Juniors
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LIFE SKILLS
Junior Getting Started with the Bronze Award Activity
Be a Community Detective
List your observations and Bronze Award ideas.
Begin selecting your project in steps 3 and 4 of the Bronze Award guidelines (PDF). You’ll explore your community; make a list of observations and your ideas for making the world a better place; and, with your team, choose the top three topics/issues to research further.
Activity Details
Time needed: 45–60 minutes
Materials needed:
- Pens, pencils, or markers
- Observation worksheet found on page 5 of Bronze Award Guidelines (PDF).
Setup
The Bronze Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Junior can earn. To earn it, you and your team will identify a community issue you care about. (Your team is you and other Girl Scout Juniors who are going on this adventure with you, plus your troop/group volunteer.) You’ll research what causes your issue, come up with a solution, and work with your community to make a plan that brings the solution to life.
For example, you might live near an ocean and notice there’s a lot of trash on the beach. As you research your issue, you might realize that even though there are trashcans and recycling bins available, people aren’t using them! After doing more research, you learn that your community doesn’t understand how bad trash is for the ocean. So you decide to host a service unit beach cleanup and education day with activities that explain how important clean oceans are. You also put up signs around the beach and on trashcans about keeping the beach clean.
To get started on your Bronze Award, first be sure to complete a Junior Journey and its associated Take Action project. Then check in with your team—they’ll want to know you’re observing your community!
Activity
- Observe your community (your block, your neighborhood, or your school). As you walk, bike, or drive around town, keep your eyes open for how you can make a positive change or problems that should be fixed.
- Keep a two-column chart of what you see and what can be improved; in one column, record what you see, and in the second column, write down your ideas for making a difference.
The next time you get together with your troop, share the observations you’re most excited about. Together you can make a list of your team’s top observations and brainstorm how you might make a difference. From there, your team will choose the top three topics/issues that interest everyone and make a plan to research further to understand the causes of the issues and find solutions.
Troop Leaders: The instructions for all badge steps are available free of charge in the Girl Scout Volunteer Toolkit.
Girl Scout Activity Zone activities have been adapted from existing Girl Scout programming.
Adapted from Steps 3 and 4 of the Bronze Award guidelines. Download the guidelines (PDF) and connect with your local council to learn about any additional requirements or support it may offer.
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