Librarian/Educator Resources
Teen Health & Wellness offers an extensive array of resources to help librarians and educators get the most out of their database subscription. From program ideas and promotional materials to curriculum correlations and training tools, you will find all the tools you need to support your teen users here.
NEW!!! Scientific American: Resource Articles
Teen Health & Wellness has partnered with Scientific American magazine to offer reviewed content about important research, health, technology, science, the environment, and society. These high-interest articles have been reviewed and selected by Rosen’s team of editors and provide additional and unique content regarding Teen Health & Wellness topics to further support health and science inquiry and instruction.
Case Studies
Case Studies
Case studies offer concrete examples and success stories of how librarians and educators have used Teen Health & Wellness to support teens both in libraries and classrooms.
Read the case studies below to:
- See how our public library partners like Brooklyn (NY) and Schaumburg (IL) use Teen Health & Wellness to support their goal of creating healthy communities.
- Learn how public school districts like San Diego (CA) and Appleton (WI) were able to stretch their budgets to offer safe, credible, and authoritative information and self-help support to their students.
- Hear from students in Naperville (IL) Central High School, who found the information in Teen Health & Wellness helpful, easily accessible, and said they would use the resource again.
Complete case studies here:
Appleton (WI) School District
Brooklyn (NY) Public Library
Nashville (TN) Limitless Libraries
San Diego (CA) School District
Schaumburg (IL) Public Library
St. Joseph (MO) School District
Customizable Hotlines
Customizable Hotlines
You can add your own local resources to the customizable Hotlines page on Teen Health & Wellness.
Your local resources will appear on the Hotlines page for all users who log into the database via your library. The local content appears below the box with emergency and 911 information and above the resources provided by Teen Health & Wellness. You can also turn off the resources provided by Teen Health & Wellness so that only your local resources will appear.
To customize your hotlines, log in with your administrative username and password. Once logged in, click the link near the bottom of the left column to “update hotline information.”
If you need your administrative username/password or have questions, please contact customer service via email or phone at (800) 237-9932.
“It’s Your Cause” Video Challenge
“It’s Your Cause” Video Challenge
From depression to dating to green living, spread the word about any Teen Health & Wellness topic you feel passionate about by creating a video PSA (public service announcement). Videos that meet submission requirements and editorial policies will be published on Teen Health & Wellness.
Check out this example created by students at Ankeny High School:
Browse other examples of student-created videos in the video gallery.
Note for Educators:
Download the It’s Your Voice PSA lesson plan for tips on implementing this project with your students. Created by Ruth Thoreson, Information Literacy Specialist/Teacher Librarian at Johnston High School; Johnston, Iowa.
How to Enter:
- Read the official rules and guidelines.
- Shoot a short video (about two minutes or less). Design it like a PSA (public service announcement) you might see on your favorite TV channel.
- If you need music for your PSA, you can download a royalty-free music track from our Soundzabound Music Library.
- Submit your video to Teen Health & Wellness.
All participants must submit a signed Video Release Form. This includes team members, narrators, and students who appear on camera (on film or in photographs). If you are under 18, the form must be signed by a parent or guardian. You can return your release form by email or fax. Videos with missing or incomplete release forms cannot be accepted for publication on Teen Health & Wellness.
Download the Video Release Form (PDF)
If your video is published on Teen Health & Wellness, you’ll receive a digital certificate of achievement from Rosen Publishing, which can be added to a digital portfolio for job, internship, and college applications.
Official Rules and Guidelines:
- Participants must be between 13 and 19 years old. You may work individually or in a team.
- All video content must be original.
- Your video cannot include:
- copyrighted or watermarked images, music, or artwork
- profanity or hateful language
- inappropriate, disturbing, or offensive images or audio
- brand names, slogans, logos, or copyrighted characters
- It’s OK to address serious issues such as self-harm, drug use, or suicide in your PSA, but do not include images that explicitly show these behaviors.
- If your video includes credits, please list student participants as first name, last initial.
- Be sure to fix any picture or sound issues before submitting your PSA.
- You may enter as many videos as you like, you’ll need to provide signed video release forms for each entry.
Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans
- Birth Control/Contraception: Students can research a method of contraception to prepare and present an eight-slide PowerPoint on the topic.
