Webelos SCHOLAR ACTIVITY BADGE

One of the Mental Skills group of Activities Badges. The Scholar Activity Badge experience can help to improve the Webelos’ relationship with his school. It will help the Scout understand why an education is important. When presented with interest and enthusiasm from the leader, this badge will not seem like drudged up school work! Help the boys to learn that there is more to school than just homework.

SCHOLAR REQUIREMENTS
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Last Update: 2/6/04

OBJECTIVES To familiarize Webelos with "roots" of a school system. To convince Webelos that schooling is essential. To introduce Webelos to careers in education. To teach Webelos the benefits of a good education.

RELATED BOY SCOUT MERIT BADGES Citizenship in the Community, Personal Management, Public Speaking, Reading, Scholarship.

 

RESOURCES Program Helps, . Webelos Den Activities, Boys' Life. Scouting. Local Board of Education. Local historical society. Public library. Classroom teachers and principals.

WHERE TO GO AND WHAT TO DO

• Plan a trip to the library to have the librarian demonstrate the use of the microfilm or microfiche viewer. Be sure to make a reservation. Look for the news of the day each boy was born.
• Invite the parents of Webelos to come to a den meeting dressed in the type of clothes they wore to school. Have them bring along such things as class pictures, yearbooks, report cards, etc., and allow each ample time to share his/her school days with the den.
• Have a panel of parents with various jobs explain their schooling and training for these jobs.
• Invite an educator to talk with the den about some of the Scholar requirements.
• Do a service project for your school.
• Contact the parent-teacher organization of your school and offer to do a flag ceremony at their next meeting. Perhaps the Webelos could report to the organization about their work on the Scholar Activities Badge.
• Briefly visit a school board meeting. Let them know you are coming. They may be interest ed to know the boys are working on the Scholar Activities Badge.
• As a den, talk about good study habits.
• Have someone from the public library talk about the local literacy project.

TRC

SCHOLAR A Webelos age boy has a very high quotient of curiosity and a thirst for knowledge.  There is at least one boy in your den who can ask seven straight questions about a subject that interests him.  The problem is that for many boys, math, English, history, and geography are not very high on their current list of interests.

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Through the Scholar Activity badge, we hope to encourage boys to do well in their school work, to understand why schools are necessary, what they offer, and to learn how schools are run in this country.  If a boy is at least a fair student, he should have no trouble earning this badge.  The requirements are easy. Albert Einstein said, "The most important method of education always has consisted of that in which the pupil was urged to actual performance."  Make this happen in your Webelos Den, so that the boys are doing something as often as possible and under your guidance are learning the skills which will help them get more out of life and become better citizens.

ACTIVITIES

• Ask a librarian to explain the Dewy Decimal System, visit the public library, have the boys complete applications for a library card if they do not already have one.
• Invite a member of the school board or a professional educator (teacher or principal) to talk to the boys on the value of an education and what school has to offer a boy.
• Have the boys try to find out some of the these things:  What jobs are there at school for the boys to do?  What extra-curricular activities are available?  What community activities is the school used for?  Who are the people on the office staff, cafeteria staff, and custodial staff?  What are their responsibilities?  What are some of the problems of the school, and how can you help?
• Let the boys talk about what is going on in school.  Guide the discussion in such a way that they will see the value of an education.
• Discuss possible den service projects for the school.
• Have the boys list what they consider the best and worst things in their school.  Arrange to give these lists to the principal or a school board member.  Invite them to a den meeting to talk with the boys.  Important to the participants in such a meeting is a feeling of trust and comradery.  Allow the meeting to have an informal setting.  After respectfully introducing the guest, let it become an informal rap session.  A few cookies and punch served by the denner has worked wonders in the past.  Now is the opportunity for the leader to blend into the woodwork and enjoy observing.  Do not become concerned with a lack of participation on the boys' part.  If the guest is someone concerned with the boys of this age group, he or she will draw them in.
• A little more informal would be a meeting at school between the boy and a teacher.  Have the boy list questions and set up approximately 10 minutes to meet.  Have the boy discuss his meeting at a den meeting.

BB Heart of America Council

 

MORE DEN ACTIVITIES

• Learn about the history of education, how schools developed in America.
• Raise the flag the “correct way” at school for one month.
• Tour the education service center.
• Visit a college campus.
• Visit a junior high or high school.
• Invite someone to talk about careers in education.
• Locate some old school books and compare to current books being used.
• Tour the city library.
• Find out how the school system was established in your district.
• Invite someone who attended school when it was a “one room building and all ages were
• together” to talk to the boys about their experiences.
• Invite someone who attended school overseas to talk to the boys.
• Help the school library put books away and clean the library.
• If you meet in a school or church, help the custodian by setting up and taking down for your pack meeting.

 

An explanation, Life is a road which a must follow. We can follow it in darkness like the blindfold or we can grasp all the education me can aid set goals for ourselves. Being a scholar is to have KNOWLEDGE. Tendor Area Council Pow Wow

Webelos Activities: SCHOLAR BOOKMARK Make a bookmark by drawing an enlarged replica of the Scholar activity badge and laminating with clear contact paper.

 

INTERESTS Space, aliens, air flight Dinosaurs, ancient civilizations Sports Animals, bugs, nature Volcanoes, earthquakes Computers, the Internet Building buildings, roads Medicine, nursing

 

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REBUS Some lessons in early American schools were actually fun. One of the most popular classroom games was rebus: a representation of words using symbols, pictures, letters, and numbers whose names resemble the intended words. Each rebus is actually a riddle or puzzle to be solved. For example, in the first rebus puzzle the letter A is added to an illustration of a spire to make the word ASPIRE. The number 2 and the letter B are joined to read TO BE. The letter Y is pluralized to make the word WISE. This rebus would then read ASPIRE TO BE WISE. The other rebuses are decoded in a similar way.

Rebus puzzles were included in many classroom books, not as a game of pleasant amusement but primarily as a lesson used by the teacher to "strengthen the brain" and to teach "independent thinking, logic, and reason". Today the rebus is used to help teach illiterate people to read and write. There are even TV game shows and magazine contests that use the rebus puzzle. With a little thought, you can make up your own rebus puzzle using cutouts from old magazines and newspapers.

Another form of rebus uses the names of letters and numbers only. A familiar American rebus is IOU, which stands for I OWE YOU. Combinations of letters can also be used to make words. The word BUSY can be made from the two letters B+Z, or the word CITY can be written C+T.

 
 
 

REBUS DICTIONARY

A	a hay hey	N+E	any
B	bee be	N + M + E	enemy
B+4	before	N + D + N	Indian
B + Z	busy	N + D	indeed
B+U+T	beauty	N+6	insects
C	see sea	o	oh owe  know
C + L	seal	P + K + N	peeking
C + N	seeing	Q	you
C + T	city	Q + T	cutie
D	the	R	are
D + R	deer	S	is yes  has
D + Z	dizzy	T	tea
E	he me	T + S	tears
E + R	here	T+P	tepee
E+Z	easy	Y + N to	wine
F	if	Y + S	wise
G	gee	1	run
G+P+C	gypsy	2	two
L + F + N	elephant	Y + N	wine
L + T	healthy	Y + S	wise
U	you	U + R	your
X	eggs
L + O	hello	1	run
L + F + 8 + R	elevator	2	two to
M	am ham	3	tree
N	hen  an  in  and	4	for
N + Q	thank you	6	sex
N + M + L	animal	8	ate hate
X + L + N	excellent	X + M + N	examine
X + L	excel	Y	why

NOTE: See William Steig's book, CDB.
--from Theodore Roosevelt Council 1987 Pow Wow book

For too many Webelos age boys, school is a necessary evil. There are many more things they would rather be doing.
To make this badge more enjoyable, find out what interests the boys, and go on a field trip that will tie together education with their interests and with having fun. Check with one of the universities, or community colleges. Set up a tour with them of their school. (Check with the admissions office - they may already have tours, and might customize it for your scouts.) Let them know what the boys interests are, and that you would like to find out what opportunities there are in those areas. Some suggestions are:

