PROGRAM FEATURES FOR TROOPS, TEAMS, AND CREWS A Guide to Program Planning Volume 3 PROGRAM FEATURES FOR TROOPS, TEAMS, AND CREWS A Guide to Program Planning Volume 3 Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 1 Camping 17 Archery 33 Caving 2 Climbing and Rappelling 18 Backpacking 34 Cooking 3 Communication 19 Citizenship 35 COPE 4 Cycling 20 Engineering 36 Duty to God 5 First Aid 21 Fishing 37 Emergency Preparedness 6 Games 22 Fitness and Nutrition 38 Ethics 7 Geocaching 23 Living History 39 Financial Management 8 Hiking 24 Mathematics 40 Multimedia 9 Outdoor Ethics 25 Mentoring 41 Nature and Environment 10 Paddle Sports 26 Music 42 Project Planning 11 Pioneering 27 Orienteering 43 Shotgun Shooting 12 Rifle Shooting 28 Scuba Diving 44 Skateboarding 13 Safety 29 Soccer 45 Sustainability 14 Science 30 Special Needs Awareness 46 Swimming 15 Snowboarding and Skiing 31 Wilderness Survival 47 Technology 16 Spectator Sports 32 Wildlife Management 48 Winter Camping Key = Outdoor program features = Sports program features = Health and safety program features = Citizenship and personal development program features = STEM program features = Arts and hobbies program features 33112 ISBN 978-0-8395-3112-8 ©2016 Boy Scouts of America 2016 Printing CONTENTS Introduction-1 Introduction 33-1 Caving 34-1 Cooking 35-1 COPE 36-1 Duty to God 37-1 Emergency Preparedness 38-1 Ethics 39-1 Financial Management 40-1 Multimedia 41-1 Nature and Environment 42-1 Project Planning 43-1 Shotgun Shooting 44-1 Skateboarding 45-1 Sustainability 46-1 Swimming 47-1 Technology 48-1 Winter Camping Appendix-1 Appendix Appendix-3 Blank meeting plan Appendix-4 Blank main event plan Appendix-5 Blank program planning chart Appendix-6 Budget Worksheet Appendix-7 Tour and Activity Plan Appendix-9 Acknowledgments Volume 3 iii iv Volume 3 INTRODUCING THE NEW PROGRAM FEATURES NOW FOR TROOPS, TEAMS, AND CREWS As the Boy Scouts of America’s mission statement says, Scouting exists “to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.” There is nothing in the mission statement about meetings, outings, and other activities. However, it would be impossible to achieve our mission without dynamic, relevant programming, which also requires effective program planning. The goal of Program Features for Troops, Teams, and Crews is to make that planning a little easier for you, the unit leader. These three volumes of Program Features bring • Key district and council dates together 48 features in three volumes for use by Boy • Data collected from the troop resource survey or Scout troops, Varsity Scout teams, and Venturing activity interest survey crews. That’s four full years of suggested program- ming. While your unit may not use the material here • Last year’s annual plan, if you have one exactly as presented, it offers a launching point for • Unit priorities and goals you and your youth members to plan exciting pro- grams that will keep members coming back, facili- • Advancement records for each member tate advancement and personal growth, and help • A general outline of next year’s program you achieve Scouting’s mission. Step 2—Discuss the planning process with your top Annual Program Planning youth leader, explaining the importance of this pro- In Scouting, planning is a two-phase process. cess and his or her role in it. Discuss options for pro- grams and activities and the unit’s goals. Share a • Long-term planning results in an annual calendar draft outline for next year’s program, and ask for the and a set of unit goals for the year. youth leader’s input and thoughts. Be flexible at this • Short-term planning yields detailed plans for one point. You should both review the program planning month’s meetings and outings—and sometimes a conference guide, available online at www.scouting. little more. org/BoyScouts/ProgramPlanning.aspx for troops and www.scouting.org/Venturing/ProgramPlanning. The Annual Planning Conference aspx for crews, to be on the same page with the Long-term planning happens at the annual planning agenda and to work ahead. conference, typically held in late spring or early sum- mer, as soon as possible after school, community, Setting Goals and council calendars have been published. A What sorts of unit goals should the draft plan month or two before the planning conference, the include? Here are some possibilities. committee chair, unit leader, and senior patrol leader, • Attend summer camp. team captain, or crew president should perform the • Have an outdoor adventure at least once a month. following steps. • Strengthen relations with the chartered organiza- Step 1—Gather the necessary information. tion by planning a service project to benefit the • Key school dates, like holidays, homecoming, organization and by increasing the unit’s presence, and exams such as on Scout Sunday or Scout Sabbath. • Community event dates, including