Strong leaders share a number of attributes and skills: compassion, respect, perseverance, confidence, courage, and a willingness to take responsibility. We are all capable of being a leader and setting a good example for others. This includes young children and teens who are beginning to learn how to overcome challenges, both personal and those faced by their communities, and that their actions can have a positive effect on the people around them. Empathetic, engaged adults can help foster the attitude and independent thinking skills necessary for young people to become leaders. Reassuring them that young voices can make a big difference, while guiding them as they speak up for things that matter, can result in real change.
Help young people cultivate strong leadership skills with the activities, lesson plans, and classroom-ready resources below. This includes a selection of videos featuring young leaders making a difference by addressing issues that are important to them, from fostering change in their community and protecting the environment to anti-bullying advocacy.
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Learning the Skills to Be a Leader
Speaking Out Against Unfairness | Meet the Helpers
Grades PreK-K
We can all be helpers by speaking up when something is unfair. Learn how in this video from Meet the Helpers.
How to Raise a Leader
Grades PreK-5
Children’s leadership skills grow over time as they develop independent thinking skills and learn from challenges. Leaders make an impact on people, and parents can get started shaping this behavior and providing opportunities to demonstrate it when kids are still very young.
Raising Includers: 5 Tips to Help Your Kids Be Kind and Compassionate
Grades PreK-5
All kids develop at their own pace. To help kids learn to include others, it helps to take a proactive and positive approach to developing their social skills. Follow these five steps to help your kids become includers.
Responsibility | Together We Can
Grades K-2
Learn about a key trait of leadership: taking responsibility. In this video, Jillian and Caleb show what it means to take responsibility by volunteering—whether it’s helping a neighbor, caring for our Earth, or donating food. When we all take responsibility, we help to create a community where everyone feels valued and included.
Youth Stand Up collection
Grades 6-12
Young people can be changemakers! The Youth Stand Up collection is designed to engage and empower emerging student citizens in the process of creating positive change in their communities. The collection includes video profiles of young civic leaders, civic action exemplars, explainer videos, and a skill building toolkit to support the step-by-step process for projects run by youth.
Young Leaders Making a Difference
Power up with Leadership! | GIRL Power!
Grades K-5
Sasha is 17 years old and had a difficult time in school due to being bullied. She found her outlet through art and now leads art classes at her local boys and girls club with an emphasis on bullying awareness and education. She wants to make sure others feel empowered to speak up for themselves and take action. She leads by example.
Students Fighting Climate Change | Power of Us
Grades 3-12
Learn how students are taking action to help with climate change in this video from Power of Us. In September 2019, climate strikes took place in cities all around world. One of the leaders of these strikes was Greta Thunberg, a student from Sweden. Many of the participants were also students. Concerned about how their lives will be affected by climate change, young people have been pressuring governments to take more actions to protect the environment.
Civic Leader Lily Painter: Indigenous Literacy | Youth Stand Up
Grades 6-12
Learn how Lily Painter helped raise funds and collect donations to deliver to reservations over 10,000 books by Native American authors that highlight Indigenous people and culture in this original digital video from GBH Education’s Youth Stand Up. Explore what motivated Painter, the obstacles that she faced, how she overcame them, and the lessons that she learned about the importance of civic engagement.
Teen Advocates for a Neighborhood Park
Grades 6-12
Meet Misra Walker, an 18-year-old who lives in a section of the South Bronx in New York City called Hunts Point. Misra explains some of the conditions her community lives with because of significant industrial activity in the area. She tells how she, along with her teen advocacy group, A.C.T.I.O.N., worked to convince the Manhattan Transit Authority (M.T.A.) to run a seasonal bus shuttle to one of the few green spaces in the community.
Activities, Books & More
George Washington | Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum
Grades PreK-2
Yadina has a problem: she doesn’t know how to be a good leader. So, she meets up with George Washington, the first president of the United States, to see how he leads other people. After watching this video clip from Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, learn more about the real George Washington and how he became a great leader by exploring the printable biosketch, classroom viewing guide, and activities.
Room for Everyone: 10 Picture Books that Encourage Kindness
Grades PreK-4
As parents and educators, we can teach our children how to be kind to others by reading books that explore empathy, celebrate diversity, and encourage inclusivity. Here are ten books to get you started.
Our Leaders | Together We Can
Grades K-2
In this video, Alina, Ritisha, and Wren share what it means to be a leader in our homes, schools, and towns. They show us that we can all be leaders who work to earn the trust and respect of others. Use this video to inspire children to think about what makes a leader and how they can connect with their “inner leader.” Afterward, use the “I’m a Leader” printable activity page to inspire children to see themselves as leaders.
Cultivating Leadership Through Self-Acceptance and Forgiveness: Lesson Plan
Grades 3-8
In this lesson, students watch videos about self-acceptance and forgiveness and then explore how these qualities relate to leadership potential. Materials include a writing activity to encourage students to identify and reflect on who they are, and a classroom exercise that helps them put forgiveness into practice.
Another World is Possible | FILMS BYKIDS
Grades 6-12
Inspired to take action to fight the climate crisis? Where do you even start? Another World is Possible is a film created by Helena Marschall, a prominent youth climate activist from Germany. Marshall is at the forefront of the movement for climate justice and her film showcases the power of youth voices to transform local, national and international policy. This resource provides an opportunity for students to reflect on the climate crisis, research its effect on their community, and consider the ways they might take action.