Note to Teachers: This graph is part of a larger unit on mental health, which also includes a lesson plan, a writing prompt and a film. Teachers, please preview these resources to make sure they are appropriate for your students. You can find alternative graphs in this index.

Also, this is our final “What’s Going On in This Graph?” for the 2021-22 school year. This feature will start again in September.

These graphs use some of the data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) from extensive surveys of more than 10,000 U.S. high school students from public and private schools across the country. The statistics in these graphs describe behaviors of teenagers before the Covid pandemic.

The New York Times article that includes these graphs relays the story of a 13-year-old girl from Minnesota. It also examines the increase in anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide among U.S. adolescents. Parents and teenagers dealing with anxiety, depression and suicide can find resources here.

On Wednesday, May 11, we will moderate your responses live online. By Friday morning, May 13, we will provide the “Reveal” — the graphs’ free online link, additional questions, shout outs for student headlines and Stat Nuggets.

1. After looking closely at the graphs above (or at this full-size image), answer these four questions:

• What do you notice?

• What do you wonder?

The questions are intended to build on one another, so try to answer them in order.

2. Next, join the conversation online by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box. (Teachers of students younger than 13 are welcome to post their students’ responses.)

3. Below the response box, there is an option to click on “Email me when my comment is published.” This sends the link to your response which you can share with your teacher.

4. After you have posted, read what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting a comment. Use the “Reply” button to address that student directly.

On Wednesday, May 11, teachers from our collaborator, the American Statistical Association, will facilitate this discussion from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time.

5. By Friday morning, May 13, we will reveal more information about the graph, including a free link to the article that includes this graph, at the bottom of this post. We encourage you to post additional comments based on the article, possibly using statistical terms defined in the Stat Nuggets.

Reveal

We’ll post more information here on Thursday afternoon. Stay tuned!

More?

• See all graphs in this series or collections of 60 of our favorite graphs, 28 graphs that teach about inequality and 24 graphs about climate change.

• View our archives that link to all past releases, organized by topic, graph type and Stat Nugget.

• Learn more about the notice and wonder teaching strategy from this 5-minute video and how and why other teachers are using this strategy from our on-demand webinar.

• Sign up for our free weekly Learning Network newsletter so you never miss a graph. Graphs are always released by the Friday before the Wednesday live-moderation to give teachers time to plan ahead.

• Go to the American Statistical Association K-12 website, which includes teacher statistics resources, Census in the Schools student-generated data, professional development opportunities, and more.

Students 13 and older in the United States and the Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.