Printable PDF file of Meeting Plans and Ideas for Safety
OBJECTIVES
This month’s activities should:
- Teach Scouts that the pledge to “help other people at all times” requires skill as well as goodwill.
- Instill a good grasp of the fundamentals of public safety.
- Introduce Scouts to public safety professionals.
- Increase self-confidence in Scouts so they will be able to act rationally in emergencies.
- Teach the ability to evaluate a situation for safety.
LEADERSHIP PLANNING
As a leadership team, you may want to discuss the following items when choosing safety as your program feature during your planning meetings.
- How do we currently plan for safety in our activities?
- Do our current safety procedures cover all of our activities?
- What will our main event be?
- Where will we do our main event?
- How is public safety handled in our community?
- What agencies are concerned with public safety?
- Are there ways for us to help?
- How do businesses and organizations handle safety?
- Which safety-related merit badges could we focus on this month?
- To meet our needs, what should we change in the sample meeting plans?
PREOPENING IDEAS
Preopening Ideas on Troop Program Resources
- Set up scenarios demonstrating common unsafe practices around the home (such as electric cords strung across a hallway, a rake lying on the ground with its tines up, and a ladder propped precariously against a wall). As Scouts arrive, have them evaluate and describe how to correct the problems they see.
- Arrange for a fire truck or patrol car to come to the meeting place. Ask a firefighter or police officer to explain safety procedures for home or car.
- As Scouts arrive, have them work together to create lists of essential, important, and optional safety items that should be in every home. Write the lists on a dry erase board.
- As Scouts arrive, preview some of the preparedness videos from fema.gov.
OPENING IDEAS
Opening Ideas on Troop Program Resources
GROUP INSTRUCTION IDEAS
Safety in the Unit and the Home
- Have different youth instructors give five-minute overviews on:
— Definition of safety
— How safety is currently handled in your unit
— Where Scouts can get more information on unit safety (especially the Guide to Safe Scouting)
Areas for Public Safety
- Have a guest expert discuss the importance of public safety in the community
and nation, and how public safety is handled through the coordination of individuals and agencies
Safety Planning
- Give instruction on the importance of safety planning, including ways a Scout can be prepared in the home.
Public Safety Agencies
- Have a guest speaker discuss public safety from the perspective of his or her agency. The focus could be on fire, police, water systems, transportation, or another area.
- Consider holding the meeting at that agency or arrange for a tour at a later date.
SKILLS INSTRUCTION IDEAS
Safety in the Unit and the Home
Review the buddy system.- Discuss common areas of the home where accidents can occur and their prevention.
Review the skills above.- Identify potential hazards for an overnight outing.
- Discuss transportation safety for outings.
Review the skills above.- Identify potential hazards for trips that leave the country and how those hazards can be reduced.
Areas for Public Safety
- Discuss the role of citizens, including youth, in crime prevention.
- Discuss Internet safety and youth protection online, including email and social media.
- Review the above skills, and identify potential risks involved in outings to public events.
- Discuss how to protect yourself from crime at home, at school, in your community, and while traveling.
- Review the above skills. Study the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s advisory system and the appropriate actions to take for each threat level.
Safety Planning
- Discuss the importance of illness prevention and health.
- Discuss the five most common work-related injuries and their prevention.
- Review the above skills.
- Teach the unit’s event/trip safety parameters and planning process.
- Talk with a police officer or city leader about how to develop a neighborhood watch program for your neighborhood.
- Review the above skills.
- Discuss the logistics involved in providing safety for hotels, large public gatherings, and sporting events.
Public Safety Agencies
- Discuss at least three career opportunities in the field of safety.
- Go over the education, training, and experience required for these professions.
- Discuss the role of police agencies in preventing crime (as opposed to investigating crime).
- Review the above skills.
- Pick a local company or agency that is dedicated to public safety. Do an in-depth analysis of how it contributes to public safety and what challenges it faces.
- Review the above skills.
- Identify high-risk areas in national or local security (such as ports, airports, and high-rise buildings). Discuss the potential threats as well as the protocols in place to protect those facilities.
BREAKOUT GROUP IDEAS
Getting Ready for the Main Event
- Menu Planning (if applicable)
- Duty Roster Planning (if applicable)
- Patrols discuss what special items they will need for the main event.
Preparation for the meeting’s game or challenge
GAME AND CHALLENGE IDEAS
Library of Games and Challenges on Troop Program Resources
- Safety Skits
– Materials: None, although some props may improve interaction.
– Method: Each patrol develops a skit that outlines a safety principle. The skits can depict the right way or the wrong way to act in a given situation as long as the safety principle is clearly demonstrated. Teams should be encouraged to use as much creativity as possible.
- Safety Trivia Game
– Materials:: A Jeopardy-style game board with category names and cards of varying values; a flyswatter for each patrol; a projector and screen (optional). On the back of each card should be a safety related question drawn from one of the safety-related merit badges and/or the information page.
– Method: Patrol leaders sit around a table within arm’s length of each other. On the SPL’s signal, the captains “swat in” by hitting a designated spot on the table with their flyswatters. The patrol whose flyswatter is on the bottom controls the board and chooses a category and point value. If the patrol can answer the chosen question correctly, it earns the points shown on the card and chooses another question. If not, the other patrols swat in and tryto answer. Play continues until time is called or all questions have been answered.
– Variation: To increase fun and learning potential, throw in a few bonus questions that lead to the showing of a picture or video and giving all patrols a chance to answer by writing responses on paper.
- Safety Charades
– Materials: None, although some props may improve interaction.
– Method: Patrols develop a scenario that outlines a safety principle and then act it out as in Charades. Other Patrols try to figure out what principle is being demonstrated or violated in the scenario.