What Do You Stand for?: Kid's Guide to Building Character

Discover what you stand for - and build the character to put your values into action.

What Do You Stand For? For Teens invites young people to explore who they are, what they value, and the positive character traits they want to develop. From honesty, empathy, integrity, and respect to responsibility, courage, leadership, communication, and self-discipline, this interactive guide helps teens examine character through real choices, thoughtful reflection, engaging activities, and inspiring examples.

• Figure Out What Matters to You: Consider how your values shape your choices, relationships, and goals.
• Think Through Tough Choices: Tackle thought-provoking dilemmas that don't always have one right answer. Weigh different perspectives and consequences through reflection, journaling, discussion, debate, writing, and role-playing.
• Connect Character to Real Life: True stories of young people, quotations, activities, inventories, surveys, and checklists help you explore how values and character show up in everyday experiences.
• Make It Your Own: Read straight through, focus on a trait that matters to you, or explore one topic at a time, with activities connected to school, home, friendships, personal interests, and your community.

A Flexible Character-Building Resource for Teens: Young people can use What Do You Stand For? For Teens for independent reading and reflection, while teachers, parents, and other caring adults can use its dilemmas, activities, and discussion opportunities to spark meaningful conversations about values, choices, responsibilities, and positive character. Whether used at home, in the classroom, or with a group, this guide encourages teens to better understand themselves, consider what they believe, and explore what they stand for.

Barbara A. Lewis is a national award-winning author and educator who teaches kids how to think and solve real problems. Her students at Jackson Elementary School in Salt Lake City, Utah, initiated the cleanup of hazardous waste, improved sidewalks, planted thousands of trees, and fought crime. They instigated and pushed through several state laws and an amendment to a national law, garnering ten national awards, including two President’s Environmental Youth Awards, the Arbor Day Award, the Renew America Award, and Pledge and a Promise Environmental Award. They have also been recognized in the Congressional Record three times.

Barbara has been featured in/on many national newspapers, magazines, and news programs, including Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, Family Circle, CBS This Morning, CBS World News, and CNN. She has also written many articles and short stories for national magazines.

Her books for Free Spirit Publishing—What Do You Stand For? For Kids, What Do You Stand For? For Teens, The Kid’s Guide to Social Action, Kids with Courage, The Kid’s Guide to Service Projects, The Teen Guide to Global Action, and The Survival Guide for Teachers of Gifted Kids—have won Parenting’s Reading Magic Award and been named “Best of the Best for Children” by the American Library Association, among other honors.

Barbara has lived in Indiana, New Jersey, Switzerland, Belgium, Utah, and Poland. She and her husband, Larry, currently reside in Park City, Utah. They have four children: Mike, Andrea, Chris, and Sam, ten perfect grandchildren, and a forest of shy deer, a bold moose, busy squirrels, and feathered friends.