Requirements

"Citizenship in the Community"

1. Discuss with your counselor what citizenship in the community means and what
it takes to be a good citizen in your community. Discuss the rights, duties,
and obligations of citizenship, and explain how you can demonstrate good
citizenship in your community, Scouting unit, place of worship, or school.
2. Do the following:
a. On a map of your community, locate and point out the following:
1. Chief government buildings such as your city hall, county
courthouse, and public works/services facility
2. Fire station, police station, and hospital nearest your home
3. Historical or other interesting points
b. Chart the organization of your local or state government. Show the top
ofces and tell whether they are elected or appointed.
3. Do the following:
a. Attend a meeting of your city, town, or county council or school board;
OR attend a municipal, county, or state court session.
b. Choose one of the issues discussed at the meeting where a diference of
opinions was expressed, and explain to your counselor why you
agree with one opinion more than you do another one.
4. Choose an issue that is important to the citizens of your community; then do
the following:
a. Find out which branch of local government is responsible for this issue.
b. With your counselors and a parents approval, interview one person from
the branch of government you identifed in requirement 4a. Ask what
is being done about this issue and how young people can help.
c. Share what you have learned with your counselor.
5. With the approval of your counselor and a parent, watch a movie that shows
how the actions of one individual or group of individuals can have a
positive efect on a community. Discuss with your counselor what you
learned from the movie about what it means to be a valuable and
concerned member of the community.
6. List some of the services (such as the library, recreation center, public
transportation, and public safety) your community provides that are funded
by taxpayers. Tell your counselor why these services are important to your
community.
7. Do the following:
a. Choose a charitable organization outside of Scouting that interests you
and brings people in your community together to work for the good of
your community.
b. Using a variety of resources (including newspapers, fiers and other
literature, the Internet, volunteers, and employees of the
organization), fnd out more about this organization.
c. With your counselors and your parents approval, contact the
organization and fnd out what young people can do to help. While
working on this merit badge, volunteer at least eight hours of your
time for the organization. After your volunteer experience is over,
discuss what you have learned with your counselor.
8. Develop a public presentation (such as a video, slide show, speech, digital
presentation, or photo exhibit) about important and unique aspects of your
community. Include information about the history, cultures, and ethnic
groups of your community; its best features and popular places where
people gather; and the challenges it faces. Stage your presentation in front
of your merit badge counselor or a group, such as your patrol or a class at
school.
Requirements
"Citizenship in the Nation"
1. Explain what citizenship in the nation means and what it takes to be a good
citizen of this country. Discuss the rights, duties, and obligations of a
responsible and active American citizen.
2. Do TWO of the following:
a. Visit a place that is listed as a National Historic Landmark or that is on
the National Register of Historic Places. Tell your counselor what you
learned about the landmark or site and what you found interesting
about it.
b. Tour your state capitol building or the U.S. Capitol. Tell your counselor
what you learned about the capitol, its function, and the history.
c. Tour a federal facility. Explain to your counselor what you saw there and
what you learned about its function in the local community and how it
serves this nation.
d. Choose a national monument that interests you. Using books, brochures,
the Internet (with your parent's permission), and other resources, fnd
out more about the monument. Tell your counselor what you learned,
and explain why the monument is important to this country's citizens.
3. Watch the national evening news fve days in a row OR read the front page of a
major daily newspaper fve days in a row. Discuss the national issues you
learned about with your counselor. Choose one of the issues and explain
how it afects you and your family.
4. Discuss each of the following documents with your counselor. Tell your
counselor how you feel life in the United States might be diferent without
each one.
a. Declaration of Independence
b. Preamble to the Constitution
c. The Constitution
d. Bill of Rights
e. Amendments to the Constitution
5. List the six functions of government as noted in the preamble to the
Constitution. Discuss with your counselor how these functions afect your
family and local community.
6. With your counselor's approval, choose a speech of national historical
importance. Find out about the author, and tell your counselor about the
person who gave the speech. Explain the importance of the speech at the
time it was given, and tell how it applies to American citizens today.
Choose a sentence or two from the speech that has signifcant meaning to
you, and tell your counselor why.
7. Name the three branches of our federal government and explain to your
counselor their functions. Explain how citizens are involved in each branch.
