Grade 11 Healthy Active Living Education Additional Supports ...

Healthy Relationships and Sexuality
Public Profile
Unit #3 Activity #2
Teaching Learning Strategy #2
Teacher Resource (Background Information)
Catholic Profile
Unit #4 Activity #3
Teaching Learning Strategy N/A
Instructions:
Students will work with a partner and think of couples they know who are in a healthy
relationship. Students will list the characteristics that they feel make the relationship
healthy. Together as a class, develop a list of the characteristics that the class can agree
upon. Students will record the list in their notebook. Remind students that their own list
is a personal thing and that it does not have to match the class list. Upon completion of
the class-generated list, students will compare their list with the teachers/student
worksheet called ÒCharacteristics of a Healthy Relationship ChecklistÓ.
Characteristics of A Healthy Relationship
There is no such thing as a perfect relationship. There will be times when partners are
angry or defensive, but none of this should lead to abuse. There are some key elements
of a healthy relationship. Being aware of these elements will help an individual realize
when a relationship is unhealthy.
Key Elements of a Healthy Mature Relationship:
Respect
Mutual respect means that both parties care for themselves as well as each other.
This is evident through respecting each otherÕs decisions or choices and listening to
explanations of why those decisions were made. Caring partners are aware of each
otherÕs boundaries, need for personal space, and vulnerabilities. They do not take each
other or their relationship for granted. Neither person puts down or denigrates the other.
If one person in the relationship changes as a result of what they have shared, the other
person does not gloat, thinking they have caused the change. People change because they
want to. Causing change in a person (e.g., dress style, hairstyle, group of friends, sexual
demands) through manipulation, coercion, and threats are not healthy. Both parties
understand that you cannot change one another. And things that need to be changed in a
relationship come through effective communication and mutual agreement.
Consensual Enjoyable Intimacy
The sexual experience in a relationship should be equitable, mutually agreed upon and
enjoyed. Both parties should feel free to express their needs and boundaries and have
them respected, so that one person does not end up feeling like they have to give in to the
other. If one person does not want to have sex, their wishes must be respected. In
healthy relationships, problems and issues related to sexuality are openly communicated
without fear.
Grade 11 Healthy Active Living Education (PPL30), Module #1 Healthy Relationships and Sexuality
Page 35