Reproductive Health Olympics

GLOW Club Lesson Plan

Title: Reproductive Health Olympics
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes		Materials: Flip charts, markers, scissors, poster board, tape, condoms, penis models, condom medals, blindfolds
Competency: Learning Objective(s): •   Students will better understand reproductive and sexual health through a series of interactive games
Time & Materials	Instructional Sequence:
Time: 10-15 minutes Materials: flipchart, marker	I. Motivation [Present the topic in a way that prepares participants and sparks interest.] ·   Define the reproductive health and what it takes to obtain it (for both sexes) ·    Identify why learning about reproductive and sexual health will help benefit them
Time: 10 minutes Materials: flip chart, marker	II. Information [Present the information that is required to be able to accomplish the objectives.] ·   Students participating should have some prior education about reproductive health, including topics like HIV/STDs, family planning/pregnancy, condoms, etc. Use this time to provide basic background information such as: HIV life cycle/transmission diagrams, STD transmission, info on menstrual cycle/pregnancy, etc. The information you present here should coincide with question asked later during the session in Reproductive Health Jeopardy.
Time: 60+ minutes Materials: poster boards (with jeopardy questions), markers, tape, flip charts, condoms, penis models, condom medals	III. Practice [Provide opportunity for participants to practice what they’ve learned in a safe and reinforcing environment.] ·   Reproductive/Sexual Health Olympics is composed of 4 games described in detail below. It includes Reproductive Health Jeopardy, Steps of Condom Use, Condom Races, and Condom Balloons. Sexual Health Jeopardy Sexual Health Jeopardy is a trivia game with topics including: HIV, STDs, Condoms, True/False, Gender, Pregnancy, Lubrication, etc. Each topic has 5 questions (100 being the easiest, and 500 being the hardest). Youth should have some basic background knowledge (that you can review prior to starting the game) on each of the topics. You can add a question or two that you have not discussed to spark some thinking and debate. Possible questions for each topic may include: HIV: What does HIV stand for? Human Immunodeficiency Virus What is the HIV life cycle? When HIV enters the body, it looks for a CD4 (immune system cell). In order to survive and reproduce, the HIV virus attaches to the CD4 and transfers RNA. It changes RNA to DNA and inserts into the CD4 cell, then reverse transcribes into RNA and leaves the CD4 cell, leaving the CD4 with HIV DNA. CD4 can no longer defend the body and HIV continues to reproduce. Over time, this will cause the immune system to decrease, and HIV to take over. Name 4 ways HIV can be transmitted. Unprotected Sex  (vaginal, anal and oral), Mother to Child, Breast-Feeding, Blood-to-blood contact. What are the 5 fluids HIV can be transmitted through? Vaginal Fluids, Semen, Pre-ejaculatory fluids, Blood, Breastmilk Can HIV be cured? How can you treat HIV? It can not be cured, only treated with ARTs STDs: What does STD stand for? Sexually Transmitted Disease; can also be STI (sexually transmitted infection) How can you get an STD? From unprotected sexual contact (Vaginal, anal, oral) What are 3 symptoms of STDs in women? Itching, Burning, Abdominal pain, discharge (green/yellow/white color), odor, etc. What can happen if an STD goes untreated? Can enter late stages of disease and cause serious side effects like rash, blindness, cancer, or even death. How do you get tested for an STD? Provide swab sample from pap exam or urine sample. Condoms: When should you use condoms? Every time you have sex (Vaginal, anal, oral) What are condoms made of? Most commonly made of Latex Can you be allergic to latex condoms? If so, what else can you use? Yes, you can be allergic, in which case you can use polyurethane condoms or lambskin Where can you get condoms? Drug Store/Pharmacy or the local Health Office What are the steps to using a condom? (see below) What can happen to a condom if it is left in very hot or very cold temperatures? The latex material can become weak and break during use if left in extreme temperatures. True/False: AIDS is the disease caused by HIV. TRUE If you put the condom on the wrong way, you can flip it around and use it. FALSE The most common way to get HIV is through sharp objects. FALSE (the most common way is through unprotected sex) It is best to wait 3-6 months after a risky sexual encounter to be tested for HIV. TRUE (after the window period) You can get HIV from eating dorowot (if the chicken ate a condom). FALSE Gender: Which region has the highest early marriage rate? Amhara What % of Ethiopia girls get married before 18? 