Saturday 10 October 2020 is World Mental Health Day. The day raises awareness of mental health. This year’s theme is “mental health for all”, which aims to make sure everyone can get the help they need.
Of course we all want to feel happy all the time, but has the concern over mental health gone too far? Or should mental health be as much of a priority as physical health? After all, just because you can’t necessarily see a scar or hear a cough with poor mental health, it doesn’t mean the suffering is any less.
This resources pack features an article about World Mental Health Day from The Week Junior newspaper, plus an activities sheet to get children thinking, speaking and writing about what the story means to them.
Activities include
- Of course we all want to feel happy all the time, but has the concern over mental health gone too far? Is it really as bad as breaking a leg or having a serious physical disease? Or do you think that mental health should be as much of a priority as physical health? What do you think?
- Write a recount of a day when you felt particularly sad or low, using the first person and, probably, chronological order. Try to end it with a positive reflection on what or who helped you to feel better.
- Write an acrostic poem where the first letter of each line spells the words MENTAL or HEALTH (or both if you’re feeling ambitious) when you read them downwards. Use the best, most powerful words you can to convey a serious message about mental wellbeing.
- Investigate the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist, researching the different approaches that their jobs take and the sort of qualifications you need to train as each.
Find the entire series of Topical Tuesday resources to download here.
What is The Week Junior?
The Week Junior magazine looks at current affairs and helps children make sense of the world, provides context and clarity to complex issues, improves general knowledge and encourages discussion and debate.
To find out more about The Week Junior and to download its free resources, please go to schools.theweekjunior.co.uk.