McGraw, Jay. (2000). Life Strategies for Teens . New York: Simon & Schuster, 240 pp.

Grade Range: 6-12

Genre: nonfiction

Summary and Critique

The young author of this advice book for Teens has adapted the Ten Life Laws his father, Dr. Phil McGraw, a psychologist, created to be appropriate and applicable to the lives of teenagers. While believing that his dad had a workable plan for helping people determine the best course for a successful life, Jay knew his father did not completely understand how Teens think and what is important in their lives, and as a result, he decided to gear his book toward a teenage audience. McGraw encouraged Teens to create their own experience, to make good decisions and act on them, and to forgive the people that have hurt them. McGraw uses personal stories as well as accounts from other Teens to illustrate his points, and his tone is very forthcoming, sometimes brutally honest, and never preachy. Worksheets inserted in each chapter allow readers to answer questions and fill in the blanks to make the themes of the book applicable to their own lives.

Themes/Topics

Families

Friends and Enemies

Challenges and Triumphs

The Individual vs. Society

Author Information

Jay McGraw is the son of Dr. Phillip McGraw, TV talk show host and author of Life Strategies. He recently graduated from Southern Methodist University with a law degree. He has authored several books, including Closing the Gap: A Strategy for Bringing Parents and Teens Together, Daily Life Strategies for Teens and Life Strategies for Teens Workb4teens_book.

For more information on Jay McGraw:

http://www.jaymcgraw.com/html/biography.asp Biographical information on McGraw.

Media Connections

Movies

Ordinary People (1980) A family struggles to recover after the death of their favorite son.

Baby Love (1996) This documentary contains interviews with teen mothers from diverse racial and socio-economic backgrounds. The teen mothers discuss their views on love, sex, relationships, responsibilities and parenting.

The Breakfast Club (1985) Five very different Teens learn about relationships, friendship, love, and cliques while serving detention together.

Dead Poet's Society (1989) Teenagers at a private school learn about life, friendship, and literature from each other and from a passionate English teacher.

The Joy Luck Club (1993) Explores the lives of four Chinese women and their relationships with their four Chinese-American daughters.

The Wave (1981) Film adaptation of the book, based on a true story, of history teacher Burt Ross's experiment called the Wave, where he attempts to demonstrate for his students the negative consequences of peer pressure and the relevance of fascism in their lives.

Welcome to the Dollhouse. (1995) Both humorous and depressing, Welcome to the Dollhouse depicts the experiences of an unpopular and unattractive 7^th grade girl.

Online Resources

www.jaymcgraw.com This is the author's homepage with links to online work sheets, Jay's schedule, and a biography.

www.nextstepmagazine.com This e-zine won the 2001 Association of Educational Publishers'Distinguished Achievement Award. It's theme,"College, Careers, and Life" aims to help high school students in planning for college or deciding on a career and also contains discussion pages about life skills and issues of interest to Teens .

www.operationgraduation.com A bilingual website that provides homework help, crisis hotlines, assistance with college application, and resources to help kids deal with issues like addiction and violence.

http://www.drphil.com/ Dr. Phil's official Web page, featuring information on emotional health, his books, and his television series.

http://www.teenhealthfx.com/ Information on emotional health, drugs, relationships, sports & nutrition, general health and illness.

http://www.selfgrowth.com/teenage.html Teen & parenting information, articles, links

http://www.mindbodysoul.gov.uk/ Information on drugs, sexual health, healthy eating.

Related Texts

Collier, James Lincoln and Chris. (1974). My Brother Sam is Dead. New York: Four Winds Press. 216pp. During the American Revolution, Tim Meeker must decide between his father, a British loyalist, and his brother, a Revolutionary supporter.

Morrison, Lillian (Ed). (2001). More Spice Than Sugar: Poems about Feisty Females. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 80pp. A short anthology of poems about heroic, inspiring, and strong women.

Forward, Susan and Chris Buck. (1989). Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life . New York: Bantam Books. 326pp. A self-help books for children who were emotionally abused or mistreated by their parents.

Gordon, Ruth. (1995). Pierced by a Ray of Sun: Poems About the Times We Feel Alone. New York: Harper Collins. 105pp. A poetry anthology that addresses themes of alienation and loneliness.

Soto, Gary. (1990). A Summer Life. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England. 115pp. Soto describes his youth in Fresno, CA through thirty-nine short essays.

Greenfield, Laura. (2002). Girl Culture. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 155pp. A primarily pictorial account of the lives of American teenage girls.

Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. (1997). The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls. New York: Random House, 267pp. Explores the changing emphasis from teenage girls'personalities and talents to their physical appearance over the past one hundred years.

Spinelli, Jerry. (2000). Stargirl. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 186pp. A unique girl who had been home-schooled discovers popularity and painful ostracism when she enters a public high school.

Canfeld, Jack; Kirberger, Kimberly; Hansen, Mark Victor. (2002). Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Love and Friendship. Deerfield Beach, Fla: Health Communications. 300pp. Various stories about love and friendship during the teenage years.

Nicolson, Georgia. (2000). Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. New York: Harper Collins. 247pp. This comedic coming of age story depicts the life of a teenage girl maturing into an adult in contemporary England.

Sones, Sonya. (2001). What My Mother Doesn't Know. New York: Simon and Schuster. 259pp. A teenage girl experiences a series of crushes while searching for her soul mate.

Ketchum, Liza. (1992). Allergic to My Family. New York: Holiday House. 150pp. Tired of being ignored by her family, nine-year old Rosie strives to gain the recognition she desires.

Teaching Ideas

(1) "Importance of Names" In this activity, students can examine the importance of names and why we name people and things in our world. Students can create a vocabulary of "name-related" words (i.e. surname, given name, alias, maiden name, pseudonym, etc.) and determine how many names that they have and what these names mean. Class can discuss importance of naming things in various cultures, living up to a name, women choosing to take husband's name and other ways we attach meaning to a given name. Students can then choose a name they have (or one they wish they had) and write about its importance to them and others around them.

[Summarized/adapted from "Search for Identity / What's in a Name?" by Edna L. Neely in Ideas Plus, Book Four. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, pp.11-13.]

(2) "Realistic Success" This lesson acknowledges / recognizes success both big and small and in between. Students can keep a journal throughout the unit recording all their successes (good report card, helped a friend, good day in class). Students can also interview members of school's faculty, staff and administration to find out what they did to be successful. Have some of these people come to class and talk about what is positive about jobs so that students can see success is not just about movies, sports or money but real people they see everyday.

[Summarized/adapted from "Scrutinizing Success" by Cameron C. Fahlman in Ideas Plus, Book Five. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. Pp. 12-15]

(Review written by Vicki Weaver and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)