Leading with Connection: Communication, Leadership & Healthy Relationships Student Workbook – High School (Grades 9–12)

What Is the Leading with Connection Workbook for High School?

Leading with Connection: Developing Real-World Communication and Leadership Skills is a 233-page student workbook from Future Ready Education for high school students in grades 9–12 (ages 14–18). It brings together three complete units in one book: Building Healthy Relationships, Teamwork & Collaboration, and Communication & Leadership. Together they build the people skills students need for college, careers and community life. Across 16 chapters and 83 hands-on activities, students set boundaries and understand consent, repair conflict, find their collaboration style, make decisions in groups, discover their leadership identity, speak with purpose, take initiative, grow from feedback and lead responsibly online. Each unit has its own pre- and post-assessment. The workbook builds the durable skills in your district’s Portrait of a Graduate.

Why Do Schools and Families Choose Leading with Connection?

• Three units in one book: complete Healthy Relationships, Teamwork & Collaboration and Communication & Leadership units in a single workbook
• Substantial content: 233 pages, 16 chapters and 83 hands-on activities
• Measurable growth: a pre-assessment and post-assessment for every unit
• Career-connected: professional scenarios, presentation preparation, feedback skills and a “Would You Hire This Person?” challenge
• Learning by doing: simulations, case studies, scenario challenges, role plays, labs and mini research projects
• Built for every learner: designed with Universal Design for Learning (UDL), with flexible pacing for individuals, small groups or full classes
• Student-ready: written directly for teens, so students can work independently or in groups
• Flexible: use it as a full-year course, a semester elective, or unit by unit in advisory

How Does Leading with Connection Build Portrait of a Graduate Competencies?

This workbook builds durable, future-ready skills, the transferable abilities students carry into college, careers and their communities. Its three units connect directly to the competencies schools use to define college, career and life readiness:

• Communication (COM): speaking with purpose, respectful disagreement, presentation skills, repair statements and tone in text
• Collaboration (COL): finding your collaboration style, managing group dynamics, making decisions in groups and solving real-world problems as a team
• Empathy (EMP): perspective-taking, intent vs. impact and real-world empathy under pressure
• Agency (AGY): discovering your leadership identity, taking initiative and setting boundaries
• Citizenship (CIT): upstander behavior, community norms, integrity and digital leadership
• Critical Thinking & Problem Solving (CT): case studies, survival and fundraiser simulations and real-life problem solving
• Career Readiness (CAR): professional collaboration, feedback skills and “Would You Hire This Person?” scenarios
• Personal Responsibility & Work Ethic (PRW): accountability, repair after conflict and growth plans
• Adaptability (ADP): staying calm during conflict, growing from feedback and adjusting to different teams
• Creativity (CRE): finding new solutions in group challenges and creating healthy relationship frameworks
• Finances (FIN): budget-style team decisions in the fundraiser simulation, and recognizing pressure in decision-making

What’s Inside the Leading with Connection Workbook?

Unit 1: Building Healthy Relationships (Chapters 1–5)

Includes a pre-assessment and post-assessment.

1. The Architecture of Healthy Relationships: Relationship Architecture Breakdown, Same Behavior Different Context, Subtle Red Flags or Growing Pains?, Choice Mapping: The Ripple Effect, Scenario Revision Challenge, Build a Healthy Relationship Framework
2. Boundaries, Consent & Power: Consent Is Ongoing, FRIES Under Pressure, Power Mapping, Say It Clearly, Build a Boundary Toolkit
3. Empathy, Influence & Impact: Intent vs. Impact Sort, Your Influence Profile, The Impact Lens, Community Norms Builder
4. Conflict & Repair: Repair vs. Reaction Reflection, The Repair Path Challenge, Fix the Breakdown, Staying Regulated During Conflict, Repair Statements Lab, Escalation or Repair?, Exploring Repair Options
5. Choice, Integrity & Community: The Integrity Compass, Pressure Points, Upstander Decision Map, The Upstander Spectrum, What Kind of Community?

Unit 2: Teamwork & Collaboration (Chapters 6–10)

Includes a pre-assessment and post-assessment.

6. Real-World Empathy: React or Respond?, Perspective-Taking Roles, Invisible Factors, Say It Better Challenge, Pause & Respond Challenge, Your Pattern Under Pressure
7. Your Collaboration Identity: What’s Your Collaboration Style?, The Group Dynamic Scenario Challenge, Collaboration Identity Portrait, The Unbalanced Team, What Would You Do?
8. Making Decisions in Groups: Decision-Making Styles in Action, Decision Breakdown Case Study, Fundraiser Simulation, What Would You Do?, Your Role in Decisions
9. Navigating Conflict: Productive or Unproductive?, Conflict Language Makeover, Pause & Replay, Conflict Type Match, Conflict Styles Reflection, Survival Decision Simulation
10. Collaboration in the Real World: Where Will You Actually Use This?, Real-Life Problem Solving, Real-World Scenario Challenge, Real-World Collaboration in Action, Would You Hire This Person?, Collaboration Strengths & Growth Plan

Unit 3: Communication & Leadership (Chapters 11–16)

Includes a pre-assessment and post-assessment.

11. Leadership Identity: Leadership Snapshot, What Does Leadership Look Like?, Quiet Leadership Scenarios, Discover Your Leadership Style, Leadership in Action Mini Research
12. Speaking with Purpose: Say It Two Ways, Communicating with Purpose, Leadership Communication Case Study, Presentation Preparation Challenge, The Respectful Disagreement Challenge
13. Perspective & Awareness: Exploring an Unfamiliar Perspective, Same Situation Different Perspectives, Leadership Perspective Case Study, Ask Better Questions
14. Take Initiative: Would You Step Up?, Quiet Leadership Case Studies, The Initiative Ladder, Initiative Bingo, Initiative Reflection
15. Growing from Feedback: Say It Better, The Emotional Reaction Map, Listening Without Defending, Asking for Feedback
16. Digital Leadership: Tone in Text, The Screenshot That Lasts, Rewrite the Post, Digital Leadership in Action

Who Is the Leading with Connection Workbook For?

High school students in grades 9–12, their teachers and their parents. It’s built for advisory and homeroom programs, leadership classes and student council, health and wellness courses, college and career readiness, CTE, peer mentoring programs, character education, homeschool and independent learning. It also supports Portrait of a Graduate initiatives.

What Comes in the Leading with Connection Workbook?

• Grade level: Grades 9–12 (ages 14–18)
• Format: Student workbook
• Length: 233 pages
• Design: Student-facing, built on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles
• Includes: 3 units, 16 chapters, 83 activities and a pre-assessment and post-assessment for each unit
• Publisher: Future Ready Education, an IB Source company
• ISBN: 9781954760875

Frequently Asked Questions About the Leading with Connection Workbook

What does Leading with Connection cover?

It covers three complete units: Building Healthy Relationships (relationship foundations, boundaries and consent, empathy and influence, conflict and repair, and integrity), Teamwork & Collaboration (empathy, collaboration identity, group decisions, conflict and real-world teamwork) and Communication & Leadership (leadership identity, purposeful speaking, perspective, initiative, feedback and digital leadership).

What grade level is this workbook for?

It is designed for high school students in grades 9–12, ages 14–18.

Can this be used for a leadership class or student council?

Yes. The Communication & Leadership unit covers leadership identity, speaking with purpose, taking initiative and growing from feedback. That makes it a strong fit for leadership classes, student council and peer mentoring programs.

How does this workbook prepare students for careers?

Students practice skills employers value most: communicating clearly, collaborating across differences, handling conflict, taking initiative and accepting feedback. Activities like “Would You Hire This Person?” and the Presentation Preparation Challenge connect those skills directly to the workplace.

Does it teach boundaries and consent?

Yes. The Boundaries, Consent & Power chapter teaches consent as an ongoing process, helps students recognize power dynamics and gives them practice communicating boundaries clearly.

Does it include assessments?

Yes. Each of the three units has its own pre-assessment and post-assessment, so you can measure growth in each skill area, which is useful for Portrait of a Graduate reporting.

Can this be used as a full course?

Yes. With 233 pages, 16 chapters and 83 activities, it can support a semester or full-year elective. It also works unit by unit in advisory, homeroom or health classes.

Are there matching teacher resources?

Yes. Each unit pairs with a Teacher Resource Pack for High School: Healthy Relationships & Empathy, Teamwork & Collaboration, and Communication & Leadership.

What are future-ready skills?

Future-ready skills, also called durable skills, are lasting, transferable abilities like communication, collaboration, critical thinking and adaptability. Students use them across subjects, careers and life.