Pre-teens and teenagers are faced with a continually changing and complex social world that not only involves face-to-face action, but also online and social media interaction. What's the Buzz with Teenagers? offers a highly practical programme designed to explicitly teach young people to get along and maintain healthy relationships with their friends, family and the broader community.
Embracing current thinking on 'self-awareness and behaviour transformation' in adolescents, it uses highly interactive role plays, film-making, thinking exercises, quizzes, group discussions and confidence-building games to improve social skills and promote inclusion in a fun, effective and appealing way. Easy to implement in upper primary and middle schools, in healthcare settings and beyond, What's the Buzz with Teenagers?:
- is a deeply structured resource to teach young people in the 12- to 15-year-old developmental range;
- offers a connecting approach to bring young people together to learn without the pressure of 'getting social interaction right' all the time;
- aims to normalise the anxieties, sensitivities and loneliness that many young people experience during adolescence by sharing thoughts and exploring this common ground;
- explicitly teaches how to 'read' the emotional needs of others, show empathy and build relationships; and
- uses a developmental model that ensures relevance and inclusion to young people with a broad range of backgrounds, abilities and challenges.
The programme provides lessons that educators and health professionals can adapt to suit their individual circumstances and time frames, and creates a framework for a warm, engaging and interactive space in which learning is optimised.
The book is complemented by the website www.whatsthebuzz.net.au, which offers online downloadable resources and a further six lessons.
Also available are What's the Buzz?: A Social Skills Enrichment Programme for Primary Students and What's the Buzz? For Early Learners: A Complete Social Skills Foundation Course.
About the Author: Mark Le Messurier is a teacher, counsellor, author and public speaker.
Madhavi Nawana Parker is an author, keynote and public speaker who counsels young people to develop social emotional literacy, resilience and Positive Mindsets. Madhavi can be found at http: //www.positivemindsaustralia.com.au.
