Resources
My Delicious Account
In the course of my work, I run across lots of useful resources on the web. You can find ones I find interesting or useful at my Delicious account: https://delicious.com/LynFiscus. I'm constantly updating it, so check it from time to time for new items. Perennial favorites are listed below.
Leadership Teacher website
Check out the website created just for leadership teachers, with lesson plans, curriculum objectives, resources, and more: www.leadershipteacher.us
The Alliance for Student Activities
The Alliance for Student Activities is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the value of student activities and provide resources, training and networking opportunities for activity advisers. Visit www.alliance4studentactivities.org
The National Association of Student Councils
Has a great listing of activity ideas and resources as well as some archived articles of Leadership for Student Activities: www.nasc.us
Canadian Activity Advisors Association
The Canadian Activity Advisors' Association provides help for advisers who are seeking assistance, ideas, and resources so that they can become more effective in their responsibilities. This excellent site has many free lessons, ideas, and other resources. www.casaaleadership.ca
DifferenceMakers
Motivational speaker Mike Smith’s Web site has an idea swap shop with an excellent selection of forms, checklists, and articles on a wide range of student leadership and activity topics. www.differencemakers.com
Herff Jones Impact Motivational Resources
Herff Jones provides monthly newsletters for advisers/student activity directors (Focus) and student leaders (Challenge). You can find them on their website each month at www.herffjones.com
Personal Leadership Insight
The Personal Leadership Insight curriculum is built around ten PLI Essentials: vision, integrity, innovativeness, wise judgement, service mindedness, goal processing, skill assessment, emotional maturity, fostering relationships, and masterful communication. Presents great ideas, info and lessons in a well-structured, easy-to-use format. https://www.personalleadershipinsight.org/about.htm#curriculum
Studentlinc
studentlinc was created to specifically address the issues and the circumstances faced by student leaders - those young people who are engaged in the leadership laboratory within their school, youth group, civic organization, etc. This site is dedicated to taking the best of what's available in leadership literature and training and offering it within the context of the student leadership experience. www.studentlinc.net One terrific resource on the site is an e-book with 35 ways to put the stud in student leader.
Back Pocket Leadership
Back Pocket Leadership is a deck of cards featuring a leadership activity on one side and insightful debrief questions on the other. The 32 experiential activities include lessons on character, team building, communication, public speaking, and problem solving. Put together by Jill Esplin of Leading for Life, these cards would be a handy thing to have for quick reference to some good lessons.
Games Templates
This site has links to a wide variety of templates for popular TV game shows like Jeopardy, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Deal or No Deal, and so forth. https://www.murray.k12.ga.us/?DivisionID=8663&DepartmentID=8975&ToggleSideNav=ShowAll
The Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development
The Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development has produced two new tool kits to help organizations involve young people as leaders and conduct successful evaluations of community-change work. The tool kits, Reflect and Improve: A Tool Kit for Engaging Youth and Adults as Partners in Program Evaluation and Learning and Leading: A Tool Kit for Youth Development and Civic Activism, build on the Innovation Center's experience working with local groups to involve youth, build community, and strengthen organizations. For ordering information, contact the center at www.theinnovationcenter.org
Character Counts!
Character Counts! is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian character education framework based on the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. www.charactercounts.org
What Kids Can Do
What Kids Can Do (WKCD) documents the value of young people working with teachers and other adults on projects that combine powerful learning with public purpose. WKCD works to connect the fields of school reform, youth development, community development, service learning, and school-to-work. www.whatkidscando.org
Here's a nice slideshow put together by Rhett Laubach on the qualities of a great officer. Would be a great tool to use to stimulate discussion on expectations and responsibilities of being an officer.
State Associations
Check here for a listing of state student council and honor society websites.
Youth as Decision Makers
There is a steadily growing wealth of information available to those who would like to involve youth in decision-making roles. Check here for a listing of a few relevant websites.
Service Learning Resources
Check here for a listing of many good sites to assist with service learning efforts.
Project Planning
Looking for a way to organize the work to be done for a project? Try this Task Assignment Sheet for help with listing work to be done and the action steps needed to accomplish it.
Workshop Handouts
Misplaced a handout from one of Lyn's workshops? Check below to replace it:
Creative Publicity Techniques
- Creative Publicity Techniques article.
- Wacky Promotions article
- Creative Publicity Supplies list
- Publicity Planning worksheet
Grading Leadership
Adviser's Guide to Student Activities, 2nd edition, by Lyn Fiscus offers guidance for the new activity adviser on how to work with a student organization. Chapters on getting started, organizing the work, meeting management, financial management, evaluation, and recognition provide strategies and reproducible forms to help make the advising role go smoothly.
$9.95 plus S/H