Leadership is a theme that can lend itself to a wide range of inter-connected activities and makes for a great rich topic. As pupils examine, contrast and investigate leadership skills they can practise these in authentic learning contexts within the school and/or wider community. They can interact with leaders from the local or national community and be mentored in their own skills and attitudes.

This topic would be great for more senior pupils in the school as they take on roles of mentoring or assisting younger pupils or junior classes.

Inspiration Mindmap to get your ideas going. See UNIT resources below

Leadership is a thread that runs through all areas of life (social, emotional, physical, cultural, intellectual). Leadership changes through the influences of individuals, groups and time. Leadership can be found in the animal kingdom.

1.  Our Heroes Who are the people who inspire you? Working in small groups, students nominate one person who is a hero for them, and give one reason for their choice. Discuss: Are your heroes leaders too? What makes a person a leader? Record your ideas on a chart. 

Leaders are born, not made. 

Leadership Inspiration. Get pupils to brainstorm white hat things that they know about leadership. Update this throughout the year (3-4 times) Leadership Presentation.. Powerpoint Each pupil is to crystlise all their thinking into a presentation to be presented via Powerpoint and oral delivery in Term 4. 

1. Values Exploration - Ways people become leaders and how they lead Start by talking about the different ways leaders are chosen in your classroom, school or sports teams. Which groups choose leaders? How are leaders chosen? Why are leaders chosen in these ways? Are some ways of choosing leaders better than others?

Use this values continuum (see values.rtf) to encourage thinking about leadership. In groups of three, students select a leadership role in the school. For example, leadership of a sports team, or a classroom leader. They decide how they would select a person for that role (acquiring leadership), and write a brief "job description" (exercising leadership) for the job. The job description lists the experience and qualities you want for a person in that position. 

2. Take me to your leaders Students work individually or in pairs to complete the “Take me to your leader” sheet. Read a selection of stories about leaders (see Reading To from English Online). Try some of the profiles in Alan Duff's Maori Heroes, published by Random House. Shared reading (see ): Jonah Lomu, School Journal Part 3 No 2 1999 See extra2.rtf. 3. Choosing leaders Every three years New Zealanders vote for the people they want to lead the government. 

Talk about How New Zealand is Governed (see ). After you have visited the site, and read or talked about the information on it, complete this crossword puzzle (see got_it.rtf). See extra3.rtf. 4. Leadership style Brainstorm in small groups: What qualities do we look for in our leaders? See brain_ideas.rtf. Choose one of New Zealand's current leaders, and talk about how their actions reflect these qualities. Select the five qualities you think are the most important and complete the leadership star diagram (see star_diagram.rtf). 

Take me to your best Leader! 

Could you be the next great leader?  

Term 2- and first part of Term 3 

Use the mindmaps and exemplars provided here to complete your leadership choices. Be amazed, wonder, be curious and explore, tussle with thoughts in your mind and enjoy this great topic. Leadership Mindmap is here.

Great Resources: Online Encyclopaedias, Te Ara (Use these for authoritative information)

Task Overview

1. Decide the two leaders you will study. Check using a web search that you can locate a few sites with information about their leadership/biography.

2. Bookmark sites in a folder called, "Leadership"

3. Start a Google docs presentation on your two leaders so that you can compare them. You are only allowed to illustrate the first page.

4. Create a slide with a FAT question similar to "Who is the best leader?" Can you be original with this? Create four supporting questions if you can. 

5. Record up to your questions choices you have made on this Google Leadership Rubric Form. Also enter in the link to your Google presentaion after sharing it correctly.

6. The online Leadership Presentation exemplar gives ideas on how it will be set-out but this is only a model, organise your information the way you think is best. REMEMBER: All writing other than the Introductions and Leadership definition is bullet points (main ideas) only.

7. Keep an eye on the Leadership Rubric here.

8. Check with Mr Grieve when finished your notes in Google Present. Then you can download, change into Keynote and finish illustrations and animations. Use the Keynote rubric (download all our ICT Ladders here and look for the Keynote one 5.5MB), to help you lift your Keynote use to the expert level. 

9. Upload your completed Keynote file into Ultranet.

10. Complete the Leadership Rubric and then press "Complete" 

11. See Mr Grieve about using Scratch or iMovie for an extension activity.

What is it that makes a person a leader? Are we talking about being a famous leader and infamous leader, leader of the boy Scouts, leader in your school a leader speaking out against injustice and organising others to do something about it?

Amongst us today are those who are leaders already, are developing their leadership skills and potentially could be written about as great leaders in the future. Remember, people can be really expert at something but this does not always make them an expert leader.

There are several characteristics that we all carry around with us, hidden and untapped quite often. These are the tools needed to become a leader, whether it's of a country, or of a small community. It takes something special to lead, rather than follow. The simple thing is, we all have these traits. All it takes is dedication, a positive attitude, and the willingness to lead. A leader isn't always chosen, sometimes they have to create the spot for themselves.

How do we go about finding our spot, though? How do we know if we are born leaders, or the hidden leader that needs a small push to get going? Everyone has a little something different that motivates them, and that is the first key to leadership.

Things leaders need

COURAGE:

Go after what you want! You will never be a leader by sitting in a chair wishing you were one. Great leaders are called this not because of how great they were, but for all the GREAT mistakes they made on the way. It is these series of mistakes that made them into the leaders they are. Courage comes from the ability to face defeat or failure, and make it into a positive learning experience. Have the courage to go on, make your mark, and not worry about the defeats along the way.

CONFIDENCE:

Without confidence, you have nothing. Confidence will give you the ability to succeed at anything you put your mind to. Confidence is half arrogance and half ability. The perfect balance of the two will allow you to go forth and vibrantly stand your ground no matter what. It will give you the sense of achievement potential, but more importantly, it allows you to believe in yourself. A person that believes in him/herself will always find a way to succeed, and it's the successful that lead.

SACRIFICE:

The thing about being a leader is that everyone, and I mean EVERYONE needs you. Questions are always being asked of you. Opinions are always being thrust upon you. Ideas are always being presented to you, and of course, your job itself is always there for you.

Know that as a leader, there comes the need to make personal sacrifices along the way to the top. Like when leading groups of people, you need to put in a lot of time and energy into those people.

DETERMINATION:

If your brain is mush, your skills have fallen to the wayside and your resources have dwindled. Above all else, remain determined. Determination is the greatest weapon to overcoming any and all problems a leader could possibly face. Always be determined to succeed, determined to build, determined to lead.

ORGANIZATION:

1) Know where everything is at all times.

2) If you don't know where everything is at all times, expect problems and deal with these problems BEFORE they happen.

3) Touch things only ONCE! Never have a "To Do Later" file.

4) Schedule time to be organized. Everything else in life is less complicated if you remain organized.

KNOWLEDGE:

More than likely you are somewhat of an "expert" in what you are doing, or you probably wouldn't be doing it in the first place. Have faith in what you are doing and use your knowledge to do more than a regular person could/would do under the same circumstance.

ENTHUSIASM:

You need to be excited and full off energy to be a good leader.

DISCIPLINE:

A leader will sit down and get things done. They discipline themselves to make sure things are completed.

Others SELF MOTIVATED:

DEDICATION:

POSITIVITY:

RESPONSIBILITY:

PATIENCE: