The Invention of the Teenager

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question: What does it mean to be a teenager in America?

2. List Vocabulary
Share with students some of the challenging vocabulary words in this article. Encourage them to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• enumerated (p. 18)
• adolescence (p. 19)
• confluence (p. 19)
• provocateur (p. 20)
• autonomy (p. 20)
• prevalence (p. 20)

3. Engage
Ask: What do you think of when you hear the word teenager? How are teenagers different from adults? How are they similar?

4. Read and Discuss
Ask students to read the Upfront article about the invention of the teenager. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by someone who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions and ask students to cite text evidence when answering them:

• What was life for teens like before the 20th century? (According to the article, “In the early days of America, teenage life wasn’t too different from adulthood.” Children as young as 6 years old worked on their family farms, while 12-year-olds could work in trades or in other people’s homes. When America industrialized, children were sent to work in factories. By 14, most children were considered adults. In fact, during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, a large number of soldiers were under 18 years of age.)

• What societal shifts led to the “invention” of the teenager? How did the introduction of high school play a role? (Immigration and the emergence of the middle-class led to the rise of high school as a place where young people could go to be assimilated and educated. Moreover, when jobs dried up during the Great Depression, more young people stayed in school instead of working. As a result, teens were given more opportunities to spend time together as a group, which helped them to form their own identity and point of view.)

• As described in the article, how have teenagers shown they can be an important political force in society? (Teenagers, especially Black teenagers, used sit-ins, marches, and walkouts to fight segregation and advance civil rights. Teens also mobilized to protest the Vietnam War and the draft. Their activism helped lead to the changing of the Constitution: The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.)

• The author writes, “Many of the markers that initially defined teenage life have changed over the decades.” Do you agree? What would you say are the current “markers” that define teenage life? (Responses will vary. Students should support their ideas with evidence, such as details from the text and descriptions of their own experiences.)

5. Use the Primary Sources
Project, distribute, or assign in Google Classroom the PDF The Teen-Age Bill of Rights, which features the 1945 article about teenagers printed in The New York Times. Discuss what makes the Bill of Rights a primary source. (It provides firsthand evidence concerning the topic at the time.) Have students read the article and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers).

• How would you describe the tone and purpose of this “Bill of Rights”? (The tone can be described as instructive and formal. The purpose is to inform the public about how teenagers think and behave based on their stage of life and how parents and teens could better understand and treat each other.)

• Who do you think the intended audience is for this article? Why? (Students’ answers may vary. Some students may say the intended audience is adults because the tone is instructive, and teenagers do not need to be instructed about themselves. However, some students may say that the piece is targeted at teenagers as well because it talks about their issues and also helps them to better understand things from their parents’ point of view.)

• What main ideas about being a teenager are conveyed through this article? (The article conveys the idea that teenagers are in a transitional period, in which they are taking on many of the features of adulthood but are still at a time in their lives where they need support from their parents. The article conveys the idea that teens need freedom, independence, respect, and understanding but also help and guidance.) 

• Do you think any sections of this “Bill of Rights” still seem relevant today? Explain. (Students’ responses may vary but should include specific details from the text and from their own lives.)

• How do the ideas put forth in each of the “rights” in this article support the ideas discussed in the different sections of the Upfront article? (Answers may vary, but students may point out that rights I, V, and VII support the idea that teens have their own culture, relationships, and unique points of view, as discussed in the section “The Teenage Century,” while rights II, IV, VI, VIII, and X support the ideas that teens especially would mobilize to protest against the draft or to advance civil rights, and that they would demand the right to vote, as described in the section “An Emerging Political Force.”)

6. Writing Prompt
What is a current issue that contemporary teens might mobilize around to become a “political force”? Explain in a brief essay.

7. Quiz
Use the quiz to assess comprehension.

8. Classroom Debate
Are contemporary teens too sheltered by their parents?

9. New “Bill of Rights” 
Assign small groups to take on a section of the primary source and revise it for a modern audience. Have them consider what they would change and what they would not, and what details or anecdotes from contemporary society they could use to illustrate the point made in their section.