• Astronomy, is there a planetarium you can visit,
• Aeronautics, projects going on with any of the shuttle flights or other space exploration, any related engineering fields, a flight school near by, or ground school available - do they have a simulator the scouts can try. Contact the pilots association.
• Archeology, is there an archeological dig you can visit?
• Mechanical engineering, manufacturing, solar car research. Is there a mechanic school you can visit.
• Sports medicine/research, body conditioning, what are they doing to train people to promote fitness for life
• Biology department, what specialties do they have - what research are they doing
• Geology department, do they have equipment to monitor earthquake activity
• Ask for a tour of the computer facilities, what type of work is done on their computer. Can you have a visitor's access to the Internet and the Web? Is there someone that could help the scouts design a web page of their own?
• Architecture and Engineering, can you visit an architect's office, or an civil engineering office.
• Does you town have a department that reviews building plans? Who decides where a new road should be built, or when it should be repaired. What is involved in these decisions?
• Medical or nursing school in your area? Hospital or emergency room? How about an animal hospital.
• As the Scouts visit with these areas, ask what type of education is necessary to do what these people do. Is there any continuing education that they do? Can these people suggest anything that the scouts can do or read to learn more about this topic?
GCC

 

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BRAIN TEASERS

1. TWO CARS start from Denver to drive to Colorado Springs, a distance of 80 miles. They are the same make of car, and both are being driven at the same speed. One of the cars makes the trip in 80 minutes while it takes the other car one hour and twenty minutes. Can you explain the reason?
2. WINDOWS. I walked up the street to the top of a hill and counted 50 windows on my right. I turned around and walked back and counted 50 windows on my left. How many windows did I count?
3. BABY DUCK. Papa duck, mama duck, and baby duck went for a swim. Baby duck said, “Aren’t we four having a lot of fun?” Why did baby duck say four instead of three?
4. PENNIES. Take the number of pennies in a dollar. Multiply by the number of thirds in a circle. Divide by the number of inches in a foot of string. Subtract the number of nickels in a quarter.
5. TOES. Take the number of toes on both feet. Multiply by the number of pints in a quart. Add the number of months in half a year. Subtract the number of thumbs on two hands. Divide by a dozen oranges.
6. THE DOG. How far can a dog walk into the woods?
7. CAB DRIVER Suppose you are a cab driver. A lady with two suitcases gets in the cab and asks to be driven to the railway station in a hurry. On the way there is an accident which results in a traffic jam. The lady gets inpatient, jumps out of the cab, and runs to the depot. She had forgotten the suitcase.. She missed the train and now she starts looking for the cab driver. She does not know his name. What was the cab driver's name?

ANSWERS
 

Eighty minutes and one hour, twenty minutes are the same.

Fifty. The windows on my right going up were the same as on my left coming back.

Baby duck was too young to count.

20

2

Only halfway, once he is halfway in, he starts coming out again.

His name is the same as yours, for “You are the cab driver.”

• With which hand does the Statue of Liberty hold her torch? (right)
• Which is larger, a dime or a penny? (penny)
• How many keys are there on a piano? (88)
• How many stars in the big dipper? (7)
• How many legs does a spider have? (8)
• Whose picture is printed on a one dollar bill?  (George Washington)
• If you have only one match and enter a room in which there is a kerosene lamp, an oil heater and a wood burning stove, which do you light first?  (The match)

Two cars start from Denver to drive to Colorado Springs, a distance of 80 miles.  They are both the same make of car, and both are being driven at the same speed.  One of the cars makes the trip in 80 minutes while it takes the other car an hour and 20 minutes.  Can you explain the reason?  (Answer 80 minutes and one hour and 20 minutes are the same.

