The G

iggling Ghost

Girl Scout M

ystery

TR

OO

PL

EAD

ERG

UID

E

Copyright ©

2012 Carole M

arsh/Gallopade International/Peachtree C

ity, GA

This publication is not authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by G

irl Scouts of the USA

. The G

IRL SC

OU

Tnam

e, mark, and all associated tradem

arks and logotypes are owned by G

irl Scouts of the USA

.

A M

aze-ing Colony!

For her summ

er project, Christina researched Savannah. She

learned that Savannah was the first “planned” city in the U

nitedStates. Th

is plan created all the squares that Am

ber, Grace, Avery,

and Ella visit while searching for the next m

ystery clue!

Start

Finish

Savannah

Help

the G

irl Scou

ts find

their w

ay to Savan

nah

.

112

A N

ote from C

arole Marsh:

How

to Use Th

is Guide

Dear G

irl Scout Troop Leader,

Welcom

e to the Troop LeaderG

uide for my book, Th

e Giggling G

hostG

irl Scout Mystery!

Help m

e celebratethe 100th A

nniversary of the Girl

Scouts by reading this excitingm

ystery involving Savannah, theG

irl Scout Centennial N

ationalC

amporee, Juliette G

ordon Low,and the founding of the originalG

irl Scouts. You can read thisnovel as a troop, or the girls canread it by them

selves and talkabout it as a group during yourtroop m

eetings.

Once your troop has finished reading the book, follow

upw

ith all of the fun activities in this Troop Leader Guide! You can

use selected activities in one meeting or spread them

out overseveral m

eetings to prolong the fun. Either way, your girls w

ill loveit! A

nd best of all—m

any of the activities will help your scouts

attain several badges for Brownies, Juniors, and C

adettes!

Giggles and grins,

Carole M

arsh

Sing-Along Tim

e!

Gather your troop and sing along to the catchy songs below. Th

en,play the gam

es from the book. If your troop is m

ade of older Girl

Scouts, use this opportunity to have them teach a troop of younger

Girl Scouts these fun songs and gam

es.

Boom

Chicka B

oom(page 17)

I said a Boom Chicka Boom

I said a Boom Chicka Boom

I said a Boom Chicka Rocka Chicka Rocka Chicka Boom

!U

h huh,O

h yeah,O

ne more tim

e __________ style!

Dow

n By the Banks (page 55)

Dow

n by the banks of the hanky pankyW

here the bullfrogs jump from

bank to bankyW

ith an eeps iipes oupss uppssAnd an uflop a dilly and a uunflop flopPepsi cola ginger aleG

inger ale ginger ginger ale ginger alePepsi cola ginger ale 7-up 7-up – upYou’re O

UT!

211

Recipes A

ll Girl Scouts W

ill Enjoy!

Try out these delicious recipes to tickle the taste buds of Girl Scouts

of all ages!

S’Mores Brow

nies Ingredients1 package of brow

nie mix, including all necessary ingredients

2 cups mini m

arshmallow

s4 graham

crackers, broken into small pieces

2 milk chocolate candy bars, cut into sm

all pieces

Directions

Bake package of brownie m

ix as directed. When brow

nies havefinished baking, set oven to broil. Im

mediately sprinkle brow

niesw

ith marshm

allows and graham

cracker pieces. Put back in oven tobroil for about 30 to 60 seconds or until m

arshmallow

s are goldenbrow

n (Be careful! Marshm

allows and graham

crackers will

brown quickly). Rem

ove from oven and sprinkle w

ith chocolatepieces. Let cool for about 30 m

inutes and serve!

Giggling G

host Crossw

ord Puzzle!

In this crossword puzzle, you w

ill discover entertaining and interesting facts about Savannah, Juliette G

ordon Low, and the G

irl Scouts. The clues

below refer to im

portant w

ords from the book, so

use the clues to “scout” them

out!

Chocolate Shortbread

Sundaes

Use your favorite ice

cream, chocolate syrup,

any yumm

y toppings,

and shortbread Girl

Scout cookies to create

Chocolate Shortbread

Sundaes. This dessert is

fun, easy, and delicious

for your troop to make!

Am

ber’s Simple Snack

Combine G

irl Scout

shortbread cookies with

peanut butter to discover

Amber’s favorite G

S snack!

