Read Aloud: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Social Justice Theme: Mental Health Stigma
Grade Level: Ninth
Mental Health Stigma In Public Schools
The issue that has been chosen for the unit is Mental Health Stigma. This is an important topic to be covered in high school because 1 in 5 of the 50 million public school students say that they have a mental health disorder. However, 80% of those students do seek help due to the stigma that revolves around mental health.
- For more, please check out an NPR series on the mental health stigma in public schools: http://apps.npr.org/mental-health/?fbclid=IwAR2DxysA9w1lhEz7lF6BGVV2hVEgyYsX41VP0DcPGBRJfnTrM9VhnG3seao
It is because of this percentage of those who are hindered from seeking help because of the stigma is why this issue connects with the lives of the students that we will be teaching. They need to understand that there does not have to be a stigma, and their feelings are valid. This unit will be exploring the challenges young adults face, coping methods, resources and different stigmas revolving around mental health.
Students will be exploring these essential questions:
- What is the mental health stigma? Is a stigma true or false?
- How does stigma effect one’s action to seek help?
- What challenges do those with mental health issues face? How do mental health disorders one ability to live life?
- How can you be there for a friend who has a mental disorder?
- What resources for aiding mental health are there?
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
My goals for the students are to learn the reality about mental health. I want them to understand that the stigma created around mental health should not inhibit them from seeking help, nor does the stigma make their feelings about it not valid. They should have a greater understanding of what someone dealing with a mental health disorder looks like, create more empathy in that situation, and know the resources/coping methods for them.
Throughout the unit, students will read and discuss in class multiple articles from the New York Times that discuss mental health, mental health stigma and disorders, and coping methods. They will also be watching and discussing a Ted Talk on the stigma around mental health. Due to what they want to know about resources, they will be given a presentation on resources in the community that can help them. They will eventually have to write an essay on a resource as well.
They will be connecting these articles along the way to Speak by Lauire Halse Anderson, and to an independent book that they will pick out. The book they pick out, like Speak, must have a young adult character facing a challenge with their mental health.
Students will be able to examine different perspectives on the topic as they will be each picking a book that revolves around a young adult who is facing a challenging time in life, and relate that to a mental health issue. This will give students a chance to see mental health through the perspective of the main character facing a personal issue.
At the end of almost every day, they will be given an exit ticket to answer a question about something they did that day and ask a question about . This will help the teacher be able to address their questions, foster their questions into the direction we need to learn, and know what resources the teacher can bring in on mental health. Questions for the exit ticket can be adapted class to class based on discussion.
The grade level is ninth grade. A unit plan making the awareness of the mental health stigma knowledgeable to students at this time is vital has they are facing cognitive, socio-emotional and physical developments at the time. These things are based off of their background, making important for the teacher to note their students demographics. In turn, these developments can affect their mental health and their learning making it vital they understand what mental health is to them, define the stigma around it, and what ways they can cope with it. This unit supports students with different reading and ELL students because everything read in class will be read out loud along with a physical/digital copy and they are choosing a book to read that will be at their own pace.
I would like to teach this in May since it is Mental Health Awareness Month, so at the end of the unit, invite the students and parents to a Mental Health Month panel. This panel will have people such as the school counselors, principals and teachers to discuss what the school is doing about mental health and what ways can they improve.
Technology Involved:
- Poll Everywhere will be used for the Anticipation Guide - https://www.polleverywhere.com
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