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I have been blessed to work with junior high and senior high students for nearly 20 years now, as a student pastor, student speaker, director of eight junior high camps and worked in the public school system for seven years. I was honored to be able to run student leadership teams in a public Junior High School. I also love to read. So I have been asked to create a student book list for right-sized books for junior high and senior high students. Although these books are directed for particular age groups, I have used many of these books for leaders of all ages.
Our schools endeavor to teach our students “hard skills” – Math, English, Science, History, etc. However, there is a great need to teach our students the “soft skills” – Attitude, Communication, Teamwork and Time Management, etc.
This post is focused on providing reading resources that reinforce these Soft Skills. Each of the skills has a Jr high resource and a High School focused resource. Of course this is just a starter list that you can add to or delete books according to your needs in leading students under your care.
SKILLS FOR STUDENT LEADERSHIP
SKILL #1: LEADERSHIP
- JR HIGH: Be The Change by Zach Hunter
- HIGH SCHOOL: Leadership 101 by John Maxwell
SKILL #2: COMMUNICATION
- JR HIGH: Smile & Succeed for Teens: A Crash Course in Face-to-Face Communication by Kirt Manecke
- JR HIGH: Beyond Texting: The Fine Art of Face-to-Face Communication for Teenagers Paperback– by Debra Fine
- HIGH SCHOOL: Relationships 101 by John C. Maxwell
SKILL #3: TEAMWORK
- JR HIGH: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work by John C. Maxwell
- HIGH SCHOOL: Teamwork 101 by John C. Maxwell
SKILL #4: PROBLEM SOLVING
- JR HIGH: Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson
- HIGH SCHOOL: Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People by
SKILL #5: TIME MANAGEMENT
- JR HIGH: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey
- JR HIGH: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Workbook by Sean Covey
- HIGH SCHOOL: Make Today Count by John Maxwell
SKILL #6: ATTITUDE
- JR HIGH: Attitude 101: by John C. Maxwell
- HIGH SCHOOL: How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath
SKILL #7: WORK ETHIC
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JR HIGH: Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex Harris
- HIGH SCHOOL: Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else by Jon Gordon
SKILL #8: SELF-CONFIDENCE
- HIGH SCHOOL: Equipping 101 by John C. Maxwell
- HIGH SCHOOL: Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath
SKILL #9: VALUES
- JR HIGH: The 6 Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens by Sean Covey
- JR HIGH: The 6 Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make: Personal Workbook by Sean Covey
- HIGH SCHOOL: Ethics 101 by John Maxwell
ADDITIONAL BOOKS:
- Self-Improvement 101 by John Maxwell
- Success 101 by John Maxwell
- Chicken Soup for the Soul Extraordinary Teens
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