- Body Systems: Students can research a body system and then create an oral presentation, written presentation, and Wiki on that system.
- Budgeting and Money Management: Students can create a sample monthly budget that includes their income, fixed costs, discretionary spending, and more.
- Driver Education: Students can research a topic related to driver education to reflect upon, and then write a paper summarizing the article and their personal reflections.
- Editing and Writing for Publication: By participating in our Personal Story Project, students can learn how to write and edit material for publication, based on specific submission requirements. They can then submit their essays to Teen Health & Wellness for publication on our site and receive a certificate of achievement if their story is accepted for publication.
- Fad Diets: Students can research a fad diet along with principles of general nutrition to create a PowerPoint presentation with a minimum of ten slides.
- Financial Literacy: A five-day lesson plan that covers the basics of budgeting and money management; budgeting at home, school, and work; and financial myths and facts.
- Health and Wellness: Students can research a health/wellness topic of your choice and then use their material to create a brochure for a doctor's office.
- Hotlines and Resources for Teens: Students can research hotlines and resources to support teens in crisis on a topic of their choosing and then create a poster to hang in the school library or hallway.
- It’s Your Voice PSA: Students can create a PSA that gives information, provides a solution, or brings awareness to a social issue faced by teens. They can then submit their PSAs to Teen Health and Wellness for publication on our site. Created by Ruth Thoreson, Information Literacy Specialist/Teacher Librarian at Johnston High School; Johnston, Iowa.
- Sample Lesson Plan: Sexual Health (Illinois State Standards): This comprehensive, five-day lesson plan covers puberty, the male and female reproductive systems, reproduction and pregnancy, and making smart sexual choices for students in grades 9 through 12.
Mobile Apps
Mobile Apps

Teen Hotlines lists hotlines, help lines, and web sites organized by subject. From school violence and depression to eating disorders and suicide, these national organizations can also refer teens to state, provincial, and local services in their community.
Users can also store a username and password allowing them to access Teen Health & Wellness with just one click.

Now available for iPad, Android tablets, and Chromebooks!
Personal Story Project
Personal Story Project
Being Adopted — Rebecca’s Story
Coming Out — Alec’s Story
When a Friend Has a Drug or Alcohol Problem — Michael’s Story
Share Your Story and Connect with Other Teens
Teen Health & Wellness offers teens an opportunity to share their personal stories for online publication.
Sharing stories is a powerful way to connect with other people. By sharing their own personal stories, teens can connect with others who are dealing with the same challenges that they are. Rosen’s team of editors will select a collection of personal stories and publish them on Teen Health & Wellness. All published authors will also receive a certificate of achievement from Rosen Publishing, which can be added to a digital portfolio to use in your job, internship, and college applications.
Getting Started
See real examples of teen personal stories in the menu to the left. You can view all stories on our archive page.
What have you had to deal with or overcome? Write from your personal experiences. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Identify a situation or challenge that changed your life.
- What was it like and how did it make you feel?
- How did you deal with the problem or find a way to live with it?
- What did you learn about yourself and those around you?
- What advice do you have for another teen going through the same thing?
Guidelines
- Suggested story length: 250–1,000 words.
- You must be 13–19 years old to be published. Authors will be identified by first name only—unless you request anonymity.
- Choose your words wisely. We can’t publish slurs or profanity.
- We can’t return submissions, so keep a copy for yourself.
- We need parent/guardian permission if you’re under 18. We’ll send you a form to include with your submission if it’s accepted. Just fill it out and send it back, even if you get published anonymously or under a pseudonym.
- Include the following originality statement at the end of each submission: “This will certify that the above work is completely original,” followed by your full name to affirm this is your work.
- Request anonymity. If you don’t want your name published, due to the personal nature of a piece, we will of course respect your request, but you still must include name and address information.
- Writing may be edited, and we reserve the right to publish our edited version without your prior approval.
- All works submitted become the property of Rosen Publishing and all copyrights are assigned to Rosen Publishing. We retain the non-exclusive rights to publish all such works in any format.
Download the Personal Story Project Guidelines flyer here.
Submissions
Submit a personal story here. Selected personal stories are added to Teen Health & Wellness on an ongoing basis. Teens can send us a personal story at any time.