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TEST YOUR SENSES Gather cubs together. Give each a paper cup. Now explain the test. They are to find the following: something green, something brown, something rough, something smooth, something living , something dead and something man-made. They will be blindfolded and once the word ‘go’ is said they not speak at all until someone tells them to remove their blindfolds. Make sure they heard you because you will not tell them again. Part of the test is to learn to listen when instructions are given to us. When they have gathered all seven items they are to sit down wherever they are until someone comes and leads them to the place where they can take off their blindfold. This game can be played in a yard or at the park. Renumber, YOU MUST Not TALK TO ANY ONE but use your mind to get around and find what you need to find.

FIND SOMETHING GREEN, SOMETHING BROWN, SOMETHING ROUGH, SOMETHING SMOOTH, SOMETHING LIVING, SOMETHING DEAD, SOMETHING  MANMADE. Now blindfold yourself and stand until I say ‘Go’. ‘GO’.

As the cubs grope for the items watch them carefully so that no danger comes to them.. As soon as someone has finished all seven, walk over and ask him to remove his blindfold but NOT TO SPEAK TO ANYONE. After all are finished, ask them to talk about their experience. How it felt being blindfold. Looking for something green when you could not see the colors.
 

Letter to the Teacher:

Dear Mr. or Mrs. _______________________

_____________________ is working at this time on his Scholar Activity Badge in Webelos, Cub Scout Pack ___________.

It is required that he review the marked requirements with his teacher and have him/her sign if he is presently meeting the requirements. If you feel he is not, could you please help me by discussing this with him and setting goals with him, so that he may be able to earn this activity badge.

I do appreciate the extra time this takes and feel ___________________ will benefit from it. If you have any questions please call me ________________.

Thank you kindly,
Faye Winkelkotter Webelos Den Leader, GCC
 

INKWELL AND QUILL PEN The inkwell is made from a baby food jar. Cover the top with a circle of cardboard with a hole poked through the center for the pen point. Cover the jar with Baker's Clay and let dry. Decorate inkwell and spray with acrylic to seal.
Turkey feathers make nice quill pens. Trim off the rounded tip of the feather. Split through the middle of the shaft for about half an inch, using an X-acto knife. Cut away one side of rile split part. Sharpen the remaining part of the tip into a point. Dip into ink, shake off excess carefully, and write. Do not press down too hard or point will get dull quickly or could break. Point can be sharpened again with the X-acto knife.

BAKER'S CLAY

1 cup salt, 1 1/2 cups warm water, 4 cups flour

Stir salt into the warm water to dissolve.
Cool mixture,  add flour and knead for 10 minutes.
To color the dough, add food coloring or 1/2 cup dry tempera paint to salt and water.
Bake modeled figures at 300° for one hour.

WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR GRADES Learn to listen.  Look at the speaker and concentrate on his words.  Participate in discussions.  Take notes.
Develop good study habits.  Have a study place at home away from distractions.  Have supplies handy.
Improve your vocabulary.  Look up words that you don't know.  Note spelling, pronunciation, and meaning.  Write them down.
Sharpen your writing skills.  Organize your thoughts.  Use lists and outlines.  Keep sentences short.  Avoid beginning sentences with "the" or "I."'  Write neatly.  Double check spelling and punctuation.
Learn how to take tests.  Study for a test well in advance, don't "cram."  Read all the directions before you begin the test.  Remain calm.  Pace yourself.  Answer the questions you know for sure first.  Then go back and fill in the other answers as best you can.  Work steadily.  Double-check your work for careless errors.
Develop a positive attitude.  You are what you think you are.  If you think you can, you can.

Greater Alabama Council, BB

THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY Materials needed:
lots of old magazines glue pencils
construction paper scissors markers
Have the boys discuss what they think school will be like 25 years from now. Will the students all be at computers? Will they interact with their teachers from a TV hook up at home? Will they travel to Mars for mathematics and Saturn for science? Will someone have invented a “smart pill” for each subject?
In the future, will we do away with some of the subjects that are taught now? Which ones? Can they imagine any new subjects that might be taught instead? Which ones?
After the discussion, divide the boys into two or three project groups to make posters of their view of education in the future.