Creative Composing (Brownie Try-it)

Please add ways to customize the Creative Composing Try-it activities here, and include useful resources below.

As with all Brownie Try-its, scouts need to complete 4 activities to earn the badge.

Compose means "to put together", "to make up", or "to create". Use your creative abilities by doing this Try It.

Compose a Song
Make up a song for a special day or occasion: a rainy day song, a campfire song, a holiday song, a silly song, a song for a special Girl Scout ceremony. If you play an instrument, make up a song to sing with the instrument. Sing your song alone or with friends.

Compose Music for Instruments
Compose a tune for an instrument, It can be an instrument you have made. You can form a band with others and make music together.

Compose a Poem
Poems use world in special ways. Sometimes the words rhyme, which means they sound alike - out and shout, sing and ring.

Sometimes poems have lines that rhyme:

When I grow up,

I'll be a queen,

And never have, T

o eat a string bean.

Fill in the blanks in this rhyming poem:

I have a cat who _____,

it likes to play _____.

But not all poems rhyme:

When I ride my bike,

I move so quickly,

I can't see the world.

Using images, write your own non-rhyming poem. Share you poems with your family or friends.

Compose a Painting
Think of a special place. It can be a real place that you've seen or a make-believe place. Now draw it with a pencil on a piece of white paper.

In a painting, the things that are closest to you are usually drawn bigger. Things that are farther away are usually smaller. Look at where things are placed in your sketch. Should anything be moved? Made Smaller? Made larger? Do you want to add anything to your sketch or change it in anyway?

Next, think of colors. You can use watercolors, tempera, or poster paints. Hang your painting for others to see.

Compose a Play
Make up a play about something that happened you one day - for example, in class, at home, on a picnic, on a playground, or during a vacation. Work with friends or create a one-person play. Perform your play for others to enjoy.

Compose a Message
There are many types of messages you can compose, and many ways to compose them. Choose one or more of these messages:


 * 1) A secret message has a code that only and the receiver of the message know. Before you write your message, you have to create a new alphabet. This is your code. The letter "A" might be a star, "B" a square, "C" a happy face, and so on.
 * 2) Write a picture message. Cut out magazine pictures and use them to stand for words or phrases. Combine these with written words.
 * 3) Learn about sign language. Compose a message using sign language and then sign it to someone.