Objectives

After completing this lesson, students will be able to:

• Explain the importance of learning and practicing effective communication skills.
• Describe some typical sources of stress in the lives of teenagers.
• Identify resources within the school and community that teens can turn to when they need help with a problem.

Introducing the Lesson

On the board write the phrase "Hello, caller—you're on the air." Ask students what this phrase brings to mind (call-in talk shows). Elicit names of such shows that students have watched on TV or listened to on the radio, and have students discuss their format. Emphasize that a common feature of these programs is providing advice to people who are faced with problems.

Reveal that the story students are about to read revolves around just such a show hosted by a fictional psychiatrist, Dr. Emma Hart, and around one particular caller, a teen named Amanda. Add that this story has a unique twist: Amanda is Dr. Hart's daughter.

Teaching Strategies

This tale is told from the point of view of Amanda, the teen caller. Because the version here is an excerpt of the longer, full version of the story, some background information will need to be provided to students. Explain that:

• Amanda is the only child of a single parent.
• Amanda is faced with stressful problems that are typical of the teen years.
• The "wounded birds" of the title is Dr. Hart's affectionate name for her callers.

Because of the story's length, even in its abbreviated form, you may wish to have students read it aloud, with different students taking different parts.

After students have completed the reading, you may either use the following as class discussion questions or assign them as individual or group work.

Follow Up

1. Summarizing.What problem does Amanda tell Dr. Hart about during her first call to the program? What advice does Dr. Hart give her?
2. Analyzing. What is Dr. Hart's assessment of Amanda's relationship with her mother? Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?
3. Evaluating. How many personal problems altogether does Amanda mention having in the story? Which of those do you think is the most difficult to deal with as a teen? Explain your answer.
4. Synthesizing. One critic, in reviewing "Amanda and the Wounded Birds," commented that Amanda ends up "giving her mother a dose of her own medicine." Explain the meaning of this remark in the context of the story.
5. Extending. What does this story teach about the importance of strong communication skills?
6. Analyzing. Amanda chooses in the story to phone the "Dr. Emma Hart Show." Name other resources in your school or community that a teen in Amanda's situation could turn to for help with a problem.

Integrating Literature and Health

Identify some common problems that teens often face. Working with a partner, take turns role-playing talk show host and caller. The caller is responsible for coming up with a problem typical of the teen years. The host is responsible for devising a solution to this problem. Together, decide which problem-solution pair you find to be most useful and present it to the class, either orally or in written form.

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