Across2. the girls m

ake these from tree bark and candles

4. the second Girl Scout rank

7. Girl Scouts earn these to put on their sashes and vests

9. Savannah is designed in ________.11. the sym

bol of the Girl Scouts

12. first name of the G

irl Scouts’ founder

Dow

n1. the founder of Savannah3. G

irl Scouts are famous for selling these

5. the first Girl Scout rank

6. the fourth Girl Scout rank

8. the third Girl Scout rank

10. the girls find these on slips of paper around Savannah

103

Let’s Solve Our O

wn M

ystery!

Your girls can be junior sleuths just likeA

mber, G

race, Avery, and Ella! Play adetective gam

e with your troop by either

you or selected troop mem

bers takingturns hiding objects around the room

andw

riting clues to help other troop mem

bers find them.

You can change the game by having the girls w

rite clues thatdescribe an object, place, or person related to the G

irl Scouts. The

girls have to decide what the item

is before they look for it.

This activity can be used to fulfill Step #2 for the Brow

nie Making

Gam

es Badge!

49

Let’s Write! Part 2

In this fun and creative activity, your troop mem

bers canparticipate in a group story creation. H

ave the girls sit in a circle.Th

en, one girl writes or says the first sentence of a story. Th

e nextgirl in line w

rites/says the next sentence, and the next girlw

rites/says the next, etc., until each girl has contributed a part tothe story and the story ends. You can also provide m

ore directionfor the activity by w

riting the first sentence yourself and letting thetroop take it from

there. Record the entire story to reread at a laterm

eeting for more fun and giggles!

Here are som

e examples of story beginnings:

A girl w

akes up in the

morning and discovers

that her bed has turned

into a magic carpet!

A boy discovers a secret

passage in his closet!

A w

oman gets a letter in

the mail, and a tiny elf

jumps out of the envelope!

A Secret M

essage!

In this activity, girls will use the code

below to uncover a secret m

essage fromC

arole Marsh! H

int: Words have

hyphens between the individual letters

and spaces between separate w

ords.Th

is fun activity also fulfills Step #2 of theJunior D

etective Badge!

Ans

wer

: D

o yo

u lo

ve G

irl S

cout

s as m

uch

as I

do?

AB

CD

EF

GH

I1

23

45

67

89

JK

LM

N

OP

QR

1011

1213

1415

1617

18

ST

UV

WX

YZ

1920

2122

2324

2526

85

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 4 - 15 25 - 15 - 21 12 - 15 - 22 - 5 __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __7 - 9 - 18 - 12 19 - 3 - 15 - 21 - 20 - 19__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 1 - 19

13-

21 - 3- 8

1 - 19 9

__ __?4 - 15

Let’s Write!

Have your troop w

rite a different ending tothe book individually or in sm

all groups.A

fter they have completed and shared

their new endings, discuss as a group

the effects of those changes. Choose a

few favorite new

endings and ask questionslike:

• How

would this ending affect the characters?

• In real life, would you have preferred to experience the

original ending or your new ending?

• Christina spends m

uch of her time in Savannah w

orkingon a w

riting project. Do you like w

riting creatively betterthan w

riting papers for school? Why or w

hy not?

If your scouts write a m

inimum

of five pages, they can fulfill Step#2 of the Junior Scribe Badge!

LogBook

To Act, or N

ot to Act

Either you or the troop mem

bers pick outone fun, interesting, or exciting scenefrom

the book. The girls can be split

into small groups or rem

ain as a largegroup if there are enough parts. H

avethem

write a script w

ith stage directions,using lines from

the book or original lines. You canm

ake costumes, props and sets; this activity can be as sim

ple orextensive as you w

ish!

Once the play has been perform

ed, have each actor perform a

character analysis of their character. What m

akes the characterunique? If they changed anything from

the original book, why did

they change it?

Perform the troop’s scene in front of another troop or your

families to fulfill Step #5 of the C

adette Public Speaking Badge!

Letterboxing

Help your G

irl Scouts make letterboxes!

•C

hoose a waterproof container

for your letterbox (a plasticfreezer container w

orks great).

•Inside the letterbox, m

ake sure to include alogbook, so that visitors can stam

p your book, and putyour ow

n stamp in there so they can stam

p their own

notebooks.

•A

dd postage-paid postcards to your letterbox. Visitors can

send them to you so you know

about their adventures!

•Label your box, including w

hat is inside.

Once you’ve gathered all your m

aterials and placed them in your

box, hide the box along a nearby trail. Post the letterbox clues onan online site so others can search for it. You can even them

e theclues around Th

e Giggling G

host Girl Scout M

ystery! This activity

is not only tons of fun, but fulfills Step #5 of the Brownie

Letterboxing Badge!

67