For each branch of government, explain the importance of the system of
checks and balances.
8. Name your two senators and the member of Congress from your congressional
district. Write a letter about a national issue and send it to one of these
elected ofcials, sharing your view with him or her. Show your letter and
any response you receive to your counselor.
Requirements
"Personal Management"
1. Do the following:
a. Choose an item that your family might want to purchase that is
considered a major expense.
b. Write a plan that tells how your family would save money for the
purchase identifed in requirement 1a.
1. Discuss the plan with your merit badge counselor.
2. Discuss the plan with your family.
3. Discuss how other family needs must be considered in this plan.
c. Develop a written shopping strategy for the purchase identifed in
requirement 1a.
1. Determine the quality of the item or service (using consumer
publications or ratings systems).
2. Comparison shop for the item. Find out where you can buy the
item for the best price. (Provide prices from at least two
diferent price sources.) Call around; study ads. Look for a
sale or discount coupon. Consider alternatives. Can you buy
the item used? Should you wait for a sale?
2. Do the following:
a. Prepare a budget refecting your expected income (allowance, gifts,
wages), expenses, and savings. Track your actual income,
expenses, and savings for 13 consecutive weeks. (You may use the
forms provided in this pamphlet, devise your own, or use a
computer-generated version.) When complete, present the results to
your merit badge counselor.
b. Compare expected income with expected expenses.
1. If expenses exceed income, determine steps to balance your
budget.
2. If income exceeds expenses, state how you would use the excess
money (new goal, savings).
3. Discuss with your merit badge counselor FIVE of the following concepts:
a. The emotions you feel when you receive money.
b. Your understanding of how the amount of money you have with you
afects your spending habits.
c. Your thoughts when you buy something new and your thoughts about the
same item three months later. Explain the concept of buyers
remorse.
d. How hunger afects you when shopping for food items (snacks,
groceries).
e. Your experience of an item you have purchased after seeing or hearing
advertisements for it. Did the item work as well as advertised?
f. Your understanding of what happens when you put money into a savings
account.
g. Charitable giving. Explain its purpose and your thoughts about it.
h. What you can do to better manage your money.
4. Explain the following to your merit badge counselor:
a. The diferences between saving and investing, including reasons for
using one over the other.
b. The concepts of return on investment and risk.
c. The concepts of simple interest and compound interest and how these
afected the results of your investment exercise.
5. Select fve publicly traded stocks from the business section of the newspaper.
Explain to your merit badge counselor the importance of the following
information for each stock:
a. Current price
b. How much the price changed from the previous day
c. The 52-week high and the 52-week low prices
6. Pretend you have $1,000 to save, invest, and help prepare yourself for the
future. Explain to your merit badge counselor the advantages or
disadvantages of saving or investing in each of the following:
a. Common stocks
b. Mutual funds
c. Life insurance
d. A certifcate of deposit (CD)
e. A savings account or U.S. savings bond
7. Explain to your merit badge counselor the following:
a. What a loan is, what interest is, and how the annual percentage rate
(APR) measures the true cost of a loan.
b. The diferent ways to borrow money.
c. The diferences between a charge card, debit card, and credit card. What
are the costs and pitfalls of using these fnancial tools? Explain why
it is unwise to make only the minimum payment on your credit card.
d. Credit reports and how personal responsibility can afect your credit
report.
e. Ways to reduce or eliminate debt.
8. Demonstrate to your merit badge counselor your understanding of time
management by doing the following:
a. Write a to do list of tasks or activities, such as homework assignments,
chores, and personal projects, that must be done in the coming
week. List these in order of importance to you.
b. Make a seven-day calendar or schedule. Put in your set activities, such
as school classes, sports practices or games, jobs or chores, and/or
Scout or place of worship or club meetings, then plan when you will
do all the tasks from your to do list between your set activities.
c. Follow the one-week schedule you planned. Keep a daily diary or journal
during each of the seven days of this weeks activities, writing down
when you completed each of the tasks on your to do list compared
to when you scheduled them.
d. Review your to do list, one-week schedule, and diary/ journal to
understand when your schedule worked and when it did not work.
With your merit badge counselor, discuss and understand what you
learned from this requirement and what you might do diferently the
next time.
