The newspaper (30 mins)
Read some newspaper clippings with letters from teenagers about problems they have.15 year old girl
I am 15 years old and have a problem which is making me very miserable. I sometimes get so depressed and yet there is no reason for me to feel this way. All my friends are always having a good time and I only join in if I force myself to pretend that I am enjoying myself. This is a strain, but I know that if I do not pretend, I will lose my friends. What is the matter with me? Please help before I kill myself.
14 year old boy
I am a 14 year old boy and I have to give a presentation in astronomy class. I have spent weeks working on my project, and I almost feel like a true expert when it comes to this topic.
The only problem is that my voice is changing, and I can’t seem to control it. Every time my voice gives, I feel so embarrassed and my face turns bright red. I wish that the presentation was optional, but it is worth 20% of my mark. Without presenting, I’ll probably get a mark in the high 60s or low 70s.
What should I do? Should I present and embarrass myself in front of everyone or skip the presentation and get a mark that is definitely a lot lower than the grade I should get.
14 year old girl
I am a 14 year old girl. I am afraid I will be failing gym class. Not because I am not good at gym but only because I don’t wear the proper athletic wear.
It’s just that I don’t like changing in front of all of the other girls. I don’t want them to see my body, it looks so stupid. They all seem to have the perfect figure, and I just know that they will all laugh at me.
Exercise:
Write down 5 feelings the person who wrote the letter is experiencing.
Have you had these feelings too?
What did you do to feel better?
Write a response to the letter.