Natalie Nickolas LTM 635 Lesson Topic: Our National Parks Length of Unit: Seven lessons Grade level:

5th

The following unit focuses on the cultural aspects of our national park system: who uses them, who influenced (and who was influenced by) the implementation of the system, and the importance of continued conservation. Our national parks embody and are associated with many American ideals, and yet they represent an even larger contradiction: the protection and preservation of natural resources and wild lands; and being open, available, and accessible to all. My goal in this is to develop in students the desire to escape the artificial city environment in exchange for the natural settings that the parks offer. A better understanding of how to enjoy, respect, and experience the parks ensures a deeper appreciation for the role that the parks play in our society and the importance of preserving them for future generations. The following unit is seven lessons in length, spanning at least two weeks. The unit integrates language arts, geography, history, and life science. Stage 1 Desired Results Standards: Language Arts RI.5.3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text RI.5.7 Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic W.5.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources W.5.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences SL.5.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly SL.5.4 Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace SL.5.5 Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes

Geography A.8.2 Construct mental maps of selected locales, regions, states, and countries and draw maps from memory, representing relative location, direction, size, and shape A.8.8 Describe and analyze the ways in which people in different regions of the world interact with their physical environments through vocational and recreational activities History B.8.4 Explain how and why events may be interpreted differently depending on the perspectives of participants, witnesses, reporters, and historians B.8.10 Analyze examples of conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among groups, societies, or nations Life and Environmental Science F.8.8 Show through investigations how organisms both depend on and contribute to the balance or imbalance of populations and/or ecosystems, which in turn contribute to the total system of life on the planet Essential questions: What is conservation and why should we conserve natural resources? Why do we have national parks? What do our national parks stand for? Why and how should we protect our national parks? Student objectives (outcomes): Students will be able to: Describe the mission of the National Park Service Convey the significance of our national park system Describe the purpose of a national park, including conservation of natural resources, recreation, and tourism Identify multiple national parks on a map Recognize the various roles that people play in order to operate a national park Describe the tension and struggle (past and present) between various stakeholders and/or cultures surrounding the park system Plan a trip to a national park of their choice Stage 2 Assessment Evidence Formative assessment Summative assessment Participation in class discussions Students will work in groups to research a national park and create a Topical questions: How do we balance preserving the parks and using them for recreation? What do the national parks mean to me and to others?

Research and Google Earth tour presentation of a national park Letter written from the perspective of John Muir or Theodore Roosevelt Group work to determine a solution to park overcrowding Nature journal quick writes

poster presentation for parents at a What I Want to Do on My Summer Vacation educational evening. Groups will research a route, lodging, supplies, wildlife, history, and top selections of what to do or see and determine a suggested itinerary. Information and images will be compiled and presented in a poster, brochure or technology-based format. Students will self-assess their participation and peer assess their group members.

Stage 3 Learning Plan Learning Activities Lesson 1 What is so special about our National Parks? Students will be introduced to our National Park System. As a preview activity, the class will contribute to completing a KWL chart, discussing what they already know and what they want to learn about the parks. Students will watch a video clip, Mapping Our National Parks, covering a brief history of the national park service. Using random team cards, students will be broken into groups, with each group assigned a national park to explore. Using books from the library, travel guides, the National Park Service website, and Google Earth, students will research their assigned park, answering the following questions: Where is this park? How big is it? What is the history of the park? What can you see or do in the park? How many people visit the park every year? What makes this park special?

Groups will do online exploration, gathering information on a provided graphic organizer. Students will then share their findings with the rest of the class by taking their classmates on a tour of their park. Tours can be conducted using either Google Earth or sharing images and highlights in PowerPoint. The class will discuss similarities, differences, recreational uses, and other highlights identified throughout the tours. Students will participate in a think/pair/share to determine the mission of the National Park Service and will conclude by completing the final column of the KWL chart. Lesson 2 Whos behind all this? For this lesson, the teacher will place a stuffed animal in the middle of the room and invite the students to find a seat somewhere in a circle around the object. Students will draw the stuffed animal from their position, and will

