The Silent Patient

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What factors can contribute to mental illness? How might mental illness affect someone, and why is treatment important?

Teaching Suggestion: Since mental illness is a sensitive topic, and since some students and those they are close to might be facing a mental illness themselves, it may help to approach this Short Answer prompt and related questions with sensitivity as students progress through the novel. Discussing this issue and grounding it in scientific terms may help during the rest of the unit. If time permits, consider allowing students to conduct further research on mental illness and treatment, as this could provide students with helpful background information. To encourage student engagement and help them make connections between their research and the text, it could also be beneficial to revisit these articles later during reading.

• This resource from the National Alliance on Mental Illness presents statistics and facts about mental health, including the danger of leaving mental illness untreated. Links for additional research are included.
• This site from the Mayo Clinic includes an overview of mental illness and identifies symptoms as well as ways to help someone struggling with a mental health disorder.