Character Connections

Learn how to use these power-packed ideals to help your boys make responsible, ethical choices now and throughout their lives.

Introduce themselves and say what their position is

Go over Crossword answers

What did you hope to gain from this class

Why have Charcter Traits/Core Values?:

To help achieve the purpose of Cub Scouting which is:

  1. Character Development
  2. Spiritual Growth
  3. Good Citizenship
  4. Sportmanship & Fitness
  5. Family Understanding
  6. Respectful Relations
  7. Personal Achievement
  8. Friendly Service
  9. Fun & Adventure
  10. Prepare for Boy Scouts

A successful Cub Scout program will prepare each boy to be a successful boy scout and help him prepare to live a righteous, full, and meaningful life.

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
- Frederick Douglass

“If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

We are here to build men

Boy Scout Law / Character Traits
Trustworthy / Honesty / Telling the truth and being worthy of trust.
Loyal / Citizenship / Contributing service and showing responsibility to local, state, and national communities.
Helpful / Cooperation / Being helpful and working together with others toward a common goal.
Friendly / Perseverance / Sticking with something and not giving up, even if it is difficult.
Courteous / Respect / Showing regard for the worth of something or someone.
Kind / Compassion / Being kind and considerate, and showing concern for the well-being of others
Obedient / Responsibility / Fulfilling our duty to God, country, other people, and ourselves.
Cheerful / Positive Attitude / Being cheerful and setting our minds to look for and find the best of situations.
Thrifty / Resourcefulness / Using human and other resources to their fullest.
Brave / Courage / Being brave and doing what is right regardless of our fears, the difficulties, or the consequences.
Clean / Health & Fitness / Being personally committed to keeping our mind and bodies clean and fit.
Reverent / Faith / Having inner strength and confidence based on our trust in God.

Where should we teach them:

Everywhere – on hikes, on field trips, in den meetings, chance meetings, pack meeting

Ways to teach:

Plan it – Do it – Review it

Know – Head

Character development includes developing moral knowledge and moral reasoning. Children must understand what honesty means, and they must understand and interpret what a situation calls for and decide how to apply the principles of honesty.

  • Lecture - Cubmaster Minute
  • Discussion – asking questions, boys sharing what they have learned, role play
  • Example – YOU!
  • We don’t hit- Here’s your sign

Commit – Hand in cub scout sign

Character development also includes attention to moral motivation. Children must be committed to doing what they feel is right. They must be able to take the perspective of others, consider how others feel, and develop an active moral conscience.

  • You are guiding them to discover the reason to have the character trait for themselves. When they say it themselves they are committed to it. It is their idea, not your idea, they own it.
  • Spencer discovering the BSA/Character trait table

Practice– Legs

Character development also includes attention to the development of moral habits through guided practice. Children need opportunities to practice what is good, to do what is right but difficult, and to experience the core values as they live in the world.

  • Positive Reinforcement – Den Ten, Den Doodle, reflection
  • Activities (tactile, doing, vision) - Role-Play, Games, service projects, songs, Den displays in Pack Meeting, hikes, anything and everything
  • Problem Solving (allow them to figure out a solutions with lots of direction)
  • Cooperative Grouping -

Core Values should be promoted through all phases of life and from different perspectives:

  • God
  • World/Country/Community
  • Family
  • Self

It’s easy to have “church behavior” around church people, but what about when there are no church people around?

Ways to Remember:

  • Poster
  • Coin
  • Song

Resources

  • Pow Wow Handouts on web
  • Cub Scout Character Development Flier (BSA No.13-323A) – google it
  • Roundtable
  • Baloo’s Bugle
  • Old Program Helps
  • Den Meeting Resource Guide
  • Youth Handbooks
  • Chapter 4 in Leader book

Role Play/Examples

  • What is an activity they have recently done in their den meeting?
  • Remember to be prepared for the discussion phase before meeting with the boys because you will only have their attention for about 1 min, maybe only 30sec.
  • Hiking/litter example
  • Plan it – Do it – Review it
  • Ethics in Action

From Cub Scout Leader Book Section 4

Make a Character Connection With Any Activity

Leaders can emphasize more values and make more character connections as boys participate in the many activitiesthey enjoy in Scouting. You can connect values while goingon a hike, cooking an outdoor meal, or working on a projectvery easily, using this three-step method:

1. Plan it.

2. Do it.

3. Review it.

1. Plan it. Before the activity, gather the group and havea short discussion. Planning the Character Connectiononly takes a couple of minutes. Highlight one or twovalues that you would like the youth to learn by doingthis activity.

