Boy Scouts who are interested in history can earn the American Heritage merit badge and learn about our past.

Every Scout swears to an oath that includes duty to his country. A better understanding of American heritage, the ways in which the past has lead to our present nation, is key to truly knowing what it means to be an American.

American Heritage Merit Badge Requirements

1. Read the Declaration of Independence. Pay close attention to the section that begins with “We hold these truths to be self-evident” and ends with “to provide new Guards for their future security.” Rewrite that section in your own words, making it as easy to understand as possible. Then, share your writing with your merit badge counselor and discuss the importance of the Declaration to all Americans.
2. Do TWO of the following:
   1. Select two individuals from American history, one a political leader (a president, senator, etc.) and the other a private citizen (a writer, religious leader, etc.). Find out about each person’s accomplishments and compare the contributions each has made to America’s heritage.
   2. With your counselor’s approval, choose an organization that has promoted some type of positive change in American society. Find out why the organization believed this change was necessary and how it helped to accomplish the change. Discuss how this organization is related to events or situations from America’s past.
   3. With your counselor’s approval, interview two veterans of the U.S. military. Find out what their experiences were like. Ask the veterans what they believe they accomplished.
   4.  With your counselor’s approval, interview three people in your community of different ages and occupations. Ask these people what America means to them, what they think is special about this country, and what American traditions they feel are important to preserve.
3. Do the following:
   1. Select a topic that is currently in the news. Describe to your counselor what is happening. Explain how today’s events are related to or affected by the events and values of America’s past.
   2. For each of the following, describe its adoption, tell about any changes since its adoption, and explain how each one continues to influence Americans today: the flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, the seal, the motto, and the national anthem.
   3. Research your family’s history. Find out how various events and situations in American history affected your family. Share what you find with your counselor. Tell why your family came to America.
4. Do TWO of the following:
   1. Explain what is meant by the National Register of Historic Places. Describe how a property becomes eligible for listing. Make a map of your local area, marking the points of historical interest. Tell about any National Register properties in your area. Share the map with your counselor, and describe the historical points you have indicated.
   2. Research an event of historical importance that took place in or near your area. If possible, visit the place. Tell your counselor about the event and how it affected local history. Describe how the area looked then and what it now looks like.
   3. Find out when, why, and how your town or neighborhood started, and what ethnic, national, or racial groups played a part. Find out how the area has changed over the past 50 years and try to explain why.
   4. Take an active part in a program about an event or person in American history. Report to your counselor about the program, the part you took, and the subject.
   5. Visit a historic trail or walk in your area. After your visit, share with your counselor what you have learned. Discuss the importance of this location and explain why you think it might qualify for National Register listing.
5. Do ONE of the following:
   1. Watch two motion pictures (with the approval and permission of your counselor and parent) that are set in some period of American history. Describe to your counselor how accurate each film is with regard to the historical events depicted and also with regard to the way the characters are portrayed.
   2. Read a biography (with your counselor’s approval) of someone who has made a contribution to America’s heritage. Tell some things you admire about this individual and some things you do not admire. Explain why you think this person has made a positive or a negative contribution to America’s heritage.
   3. Listen to recordings of popular songs from various periods of American history. Share five of these songs with your counselor, and describe how each song reflects the way people felt about the period in which it was popular. If a recording is not available, have a copy of the lyrics available.
6. Discuss with your counselor the career opportunities in American heritage. Pick one that interests you and explain how to prepare for this career. Discuss what education and training are required for this career.

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Cub Scouts who are interested in other parts of the world can earn their Language and Culture pin from the Cub Scout Academics and Sports program. Maybe it will even interest them enough to find a Scout in another country who is interested in being a pen pal.

Language and Culture Pin Requirements

Earn the Language and Culture belt loop, and complete seven of the following requirements:

1. Earn the BSA Interpreter Strip.
2. Write the numbers 1-10 in Chinese or another number system other than the one we normally use (we use the Arabic system).
3. Visit an embassy, consulate, or chargé d’affaires for another country.
4. Make a display of stamps or postcards of another country. Explain the importance or symbolism of the things depicted to that country’s culture.
5. Learn 30 words in a language other than your own. Practice saying these words with your den or an adult family member.
6. Learn a song in another country’s language. Sing he song for your den or an adult family member, and then tell what the words mean.
7. Say five words in American Sign Language. One of these words could be your first name.
8. Visit a restaurant that specializes in recipes from another country.
9. Watch a TV show or movie in a foreign language. Tell how easy or difficult it was to understand what was happening.
10. With your parent’s or adult partner’s permission, interview an interpreter. Find out what his or her job is like.
11. Make a list of 30 things around your home that were made in another country.
12. Read a book or story about an immigrant to the United States.