If an essay is selected for the database, teen writers will receive a certificate of achievement from Rosen Publishing.
Please contact us if you have questions or want additional details about the Personal Story Project.
Promotion and Programming Ideas for Educators/Librarians
- Promote the Personal Story Project via email or on your school or library website by linking to the Share Your Story page.
- Share this Personal Story Project Flyer with your teens, which includes complete details of the program, guidelines, and submission instructions.
- Apply this lesson plan on Editing and Writing for Publication to our Personal Story Project, so students can learn how to write and edit material for publication, based on specific submission requirements.
- Use the Personal Story Project to support a variety of teen programming activities such as:
- journaling exercises
- empowerment workshops
- preparation for college application essays
A Note for Educators
There may be times when we believe it is advisable to follow up on a student who may be at risk of harming themselves or others. In these rare cases, a member of the Teen Health & Wellness team will reach out to the student’s teacher or librarian so they can provide support or intervention.
Program Ideas
Program Ideas
Download the PowerPoint Beyond the Basics: Tips to Maximize Usage and share with your colleagues. This presentation is filled with usage ideas and suggestions to integrate Teen Health & Wellness into your library or classroom.
Promotional Materials
Promotional Materials
Choose from a variety of promotional tools to help you connect your colleagues and teen users to Teen Health & Wellness. Simply click a file below to download it.
- Bookmarks:
- “You are not alone. Share your voice.” (PDF)
- “From Dating to Dyslexia” (PDF)
- “From Bullying to Body Art” (PDF)
- “Visit the Calm Room” (PDF)
- Let us customize your bookmarks with your URL and school or library name.
- Posters:
- “Visit the Calm Room” (11 x 17, PDF)
- “Got Questions? Get Answers.” (PDF)
- “Got Questions? Get Answers.” Spanish Version (PDF)
- “From Dating to Dyslexia” (11 x 17, PDF)
- “From Bullying to Body Art” (11 x 17, PDF)
- Let us customize your posters with your URL and school or library name.
- Meet Teen Social & Emotional Needs flyer (PDF)
- Visit the Calm Room flyer (PDF)
- Beyond the Basics (PowerPoint) — A collection of quick tips to make integrating Teen Health & Wellness into your library or classroom easy.
- Counselor Letter (PDF) — Highlights content and features that are of specific interest to school counselors.
- List of database entries (PDF) — View a full list of all entries, organized by subject.
- THW Tips and Tools flyer (PDF) — This one-page flyer shares the basics of getting started with Teen Health & Wellness as well as tips and tools to maximize use.
- Web Buttons — Promote the database on your library Web site or Facebook page.
Scientific American: Resource Articles
Scientific American: Resource Articles
Teen Health & Wellness has partnered with Scientific American magazine to offer reviewed content about important research, health, technology, science, the environment, and society. Scientific American is the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States and continues to be a trusted source for the latest information and happenings in science around the world. Scientific American magazine articles have been reviewed and selected by Rosen’s team of editors and added to appropriate sections. These high-interest articles provide additional and unique content to further support health and science inquiry and instruction.
Visit the Scientific American: Resource Articles archive to review and select the added content for individual, group, or classroom instruction.
Soundzabound Royalty Free Music Library
Soundzabound Royalty Free Music Library
Download a royalty free music track for your video PSA. Be sure to read the rules and guidelines before submitting your video. You can browse other examples of student videos in the video gallery.
Training Tools
Training Tools
To download any of the below materials, right-click the link and select Save As.
- THW Tips and Tools flyer: This one-page flyer has everything you need to get started with your subscription including: logging in, checking usage statistics, tips on integrating the database into your library or classroom, promoting it to your teens, and more.
- THW Tutorial: An in-depth review of the database features, functionality, and content.
- Educator How-To’s: Ruth Kuzmanic—a HS health educator for over 30 years in Naperville, IL, technology guru, and longtime customer—provides a quick, approachable tutorial on THW and how to get your students hands-on with it.
- Beyond the Basics: Tips to Maximize Usage: A collection of ideas and suggestions to make integrating Teen Health & Wellness into your library or classroom easy.
- User’s Guide: A comprehensive overview of the database features and functionality as well as helpful tips for using the database most effectively. Feel free to download and distribute to your colleagues and teen users via print or email.
