The Trail s End Education & Awards Program LEADER S MEETING MODULE for POPCORN FUN The activities in this module can be used by the Unit Leader as supplemental activities to the award requirements, or they can be substituted for the award requirements at the discretion of the Unit Leader. By doing these activities, and by doing some or all of the requirements in the Education & Awards pamphlet, your Scouts may have started to earn the following: Tiger: Make your own family 3, Den 3 Wolf: Achievement 10a, d; Elective 2c, 4d, 9abc, 11d, 12f, 21abc Bear: Achievement 9be, 17de, Elective 8a Webelos: Music 2, Communicator 10, 11 All Cubs: Computer Science and Art Academics Badge And, they may have begun working on these Merit Badges: Communications Computers Activities may meet additional requirements. Refer to your Cub Scout and Boy Scout Handbooks.
45-60minutes Old magazines, scissors, poster board, popped popcorn, rubber cement Activity 1: Pop Art Project This fun project results in creative collages made by the Scouts from magazine pictures and popcorn. The boys cut out whole pictures or parts of pictures and paste them onto the posterboard, then glue popcorn as added decoration on their works of art. Popcorn can give their artwork a three-dimensional effect. Leader: Pile a variety of old magazines on the table in front of the boys and tell them they can use any pictures they see. Boys can work individually or in teams. Pop up plenty of Trail s End Light Microwave Popcorn for the boys to use. When the collages are finished, the Scouts can add a popcorn frame to their picture by gluing kernels along the outer edge. The completed collages could make a gift for one of their parents. NOTE: read rubber cement directions and warnings before using. Popcorn that has come into contact with rubber cement should not be consumed. Ask the Scouts what part of this project they liked best. How could this project be changed to be more interesting to the Scouts?
15-20 minutes 1999 White Chocolately Caramel Corn Tin, game questionnaire for Leader Activity 2: This activity will test the memory of the Scouts (and the Leader). The 1999 White Chocolatey Caramel Crunch canister has a number of people and animals shown in the design around the body of the tin, and boys will be asked to recall how many things they remember after looking at it for a short time. White Chocolatey Caramel Crunch Memory Game Leader: A questionnaire for this game is provided at the end of this activity. Start with the boys sitting down at a table. Give the tin to the boys and ask them to each look at it carefully for 20 seconds, passing it along from one boy to another. When they re done, put the tin away where they cannot see it. Explain that this is both a fun game and a chance to test their powers of observation and memory. Have the boys act as a team, not as individuals, in trying to come up with the correct answers. The Leader can play along with the boys. Show the tin to the boys at the end of the game so they can confirm their correct answers and learn the answers to those they missed. Ask them which thing on the tin was the easiest to not see, or remember. Could this activity be improved in any way? Questions for White Chocolatey Caramel Crunch Memory Game: 1. What color is the barn? 2. How many hockey players are on the pond? 3. What color is the house? 4. What kinds of animals can you name that are on the tin? 5. What number does the hockey player have on his sweater? 6. How many dogs are on the tin? 7. What color is the horse? 8. What is the squirrel eating? 9. What is the policeman eating? 10. What two kinds of food is the man selling from his stand? 11. What is coming out of the hole in the log? 12. Is there a cat on the tin? What color? Who s holding it?
20-30 minutes Trail s End Gourmet Popping Corn (unpopped), glass jar, pencil and paper Activity 3: Popcorn Guessing Game This game will keep the boys interest and will teach the younger boys some important rules of counting. Leader: Fill a glass jar with unpopped popcorn kernels. Then ask the boys to guess the number of kernels in the jar. Give them some hints on how to estimate the number. Record the answers on a piece of paper. After all the guesses have been made, ask each boy to scoop out a pile of kernels in front of him on the table and line them up in rows ten wide and columns ten deep...a 10 x 10 grid. After doing one 10 x 10 grid, he ll do another next to the first, and so on. When all the kernels have been taken from the jar and arranged in squares of 100, ask each boy to add up the number of kernels in front of him and record it on his paper. Finally, the Leader should add up all the numbers recorded by the boys for a grand total. This will teach your younger Scouts to visualize what one-hundred looks like, and give them a chance to count up to high numbers using the grid method. Boys under the age of nine have a hard time estimating, so this gives them an opportunity to practice. How can estimating things be used in everyday life? Could this activity be improved in any way?
1 hour Pre-cut materials to build a bird-feeder, nails or screws, Trail s End Light Microwave Popcorn, wire Activity 4: Popcorn Bird Feeder The Scouts will build a bird feeder with the Leader s help. Teamwork is required, as is patience. Boys should enjoy the end-result, and so should the birds. Leader: Materials for a bird-feeder should be available at the local hardware store or home center. Have all the pre-cut wood, nails or screws, and simple tools set out on a table. Make the boys aware of the instructions, and assign different tasks to the Scouts. Assist the Scouts as necessary. When complete, fill the feeder with crumbled popcorn, and hang in a nearby tree using wire. What part of building the bird-feeder did the boys like best? Could this activity be improved in any way?
