Homeschool Scouts: Counting Badges as Social Studies Curriculum

There are several Boy Scout badges that when grouped together will give a student a good depth and breadth of a particular history discipline. When combining badges to equal a year of history study it is important to keep track of time spent on each badge keeping in mind that 120-180 hours of work is equivalent to the time spent in a high school history class. Most U.S. High School Students must complete U.S. History and World History and then can choose a history subject or two of their choosing. Citizenship and American Culture are two badge-based classes that can fill this requirement.

Citizenship course through earning Boy Scout badges: A year long citizenship course would consist of earning the badges Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, and Citizenship in the World. The Citizenship in the Community badges includes learning about the community and the state including history, current events, and cultural makeup. He will also learn about community government and services in the community. With the Citizenship in the Nation badge, the student would visit and learn about the nation's capitol. They will follow the news for the country. They will learn what citizenship in the US means. They will learn about the Declaration of Independence, Pre-amble to the Constitution, The Constitution, constitutional amendments and the Bill of Rights. Finally, in the Citizenship in the World badge, the student will learn about being a world citizen. He will learn about the rights, duties, and obligations of a US citizen. He will explore a world event in detail. He will discuss a foreign country and it's geography, resources, climate, and economy. He will learn about international law, follow current events, and research world organizations such the United Nations or The World Health Organization. He will learn the differences between constitutional and non constitutional governments, and be familiar with current governments around the world.

American History and Culture course through Boy Scout badges: An badge-based American History and American Culture Course would consist of Indian Lore, American Cultures, and American Heritage boy scout badges. Such a combination will teach about the original inhabitants of America as well as the Immigrants that have come to America. They will also get a good understanding of the documents that guide our country.The Indian Lore badge has the student explore the history of an American Tribe their clothing, dwellings, and artifacts. He will will consider the implications of European immigration to America, and how other cultures adopted American Indian and knowledge. He can learn the names of Indian places and may also explore the Iroquois Confederacy and how and why it was formed. In earning the American Cultures badge, the student will explore multiple cultures that make up America. He will go to festivals, churches, events, and museums to be immersed in other cultures. He will learn about differences and similarities between cultures as well as contributions of each culture. Finally, in earning the American Heritage badge, the student will become more familiar with the Declaration of Independence. He will choose two American History individuals to learn more about. He will learn about American organizations that made positive changes in society, and will interview U.S. military veterans. He can also interview people from their community, follow the news and relate them to the past, and research U.S pledges and seals. In addition, he will learn about his own family history and explore historic places. There is enough material in these badge workbooks for the student to learn all there is to know about the culture, and heritage of the US.

While this information is learned through the process of earning boy-scout badges, it doesn't mean that girls cannot learn in the same project based way. You can easily find copies of these boy-scout badge workbooks on line.