The menstrual cycle

LO’s:
•Know what happens during the menstrual
cycle.

Unscramble the following words:

TRUEUS FLEAME INITIALFOREST
OVALINOUT IPEDRO RENTASLUM

Uterus, Female, Fertilisation, Ovulation, Period, Menstrual

 The menstrual cycle
• Starts when girls are about 12 years old,
but can be anytime between 8 and 16.
• Cycle lasts about 28 days.
• In young girls just reaching puberty, it may
be irregular but as they grow older it
usually settles down.
 Days 1-5
• The uterus wall breaks down and comes
out the vagina.
• It contains lots of blood.
• It can be accompanied by pain in the
stomach.
• This is called the PERIOD or
MENSTRUATION
 Day 5 – 14
• The blood loss from the vagina stops.
• The uterus wall builds up again.
• The ovary gets an egg cell ready to be
released.
 Day 14
• The uterus lining is at its thickest again.
• The egg cell is released by the ovary.
• It travels down the egg tube towards the
uterus.
• We call this OVULATION.
 Day 14 - 28
• The uterus lining remains thick so it is
ready if a fertilised egg arrives.
• If an unfertilised egg arrives, it passes
through the uterus and out the body
through the vagina.
• The uterus lining starts to break down and
the cycle repeats.
What date will the period stop if it started on
the…

e.g.) 5th March, period stops on 10th March.

• 1st May 30 days in April, June,
• 20th June September, November.

• 18th January
• 27th August 31 days in January, March,
May, July, August, October,
• 11th December December.

28 days in February.
What date will ovulation occur if the period
starts on the…

e.g.) 11th May, ovulation on the 25th May.

• 3rd May 30 days in April, June,
• 27th June September, November.

• 28th January
• 9th August 31 days in January, March,
May, July, August, October,
• 29th December December.

28 days in February.
What date will the next period start if the
current one started on the…

e.g.) 2rd March, next period starts 30th

March.
30 days in April, June,
• 1st May September, November.
• 27th June
• 18th January 31 days in January, March,
May, July, August, October,
• 5 August
th
December.
• 11th December
28 days in February.
 Dear problem page…
• I will give you a short letter written to a
young person’s problem page.
• Work in groups of 4.
• Write a short reply to the letter. It should
be about 4 or 5 sentences long.
• Be ready to read out your reply to the rest
of the class.