Worried Sick

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question to guide discussion: In what ways is the emotional health of a society’s citizens important to the success of that society?

2. List Vocabulary
Share with students some of the challenging vocabulary words in this article (see right). Encourage them to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• isolated (p. 13)
• insufficient (p. 13)
• attributed (p. 14)
• nuanced (p. 14)
• eroded (p. 14)
• stigma (p. 15)

3. Engage
Read aloud the title of the article—“Worried Sick”—and have students share predictions about what the article will discuss.

4. Read 
Have students read the article, marking the text to note key ideas or questions.

5. Discuss
Distribute or project Up Close: Worried Sick, a close-reading activity for students to work on in small groups. (Note: The questions on the PDF also appear on the following page of this lesson, with possible responses.) Follow up with a class discussion. If you’re short on time, have each group tackle one or two of the questions. Collect students’ work or have each group report its findings to the class.

• What is the authors’ main purpose with the first three paragraphs of the article? (Author’s purpose, text structure) (The authors’ main purpose is to show how mental health issues are affecting young people. The authors do this by giving information about one teen who has experienced mental health issues and then providing a quote from an expert about how this experience isn’t unusual for teens. This opening helps set up a central idea of the article—that many teens are suffering from mental health issues.)

• Psychologist Candice Odgers is quoted in the first section of the article. What is her point of view about the teen mental health crisis? (Point of view, summarize) (Odgers’s point of view is that we don’t really know why so many teens are experiencing mental health issues. She explains that young people today are less likely to engage in risky activities but are more likely to experience mental health issues, and experts don’t know why. She says, “We need to figure it out, because it’s life or death for these kids.”)

• The authors say that the Covid-19 pandemic intensified the decline in mental health among teens. How do they support this claim? ( Analyze claims, cite text evidence) (The authors support this claim by explaining that the pandemic led to economic hardships for families, disrupted learning for students, and resulted in less in-person time for young people with teachers, family, and friends. The authors also give anecdotes of how the pandemic affected young people, such as how Sophie lost connections with many people and still hasn’t recovered. In addition, the authors include an expert opinion from psychiatrist Stacy McAllister about how the pandemic disrupted teens’ abilities to figure out who they are.)

• In relation to the effect of social media on teen mental health, the authors say “solid data on the issue is limited.” What do the authors mean? (Make inferences, word meaning)(The authors mean that the results of studies on the effects of social media on teen mental health are not overwhelmingly conclusive as to its causing or not causing an effect on mental health. Instead, the results are nuanced and often contradictory. However, many studies do show that adolescents who spend more time online are less happy.)

• According to the article, what is the connection between the falling age of puberty and the increase in mental health issues among teens? (Cause and effect, key details) (The article explains that, from 1990 to today, the average age of puberty onset has dropped from 14 years old to 12 years old for girls, and that boys have followed a similar path. The article then says that when puberty hits, the brain becomes hypersensitive to social and hierarchical information, such as what teens are flooded with from social media. The falling age in puberty, along with the rise of social media, has created a gap in what the young brain can process and the stimulation it’s receiving, which can lead to mental health issues.)

• Based on the article, what are some solutions to addressing the mental health crisis among teens? (Problem & solution, key details) (Based on the article, improved family support, getting back to school, spending less time on the internet and more time with people, and getting more sleep and exercise may help improve mood. Talking about your experiences and discovering that you are not alone might also help. In addition, addressing the shortage of therapists and treatment options and increasing funding for research to explain the trend may also help.)

6. Writing Prompt
The article quotes U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy as saying, “The future well-being of our country depends on how we support and invest in the next generation.” What does he mean? Do you agree with him? Support your points with evidence from the article and additional research, as needed.

7. Classroom Debate
Should the federal government increase its budget for addressing mental health issues?

8. Quiz & Skills
Use the quiz to assess students’ comprehension and Organizing Ideas to review outlining skills.