• Will they need to show respect?

• Will they need to be honest?

• Will they need to cooperate?

• Will they need a positive attitude?

Identify the ways that youth might encounter these values in the activity.

• Will there be challenges or difficulties in the experience?

• Will there be a need to cooperate?

• Will there be temptations?

• Will they need to follow rules?

Explain leader expectations about learning the values inthe activity.

• Why will these values be important on this activity?

• How can they use these values in this experience?

• What rules and consequences apply to these values in the experience?

2. Do it. As you conduct the activity, highlight both positiveand negative experiences that are teachable moments duringthe activity. Some teachable moments must be doneas they happen because the impact is lost if discussed at a later time. Others can be emphasized effectively duringthe review at the end of the activity. For these, makemental or written notes from the experience that could bediscussed after the activity.

3. Review it. After the activity, gather group together andhave a discussion involving all members. Celebrate positiveexamples of where the values were demonstrated inthe activity and highlight areas for improvement.

• What part of the value does the group need to practice?

• What did the group learn about using the value?

• Discuss the experience and determine ways the value could be used at home, at school, etc.

Ethics in Action

1.Reserve judgment—let them give their ideas

2. Open ended questions—require scouts to think and give personal ideas.

3. Feeling questions—what did they felt about the experience—thatmakes it personal to the scouts.

4. Judgment questions— about their feelings

5. Ask guiding questions and stay on track

6. Closing thoughts—Bring discussion to an end

Lost in Space Game-- -about differences and how we deal with them. The group is blindfolded and 1 scout is the space station, who remains off from the group insilence. The blindfolded scouts must “beep” when they run into another scout. They continue to look for the space station where when they find it, they get totake off their blind folds. The scouts talk about their “blind” experiences andtheir fears.

Questions for the Leader

Did you have a good time?

Reserve judgment, no personal opinions

Ask non judgmental/open ended questions—

1. What do you think the purpose of the game is?

No-- yes or no questions

Ask questions that ask for personal thoughts.

2. How did you feel?

**Feeling questions!!

3. What was the best part of the activity?

4. How do you think blind people feel?

**Judgement Questions -

**Guiding Questions—you need to know where you are going – keep them on course!

5. What do you think you learned playing the game?

**Closing Questions!!

Pulling together thoughts and drawing some conclusions.

Tigers values six (2006 Printing)

Responsibility (Page 38)

Citizenship (Page 49)

Health and Fitness (Page 58)

Respect (Page 65)

Faith (Page 73)

Honesty (Page 30)

Wolfs seven values

Positive Attitude (Page 70 )

Respect (Page 74 )

Responsibility (Page 82 )

Cooperation (Page 88 )

Faith (Page 94)

Courage (Page 100)

Honesty (Page18)

Bears seven values

Resourcefulness (Page 156)

Citizenship (Page 34)

Honesty (Page 140)

Respect (Page 72)

Faith (Page 26)

Compassion (Page 96)

Courage (Page 174)

Webelos nine values

Faith (Page 50-51)

Honesty (Page 42+46)

Perseverance (Page 124)

Citizenship (Page 144)

Health and Fitness (Page 246)

Responsibility (Page 300)

Respect (Page 318)

Courage (Page 366)

Positive Attitude (Page 392)

Cub Den Meetings Agenda

Date: Meeting Place: Time:

Achievements / Before the Meeting Starts: / Materials Needed
Character Traits Poster
Timer (5 min warning) / Core Value
Gathering Activity
Core Value Cross-Word / Pencils,
Cross-Word / Honesty
Compassion
Cooperation
Positive Attitude
Perseverence
Prayer
Review Bobcat/Flag Ceremony
Den Doodle
Cub shirt, pencil, paper / Doodle Totem,
12 colors of beads / Responsibility
Resourcefulness
Announcements
Activity
What did you hope to gain from this class.
BSA Prep
Why Character
How to teach / Handouts / Respect
Citizenship (those who participate)
Game/Craft / Health & Fitness
Courage
Closing Prayer
Reminders/Notes Home