Changes in adulthood
I can describe changes in humans as they develop through adulthood.
Changes in adulthood
I can describe changes in humans as they develop through adulthood.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Adulthood, the period in a human’s life whereby full physical and intellectual maturity have been attained
- Adulthood is commonly thought of as beginning at around 20 years
- Physical changes in early adulthood include reaching full height and gaining muscle
- Middle age, a stage of adulthood, begins at around 40 years of age
- The stages of human development in adulthood can be recorded in a variety of ways
Keywords
Human - People are a type of animal called humans.
Develop - To develop is to grow or change gradually.
Adult - An adult is a mature form of a plant or animal.
Adulthood - Adulthood is the time that a human spends as an adult.
Chronological order - Chronological order is the order that things happen.
Common misconception
Pupils may think that height is dependent on age, so taller adults must be older than shorter ones.
Explain that by the time humans reach adulthood they have stopped growing. At this point, their height is not related to their age. Use examples of familiar adults such as staff members to make this clear.
To help you plan your year 5 science lesson on: Changes in adulthood, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 5 science lesson on: Changes in adulthood, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 science lessons from the Human development unit, dive into the full secondary science curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
None required
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Starter quiz
6 Questions

The youngest humans
A human that has just learned to walk
A young human growing taller and learning new skills
A human who is developing from a child into an adult
Exit quiz
6 Questions
