image. Yet, despite all the additional help, many of these celebrities off camera look surprisingly like other “real” people with bad hair days, pimples, and even a little extra fat in a few spots that are often disguised when they’re in front of the camera.
As we begin to think about celebrities as “real” people, it’s also good to occasionally try to imagine what life must have been like for them as they were growing up. Were they always as attractive as they now appear before camera? This lesson opens with a look at some old photos of celebrities as youth; many of these photos may prove surprising given the way these people currently appear when they’re in front of the camera.
The purpose of this assignment is to encourage the student to probe more deeply into the challenges an adult they admire remembers confronting when they were the student’s age. Since the students won’t be able to arrange an interview with the celebrity of their choice to actually find out what life was like for them at this stage of their development, this lesson asks the students to conduct an interview with an adult in their personal lives that they admire.
Level:
Upper elementary / Middle school
Objectives:
Preparation and Materials:
Objectives:
- Review important changes that happen during puberty, both physically and emotionally
- Develop interview questions that encourage the person being interviewed to speak about the physical and emotional challenges they remember facing
- Develop an essay summarizing the interview and presenting reflections about their findings as these relate to this period called puberty.
Preparation and Materials:
Procedures
Discuss the “perfect” celebrity image and some of the ways that this image is achieved (i.e. airbrushing, Botox, surgeries, etc.) Also discuss the celebrity off camera. Some of your students may have seen candid photos of celebrities off camera. Have them talk about some of the things they’ve seen and heard when these candid photos are revealed. Tell students we often see the celebrity only when they have become an adult (even though they may be portraying much younger people in TV programs and movies). We’re going to take a look at some of these famous people when they were growing up. What did they look like then? The students will enjoy seeing some of the photos shown on websites and videos featuring “then” and “now” photos.
It would, of course be interesting to know a lot more about what it was like for the celebrity as they grew and changed from the young person depicted in the “before” photo to the person they are today as an adult in the “after” photo.
Activity
Tell your students that it would be fun to try to fill in the blanks and learn about some of the challenges the celebrities faced when they were growing up, especially as they were going through that time of life called puberty.
Since none of us have easy access to a celebrity we could ask about how it was for them when they were going through puberty, your assignment is to do the following:
- Pick an adult you admire and would feel very comfortable interviewing.
- Ask this person if they would mind being interviewed about the challenges they faced as they were growing up. Be sure to specify what time of their life (the age range) will be of most interest during this interview.
- Review the information you know about puberty. There is lots of reliable information for boys
and for girls on the web to help the student in addition to your own review of key information in class.
- Develop interview questions that will help you understand the physical and emotional challenges this person felt they were facing.
- Write an essay summarizing your interview and some of your reflections about what you learned through speaking to this person.
Assessment
The interview questions that students develop along with the essays they write will provide the basis for assessment here.