9. Prepare a written project plan demonstrating the steps below, including the
desired outcome. This is a project on paper, not a real-life project.
Examples could include planning a camping trip, developing a community
service project or a school or religious event, or creating an annual patrol
plan with additional activities not already included in the troop annual plan.
Discuss your completed project plan with your merit badge counselor.
a. Defne the project. What is your goal?
b. Develop a timeline for your project that shows the steps you must take
from beginning to completion.
c. Describe your project.
d. Develop a list of resources. Identify how these resources will help you
achieve your goal.
e. If necessary, develop a budget for your project.
10. Do the following:
a. Choose a career you might want to enter after high school or college
graduation.
b. Research the limitations of your anticipated career and discuss with your
merit badge counselor what you have learned about qualifcations
such as education, skills, and experience.
Requirements
"Personal Management"
1. Do the following:
a. Before completing requirements 2 through 9, have your health-care
practitioner give you a physical examination, using the Scout medical
examination form. Describe the examination. Tell what questions the
doctor asked about your health. Tell what health or medical
recommendations the doctor made and report what you have done
in response to the recommendations. Explain the following:
1. Why physical exams are important
2. Why preventive habits (such as exercising regularly) are important
in maintaining good health, and how the use of tobacco
products, alcohol, and other harmful substances can
negatively afect your personal ftness
3. Diseases that can be prevented and how
4. The seven warning signs of cancer
5. The youth risk factors that afect cardiovascular ftness in
adulthood
b. Have a dental examination. Get a statement saying that your teeth have
been checked and cared for. Tell how to care for your teeth.
2. Explain to your merit badge counselor verbally or in writing what personal
ftness means to you, including
a. Components of personal ftness.
b. Reasons for being ft in all components.
c. What it means to be mentally healthy.
d. What it means to be physically healthy and ft.
e. What it means to be socially healthy. Discuss your activity in the areas of
healthy social ftness.
f. What you can do to prevent social, emotional, or mental problems.
3. With your counselor, answer and discuss the following questions:
a. Are you free from all curable diseases? Are you living in such a way that
your risk of preventable diseases is minimized?
b. Are you immunized and vaccinated according to the advice of your
health-care provider?
c. Do you understand the meaning of a nutritious diet and know why it is
important for you? Does your diet include foods from all food
groups?
d. Are your body weight and composition what you would like them to be,
and do you know how to modify them safely through exercise, diet,
and lifestyle?
e. Do you carry out daily activities without noticeable efort? Do you have
extra energy for other activities?
f. Are you free from habits relating to poor nutrition and the use of alcohol,
tobacco, drugs, and other practices that could be harmful to your
health?
g. Do you participate in a regular exercise program or recreational
activities?
h. Do you sleep well at night and wake up feeling ready to start the new
day?
i. Are you actively involved in the religious organization of your choice, and
do you participate in its youth activities?
j. Do you spend quality time with your family and friends in social and
recreational activities?
k. Do you support family activities and eforts to maintain a good home life?
4. Explain the following about physical ftness:
a. The components of physical ftness
b. Your weakest and strongest component of physical ftness
c. The need to have a balance in all four components of physical ftness
d. How the components of personal ftness relate to the Scout Law and
Scout Oath
5. Explain the following about nutrition:
a. The importance of good nutrition
b. What good nutrition means to you
c. How good nutrition is related to the other components of personal ftness
d. The three components of a sound weight (fat) control program
6. Before doing requirements 7 and 8, complete the aerobic ftness, fexibility,
muscular strength, and body composition tests as described in the
Personal Fitness merit badge pamphlet. Record your results and identify
those areas where you feel you need to improve.
7. Outline a comprehensive 12-week physical ftness program using the results of
your ftness tests. Be sure your program incorporates the endurance,
intensity, and warm-up guidelines discussed in the Personal Fitness merit
badge pamphlet. Before beginning your exercises, have the program
approved by your counselor and parents.