50% What is the best investment for girls to decrease early marriage and HIV rate? Further Education How many cases of HIV could be prevented each year if all girls were able to go to school? 700,000 Pregnancy: Explain the menstrual cycle. What days are you most fertile? Days 8-20 After what age is it the safest to have children? It is best to start having children after age 18 How long should you wait in between pregnancies? 2 years Why is it important to be tested for STDs when you are pregnant/giving birth? STDs can affect the baby and can be passed during pregnancy or childbirth, causing severe side effects in some cases Lubrication: What is the purpose of lubrication? To create a smoother surface, to reduce friction and increase sensation Can you use a small amount of lubrication on the inside of the condom? Yes (to prevent condom from breaking and increase sensation for men) What can sometimes happen if you use flavored lubrication for vaginal sex? Sometimes flavored lube has high amounts of sugar and can cause yeast infections in women Students should be divided into teams of 5 or 6 people. When students answer a question correctly, throw them a condom with the points they received written on the packaging. At the end of the game, have them count up their points on the condoms and tell you how much they each have. Call up the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams to the front. Give them condom medals (condoms with shiny colored aluminum foil around them, with ribbon colored for each medal—bronze, silver, gold) for a reward for receiving the most points. Steps to Condom Use: Ahead of time, write down the steps to using a condom on a flip chart (you can write them in the shape of a condom so that it is easier for the students to get the order correct). Cut out each step individually. Place the cut outs upside down (out of order) on the table in front of each team. Have them race each other to put the steps in the correct order. Whoever is the first team to get the correct order, have one team member come to the front with you, and another read out the steps. As they read the steps out to you in the correct order, physically show them the steps with a penis model (have the team member at the front hold the model for you as you show them how to use the condom). Steps include: Check Expiration Date (if expired, you must throw away and use another) Check for bubble/air in center (if no air pocket in condom, it may have a hole in the packaging, in which case you must throw away and use another) Push condom to one side and tear down perforated side (make sure they do NOT tear open with teeth) Remove condom from packaging and find outside tip of condom (if they do not find correct side, they could put the condom on the wrong way. If the condom is put on the wrong way, it must be removed, thrown away and another must be used [because bacteria/virus/STD/pre-ejaculatory fluid could be on the penis, and flipping the condom around will only allow that substance to enter—defeating the purpose of using a condom]) Pinch the tip of the condom and place on the tip of the erect penis While still pinching the tip of the condom, roll the condom all the way down to the base of the penis Hold the base of the condom while inserting Have safe, consensual sex (stress that the desire to have sex should be consensual, between both people) Hold base of condom while removing condom (to prevent from slipping) Roll base of condom off and slide off the tip of the penis Tie condom in a knot and throw away (to prevent fluids from leaking out of condom) Condom Races Materials needed: one penis model for each team, 2 condoms for each team member, and a blindfold. Round 1: Have teams race each other to put on and take of condom properly. One member of each team goes at a time until all members have finished. Once each team has finished, you can reward with candy to keep them motivated. Round 2: Have the teams race again, but with blindfolds on. This is supposed to represent times where it may be dark or difficult to see when you are putting condoms on and will allow them to practice by feeling what they need to do without sight. Condom Balloons: Allow for students to play with condoms—take them out of the packaging and blow them up. This will allow for them to see just how large and strong condoms are, plus it will break them out of their shells and get them more open to use condoms.
Time: 5 minutes Materials:	IV. Application [Allow each participant to demonstrate his/her ability to perform each objective.] ·    Ask students to share something new they learned from the activities ·    Encourage students to share information with friends/family and be proactive in their own reproductive and sexual health

