Girl-driven Leadership Strategies

Girl-drivenLeadership Strategies

Planning support for Ranger Guiders

Excited to jump into the program?

Feeling unsure how you can support girls in planning their Guiding year?

This planning package includes practical strategies for girl empowerment plus a hands-on activity to help you explore the program with the girls in your unit.

Rangers: Theme Guess WhoOverview: Can you guess who (or what)? Play this mingle-and-guess game to start planning your year.

Background: At every branch, the program in Guiding is broken into eight program areas. Each program area has three themes and a variety of topics. Every branch looks at them in a different way and you have three years in Rangers to dive into the parts of the program that interest you the most. Get more familiar with the Rangers program by playing this guessing game together.

Outcome: Explore your interests and how to build them into your unit meetings.

Skills you’ll build:

• Communication• Planning

What you’ll need:

• A set of Theme Cards• The Rangers Program Cheat Sheet (1 per person)• Optional: Tape (to stick cards to foreheads)

Before you start:

• Cut out and shuffle the Theme Cards. Keep them face down.

What to do:

1. As a unit, quickly recap how the Rangers program is organized. Use the Rangers Program Cheat Sheet if you need some help.

2. Take a Theme Card from the face-down pile. Without looking, hold it or tape it to your forehead. You should be the only one who can’t see your theme.

3. Mingle around the room asking only yes-or-no questions to one another until you’re able to guess which theme you have stuck to your head. Use the cheat sheet to help each other if you get stuck.

4. Once you’ve figured out your theme, find the other two themes that go with yours to make up your program area.

5. As a unit, talk about the themes or topics that interest you most. You can do a quick poll

to gauge everyone’s interest in certain themes.

Stuff to talk about:

• Which themes are most aligned with your personal or unit goals for your Ranger year? • How will you organize your time in your meetings so you can complete all the themes your unit is interested in?

Tips, tricks and more:

• If you want to cut back on printing, you can write each theme on a sticky note instead. • Returning Rangers can share their past experiences with the program and how their

interests have changed as they’ve moved through Guiding. • If you’re part of a small unit, you can change the game and collaborate to order the

theme cards from most to least interesting to you instead.

Resources:

• Theme Cards: Rangers-Resource-Theme Cards

• The Rangers Program Cheat Sheet :Rangers-Resource-The Rangers Program Cheat Shee

Credit/references: A special thanks to the National Programming Committee who supported the development of this content.

Guider info:

Time needed: 15-30 min

Belongs to: Shaping Our Story Instant Meeting

Program Area: Guide Together

Branch: Rangers Theme: Our Story

Topic: Meeting planning Activity: Game | Dialigue | Group

Activity: Theme Guess WhoResource: Theme Cards

Global Guiding - Learn about the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and celebrate Guiding with girls across the globe.

Different Together - Explore diversity in your unit and community, and discover the importance of valuing difference and being inclusive.

Spirit of Guiding - Have some fun, come together and create a sisterhood within your unit.

Gender Power - Explore girl empowerment and feminism, and discover the power in being who you are.

Our Story - Discover your place in Girl Guides – both locally and globally – and connect through stories and traditions.

Being You - Explore your personal identity, values and beliefs, and develop your confidence and self-esteem.

Life Stuff - Develop the skills you need to thrive including leadership, communication, time management, and goal-setting.

How To: - Build the hands-on skills you need to take on projects and do it yourself.

Money Sense - Build the skills you need to make choices about your money.


My Physical Self - Develop an understanding of how your body works best, and learn to listen to the cues your body gives you about what it needs.

My Healthy Relationships - Develop skills to help you navigate and strengthen the many different relationships in your life, in order to build and nurture positive, healthy relationships.

My Mighty Mind - Build positive mental health skills you can use in your daily life, and explore self-care and how to support others in feeling strong and confident.

Design Space - Innovate and create! Tinker with machines, build robots, code programs, and re-think recycling, as you push the limits of your imagination.

Art Studio - Discover art for art’s sake and experiment with your own creative vision.

Science Lab - Ask questions, try something new, design experiments, test hypotheses and get a little messy as you discover how the world works.

Canadian Connections - Discover what connects our diverse Canadian mosaic from coast to coast to coast.

World Stage - Develop your global connections by exploring big picture issues that affect everyone worldwide.

Local Communities - Connect with people, places, and things in the communities that surround you.


Your Voice - Connect to the causes you’re passionate about, and discover your individual and collective power to make change.

