1. The 7 Habits of
Highly Effective
Teens

2. Part 1: The Set-Up
Explain that we will be learning from a book called “7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens” for the next few weeks. Ask students what characteristics they think a highly effective (or very successful) teenager has. Do a Whip Around and Pass after think time.
Explain that the book is a spin-off of a best-selling book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” The author learned what made teenagers the most successful and we get to learn what those are!
First: On the next available page in your notebook, make a cover page. It should say “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens” and have a picture. Allow 5-10 minutes to do this.

3. Do these sound like you…?
“There’s too much to do and not enough time. I’ve got school, homework, a job, friends, parties, and family on top of everything else. I’m totally stressed out. Help!”
Read the following slides with quotes from teenagers. Ask students to think if these quotes sound like something they have said or thought recently.

4. Do these sound like you…?
“How can I feel good about myself when I don’t match up? Everywhere I look I am reminded that someone else is smarter, or prettier, or more popular. I can’t help but think: ‘If I only had her hair, her clothes, her personality, her boyfriend, then I’d be happy.’”

5. Do these sound like you…?
“I feel as if my life is out of control.”

6. Do these sound like you…?
“I’m not doing too well in school right now. If I don’t get my grades up, I’ll never get into college.”

7. Do these sound like you…?
“I’m moody and get depressed often and I don’t know what to do about it.”

8. The Habits
Explain that teenagers have lots of problems to face. It’s hard to be a teenager. Between hormones and social pressure and parents’ expectations and work at school, there are a lot of things teenagers have to think about. If you start making these habits a part of your life, you can do better and have less stress!
Explain the 7 habits:
Be Proactive = take responsibility for your life
Begin with the End in Mind = define your mission and goals in life
Put First Things First = Prioritize, and do the most important things first
Think Win Win = Have an everyone-can-win attitude
Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood = Listen to people sincerely
Synergize = Work together to achieve more
Sharpen the Saw = Renew yourself regularly

9. The Habits
Explain that the habits build off of each other. Some are for being a better version of you. These are about “private victories.” Some are about relationships and teamwork. These are “public victories.” You have to accomplish the private victories before you can be the best team member. Habit 7 helps all the other habits.
Pass out the Habit Tree ISN paper and have students color/decorate the tree and put it in their notebooks.

10. Highly Defective Teens
The 7 Habits of
Highly Defective Teens
Explain that effective, or successful, teens have certain habits. Defective, or unsuccessful teens, have other habits. Meet Amber, a highly defective teen. She has some bad habits. I’m going to pass them out to you and then, in a group, you will explore the habits that make Amber a highly defective teen.
Pass out the “Highly Defective Habits” papers– one habit per small group/partner. Give them each a half-piece of paper. Have the students write the habit on the paper and then summarize the habit in their OWN WORDS on the paper. If there is time, have students add a picture. Collect these so we can hang them up.

11. What is a habit? Something we do over and over
Something we do without much thought
Good Habits:
Exercising
Showing respect
Bad Habits
Negative self-talk
Blaming others
Neutral Habits:
Taking showers at night
Eating yogurt with a fork
Explain that we all have habits– good ones, bad ones, and neutral ones (It doesn’t really matter what we do, but we do it the same way anyway). We can replace bad habits with good ones if we try.
Have students clasp their hands together with their thumbs facing them. Ask which thumb is on top. It is a habit for you (neutral) which thumb goes on top. Then, have them re-clasp but put the other thumb on top. It feels weird! Trying to change habits feels weird and is hard, but can have a big impact on our lives. If desired, repeat this object lesson with arm-folding.
Higher: Play this video about changing habits. It’s very science-y, so some students might not enjoy it:

12. The Habits Can Help You:
Get control of your life
Improve your relationships with your friends
Make smarter decisions
Get along with your parents
Overcome addiction
Define your values and what matters most to you
Get more done in less time
Increase your self-confidence
Be happy
Find balance between school, work, friends, and everything else
Have students pick one thing off this list. Allow them 5 minutes to free-write/reflect on why they picked this one, how it applies to their life, what they think of this habit, etc.

13. What is a paradigm? A way of thinking and seeing the world
Your paradigm can be inaccurate
Inaccurate paradigms lead to problems
We have paradigms about ourselves and about others
Read these stupid quotes that show inaccurate paradigms:
“There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home”- President of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977
“Man will never reach the moon, regardless of all future scientific advances”- Dr. Lee de Forest, 2 years before we landed on the moon
“Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” Head of 20th Century Fox in 1946
Read these quotes that show inaccurate paradigms about ourselves and others:
“ She’s so pretty– I bet she’s a stuck-up jerk.”
“My teacher is out to get me.”
“I will never get along with my parents. It’s not worth trying.”
“I can’t get on the honor roll. I’m stupid.”
Our thoughts affect our actions. How will people act if they believe these paradigms?

14. Why are their paradigms different?
Our experiences shape our paradigm. We all interpret the world in different ways based on our life experiences. This is why equally smart people can support complete different presidential candidates or believe totally different things.

15. We can change (shift) our paradigm by being open to new thoughts, new perspectives, and new information. What do you see in this picture? Can you change your perspective to see a duck, a bunny, or both?

16. What do you see in this picture
What do you see in this picture? Can you change your perspective to see a young or old woman?

17. Where do you put your most thought, time, and effort?
Where is your focus?
Where do you put your most thought, time, and effort?
What is your center?
Friends
Stuff
Boyfriend/Girlfriend
School
Parents
Heroes
Hobbies/Sports
Self
None of these is a solid foundation to living a healthy life!
All of these things are valuable parts of our lives. However, they should not be the defining factor in our lives. For example, we shouldn’t make our decisions based on what our friend would think. We shouldn’t always worry about becoming the next NBA star. School is important, but if we obsess over school we won’t have a healthy, balanced life.

18. Be Principle-Centered
Our focus and decision-making should be based around good principles
Good Principles:
Honesty
Kindness
Respect
Hard Work
Moderation
Responsibility
If we are based around our principles, we will have a more healthy, balanced life.

19. My Principles
Have students make an illustration in their notebooks about their own principles. An example is on this slide. Provide several copies of the “Life Principles” list for students to choose from. Students should choose 3-5 life principles.

20. Action Steps Pick one action step card. Do this by class tomorrow.
Be ready to reflect on how it went!
Have students choose one Action-Steps card. Their assignment is to try to do this before class tomorrow!