Educational Media Reviews Online

Granted, puberty and sex education are not the easiest topics to present to middle schoolers, but present day students are too mature not to snicker at a video that talks about “Hair down here.” Titles included in the Puberty series are What Is Puberty, Girls and Puberty, Boys and Puberty, and New Emotions, New Feelings. There is considerable repetition in the videos, and are probably best viewed separately. Student actors in the videos ask questions in a straightforward manner, but their older counterpoints are too singsong in narration. Animations border on cartoon. Clear and direct illustration need to be more realistic for this aged targeted audience. A more serious tone might elicit a more serious reaction, especially in group classroom viewing. The additional DVD on HIV and AIDS is presented in such a way, and appears more in tune with middle school students. On an additional positive note, the emotional changes involved in puberty are well covered and discussed. The entire kit comes logically organized in notebook form with helpful print and electronic supplemental material. A recommended purchase because of the important content over presentation style.