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One of the most popular posts on my site it the Simple Indoor Opening Ceremony. This is a very basic ceremony to open your den, pack, or other meeting. But what to do at the end? A closing flag ceremony of course!

Simple Closing Flag Ceremony for Cub Scouts

The leader can be a member of the den (preferred), a Den Chief, or an adult leader.

Leader: “Color Guard, Advance”

The Color Guard goes to the front of the room and stands next to the flags, with the same number at each flag.

Leader: “Color Guard, Retrieve the Colors. Scout Salute”

The Color Guard removes the flags from their stands and proceeds out of the room double-file as shown in the diagram. Those in uniform do a hand salute. Everyone else places their hand on their heart.

Leader: “TWO. Color Guard dismissed.”

Everyone stops saluting.

NOTES:

• The US flag should always be on the right side of the procession and should never be behind the other flags.
• It is appropriate to salute any time the US flag passes and until it is out of sight.

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Cub Scouts can learn how people with disabilities are different from them but also how they are like them by earning the Disabilities Awareness pin from the Cub Scout Academics and Sports program. This recognition also fits in well with the Cub Scout core value of Compassion.

Disabilities Awareness Pin Requirements

Earn the Disabilities Awareness belt loop, and complete five of the following requirements:

1. People with disabilities move around in different ways such as crutches, scooters, and wheelchairs. Explain the differences. With an adult’s supervision and permission, try to safely use one.
2. Using sign language, demonstrate the Cub Scout Promise and motto.
3. Read a book about a person with a disability.
4. Explain how your school helps students with disabilities (elevators, ramps, small classes, special tools and equipment, specialized teachers)
5. Describe one of the following and its purpose: occupational therapy, speech therapy, or physical therapy. Visit with a person who works in one of these fields and learn about his or her position.
6. Read about a famous person who has been physically or mentally challenged. Report what you learned to your den or family.
7. For two one-hour periods, and with adult supervision, go about your normal routine doing chores, watching television, studying, etc. Change your abilities by using one of these experiences, then share what you learned with your den.
1. Hearing impairment — Muffle your ears with earmuffs or bandages.
2. Sight impairment — Blindfold one or both eyes.
3. Physical impairment— Bind an arm or leg so that it cannot be used.
4. Speaking impairment — Cover your mouth or do not speak
5. Choose an impairment of your own that is approved by an adult
8. Look at a catalog and find three items that could help a person with disabilities in their daily life. Explain how each item would help the individual.
9. Volunteer and help someone with disabilities in school, sports, or another supervised activity.
10. Visit a nursing home or elderly person and help someone with a meal.
11. Talk to someone who works with people who have disabilities. Ask what the person’s position is like and how he or she helps people with disabilities.

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The Boy Scout Planning Guide suggests a Citizenship Troop Program Feature for February 2013.  This program feature offers the opportunity to introduce concepts of history, flag etiquette, and responsibilities in a troop setting. A PLC can use this program feature to plan a month of activities with a focus on citizenship.

The plans for the Citizenship troop program feature can be found in  Volume 1  of Troop Program Features from BSA:

A primary aim of the Boy Scouts of America is to guide youth toward good citizenship. That goal is clearly expressed in the Scout Oath pledges of “duty to God and my country” and “to help other people at all times.” The 12 points of the Scout Law are virtually a checklist for good citizenship. The citizenship program feature is designed to heighten a Scout’s appreciation of his rights and duties as a citizen, to make him aware of his heritage as an American, and to acquaint him with the approved ways of displaying and showing respect for the chief symbol of our country—the flag.

Citizenship Programs

Younger scouts can work on their early rank requirements, including flag etiquette and the rights and duties of US citizens.  Older scouts can earn the Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge, Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge, or Citizenship in the World Merit Badge. Some other related merit badges include American Cultures Merit Badge, American Heritage Merit Badge, and Law Merit Badge.

