Program Feature Meeting Plans

The Monthly Theme

The BSA publishes an annual planning calendar that outlines key dates and topics each month. Its intent? Units can use it as they make their annual plans. (It’s what our troop starts with when making our annual plan.) As an example, here is the 2020 annual planning calendar.

One of the items included in the plans is the “Monthly Theme”. The idea behind this is that units can focus on a different theme each month. This gives them several meetings and at least one outing to learn about, practice, and simply experience the information and activities centered around the theme.

The BSA does not require our troop to follow the theme schedule in the planning calendar. As with most meeting materials provided by the BSA, this is simply a tool. Units may choose to alter the plan, such as changing out one theme for another, or change the duration of any given theme. The youth leaders, with guidance from the adult leaders, should choose a schedule that they feel would be best for the group.

Program Features

The BSA’s website has an entire section that focuses on something they call Program Features. As the page states, this is arguably one of the BSA’s best resources for troops, and it is definitely something our youth leaders need to become familiar with.

The site outlines all of the current program features, which map directly to the monthly theme called out in the annual plan. There are currently 48 different program features! Therefore, the annual calendar only focuses on 12 each year, and each year the list is different.

While this is great, the BEST part is that the link for each program feature will take you to a TON of info that focus on each program feature. These plans are packed with ideas that can be used at troop meetings, activities, and outings.

Program Feature Example – Camping

To show how the information can be used, let’s use the CAMPING program feature as an example. (Open the page in another tab to follow along!)

The pages all follow a similar layout. Across the top are a number of links. The first on the left is an overview page that’s named the same as the Program Feature…in this case, “Camping”. It’s the first page you’ll see when you click on a program feature from the main page.

Overview Page

As stated above, this is the first of the 4 links on the Program Feature page, and it provides a quick overview of the topic. Most pages include a video that can be viewed. The page essentially explains what the Program Feature is, and also explains why it’s an important topic for the troop to cover.

Information Page

The second link is titled Information, and it’s loaded with good info that the youth leaders can use while planning their meetings and outings.

For example, the camping information page covers the following:

• A listing of all of the advancements and awards associated with this topic.
• A section about outdoor ethics and the Leave No Trace principles.
• Details on how to do three-bin washing of dishes.
• Instructions and a video on how to tie the “Trucker’s Hitch” and why it’s a good knot to know.
• A descriptions of The Kodiak Challenge, which could be used as the “Main Event” for the month.

As you can see, these web pages provide a LOT of information to help the youth leaders get started. However, we’re just getting started. Read on…

Meeting Plans & Ideas

The third link is titled Troop Meetings. This page provides numerous examples and ideas. Youth leaders can use these ideas while filling out the Meeting Planning Form for each troop meeting.

The Meeting Planning Form form can be very helpful because it reminds the youth leaders about all of the items that need to be considered for each meeting. The troop meetings page includes information and ideas that can be used in each of the sections of the form. The page contains WAY more items than can fit into a single meeting. Therefore, the leaders can pick and choose which ideas they like the most, and use this single page to plan out multiple meetings.

The Skills Instruction Ideas section is usually broken into 3 separate groups: Essential, Challenging, and Advanced. These different levels help to guide the youth leaders to pick ideas whose difficulty matches that of the group. Good youth leaders should KNOW THEIR AUDIENCE! Choose ideas that match the group. Ideas that are too easy will cause the Scouts to become bored, while ideas that are too complex will cause them to lose interest. Youth leaders should pick items that seem to be the best match and BE PREPARED to adjust during the meeting if necessary.

As with all meeting/activity plans, this is meant to be a guide. The youth leaders should customize their own plans as they feel is best for the group.

Main Event

The fourth link is titled Main Event. This refers to the monthly outing that should be part of the troop’s plans. As with the meetings, the outing should have a purpose and should ideally coincide with the program feature.

As with the skills instructions section of the troop meeting, the main event is broken into the same 3 categories. These include activities that range from several hours to 5-6 days. As with all planning, the youth leaders should choose a main event that will work well with the Scouts. An extra level of coordination is also required with the Scoutmaster and other adult leaders…especially for outings that last several days.

See the next section for more details about planning for the Main Event.