Student Web Activities - Teacher Content

Chapter 5: Relationships: The Teen Years

Lesson 1

Answers

A clique is a tight-knit groups of friends who share similar interests and values .

As a ready-made groups of friends, cliques can help teens form relationships and a feeling of belonging. Identifying with a set group of friends or "clique" can help during the emotionally tumultuous years of adolescence—providing a safe haven of friends to socialize with, confide in, and feel supported by as they cope with the day-to-day issues of being a teen.

When a teen becomes part of a clique that formally or informally enforces conforming to negative and even dangerous behavior, whether it's snubbing or harassing other kids who don't belong to the clique, skipping school, shoplifting, engaging in unsafe sexual activity, or encouraging the use of alcohol and/or drugs, they can become susceptible to caving into negative peer pressure rather than determining and making choices from their own growing sense of what's right and wrong.

For every teen, developing as big a network of friends and overall support system as possible is essential. Maintaining involvement with others in activities beyond just one small group's influence can provide important additional personal self-definition and balance, such as becoming involved in sports, some aspect of the arts, or a community effort. Being at the "giving end" helps too—e.g., coaching a little kids' soccer team, being a camp counselor, teaching a class at the local Y or skate park, or volunteering for an organization that's dedicated to an issue you're particularly passionate about.

Additional Resources for Teachers

Below are some Web sites that offer advice and information on cliques You might want to have your students perform role plays in which they are forced to deal with negative peer pressure from cliques and must find the best way to handle the situation.

Lesson 2

Answers

Maintaining good eye contact shows respect and interest in what the person you have just met has to say .

When you want to appear confident and self assured, keep your head level horizontally and vertically.

Keeping your arms relaxed and by your side or behind your back shows that you are receptive and not afraid of whatever the other person will say or do.

When people are nervous, stressed or being deceptive, they tend to move their legs around a lot more than normal.

If you stand too close to someone, he or she will feel you are being pushy or too personal.

Additional Resources for Teachers

Body language is fascinating and a lot of fun to play around with. You might want to talk to students about the way different cultures handle body language. The Web sites below offer more information and a quiz that tests students' ability to understand what is being communicated.