Cycle Beads

GLOW Club Lesson Plan

Title: Cycle Beads
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes		Materials: colored paper (4 colors), scissors, glue sticks, string, small elastic/rubber bands, flip chart, markers, tape
Competency[1]: Learning Objective(s): •   Students will better understand the menstrual cycle and how to track periods •   Students will learn about Standard Days Method and how to identify fertile days in menstrual cycle to avoid unwanted pregnancy
Time & Materials	Instructional Sequence:
Time: 10-15 minutes Materials: large paper, coloring utensils, tape	I. Motivation [Present the topic in a way that prepares participants and sparks interest.] ·      Define the menstrual cycle: How does it work? What can you expect ·      Introduce concept of Standard Days Method
Time: 10 minutes Materials: flip chart, marker	II. Information [Present the information that is required to be able to accomplish the objectives.] ·          Give students more detailed information on the Standard Days Method as a method of birth control and tracking menstrual cycles Cycle Beads are a tool used to help girls track their menstrual cycles, and allow them to identify their most fertile days. This is in conjunction with the standard days method of counting the days in your cycle to avoid unprotected sex on certain days of the menstrual cycle to prevent pregnancy. In order to be able to use cycle beads, you must have a cycle that last between 26-32 days. If your period falls outside of these days, or if you have irregular periods, you cannot use the cycle beads or standard days method. The first day of your period, you move the elastic to the first bead of the cycle (marked by its own color). Every day after, you move the marker one day to the right. For 6 days after you start your period, you cannot become pregnant. Starting on the 7th day, and lasting for 12 days, you are most fertile and able to become pregnant if you engage in unprotected sex during this time. After this time, for the next 7-13 days (depending on how long your cycle is) it is very unlikely to become pregnant. Once you have finished the cycle and started your next period, immediately move the marker to the start bead and begin the cycle again.
Time: 50-60 minutes Materials: colored paper, scissors, glue sticks, string, elastic bands	III. Practice [Provide opportunity for participants to practice what they’ve learned in a safe and reinforcing environment.] ·   Give students materials to make beads; give instruction on how to make beads and construct the cycle bead chain and allow them to have close to an hour to work on it. Steps to make beads: 1. Collect materials: glue stick, scissors, colored paper (1 of each color, 4 total), string, elastic band (if you can’t find small elastic bands at cosmetic shop, rubber bands will work) 2. Take scissors and cutout a strip from the paper. Should be less than an inch at the base, then gradually get smaller to a pointed tip at the end 3. Put a small amount of glue on the outside base of the paper, then roll the base towards the more narrow point to make a circle (should be large enough to fit the string through) 4. Continue to roll the paper and add glue to allow it to hold its shape, until you reach the pointed tip of the paper 5. Continue steps 2-4 until you have finished all of the beads. For each set of cycle beads, you should have one color start day, 18 unlikely pregnancy days, 12 possible pregnancy days, and one day to mark a 26 day cycle month. For example, I used one yellow bead to mark the first day of the cycle (first day of period), followed by 6 light blue non-pregnancy days, then 12 red possible pregnancy days, then 7 light blue non-pregnancy days, one dark blue to mark where a 26 day cycle would ends, then lastly 5 more light blue days for those who have more than 26 day cycles (32 being the last day on the cycle). 6. Place beads in this order on the string. Make sure to add the elastic band on the first yellow bead as a marker to trace each day. You can also choose to draw an arrow in the direction that the marker is supposed to go on the first day bead to remind girls which way they are supposed to go (particularly helpful for younger girls)
Time: 10-15 minutes	IV. Application [Allow each participant to demonstrate his/her ability to perform each objective.] ·  Ask students to show their cycle beads to the group and explain the process of using them in conjunction with the Standard Days Method
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*Note: For additional resources and activities to add to the session, go to the Institute for Reproductive Health website

*Courtesy of Mary Gaul, PCV