Troops are encouraged to attend a civic event such as a city council meeting, a neighborhood watch group, or a naturalization ceremony. The suggested feature event for the month is a heritage hike which includes a visit to an area with a cultural significance to the local area.

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Boy Scouts from our troop often earn the Law merit badge at a skill center at the historic Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis – a great venue to see how law has shaped our history. They even get to have a mock trial in one of the courtrooms.

Earning this merit badge enables a Scout to learn about the history and kinds of laws, the purpose and methods of law enforcement, consumer protection agencies, emerging law, and careers in the legal profession.

Law Merit Badge Requirements

1. Define “law.” Tell some of its sources. Describe functions it serves.
2. Discuss two of the following:
1. Justinian’s Code, the Code of Hammurabi, and the Magna Carta
2. The development of the jury system
3. Two famous trials in history
3. Tell what civil law is; tell what criminal law is. Tell the main differences between them. Give examples of each.
4. Ask five people (not more than one from your immediate family) about the role of law enforcement officers in our society. Discuss their answers with them. Go to a law enforcement officer in your neighborhood and ask about his or her responsibilities and duties. Report your findings.
5. Tell about several laws that were passed to protect the consumer and the seller. Tell about several organizations that provide help to consumers and sellers.
6. Do ONE of the following:
1. Attend a session of a civil or criminal court. Write 250 words or more on what you saw.
2. Plan and conduct a mock trial with your troop or school class. After the trial is over, discuss it with the group.
7. Arrange a visit with a lawyer who works for a business, bank, title company, or government agency. Find out his or her duties and responsibilities. Report what you have learned.
8. Explain the requirements for becoming a lawyer in your state. Describe how judges are selected in your state.
9. Make a list of 15 jobs that deal with some aspects of law or legal processes. Tell which you prefer. Why?
10. Tell where people can go to obtain the help of a lawyer if they are unable to pay for one. Tell what you can do if you can afford a lawyer but do not know of any in your area.
11. Discuss with your counselor the importance in our society of TWO of the following areas of law that have recently emerged and are still developing:
1. Environmental law
2. Computers and the Internet
3. Copyright and the Internet
4. Space travel and satellites orbiting Earth

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Our local police department holds a Crime Prevention merit badge skill center for Boy Scouts every year. If there is nobody in the lockup, they even get put in jail, which is always what they talk about afterwards.

Preventing crime, which can be as simple as reducing the opportuntities for crime to occur, is far less costly than apprehending and bringing legal action against those who break the law and it helps save people from the anguish of being victims.

Crime Prevention Merit Badge Requirements

1. Discuss the role and value of laws in society with regard to crime and crime prevention. Include in your discussion the definitions of “crime” and “crime prevention.”
2. Prepare a notebook of newspaper and other clippings that address crime and crime prevention efforts in your community.
3. Discuss the following with your counselor:
1. The role of citizens, including youth, in crime prevention.
2. Gangs and their impact on the community.
3. When and how to report a crime.
4. After doing EACH of the following, discuss with your counselor what you have learned.
1. Inspect your neighborhood for opportunities that may lead to crime. Learn how to do a crime prevention survey.
2. Using the checklist in this pamphlet, conduct a security survey of your home and discuss the results with your family.
5. Teach your family or patrol members how to protect themselves from crime at home, at school, in your community, and while traveling.
6. Help raise awareness about one school safety issue facing students by doing ONE of the following:
1. Create a poster for display on a school bulletin board.
2. With permission from school officials, create a page long public service announcement that could be read over the public address system at school or posted on the school’s Web site.
3. Make a presentation to a group such as a Cub Scout den that addresses the issue.
7. Do ONE of the following:
1. Assist in the planning and organization of a crime prevention program in your community such as Neighborhood Watch, Community Watch, or Crime Stoppers. Explain how this program can benefit your neighborhood.
2. With your parent’s and counselor’s approval, visit a jail or detention facility or a criminal court hearing. Discuss your experience with your counselor.
8. Discuss the following with your counselor:
1. How drug abuse awareness programs such as “Drugs: A Deadly Game” help prevent crime.
2. Why alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are sometimes called “gateway drugs” and how gateway drugs can lead to the use of other drugs.
3. Three resources in your city where a person with a drug problem or drug-related problem can go for help.
4. How the illegal sale and use of drugs lead to other crimes.
5. How to recognize child abuse.
6. The three R’s of Youth Protection.
9. Discuss the following with your counselor:
1. The role of a sheriff’s or police department in crime prevention.
2. The purpose and operation of agencies in your community that help law enforcement personnel prevent crime, and how those agencies function during emergency situations.
3. Explain the role private security plays in crime prevention.
4. Choose a career in the crime prevention or security industry that interests you. Describe the level of education required and responsibilities of a person in that position. Tell why this position interests you.

