Arrow of Light Elective adventure 5th grade

Fishing requirements (Arrow of Light)

Fishing is an Arrow of Light elective adventure with 7 requirements. Below is what each one asks in plain language, and a sixty minute den meeting plan that works through them: a gathering activity, the opening, the activity blocks, and what to say in the closing.

Plan this meeting in DenBuddy Jump to the plan

Free for one den. DenBuddy reads your den from Scoutbook Plus, and writes back only when you press Send.

Fishing requirements

Paraphrased for planning. Read the current wording in the handbook or Scoutbook Plus before you sign anything off.

Handbook requirement 1

Make a plan to go fishing. Determine where you will go and what type of fish you plan to catch. All of the following requirements are to be completed based on your choice.
Handbook requirement 2

Use the BSA SAFE Checklist to plan what you need for your fishing experience.
Handbook requirement 3

Describe the environment where the fish might be found.
Handbook requirement 4

Make a list of the equipment and materials you will need to fish.
Handbook requirement 5

Determine the best type of knot to tie your hook to your line and tie it.
Handbook requirement 6

On your own, choose the appropriate type of fishing rod and tackle you will be using. Have an adult review your gear.
Handbook requirement 7

Using what you have learned about fish and fishing equipment, spend at least an hour fishing following local guidelines and regulations.

Check out this resource page to get the most out of this adventure!

Ready to run

A 60 minute den meeting for Fishing

Five kinds of block in the order that works: something to do on arrival, the opening, den business, the adventure work split into chunks a Cub Scout can hold attention through, and a closing that names what got finished.

0:00 · 10 min

Gathering: tallest tower

Give the Scouts who arrive first something to do, so the meeting starts the moment they walk in.

Put scrap cardboard, painter's tape and two pairs of safety scissors on the gathering table.
The task on the card: build the tallest thing that stands on its own before the opening.
Scouts join whichever table has room, so nobody waits alone for the meeting to start.

0:10 · 5 min

Opening

Flag ceremony, Scout Oath and Scout Law. The same five minutes every week, run by the Scouts.

The denner calls the den to order and leads the flag ceremony.
Say the Scout Oath and the Scout Law together. New Scouts read from a card and nobody makes anything of it.
One sentence on tonight's adventure, Fishing, and the one thing everybody will get done.

0:15 · 5 min

Talk time

Den business while everyone is still sitting down, and a look at what is coming.

The two dates parents need: the next den meeting and the next pack event.
Ask who already did part of Fishing at home, and write the names down so it gets recorded.
Take one question from the den. Answer it or say when you will.

0:20 · 9 min

Activity 1: Make a plan to go fishing

Close requirements 1 and 2 of Fishing.

Show a finished example first so every Scout can picture "Make a plan to go fishing" before they start.
Set materials out at two or three tables so nobody stands waiting for the scissors.
Move table to table while they work and ask each Scout to tell you what they are making and why.
Give a five minute warning, then have every Scout hold up what they made and say one thing about it.
Then requirement 2: sit the den in a circle and take one answer each on "Use the BSA SAFE Checklist to plan what you need for your fishing experience".

Requirement 1 Requirement 2

0:29 · 9 min

Activity 2: Describe the environment where the fish might

Close requirements 3 and 4 of Fishing.

Put the answers where the den can find them: three stations, a set of cards, or a chart for "Describe the environment where the fish might be found".
Give the den five minutes in pairs to work it out, then bring the answers together on one sheet.
Go round the circle so every Scout says one answer out loud in their own words.
Then requirement 4: set the materials out on a second table and let them build "Make a list of the equipment and materials you will need to fish" while you move between the two.

Requirement 3 Requirement 4

0:38 · 9 min

Activity 3: Determine the best type of knot

Close requirements 5 and 6 of Fishing.

Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "Determine the best type of knot to tie your hook to your line and tie it".
Work it in pairs or small groups for most of the block while you move between them.
Bring the den back together and have each Scout tell you what they did.
Mark requirement 5 off as each Scout finishes rather than trying to remember afterwards.
Then requirement 6: sit the den in a circle and take one answer each on "On your own, choose the appropriate type of fishing rod and tackle you will be using".

Requirement 5 Requirement 6

0:47 · 8 min

Activity 4: Using what you have learned about fish

Close requirement 7 of Fishing: Using what you have learned about fish and fishing equipment, spend at least an hour fishing following local guidelines and regulations.

Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "Using what you have learned about fish and fishing equipment, spend at least an hour fishing following local guidelines and regulations".
Work it in pairs or small groups for most of the block while you move between them.
Bring the den back together and have each Scout tell you what they did.
Mark requirement 7 off as each Scout finishes rather than trying to remember afterwards.

Requirement 7

0:55 · 5 min

Closing

End on time, and make sure every Scout leaves knowing what they finished.

Cubmaster's minute: one short thought tied to what the den just did. Sixty seconds, no lecture.
Read back what got finished tonight, requirement by requirement, so the Scouts hear their own progress.
Send the den off with the den yell, and catch the parents who need to hear something at pickup.

What to bring

Tonight's requirement list, printed, with a box to tick per Scout
A clipboard and pen for sign-offs as they happen
Paper, markers and a few pencils
Cardboard, painter's tape and safety scissors
Two six-foot lengths of rope per Scout
Towels, drinking water and a change of clothes
One laptop or tablet, and a printed copy of the pack's device rules

Worked out from the requirement text. Swap anything you already have in the den box.

Plan this meeting for your own den

This plan does not know your Scouts. DenBuddy does: import your den from Scoutbook Plus and the planner starts from the requirements each Scout is actually missing, keeps the block times, and turns the agenda into the record sheet afterwards.

Plan Fishing Create a free den

How the planner works

Youth protection is built in: Scouts have no accounts, check-in is done by a parent from a public link, and nothing DenBuddy does writes back to Scoutbook.

How youth data is handled

Questions about Fishing

How many requirements does Fishing have?

7. Each one is a single thing the Scout does. Check the current wording in the handbook or Scoutbook Plus before you sign anything off.

Is Fishing required for Arrow of Light?

No. Fishing is a Arrow of Light elective. A Scout needs the six required Arrow of Light adventures plus at least two electives, and this one can be part of those two.

How long does Fishing take?

The plan on this page runs 60 minutes and covers 7 of the 7 requirements. Most dens spend two meetings on an adventure, because somebody is always absent for the first one.

Can a Scout finish part of Fishing at home?

Any of it can be. Nothing in Fishing is marked as family-only work, so a Scout who misses the meeting can finish with a parent and you record it when the family tells you.