My Future-My Choice Curriculum

My Future-My Choice

My Future-My Choice (MFMC) is a program that teaches middle school students about sexual health. It uses a comprehensive, accurate, inclusive and trauma-informed approach.

The program serves to help stop violence, child abuse and human trafficking. It also helps teach young people how to build healthy relationships. It helps them to better relate with themselves, peers and others in their communities.

Overview Contact us How teens can get involved

Overview

My Future-My Choice provides middle school students with tools for healthy relationships. Those tools include boundaries and treating each other with respect and dignity.

The lessons offer skills to resist peer and social pressure. They also teach students how to resist pressure from media sources. The lessons teach students how to prevent STIs and pregnancy.

Serves students in sixth and eighth grade.
Meets the sixth and eighth grade sexual health requirements listed in Oregon’s Health Education Standards. This includes Erin's Law (SB 856, 2015) and House Bill 2509, 2009.
Is pre-approved by the National Children’s Alliance. It meets the following standards from the alliance: Essential Component B of the Optional Child Abuse Prevention Standards.
Provides sex education tailored to the age group and grade level of students in the class. It is an important part of the health education year.
Maintains the most up-to-date resources and info online.
Invites high school teen leaders to help teach four of the sixth grade lessons. These leaders help get sixth grade students buy in. This also gives high school students a chance to learn more about these topics. It allows high schoolers to take a leadership role.

Curriculum focus

Lesson 1: Changes

Learn the medical names and basics of reproductive body parts. Find a medically accurate source of information on puberty and reproduction.

Lesson 2: Puberty and Caring for Our Bodies

Learn about the physical, emotional, and social changes of puberty. Describe menstrual symptoms. Learn about menstrual products. Learn ways to maintain personal hygiene.

Lesson 3: Pregnancy and Reproduction

Learn the signs, symptoms and stages of pregnancy. Explain how pregnancy happens. Know what options exist for unintended pregnancy.

Lesson 4: SOGIE Basics

Learn concepts related to gender and sexuality. Learn words for different types of sexual orientations. Think about Trusted Adults as sources for answers about this topic.

Lesson 5: Everyone Deserves Respect and Support

Explain the benefits of showing respect to all people. Demonstrate how to show respect to people with different identities or beliefs. Learn about resources for help when bullying happens.

Lesson 6: Advantages of Postponing Sexual Involvement

Define the terms sexual intercourse and abstinence. Explain things a person should consider before they choose to have sex. Learn about short-term and long-term goals. Explore how sexual activity can impact the ability to achieve our goals.

Lesson 7: Media and Other Influences

Describe the way media influences how teens think about the world around them. Compare messages teens may get about sex from different sources. (These can come from parents, friends, the media and teachers.) Learn ways to use social media more safely.

Lesson 8: Handling Peer Pressure and Setting Boundaries

Define and spot examples of personal boundaries. Demonstrate how to be assertive in scenarios about peer pressure.

Lesson 9: Consent

Define consent. Discuss how to set personal boundaries. Explain how someone can know if another person gives consent. Learn how to handle rejection in healthy ways.

Lesson 10: Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships

Compare traits of a healthy relationship and an unhealthy one. Describe types of relationship abuse. Practice ways to talk with a Trusted Adult if a friendship or dating relationship feels unhealthy or abusive.

Lesson 11: Recognizing and Reducing Risks

Learn what sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are. Learn how they spread between people. Name ways to prevent pregnancy and STIs. This includes abstinence and condoms.

Lesson 12: Finding Support in Your Community

Learn why someone might need sexual health services even if they are not sexually active. Examples are menstrual pain or urinary tract infections. Practice how to talk with a parent or guardian about going to the doctor to get these services.

Lesson 1: Setting the Stage

Introduce the topic of sexual health. Set group agreements. Define sexuality and sexual health.

Lesson 2: Who Am I?

Discuss parts of identity. Examples are culture, family, hobbies, and religion. Learn how identity connects to self-image. Define positive and negative self-image. Identify Trusted Adults who can support dealing with negative self-image.

Lesson 3: Myself Within Community

Learn that bodies have historically been valued differently based on markers like race, gender, and disability. Understand how this harms individuals and communities. Explore the concept of reproductive injustice through short articles on historical events.

Lesson 4: What is Sex

Describe the parts of sexuality. Learn how these impact the lives of teens. Define sexual intercourse. Learn that vaginal sex with a penis creates a risk of pregnancy. Think about the outcomes of sex. Learn ways to get support from Trusted Adults.

Lesson 5: My Identity and Me

Define sex assigned at birth, gender, and sexual orientation. Give examples of gender roles. Learn how Trusted Adults can help with pressures around gender or sexuality.

Lesson 6: Reproduction and Reproductive Health

Describe signs of pregnancy. Define medical accuracy. Learn where to get accurate information about pregnancy. Discuss ways to make a family.

Lesson 7: Abstinence

Define abstinence. Explore how people may define it. Learn about boundaries and how to set them.

Lesson 8: Consent

Define authentic consent. Learn how it differs from general consent. Learn the basics of consent laws in Oregon. Practice how to know when authentic consent is present.

Lesson 9: Intimate Relationship Basics

Define intimate relationships. Explore their benefits and challenges. Talk about what makes an ideal relationship. Discuss trust, respect, communication, and kindness.

Lesson 10: Dating and Relating

Learn different communication styles. Explain how each style affects a relationship. Practice ways to be assertive.

Lesson 11: Pregnancy Prevention

Learn about contraceptives and condoms. Talk about how to access them. Discuss how each method can prevent pregnancy. Identify how different methods will work best for different needs or health concerns. Point to abstinence as the only 100% effective method.

Lesson 12: HIV and STI Basics

Learn basic facts about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV. Talk about ways to prevent STIs. Learn how stigmas make it harder for people to care for their health. Explore how this leads to the spread of STIs.

Lesson 13: Power and Control in Relationships

Define power and control. Explore abuse of power. Point out Trusted Adults and other resources who can help.

Lesson 14: Sexual Images in the Media

Define types of sexually explicit material (SEM). This includes shows, ads, and pornography. Learn how SEM impacts our ideas about relationships and sex. Find ways to use social media safely.

Lesson 15: Sexual Values and Goal Setting

Define sexual values. Explain how they help us make choices. Define values like respect, safety, family, and education. List goals students would like to achieve.

Contacts

This program is supported by Grant Numbers CFDA 93.235 and CFDA 93.060 from the Family and Youth Services Bureau within the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Neither the Administration for Children and Families nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). The opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Administration for Children and Families and the Family and Youth Services Bureau.

My Future-My Choice Curriculum