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The Cub Scout core value for the month of November is Citizenship. BSA has a Cub Scout pack meeting plan called Fifty Great States related to this core value. The Fifty Great States  meeting plan features ideas for the core value of citizenship – games, group activities, songs, and more to help Cub Scouts become good citizens in their Packs and communities.

For more ideas for use with this program theme, see my Fifty Great States page.

The core value of Citizenship should still be the focus for the month.  Here is how the BSA plan suggests tying together this theme with November’s core value of Citizenship:

“Fifty Great States” reminds us that we are to contribute our service and show responsibility to local, state, and national communities. Cub Scouts develop good citizenship skills when they learn about respecting the flag and providing service to the community.

Cub Scout Pack Meeting Plan for November: Fifty Great States (Citizenship)

This Cub Scout pack meeting plan includes the following – all within a citizenship theme. See the meeting plan for details.

• Gathering activity – State Name and Motto Matching Game
• Opening ceremony – State Shout Out and Recipe for a Flag Opening
• A prayer about remembering the sacrifices and citizenship
• Welcomes and Introductions – Preamble to the Declaration of Independence Welcome
• Cheer – Red, White, and Blue Cheer
• Song - America (My Country ’Tis of Thee)
• Activity – Den Demonstrations
• Freedome to Be a Scout Advancement Ceremony
• “With freedom comes responsibility” Cubmaster Minute

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Happy Veteran’s Day. Here is a moving, patriotic tribute to our military, past and present. Thank you for your service!

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One theme for November’s core value of  Citizenship is a  Fifty Great States theme.  State capitals bingo would be a fun game or gathering activity to go with this theme.  In this picture bingo game, the cards have images of the states with the capitals on them. As each state name is called, players must try to find the capital on their card and mark it.

State Capitals Bingo Cards

Printables

• Download the State Capitals Bingo Cards
• Download the State Capitals Call Cards
• Additional State Capitals Printables

Instructions

1. Cut the call cards apart
2. Give each player one of the state capitals bingo cards.
3. Distribute daubers or some other way to mark the cards. If you use something like pennies or small pieces of candy as markers you can reuse the cards.
4. Place the call cards in a paper bag.
5. Randomly pull a call card from the bag and say the name of the state on the card.
6. If the player has the state’s capital on his card, he marks it.
7. Continue drawing call cards and having the players mark their cards if they have the matching picture for the state which was called.
8. When a player has a whole row covered (across, down, or diagonal) he yells BINGO!
9. Check the player’s card against the states which has been named so far. If he really has a full row covered, he wins that round.
10. Continue playing rounds until you are out of time.

Other popular variations are Four Corners (cover the four corner spaces) and Cover All (cover every space on the card).

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BSA offers supplemental pack program ideas for each month. One theme for the September core value of Cooperation is a Hometown Heroes theme. I’ll be adding some ideas related to the theme this month.

Here is what the  program helps say about this theme:

Hometown heroes are those who see a need, bring others together to cooperate in achieving a common goal, and solve problems to keep us safe in our community by working together as a team. Firefighters, police officers, members of the military, and other leaders cooperate to make our lives better. Our founding fathers represented different colonies but joined together to create the United States of America. Our space program combined the efforts of the government, the military, and private business to explore our universe and provide innovative ideas for our daily lives.

So this theme will revolve around the ideas of leadership, service, and cooperation. Several of the Cub Scout achievements and electives fit in with this theme.

Achievements Related to Hometown Heroes

Tiger Cub Scouts

• Achievement 2: Where I Live - – Go See It Activity: Visit a police station or a fire station. Ask someone who works there how he or she helps people in your community.
• Tiger Elective 8 – Your Religious Leaders: Invite a religious leader from your place of worship to your home or to your den meeting. (Talk about the things religious leaders and churches can do to solve problems in communities.)
• Tiger Elective 10 – Helping Hands: Along with your adult partner, help an elderly or shut-in person with a chore.
• Tiger Elective 11 – Helping the Needy: Help collect food, clothing or toys for needy families with your den or pack.  (Talk about how even young people can make a difference in a community.)
• Tiger Elective 49 – Your Government: Visit a government office such as the mayor’s office, the state capitol building, or a courthouse. (Learn about how citizens can improve communities by working with local government.)