those the • Earn the National Camping Award and a gold unit might want to participate in and dates you Journey to Excellence rating. should avoid • Conduct a fundraiser to help pay for unit expenses • The chartered organization’s key dates, again such as new tents and other camping gear. considering opportunities to collaborate as well as • (For troops) Have each patrol earn the National potential scheduling conflicts Honor Patrol Award at least once. • Personal dates, such as family vacations, that may affect the unit’s activities Volume 3 Introduction Introduction—1 Step 3—Have the top youth leader share the draft Holding the Annual plan with other youth leaders, who then share it Planning Conference with other members to get their input and ideas. The annual planning conference can be held at any Besides reviewing the draft plan, members could regular meeting place in three or four hours on a evaluate the current year’s plan. A useful tool is Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon. However, the “start, stop, continue” method, which is based if you have access to a cabin or retreat center, you on three simple questions: might consider turning the conference into an over- night retreat to allow time for fellowship and team • What should we start doing that we are not building. If the conference follows closely after unit currently doing? elections, some units also combine the planning • What should we stop doing that is not working? conference with the Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops (ILST) or introduction to Leadership Skills • What should we continue doing that is working for Crews (ILSC), the first step in the youth leader- well and helping us succeed? ship training continuum. It’s useful for members to have copies of the Most adults should not play active roles in the plan- current year’s calendar available for review, as well ning conference. Instead, they should give their as the draft plan. They shouldn’t limit themselves to input ahead of time to the unit leader for program. those materials, however. They might, for example, If extra adults attend, keep them busy by putting see a need to focus more (or less) on advancement them in charge of cooking and cleanup, and allow during meetings or to build more opportunities into the youth leaders to focus on the task at hand. the calendar for patrol outings or social events— priorities that may not have been considered. Besides the materials described above, you might prepare poster-size calendars for each month that Step 4—Invite the following people to attend the will be planned. (Office supply stores offer a variety conference to maximize the efficiency of planning: of products that will work, including wall planners with erasable surfaces.) Pencil in the dates from the • The unit’s youth leaders draft plan, as well as other important district, council, • Unit committee members and other community, school, and chartered organization dates. adult leaders Another useful tool is the program planning • The chartered organization representative chart, a worksheet for recording by month the • The unit commissioner (optional) program features, activities, courts of honor, service projects, leader meetings, and more. • Anyone else who might be helpful, such This worksheet can help ensure, for example, as parents that leader meetings are scheduled every month and that courts of honor and service projects are Keep in mind that these people will play very evenly spaced throughout the year. different roles at the conference: • Active roles—elected youth leaders (and all The outcome of the conference should be an members in Venturing) annual calendar, a list of monthly program features (e.g., hiking, engineering, wilderness survival), and • Supportive roles—unit leader, assistant unit a set of unit goals. The amount of detail in the plan leaders, and any other adults will vary. For some months, the group will decide both where it wants to go and what it wants to do. To keep the planning conference as purposeful For other months, the group may choose either the and efficient as possible, invite only those adults destination or the outing’s focus. who actively and regularly engage in unit activities and decision making. Ideally, the calendar should include a mix of familiar and unfamiliar activities and destinations. A few traditional outings each year are fun; more than a few can make the program feel repetitive. Introduction—2 Introduction Volume 3 Even traditional outings can benefit from occasional Step 5—Add other important dates such as: tweaks, such as doing a favorite activity at a new location. • Unit meetings and leadership meetings While discussing ideas at the conference, use • Boards of review these ground rules. • Courts of honor • It is important to respect one another’s views. • Elections Listen and don’t interrupt.