1 hour Lots of Trail s End Light Microwave Popcorn, rubber cement, toothpicks, construction paper, scissors, string and thumbtacks Activity 5: Popcorn Solar System Your Scouts can build their own solar system of nine planets using popcorn, glue and paper. They should learn something about the relative size of the planets and about the characteristics of our celestial neighbors. Leader: Draw circles on paper representing the relative size of the planets... ask for input from the Scouts while doing this. You will not be able to represent the planets sizes accurately because the difference between the largest (Jupiter) and the smallest (Pluto) is too great. The boys can each make a planet from popcorn and glue, adding rings where appropriate with toothpicks and construction paper. Hang your solar system from the ceiling. The Earth s moon can be added to your display, also. NOTE: Read rubber cement directions and warnings before using. Popcorn that has come into contact with rubber cement should not be consumed. Which of the planets did they like the best? What would you suggest to make this activity better?
20 minutes None Activity 6: Tangled Popcorn String Game This activity is fun for everybody. It s like a tangled popcorn string...only it s boys, not popcorn that are all tangled up! Leader: Ask the Scouts to face one another in a tight circle. Then, ask the boys to reach out with their right hands and clasp the right hand of another boy, like shaking hands. Then, instruct the Scouts to do the same thing with their left hands, grabbing the left hand of someone else, so they are holding two different Scouts hands. They should come out equal. Everyone should be intertwined. Next, the Leader will disconnect the hands (right or left, but not both) of two Scouts, and ask the boys to untangle themselves from this knot. As the boys move around, hand to hand contact must not be lost (they can pivot their hands, so long as they don t lose contact). They should untangle themselves and come out with a long string of Scouts, hand in hand, or as several shorter strings. It s possible that a few Scouts might be formed into a ring or two. Discuss with the Scouts what they learned from this activity. Did the boys enjoy this activity?
Suggested Popcorn Songs, Recipes, Games and Kickoff Ideas POPCORN FUN A POPCORN TONGUE TWISTER When you pop a pound of perfect popcorn, how many pounds of perfect popcorn does a popcorn popper pop? REPEAT AFTER ME SONG I said a-boom-chick-a-boom I said a-boom-chick-a-boom I said a boom-chicka-rocka-chicka-rocka-chick-a-boom. Show and sell style- Won t you buy my popcorn, just enjoy it, chicka-boom Order form style- Won t you place an order for some popcorn, chicka-boom Delivered style- Won t you pop my popcorn, watch a movie, chicka-boom Thanks for buying style- Thank you for supporting me in Scouting, chicka-boom GUESS HOW MANY KERNELS Show your Scouts a small jar filled with popcorn kernels. Then ask them each to guess how many kernels are in it. Give the container of kernels to the Scout who guesses closest to the number without going over. Just remember to count the kernels prior to this event. POPCORN CHARACTER PICTURES At a pack meeting ask the Scouts to use their imaginations and draw silly characters using the popcorn drawing. Use these as decorations around your chartered organization to advertise your popcorn sale. POPCORN LOLLIPOPS Make popcorn balls according to the recipe. Instead of rolling them into balls, push the mixture into cookie cutters of various shapes. Insert a popsicle stick or lollipop stick after removing the cookie cutter.
POPCORN PARTY HATS Give each Scout a party hat (you can purchase these at any party store). Supply them with several colors of popcorn. Let them decorate their hats any way they want. Then have a popcorn party. POPCORN STRING BIRD FEEDERS Give each boy a piece of dental floss or fishing line equal to his height. Let him string three day old popcorn until the string is full. Let him hang it outside on a tree or a bush near the window so he can watch the birds enjoy their popcorn treat. POPCORN STORY Popper the little kernel burst from the popcorn popper into outer space... Everyone adds a line to continue the story. POPCORN SNOWMEN Stack three popcorn balls on top of each other. Let the Scouts decorate them with small candies etc. These are great for winter parties. SONGS Here We Go To Sell Trail s End Popcorn Tune: The Old Gray Mare Here we go to sell Trail s End Popcorn, sell Trail s End Popcorn, sell Trail s End Popcorn. Here we go to sell Trail s End Popcorn, To help support our Scouts. We support our Packs and Troops, We support our Packs and Troops, Here we go to sell Trail s End Popcorn, To help support our Scouts.
My Popcorn Sales Tune: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean Each time when I go out to sell popcorn, I wear my Scout uniform. I smile and treat people politely, Man, do I sell lots of corn! (chorus) Trail s End, Trail s End, Each day I sell more and more. Trail s End, Trail s End, I sold more than the day before. The popcorn is mighty delicious, It comes in pails, boxes and tins. It practically sells itself, I just provide the cute grins! (chorus) Trail s End, Trail s End, Each day I sell more and more. Trail s End, Trail s End, I sold more than the day before. Submitted by Lori Watson, C.C. and Webelos Leader, Pack 44 Hiawatha The Popcorn Song Tune: Dreidel I made a little popcorn I make it everyday Oh popcorn, popcorn, popcorn Oh popcorn is OK. Cub Scouts sell it every year It comes in boxes or in cans Cub Scouts sell it did you hear So grab it all in your hands. Oh popcorn, popcorn, popcorn I made you buttered I made you plain And just about every way. Submitted by Jason Hermosillo, Pack 15 Den 3