Wolf Cub Scouts

Wolf Achievement 4 – Know Your Home and Community:

• Talk with your family members. Agree on the household jobs you will be responsible for. Make a list of your jobs and mark off when you have finished them. Do this for one month.
• Visit an important place in your community, such as a historic or government location. Explain why it is important.

• There is an older boy who hangs around Jason’s school. He tries to give drugs to the children. What would you do if you were Jason?
• Justin is new to your school. He has braces on his legs and walks with a limp. Some of the kids at school tease him. They want you to tease him, too. What would you do?
• Sam is home alone. He looks out the window and sees a man trying to break into a neighbor’s back door. What would you do if you were Sam?
• Mr. Palmer is blind. He has a guide dog. One day as he is crossing the street, some kids whistle and call to the dog. They want you and your friends to call the dog, too. What would you do?
• Some kids who go to Bob’s school want him to steal candy and gum from a store, which they can share later. Bob knows this is wrong, but he wants to be popular with these kids. What would you do if you were Bob?

Bear Cub Scouts

Bear Achievement 3 – What Makes America Special?

• Write or tell what makes America special to you.
• With the help of your family or den leader, find out about two famous Americans. Tell the things they did or are doing to improve our way of life.

Webelos

Citizen Activity Badge

• Know the names of the President and Vice-President of the United States, elected Governor of your state and the head of your local government.
• Explain the rights and duties of a citizen of the United States. Explain what a citizen should do to save our natural resources.
• With your Webelos den or your family, visit a community leader. Learn about the duties of the job or office and tell what you have learned.
• Write a short story of not less than 50 words about a former U.S. president or some other great American. Give a report on this to your Webelos den.
• Tell about another boy you think is a good citizen. Tell what he does that makes you think he is a good citizen.
• List the names of three people you think are good citizens. (They can be from any country.) Tell why you chose each of them.
• Name three organizations, not churches or other religious organizations, in your area that help people. Tell something about what one of these organizations does.

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BSA provides den meeting plans for den leader on the Scouting.org website. These plans are full of Bear den meeting ideas. Today’s article covers the tenth Bear Cub Scout den meeting plan. This plan focuses on Bear Achievement 13 – Saving Well, Spending Well and Bear Achievement 15 – Games, Games, Games!

Just a note: While this meeting plan says it covers Achievement 13, really you are just checking the work that the Cub Scouts did at home.

If you don’t already have the BSA den meeting plans, download BSA Bear Den Meeting Plan 10 to follow along with this article.

BSA Bear Den Meeting 10 – Saving Well, Spending Well and Games, Games, Games!

Preparation and Before the Meeting

This is an easy meeting to get ready for. You should  get together any supplies you need for your games. And send out a reminder beforehand so the Cub Scouts have their work for Achievement 13 ready and can bring it to the meeting for you to check off.

Gathering

Check out my gathering activities page for some ideas.

Opening

Do a  simple opening flag ceremony

Business

Keep business short and sweet! But get the items for Bear Achievement 13 recorded for each Cub Scout.

Activities

You will start with playing a game for 15a:

Set up equipment and play one of the following: backyard golf, badminton, croquet, sidewalk shuffleboard, kickball, softball, tetherball, horseshoes, or volleyball.

Several of these games have belt loops associated with them, so you might be able to work that in to your program for an additional recognition:

• Badminton Belt Loop and Pin
• Kickball Belt Loop and Pin
• Softball Belt Loop and Pin
• Volleyball Belt Loop and Pin

Next, play a den game for Achievement 15b. Some suggestions:

• Red Light Green Light
• Steal the Bacon
• Sleeping Pirate Game
• Capture the Flag
• Spud Game

See my games page for more ideas. Let one of the Cub Scouts explain the rules so he can fulfill 15c:

Select a game that your den has never played. Explain the rules. Tell them how to play it, and then play it with them.

Closing

Close with a prayer, Law of the Pack,  Cub Scout Promise, etc.

