Be a Community Leader

Writing is not just for adults. Op-ed pieces are a great way for kids to express their opinions about issues important to them, while also building crucial writing skills. Tip sidebars and detailed, step-by-step instructions help students develop concrete goals to go from caring about a cause to writing persuasively about it.

Peaceful protest is older than the United States itself. This book carefully presents constructive ideas for building community engagement skills among the leaders of tomorrow. Tips about how to make a good rally sign, how to get friends and others involved, and how to talk about a cause persuasively to other people abound in this volume.

Keeping up with the news is a crucial aspect of citizenship. This book provides young leaders with the right tools to make sense of our 24-hour news cycle. Whether it's advice about reading a local newspaper, engaging with blogs online or going to the library to find recent books on an important issue, this book steers readers towards finding and evaluating sources of information. Examples of reliable and unreliable sources throughout this volume help crystallize the importance of this life skill.

Even though congress people are adults, they still represent kids! Readers will gain the confidence to talk to all kinds of elected representatives, from local town council members to the President. Helpful tips about letter-writing skills, modern technology, and more give specific ideas to kids who want to be more involved in their communities.

Readers who dream of rallying their communities toward supporting a cause will love this book. Replete with useful information about holding a fund-raiser at school or in a local community, these books are sure to get kids engaged in fund-raising. Kids learn how teachers, administrators, parents, and friends can all help turn their concern about a cause into money that can help the cause.

Words can move mountains. A great speech has the power to make people care about something that they might never have even known about. In this book, readers learn the particular skills of speechwriting and public speaking. Students go beyond the basics of writing to discover how tone, language, and voice can all work together to convince others to support a cause. Tip sidebars give up-to-date advice on the best practices of this ancient and valuable art.