The Badge Archive

Basic Meeting Plans are designed to have minimal supplies and still hit the GSUSA Requirements. Most meetings can be done in a 90 minute time frame.

Items needed:

• (Optional) Printout of Ada Lovelace from GSUSA
• Depending on the Algorithm Basics activity:
  • (Fix the Algorithm) Printouts of only the 4 pictures step page (which you cut and tape in the right order) from the Tree Algorithm and/or Making Lemonade from Teacher Zendo Creations for each scout group (small groups of 2 or 3)
  • (Fix the Algorithm) Scissors and tape for each small group if doing the Teacher Zendo Creations printouts
  • (Color by Algorithm) Printouts of Color Clock from JDaniel’s4Mom for each scout
  • (Make an Algorithm) Paper for each scout
• Small squares of paper pre-cut and ready for scouts to draw small flowers on. (Or optional to use a printout like Sorting Algorithms)
• Troop coloring supplies (markers, crayons, or colored pencils)

(Note, troops with a larger budget might want to do the S’more Algorithm activity in the Algorithm Basics part of this Basic Plan. However, we suggest you draw flowers on the pre-cut small squares of paper before the meeting so scouts only need to sort them due to possible lack of time.

Ada Lovelace

Info Needed: Ada Lovelace lived a long time ago, born on December 10, 1815. She really liked math and science and was very good at them. When she was 17, she became friends with a professor named Charles Babbage, who made a Different Engine No. 1 that could do calculations. Later, he worked on a bigger machine called the Analytic Engine. In 1843, Professor Babbage asked Ada to translate a paper about his Analytic Engine. He thought Ada was really good at understanding it. While translating, Ada added lots of notes and ideas on how the machine could be used in the future. She even wrote special instructions – the first computer programs – for the machine to do math. Unfortunately, Ada and Charles both passed away before the Analytic Engine was built. In 1991, scientists at the London Science Museum made one of Professor Babbage’s machines, and Ada Lovelace was recognized as the first computer programmer ever.

Leaders can use the handout or just tell scouts about Ada Lovelace. If there is a tablet or laptop available to play a short video about Ada Lovelace, that also is a great way to learn.

(Requirement 2 Earned)

Algorithm Basics

Info Needed: Computer programs tell computers what to do, usually with a list of steps. Those steps are called algorithms. We follow steps all the time in our daily lives, following human algorithms. It’s important for the algorithm to have the steps in the right order. When washing your hands, would you rinse your hands before you soaped them up? No. Rinsing is to get all the soap off. The steps have to be in the correct order.

Action Needed: Either:

• (Fix the Algorithm) Use the 4 pictures step page (which you cut and tape in the right order) from the Tree Algorithm and/or Making Lemonade from Teacher Zendo Creations. Have the scouts break up into groups of 2-3 scouts each and cut out the 4 pictures and tape them in the correct order they think would work.
  OR
• (Color by Algorithm) Use the Color Clock from JDaniel’s4Mom. Have scouts follow the algorithm to color the clock successfully. Discuss if it was easy or hard to follow the steps. Ask the scouts, “Do you think you could make an algorithm to tell someone how to color in a picture like this one?”
• (Make an Algorithm) As a troop think of an activity you do every day that requires you to do them step by step. An example would be getting ready in the morning. You get dressed, brush your teeth, make the bed, and go to school. Break into groups of 4. Each scout picks one of the steps in their group and draws a picture of it. The groups put the four finished pictures in the right order and show off their work to the other groups.

(Requirement 1 Earned)

Sorting Algorithm

Action Needed: (Optional to use a printout like Sorting Algorithms instead of the scouts making their own cards) Scouts must take the small pre-cut squares of paper and draw one flower on each. They need to draw one round petal (like a daisy), one sharp petal (like a tulip), and one with a lot of petals (like a sunflower or rose). They can be any color the scouts like to use, but each flower should be a different color. Make sure the scout’s name is on the back of the small pre-cut squares as many will want to take them home at the end of the meeting. They can make as many flowers as you have paper for – the more the better. Set a time limit so they have time for the sorting portion.

Info Needed: Algorithms can be written to help sort items. What steps do we take when we sort things? We need to know what we are sorting the items by. Color? Shape? If we had a lot of buttons and wanted to have big and little buttons, we would sort by shape. The algorithm would be to examine each button and place big ones in Box 1 and small ones in Box 2. If it was by color, we would need more boxes and each would be for a different color.

Follow Up Action Needed: Take all the cards and put them in a pile. Ask the scouts what algorithm they should sort the cards by. What will they sort them by? Shape or color? Where do we put the sorted cards at, so they don’t mix with the big pile that needs to be sorted? Designate a spot for a smaller pile or have small containers they could use to put them in or use a muffin/cupcake tin. Write the algorithm steps to sort down and let the Scouts follow the steps to successfully sort their flowers.

Note to Leaders – You can learn more about sorting algorithms with a short lesson

(Requirement 3 Earned)

Meeting End

Scouts can keep sorting in multiple ways (writing a new algorithm each time) until it’s time to go home.

General Notes

Note to Leaders – No Basic Plan compiled by The Badge Archive will earn multiple badges in one level. Part of being budget friendly is not costing more than the price of one official GSUSA badge per meeting.

Some badges will take two meetings to finish. This helps scouts enjoy activities and keeps the troop budget in mind by only needing one GSUSA badge for every two meetings. Troops may choose to get a fun patch for one of the meetings if scouts want a badge/patch for every meeting. Scouts can earn the fun patch if they only attend one meeting and get a fun patch and the official badge if they go to both.

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