After the Meeting

Have the Cub Scouts help you clean up and put the game equipment away. If any of them did not finish Achievement 13, remind them to complete it and bring the work to the next meeting. And line up some other parents to help you at the next den meeting also.

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Purchasing information: The Scouting Way

From the publisher:

The stories in The Scouting Way will appeal to Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Den Leaders, Cubmasters, Packmasters, Scoutmasters and every youth and adult interested in promoting honesty, integrity, and other Scouting values. In fact, The Scouting Way can help everybody: men and women, young and old, Scouts and non-Scouts alike incorporate the core ethics and principles of Scouting into their daily lives, in just minutes a day.

The Scouting Way books are the perfect gift for graduations, birthdays, advancements, and, of course, Eagle Scout ceremonies. Any occasion when someone is starting or completing an important stage of their life.

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Purchasing information: Scouting For Boys

From the publisher:

2010 Facsimile of 1908 Edition. Robert Baden-Powell was born in 1857 and served in the British Army in India, Afghanistan and, later, West and South Africa. In Scouting for Boys he mixed his love for the outdoors, and delight in play-acting, together with the games ethics of the Victorian public school, and processed these into a newly minted tradition, that is, scouting, which became Britain’s most successful recreational export of the twentieth century. This book is the foundation document for scouting. Profusely illustrated.

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Purchasing information: The Scoutmaster’s Other Handbook

From the publisher:

With his first book Mark Ray revolutionized the Eagle Scout court of honor, showing tens of thousands of readers how to make Scouting’s greatest moment truly great. Now, he turns his attention to an even bigger task: building great Boy Scout troops.

In this unique and highly personal book, Ray offers hundreds of proven ideas for building strong, successful, sustainable troops that truly achieve the promise of Scouting. Beginning with Scouting’s aims and methods, the book moves quickly through every aspect of the program, from troop meetings and outings to fundraising and administration.

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BSA provides Wolf den meeting plans for Cub Scout den leaders on the Scouting.org website. Today, I am going to go through the eleventh Wolf Cub Scout den meeting plan. This plan covers  Wolf Achievement 12 – Making Choices.

If you don’t already have the BSA den meeting plans, download BSA Wolf Den Meeting Plan 11 to follow along with this article.

BSA Wolf Den Meeting Plan 11: Making Choices

Preparation and Before the Meeting

You don’t need to prepare much for this meeting. If you are adding in a craft or a game, you will need the supplies for that.

Gathering Activity

Look at  my gathering activities page for some ideas for a gathering activity for the Wolves.

Opening

Start witha flag ceremony. If you need information about how to carry out a flag ceremony, see a simple indoor flag ceremony or raising and lowering the US flag.

Business

Keep this to a minimum, especially since this meeting already involves a lot of talking.

Activities

Do the Courage Character Connection first. This fulfills Achievement 12a:

Complete the Character Connection for Courage.

• Know: Discuss with your family what courage is. Review the requirements and discuss how you might need courage in each one to do what is right.
• Commit: Give some examples of when it is hard to do the right thing. Discuss with your family times that it might take courage to be honest and kind. Tell about a time in your life when you needed to be brave and courageous to do the right thing.
• Practice: Practice learning about courage while doing the requirements for Making Choices. With family members, act out the choices you would make for some of the requirements.

Then pick four of the scenarios from requirements 12b to 12k to discuss. We did them as a role play activity, with the Wolves acting out the different parts. Then they discussed how they handled the situation and what they might have done differently. I let my Den Chiefs do a lot of the advising for the discussion part. The Wolves seemed to like hearing the advice from the point of view of the teenagers rather than from me as an adult.

Leave time for an active game. After all of the talking, the Cub Scouts will probably want to get up and move around. See my games page for ideas.

Closing

Do your closing ceremony. The Cub Scout Promise is a nice way to close out this meeting.

After the Meeting

Don’t forget to find some parents to help at your next meeting.

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One of the Aims of Scouting is to instill a sense of citizenship in our Scouts. Cub Scouts can learn about our government and how they can get involved in the community by earning the Citizenship pin  from the Cub Scout Academics and Sports program.

