Let's Talk About It: Adolescent Mental Health: A Companion Guide to "Girl Sent Away" for Parents and Teachers

Decades of research show that when parents and teachers partner together around social-emotional learning, teens are better positioned to reach their greatest potential as healthy, active members of the community. Let’s Talk About It: Adolescent Mental Health is a companion guide for reading the novel Girl Sent Away, and it provides specific ways parents and teachers can engage teens in conversations about mental health with the goal of building empathy, nurturing perspective-taking, and strengthening emotional resilience. The guide is designed for use with teens in grades 9-12. The curriculum material and discussion questions outlined in the companion guide are intended to complement literacy, media literacy, health, and social-emotional learning activities. The curriculum integration section provides teacher-facilitated activities that suit a wide range of learning styles, and include both experiential and reflective components, suggested projects and assignments, and grading rubrics.