Your Action - Be the change! Get involved in your community, take on a service project, or tackle an issue head-on.

Your Choice - Explore local, community and global issues and discover the ones you care about most.

Nature Discoveries - Head outside and get to know the plants and animals who share your neighbourhood, or investigate how nature works from the comfort of your meeting space.

Camping Skills and Adventures - Build your camping skills and outdoor survival know-how so you can be prepared for anything. Whether you love to sleep outside under the stars or snug in a comfy cabin, this is your chance to make the world your playground!

Our Shared Planet - Learn about how people in the past and present have cared for the planet as you brainstorm what you can do to build the Earth a better future.

Guide TogetherExplore what it means to be part of Guiding in

Canada and the global Guiding Movement.

Our Story

Discover your place in Girl Guides and connect through stories and traditions. Explore the Guiding Promise and Law, experience Guiding ceremonies, and taste (and sell!) cookies. Plan your meetings and build your Guiding experience

Spirit of Guiding

Come together and embrace the sisterhood within your unit. In this theme you might run a meeting to celebrate a special day, plan a campfire singalong or just be silly while enjoying Guiding games, crafts and fun challenges.

Global Guiding

Take a trip around the Guiding world without leaving your meeting space! Learn about the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and celebrate Guiding with girls across the globe

Explore topics like:

• Ceremonies andTraditions

• Cookies• Guiding History


• Guiding Fun andGames

• SWAPs and HatCrafts

• Songs• Campfires


• Guiding Around theWorld

• World Centres• WAGGGS

Activity: Theme Guess WhoResource: The Rangers Program Cheat Sheet

Activity: Resource: The Program Cheat Sheet

Into the Outdoors Explore the nature all around you

– from the bird on your windowsill to the wildlifein Canada’s national parks!

Nature Discoveries

Connect with the wilderness wherever you are – from the heart of the city to a back-country trail and anywhere in between. Head outside and get to know the plants and animals who share your neighbourhood, or investigate how nature works from the comfort of your meeting space.

Camping Skills and Adventures

Build your camping skills and outdoor survival know-how so you can be prepared for anything. Whether you love to sleep outside under the stars or snug in a comfy cabin

Our Shared Planet

Investigate how humans fit into Earth’s environment and find ways to be a good neighbour to all living things. Learn about how people in the past and present have cared for the planet as you brainstorm what you can do to build the Earth a better future.


• Nature Appreciation• Animal Care• Plant Identification


• Navigation• Camping Skills• Outdoor Recreation


• Upcycling andReducing Waste

• Citizen Science• Environmental

Justice


Build Skills Explore the life skills you have now – and the skills you

want to build.

Money Sense

Build the skills you need to make choices about your money. Activities in this theme will help you learn about budgeting, saving and spending, and how money is used around the world.

Life Stu�

Develop the skills you need to thrive in your life. Learn how to lead, develop your communication skills, navigate your way through time management, explore different jobs and careers, and test out setting and achieving personal goals.

How To:

Build the hands-on skills you need to take on pro-jects and do it yourself. Busted bike? Flat tire? Hungry for homemade cookies? Want to be first aid savvy? Start with the basics, then take your know-how to the next level.


• Budgeting• Currency• Money Management


• Entrepreneurship• Future Planning• Jobs and Careers• Media and Digital

Literacy


• Safety andEmergency Prep

• Home Skills• Building and Repairs


Explore Identities Explore what makes you unique and appreciate

difference in other people.


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•••


Experiment and Create Explore how the world works and put your stamp on it!

Science Lab

Explore the sciences – from chemistry andphysics to forensics andastronomy! Ask questions,try something new,design experiments, testhypotheses and get a littlemessy as you discoverhow the world works.


• Chemistry• Forensics• Physics• Human Biology


••••


••

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Be Well Explore what keeps you feeling good physically and

mentally, and how they work together in your life.

My Mighty Mind

Build positive mental health skills you can use in your daily life and explore how to support others in feeling strong and confident. Develop an awareness of and fight against mental health stigma while learning more about your own emotions and feelings.

My Physical Self

Develop an understanding of how your body works best, and learn to listen to the cues your body gives you about what it needs. Experiment with the many choices you have for keeping your body working and feeling good, and discover which ones work best for you.

My Healthy Relationships

Develop skills to help you strengthen the many different relationships in your life. Try turning conflicts into learning experiences and practice standing up for yourself while supporting others.


• Emotions• Finding Balance• Building Resiliency


• Active Living• Body Care• Injury Prevention


• Conflict Resolution••


Connect and Question Explore your connections with others in each of the communities you’re a part of – from your unit to your

global neighbourhood.

Local Communities

Connect with the people, places and things that surround you. Discover how your communities work, and find your own place and space within them.

Canadian Connections

Discover what connects our diverse Canadian mosaic from coast to coast to coast. Explore Canadian heritage and discover amazing women from Canada who have made and continue to make history. Find out what connects us from community to community, and explore what citizenship means in Canada.

World Stage

Become a citizen of the world! Connect to your global community by exploring big-picture issues and celebrating the things that bring people together from all over the world.


• My Community••


• Canadian Heritage• Elections• Citizenship•


• Global Issues• Human Right• Peace uilding

Activity:Resource:

Take Action Explore how to turn your thoughts and passion into

action!

Your Choice

Taking action and getting involved in service and volunteering is at the core of Guiding, but what are you most passionate about? Have your interests changed over time? Explore local, community and global issues and discover the ones you care about most.

Your Voice

Are you an advocate? Do you want to take action? Connect to the causes you’re passionate about, and discover your individual and collective power to make change. It’s your voice – learn how you want to use it!

Your Action

Be the change! Get involved in your community, take on a service activity or project, or tackle an issue head-on. As you explore new ideas in other program areas, use the tools and activities in this theme to take action on the issues you care about! It’s your choice and your voice, so choose your action!


• Finding Your Passion•


• Advocacy•


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Girl-driven leadership strategies for Ranger Guiders

Girl-driven planning is flexible and responsive to the girls in your unit. Here are some simple strategies to help you listen to the voices and incorporate the choices of your Rangers:

What are some creative ways you can plan with Rangers?

• Have Rangers create guidelines for the unit so every Ranger feels safe sharing her voice

• Use a vision board to start and end the year – what do I/we want? Where do I/we want to go?

• Start the year with discussions about life – Rangers can decide what skills they want to learn

• Practice active listening skills by leaving 7 seconds after each comment to see if others from group want to respond before moving on – encourage the use of open-ended questions to explore options more deeply

• Let Rangers choose how to do brainstorming (e.g. using technology, art, etc.)

• “Speak Rangers’ language” by using social media, e.g. What’s App or Slack vs. email or text - ask Rangers which platforms will work for their unit

• Invite Rangers to share resources and personal connections to make activities happen

• Brainstorm things they don’t want to do and/or have never done

• Try a competitive planning challenge (e.g. Come up with the craziest challenge!)

• Have girls look at the broader topics and then work backwards to plan activities

• Pass along facilitation skills – invite Rangers to guide planning conversations and activities

• Use Rangers as “experts” in their areas of strength or expertise – encourage them to teach others

How can you awaken your Rangers’ interests in program areas they have not yet explored?

• Discuss the reasons why certain program areas and themes are not being chosen (e.g. past experiences, fears) – ask, “What obstacles are we facing? What’s holding us back? How could we approach the idea in a safe or interesting way?”

• Introduce new program areas in pairs or teams – if Rangers have specific knowledge, skills and abilities, take advantage of them to support their leadership development

• Make it safe to fail and learn from mistakes

• Invite Rangers to teach a new program area or theme to a younger branch and report back

• Evaluate and debrief all activities so girls understand all will not be “wins” – some things don’t work out as planned – focus on the learning

• Have Rangers get curious and research a new program area or theme – encourage them to find out more before deciding

• For one or two meetings a year, host a “Guider’s Choice” surprise meeting

How can Rangers be engaged in building the calendar together?

• Bring in a large calendar and have girls use post-it notes or build a Google calendar online

• Ask Rangers what tools/apps/methods they suggest for sign-ups, planning, calendars, etc.

• Set group and personal goals for the year

• Do planning over multiple meetings using shorter sessions done more often

• Remember to schedule “no go” times (e.g. exams, holidays, school events) – plan for easier activities or host fewer meetings

• Remember that when Rangers ask Guiders to take the lead during busy times, it’s asign of maturity

• Try “reverse engineering” – take a big idea and help the Rangers figure out how do we get there

• Have Rangers take ownership by confirming, “who wants to lead?”, “who wants to help?” and “who wants to participate?”

Documents

Girl-driven Leadership Strategies