Citizenship Pin Requirements

Earn the Citizenship belt loop, and complete five of the following requirements:

1. Interview someone who has become a naturalized citizen. Give a report of your interview to your den or family.
2. Write a letter to your newspaper about an issue that concerns you. Send your letter by mail or e-mail.
3. Create a collage about America.
4. Make a list of items to check for a home safety or energy audit and then inspect your home. Talk with your parent or adult partner about correcting any problems you find.
5. Visit your local site of government. Interview someone who is involved with the governmental process.
6. Visit a courtroom and talk with someone who works there.
7. Go to the polls with your parents when they vote. Talk to them about their choices.
8. Take part in a parade with your den or pack.
9. List ways you can recycle various materials and conserve and protect the environment.
10. Attend a community event or visit a landmark in your community.

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One of the Aims of Scouting is to train youth in the responsibilities of citizenship.  One way to promote citizenship in our younger scouts is to encourage them to earn the Citizenship belt loop from the Cub Scout Academics and Sports Program.

Webelos who earn the Citizenship Belt Loop while a Webelos also complete requirement 8 for the Citizen activity badge.

Citizenship Belt Loop Requirements

Complete these three requirements:

1. Develop a list of jobs you can do around the home. Chart your progress for one week.
2. Make a poster showing things that you can do to be a good citizen.
3. Participate in a family, den, or school service project.

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As many of you know, the old Quality Awards have been replaced by the Journey to Excellence program. The Journey to Excellence Service Project initiative is part of this program.

“Scouting’s Journey to Excellence” is the BSA’s new council performance recognition program designed to encourage and reward success and measure the performance of our units, districts, and councils. It is replacing the Centennial Quality Awards Program as a means of encouraging excellence in providing a quality program at all levels of the BSA.

All Scouting units are encouraged to carryout meaningful service projects as part of this initiative. I think that every BSA unit should be carrying out multiple service projects over the course of a year.

Once your unit completes a service project, you can go to the Journey to Excellence Service Project website and report your hours. This site will keep track of all of the service projects your unit has done and provides your local council a record of your service projects.

The Unit Tips for Success page provides some excellent advice for planning and carrying out service projects. There are lots of service project ideas available there and practical considerations for carrying them out. It also has a great section at the bottom called Ideas for Everyday Kindness and Good Turns. These are not really service projects, but ways to “Do a Good Turn Daily.”

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

BSA provides den meeting plans for Cub Scout den leaders on the Scouting.org website. Today, I am going to go through the seventh Webelos plan.

This plan completes many of the requirements for the Citizen Activity Badge. The other requirements for this badge were covered in BSA Webelos Meeting Plan 5 and BSA Webelos Meeting Plan 6.  For additional ideas, check out these alternate methods of covering Citizen:

• Webelos Citizen Activity Badge Den Meeting Plan Part 1
• Webelos Citizen Activity Badge Den Meeting Plan Part 2

You can also find ideas related to this badge on my Webelos Citizen Activity Badge page.

If you don’t already have the BSA den meeting plans, download BSA Webelos Den Meeting Plan 7 to follow along with this article.

If you are using the BSA plans, remember that these plans are meant to be done in order, so do the previous plans first.

BSA Webelos Den Meeting Plan 7 – Citizen

Preparation and Before the Meeting

The prep work for this meeting involves gathering your materials beforehand. Having everything well organized before the start of the meeting will ensure that the meeting runs quickly, without a lot of  ”dead time” between activities.

Gathering

The Constitution Word Search Puzzle makes a nice gathering activity for this meeting if you haven’t used it already. My Webelos Badge Scramble Puzzle or Webelos Activity Badges Matching Quiz are also good alternatives.

Opening

Remember to keep letting your Webelos rotate leading a flag ceremony so each Webelos gets to do one for Webelos requirement 6. See Simple Indoor Flag Ceremony if you are indoors or Raising and Lowering the US Flag if you have access to a flag pole.

Business

“Keep announcements short and sweet, short and sweet, short and sweet. Keep announcements short and sweet, cause they’re boring”. (Part of the Announcements song.  Sing it to the tune of London Bridge. I’ll have to post more of the song soon.)

Activities

You are working on requirements 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9. The suggestion to make this into a game is a good one. You can do it Jeopardy style, or for a different approach, check out my Citizenship Football Game.

Closing

With Webelos, I like to keep going over the Scout Law with them. You can incorporate that into your closing ceremony.

After the Meeting

Another meeting complete! Look ahead to the next meeting and recruit whatever help you need now.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting