Girl's Best Friend Foundation (GBF) closed November 2007. 
GBF’s records are archived with Special Collections of the University
of Illinois, Chicago.  In fall 2008, they will be made public: www.uic.edu/depts/lib/specialcoll.

A Guide to Sexuality Education Resources

August 2003 

On the Internet: Sexuality Education Facilitator Tips and Lesson Plans

Amazingly, there’s not that much on the web that could be considered quality sex education.  Many curriculum sites for teachers don’t have a section on health, and if they do, content is restricted to nutrition, safety, and stress, not sexuality education.  After long searching, these are the best lesson plans I found on the internet.  Most of them are made for the classroom setting.  Some may provide information as background for an activity you create; some may be a jumping point into an activity; some you may want to use on their own. 

Starred lessons are personal favorites.  Within categories, resources are listed alphabetically.  Activities that call for out of the ordinary materials are noted.  Grade levels are estimates. Many activities can be used at any age with adaptation.  It is especially important that girls of all orientations who are engaging in sex acts that put them at risk for STI’s (Sexually Transmitted Infections), HIV, and pregnancy to learn about safer sex and protection, whatever their age.  It’s also important to remember that girls having sex, though they need protection info, may not have other information about anatomy, relationships, pleasure, and human sexuality.  Sometimes in our fear for girls’ health and safety, we forget about some of the most important components of sexuality education.  Using or adapting several of these lesson plans should help cover as many aspects as possible.

Tips, Resources, and Ideas for Educators/Facilitators

**Educator Skills from ReCAPP

Excellent index of articles on different tips and techniques.  Topics include: answering questions, responding to parents,  managing discussions, partnering with communities.  A highlight is this article that talks about being positive about sexuality, affirming sexuality, and not demonizing sex and teens.

Disabled People Have Sex, Too

This article highlights some major issues for young women with disabilities who are or want to be sexually active.  A good eye-opener for those who haven’t thought about the topic; the article provides information that would help a staff member address sexuality with disabled girls.

*Just Say Yes!

The Coalition for Positive Sexuality is an excellent online pamphlet for teens and educators.  It has a great cartoon of how to put on a condom, and is informative without being judgmental.  A reader will get a good idea from this pamphlet about what a pleasure affirming honest perspective sounds like.

*SisterLove

SisterLove is an awesome approach to sex education developed in Atlanta.  Instead of having a training session, workshop, or lesson, SisterLove throws Healthy Love parties.  Their attitude can be adopted to your program: safe sex is erotic and enjoyable.  Some of their techniques include having participants pick “sex names” for the workshop, giving out prizes like condoms, being very frank about information, and focusing on pleasure.  Contact SisterLove for more info and techniques.

Sexual Violence

Sometimes before participants can talk about sexuality positively, they need to heal from, resist, talk about, get away from, or report sexual violence.  This site gives a good overview of dating violence.