8. Complete the physical ftness program you outlined in requirement 7. Keep a
log of your ftness program activity (how long you exercised; how far you
ran, swam, or biked; how many exercise repetitions you completed; your
exercise heart rate; etc.). Repeat the aerobic ftness, muscular strength,
and fexibility tests every two weeks and record your results. After the 12th
week, repeat the three tests, record your results, and show improvement in
each one. For the body composition test, compare and analyze your
preprogram and postprogram body composition measurements. Discuss
the meaning and beneft of your experience, and describe your long-term
plans regarding your personal ftness.
9. Find out about three career opportunities in personal ftness. Pick one and fnd
out the education, training, and experience required for this profession.
Discuss what you learned with your counselor, and explain why this
profession might interest you.
Requirements
"Family Life"
1. Prepare an outline on what a family is and discuss this with your merit badge
counselor. Tell why families are important to individuals and to society.
Discuss how the actions of one member can afect other members.
2. List several reasons why you are important to your family and discuss this with
your parents or guardians and with your merit badge counselor.
3. Prepare a list of your regular home duties or chores (at least fve) and do them
for 90 days. Keep a record of how often you do each of them.
4. With the approval of your parents or guardians and your merit badge counselor,
decide on and carry out a project that you would do around the home that
would beneft your family. Submit a report to your merit badge counselor
outlining how the project benefted your family.
5. Plan and carry out a project that involves the participation of your family. After
completing the project, discuss the following with your merit badge
counselor:
a. The objective or goal of the project
b. How individual members of your family participated
c. The results of the project
6. Do the following:
a. Discuss with your merit badge counselor how to plan and carry out a
family meeting.
b. After this discussion, plan and carry out a family meeting to include the
following subjects:
1. Avoiding substance abuse, including tobacco, alcohol, and drugs,
all of which negatively afect your health and well-being
2. Understanding the growing-up process and how the body
changes, and making responsible decisions dealing with sex
3. Personal and family fnances
4. A crisis situation within your family
5. The efect of technology on your family
6. Good etiquette and mannersDiscussion of each of these subjects
will very likely carry over to more than one family meeting.
7. Discuss the following with your counselor:
a. Your understanding of what makes an efective father and why, and your
thoughts on the father's role in the family
b. Your understanding of the responsibilities of a parent
Requirements
"Cooking"
1. Do the following:
a. Explain to your counselor the most likely hazards you may encounter
while participating in cooking activities and what you should do to
anticipate, help prevent, mitigate, and respond to these hazards.
b. Show that you know frst aid for and how to prevent injuries or illnesses
that could occur while preparing meals and eating, including burns
and scalds, cuts, choking, and allergic reactions.
c. Describe how meat, fsh, chicken, eggs, dairy products, and fresh
vegetables should be stored, transported, and properly prepared for
cooking. Explain how to prevent cross-contamination.
d. Describe the following food-related illnesses and tell what you can do to
help prevent each from happening:
1. Salmonella
2. Staphylococcal aureus
3. Escherichia coli (E. coli)
4. Clostridium botulinum (Botulism)
5. Campylobacter jejuni
6. Hepatitis
7. Listeria monocytogenes
8. Cryptosporidium
9. Norovirus
e. Discuss with your counselor food allergies, food intolerance, food-related
diseases, and your awareness of these concerns.
2. Do the following:
a. Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition model, give
fve examples for EACH of the following food groups, the
recommended number of daily servings, and the recommended
serving size:
1. Fruits
2. Vegetables
3. Grains
4. Proteins
5. Dairy
b. Explain why you should limit your intake of oils and sugars.
c. Determine your daily level of activity and your caloric need based on your
activity level. Then, based on the MyPlate food guide, discuss with
your counselor an appropriate meal plan for yourself for one day.
d. Discuss your current eating habits with your counselor and what you can
do to eat healthier, based on the MyPlate food guide.
3. Do the following:
a. Discuss the following food label terms: calorie, fat, saturated fat, trans fat,
cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, dietary fber, sugar, protein.
Explain how to calculate total carbohydrates and nutritional values
for two servings, based on the serving size specifed on the label.
b. Refer to How to Read a Food Label in the Cooking merit badge
pamphlet, and name ingredients that help the consumer identify the
following allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, and
shellfsh.
4. Do the following:
a. Discuss EACH of the following cooking methods. For each one, describe
the equipment needed and name at least one food that can be
cooked using that method: baking, boiling, pan frying, simmering,
steaming, microwaving, and grilling.
b. Discuss the benefts of using a camp stove on an outing vs. a charcoal or
wood fre.
c. Discuss how the Outdoor Code and no-trace principles pertain to
cooking in the outdoors.
Note: The meals prepared for Cooking merit badge requirements 5, 6, and 7 will
count only toward fulflling those requirements and will not count toward rank
advancement. Meals prepared for rank advancement may not count toward the
Cooking merit badge. You must not repeat any menus for meals actually
prepared or cooked in requirements 5, 6, and 7.
5. Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition model, plan a menu
for three full days of meals (three breakfasts, three lunches, and three
dinners) plus one dessert. Your menu should include enough to feed
yourself and at least one adult, keeping in mind any special needs (such as
food allergies) of those to be served. List the equipment and utensils
needed to prepare and serve these meals. Then do the following:
a. Create a shopping list for your meals showing the amount of food needed
to prepare and serve each meal, and the cost for each meal.
b. Share and discuss your meal plan and shopping list with your counselor.
c. Using at least fve of the seven cooking methods from requirement 4,
prepare and serve yourself and at least one adult (parent, family
member, guardian, or other responsible adult) one breakfast, one
lunch, one dinner, and one dessert from the meals you planned.*
d. Time your cooking to have each meal ready to serve at the proper time.
Have an adult verify the preparation of the meal to your counselor.
e. After each meal, ask a person you served to evaluate the meal on
presentation and taste, then evaluate your own meal. Discuss what
you learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that
could have improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how better
planning and preparation help ensure a successful meal.
f. Explain how you kept foods safe and free from cross-contamination.
6. Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition model, plan a menu
for your patrol (or a similar size group of up to eight youth, including you)
for a camping trip. Include fve meals AND at least one snack OR one
dessert. List the equipment and utensils needed to prepare and serve
these meals. Then do the following:
a. Create a shopping list for your meals showing the amount of food needed
to prepare and serve each meal, and the cost for each meal.
b. Share and discuss your meal plan and shopping list with your counselor.
c. In the outdoors, cook two of the meals you planned in requirement 6
using either a lightweight stove or a low-impact fre. Use a diferent
cooking method for each meal.** The same freplace may be used
for both meals. Serve this meal to your patrol or a group of youth.
d. In the outdoors, cook one of the meals you planned in requirement 6.
Use either a Dutch oven, OR a foil pack, OR kabobs. Serve this
meal to your patrol or a group of youth.**
e. In the outdoors, prepare a dessert OR a snack and serve it to your patrol
or a group of youth.**
f. After each meal, have those you served evaluate the meal on
presentation and taste, and then evaluate your own meal. Discuss
what you learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that
could have improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how better
planning and preparation help ensure successful outdoor cooking.
g. Explain how you kept foods safe and free from cross contamination.
7. Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition model, plan a menu
for trail hiking or backpacking that includes one breakfast, one lunch, one
dinner, and one snack. These meals must not require refrigeration and are
to be consumed by three to fve people (including you). List the equipment
and utensils needed to prepare and serve these meals. Then do the
following:
a. Create a shopping list for your meals, showing the amount of food
needed to prepare and serve each meal, and the cost for each meal.
b. Share and discuss your meal plan and shopping list with your counselor.
Your plan must include how to repackage foods for your hike or
backpacking trip to eliminate as much bulk, weight, and garbage as
possible.
c. While on a trail hike or backpacking trip, prepare and serve two meals
and a snack from the menu planned for requirement 7. At least one
of those meals must be cooked over a fre, or an approved trail stove
(with proper supervision).**
d. For each meal prepared in requirement 7c, use safe foodhandling
practices. Explain how you kept foods safe and free from cross-
contamination. Clean up equipment, utensils, and the site thoroughly
after each meal. Properly dispose of dishwater, and pack out all
garbage.
e. After each meal, have those you served evaluate the meal on
presentation and taste, then evaluate your own meal. Discuss what
you learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that
could have improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how better
planning and preparation help ensure successful trail hiking or
backpacking meals.
8. Find out about three career opportunities in cooking. Select one and fnd out
the education, training, and experience required for this profession.
Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this profession might
interest you.