Usage Statistics
Usage Statistics
User’s Guide
User’s Guide
The Teen Health & Wellness User’s Guide can help you make the most of your subscription. It offers a comprehensive overview of the database features and functionality, as well as helpful tips for using the database most effectively.
You can download the User’s Guide and share it with your colleagues or teen users via print or email.
Web Buttons and Widgets
Web Buttons and Widgets
Get the most out of Teen Health & Wellness by making sure your teens know where to find trusted, credible health information 24/7. Promote Teen Health & Wellness on your library Web site with Web buttons that link directly to the Teen Health & Wellness homepage.
Buttons are available in two colors and three sizes. (See examples.) Right click on the links below to download a button:
Widgets
Our handy search widget lets users search the contents of Teen Health & Wellness from anywhere on your site. Simply copy and paste the search widget code onto your site, or ask your Web administrator for help.
What’s New
What’s New
Check out the latest additions to Teen Health & Wellness!
Scientific American: Resource Articles
Teen Health & Wellness has partnered with Scientific American magazine to offer reviewed content about important research, health, technology, science, the environment, and society. These high-interest articles have been reviewed and selected by Rosen’s team of editors and provide additional and unique content regarding Teen Health & Wellness topics to further support health and science inquiry and instruction.
New Articles
- Social Media Anxiety addresses information overload, FOMO (fear of missing out), self-esteem, and other mental health consequences of excessive use of social media.
Notable Article Updates
- The 2023 Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded to Professor Claudia Goldin for her work in understanding women’s roles in the labor market. We’ve recently updated our Women in the Workplace article to address issues Professor Goldin has studied, including an updated historical account of women in the U.S. economy as well as recent data about the gender pay gap, gender stereotypes, workplace harassment, and other challenges women face in the workplace.
- The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Karikó, a Hungarian-American biochemist, and Drew Weissman, an American physician, for their work on mRNA vaccines—work that led directly to the development of highly successful vaccines against COVID-19. Our Vaccines and Vaccinations article explains how vaccines work in general, and includes a history of vaccines (and opposition to them), updated to include the development of the COVID-19 vaccines.
- The most recent Pew Research Center survey of teen social media use should surprise no one: 58 percent of teens visit TikTok daily, followed by Snapchat (51 percent) and Instagram (50 percent). But teens are not just passive users of social media: they are content creators as well. We’ve updated Creating Content Online to keep pace with the ever-changing world of teen social media use to guide them through the pleasures and pitfalls of creating their own online content.
- In the 2022–2023 school year, 1.1 million students attended a school where at least one gun was found and seized, according to an October 10, 2023, article in The Washington Post. School shootings are ever on the minds of students and staff. We’ve updated our School Violence: Schools in Crisis article to highlight the ways students have taken positive action to address the issue of gun violence in schools. Studies have shown that when students who are traumatized by school shootings take action, change happens.
- Given the rapid rise of ChatGPT beginning in December 2022, we’ve added guidance to students on how (and how not) to use ChatGPT in Finding Credible Information Online and Online Basic and Advanced Search Skills, from explaining how ChatGPT works to describing its limitations as a search tool.
- In July 2023, leading U.S. Senators criticized the military for what they called low standards of quality and safety of military housing, and called for further reforms of the privatized housing system. Being Part of a Military Family discusses the challenges that military families face, including housing, moving, mental health issues, and deployment.
- Also in July 2023, Canada recalled six energy drinks, including Prime, for violating legal limits on the caffeine content in energy drinks, while in the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it is reviewing concerns of its own. We’ve done our own investigations in Sodas, Sports Drinks, and Bottled Water, examining both the short-term and long-term health and environmental effects of the drinks young people enjoy.
- College is expensive enough. When you’re an undocumented student, in most states you’re usually not eligible to pay lower-cost in-state tuition, even if you’re a resident of that state. As of 2023, however, nineteen states allow undocumented students who are residents of that state to pay in-state tuition rather than the higher out-of-state or foreign tuition rate. We’ve updated Growing Up as an Undocumented Immigrant to address the challenges that “dreamers” face, as well as their legal status in the ongoing battle over immigration in the United States.