Teambuilding with Teens: Activities for Leadership, Decision Making, and Group Success, Nov/2007

Distinguished Achievement Award

Youth leadership isn’t for just a chosen few. All teens can practice the skills and attitudes leaders use. The 36 hands-on activities in this book make learning about leadership meaningful and fun while building character. Teens are called on to recognize each other’s strengths, become better listeners, communicate clearly, identify their values, build trust, set goals, and more. Each activity takes 20–45 minutes, so adults have a lot of flexibility in deciding when and how to use them. This book can be used as a supplement to the author’s Building Everyday Leadership in All Teens or on its own.

Teambuilding with Teens includes:

1. Everything you need at your fingertips: Background information, materials lists, step-by-step instructions, discussion questions, ideas for extending the learning, resources, reproducible forms, and guidelines for teen leaders.
2. Active, creative learning experiences incorporate role plays, discussions, simulations, building projects, writing exercises, and games.
3. A flexible format: Use the activities in any sequence. Conduct as few or as many activities as you wish. Use them on their own, within an existing curriculum, or as part of a character education, conflict resolution, service learning, school-to-work, or leadership program.

Teambuilding with Teens is a complete resource to use in classrooms, after-school programs, community- and faith-based organizations, camps, youth retreats, student council meetings, athletic programs, and advisory groups.

Digital content features all of the reproducible forms from the book.

About the Author:
Mariam G. MacGregor, M.S., founded and runs Youthleadership.com, an online clearinghouse and resource center for individuals working with youth leaders. The Web site connects thousands of individuals around the world with information and links that can help create meaningful leadership opportunities for teens and young adults. Mariam worked with college student leaders at Syracuse University, Santa Clara University and Metropolitan State College of Denver. She left the college setting to use the “best-learned practices” from higher education to create more sophisticated and innovative approaches in leadership development with adolescent leaders. Mariam served as a school counselor and coordinator of leadership programs at an alternative high school outside of Denver, CO. While there, she received honorable mention for "Counselor of the Year."

Over the past 17 years, Mariam has consulted with a number of organizations and presented workshops to diverse audiences with an emphasis on designing meaningful and sustainable youth leadership experiences in both school- and community-based settings. She is available for program consultation and youth and/or adult trainings.

Mariam also offers one-to-one advising and assistance for individuals seeking to enhance their leadership image from the inside-out. This service is ideal for individuals, particularly young adults, who find themselves in a high profile positions without preparation to take on the leadership responsibility associated with these roles.