Reading Merit Badge

Reading Merit Badge

“A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.”

~Italo Calvino, The Uses of Literature

With your counselor's and parent's permission, choose ONE of the following activities and devote at least four hours of service to that activity. Discuss your participation with your counselor.

Read to a sick, blind, or homebound person in a hospital or in an extended-care facility.

From a catalog of your choice, fill out an order form for merchandise as if you intended to place an order. Share the completed form with your counselor and discuss it.

Perform volunteer work at your school library or a public library.

Read stories to younger children, in a group or individually.

Troop 75, Charlottesville, VA

Read about the world around you from any two sources: books, magazines, newspapers, the Internet (with your parent's permission), field manuals, etc. Topics may include sports, environmental problems, politics, social issues, current events, nature, religion, etc. Discuss what you have learned with your counselor.

Locate at least five websites that are helpful for your scouting or other activities. Write the Internet addresses of these sites in your log. Talk with your counselor or a librarian about safety rules for using the Internet.

Learn how to search your library's card catalog or computerized catalog by author, title, and subject.

Award Winning Books

(Choose at least 1 award winning book)

Pulitzer Prize: honors excellence in journalism and the arts

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberymedal

1. http://www.bsamuseum.org/

2. http://www.scoutstuff.org/

3. http://boyslife.org/

4. http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

5.

Newbery Medal: Given to "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

Nobel Prize in Literature: Is awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction."

Batchelder Award: Is given to the most outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States.

Select 6 books of different types chosen from at least 4 different categories

The Scout Law and Cybersafety/Cyberbullying

• Trustworthy. Be truthful with others online, and be very careful of the information you share. Do the right thing when sharing other people’s words or pictures. Make sure you have the owner’s permission before using them.

• Loyal. Share information about others only if you have their permission to share it. Uphold appropriate agreements you make with friends when you play games with them.

• Helpful. Alert others to scams, cheats, and suspicious sites. Point them to reliable and accurate sources of information. Encourage people to report bad behavior online.

• Friendly. Reach out to support others who are doing good things, like posting quality creative works. Support those who are bullied.

• Courteous. Be polite and respectful. When you use other people’s work, be sure to ask permission when necessary, follow fair use standards, and give credit to the people who created and own the work.

• Kind. Treat people with respect when you are on social networks, playing games, talking or texting on a cellphone, or in other digital activities.

• Obedient. When using digital devices, follow the rules set by your parents/guardians, teachers, and Scout leaders. Abide by the rules established by sites, services, devices, and games.

• Cheerful. Use games, messaging tools, and social forums to build your relationships with others while having fun.

• Thrifty. Be a smart consumer. Know your voice, text, and data plans and use them wisely. Be sure to study digital devices and services you want. Before buying them, make sure you’re not overspending on functions and features you won’t need. Be careful not to run up charges on apps and sites.

• Brave. Stand up for what is right. Do not participate in mocking and bullying others, even if your friends are doing it. Report suspected abuse to a trusted adult, like your parent or leader; call 911 or call the Cyber Tip line at 1-800-843-5678. If the incident involves any part of the Scouting program, call your council Scout executive immediately or email youth.protection@scouting.org.

• Clean. Use clean language and discuss only appropriate topics when using digital devices to communicate with others.

• Reverent. Respect the feelings of other people. Do not use digital devices to spread irreverent ideas.

Remember that life is a balance. In Scouting, we focus on a balanced life through our aims: character,

physical fitness, and citizenship. Technology is a tool to help us. It is not there to take the place of

family, friends, the Scout Law, and staying physically fit.

Stay ScoutSTRONG!

Poetry

Drama

Fantasy: Fantasy novels are often set in worlds much different from our own and usually include magic, sorcery and mythical creature.

Fiction

Nonfiction: contain factual information

Biography: A biography is the story of a person's life written or told by another person.

Science Fiction: Science fiction stories examine how science and technology affect the world. The books often involve fantasy inventions that may be reality in the future.

"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."

~Frederick Douglas