discuss how their perspective influenced their interpretation of the object. The class will be presented with the well-known photograph of Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir at Glacier Point in the Yosemite Valley. The teacher will explain that these two individuals, the then-president of the United States and one of the first conservationists, had different perspectives on what should be done with our natural spaces. The teacher will read aloud Camping with the President, by Ginger Wadsworth. The class will be divided, with half the students performing research of Theodore Roosevelt and the other half researching John Muir. Students will complete a graphic organizer on their assigned individual. When research has been completed, students will be paired with another member of the class that researched the opposite person. Students will write a letter from the perspective of the person they researched in anticipation of the upcoming camping trip. Partners will exchange letters and write a brief response. The teacher will also read aloud John Muir: Americas First Conservationist , by Kathryn Lasky. Students will create nature journals in the style of Muir and will complete their first journal entry describing their favorite camping, backpacking, or hiking experience OR their favorite experience with nature. Lesson 3 Is a picture really worth a thousand words? Using either a document camera or a computer with projecting, the teacher will share Thomas Morans painting, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Students will be invited to determine which national park this may be depicting. The teacher will explain that this painting played an important role in convincing Congress to declare Yellowstone as our first national park and will describe that before computers, email, and cell phones, people had to use paintings and photography to communicate the beauty of our national parks to those back east. Students will be directed to find and print a photograph or an image of a painting of scenery in one of the national parks, either using books or the Internet. They will learn more about their particular photographer and artist. Arranged in groups of four or five, students will spend time brainstorming and recording adjectives and descriptive phrases that could be used to describe their chosen image. Students will pass their list and their image to the next group member, who will add to the list. Once circulated through the group, each student will take their list and will work on free verse poetry in their nature journal. Students will work to publish their free verse poem and will display it alongside their image in a classroom exhibit. Lesson 4 Who keeps the parks running? Students will brainstorm the various tasks that a park ranger might perform. The teacher will record these suggestions as students participate. The teacher will ask if the students can think of any other jobs that might be required by the National Park Service, and will share with the students a list of titles held by its employees: http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/workwithus.htm Students will explore individually one of the jobs of interest to them. The teacher will guide the class, modeling thought processes by thinking aloud, in

compiling thoughtful questions for someone in one of these positions. Using the NPS employee directory, students will find someone working in the position that interests them and will email him/her their informational interview questions. Students will write in their natural journals to the following prompt: What would be the best thing about working for the National Park Service? What would be the worst thing? Lesson 5 How did the creation of the parks impact people? The teacher will explain that the national park system also includes national monuments, one of them being Mount Rushmore. Students will complete an anticipation guide gauging what they already know about the monument and the Black Hills region of South Dakota. The teacher will provide a brief overview of Mount Rushmores history, explaining that while many are proud of Mount Rushmore, the monument does not represent the same thing to all people. Students will read brief nonfiction text covering the history of the Black Hills, focusing on the Battle of Little Bighorn and the repercussions against the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. The class will watch the film clip, Mount Rushmore: Telling Americas Stories. Following the short film, students will participate in a heads together activity and discussion of the following questions: Why do you think so many people who come to Mount Rushmore leave feeling inspired and full of patriotic pride? - Why did the sculpting of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota create bitterness among American Indians? - Gerard Baker is the first American Indian to be superintendent of Mount Rushmore. How does his ethnic background give him a unique perspective in telling the story of the people who lived in the Black Hills? - Discuss your thoughts on the inclusion of American Indian history and culture at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. (http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/for-educators/untold-stories-discussionguide/) Groups will discuss these questions, ensuring that all members of the group can summarize their discussion, and will share out based on random selection. Students will respond to the last question as a writing prompt in their nature journals: How can the national parks find a balance between honoring Americas greatest achievements and also telling the story of those Americans who didnt always benefit from those achievements? Lesson 6 To whom do the parks belong, and how do we share? The teacher will share an image of bears and wolves fighting over the same food, asking the students to describe what could be happening in the photo. Students will be partnered up using clock buddy sheets, and each pair of students will research a specific animal found in Yellowstone. Pairs will determine that animals territory, food source, park population, water availability, shelter, and natural enemies, organizing the information through the use of a data disk. The class will come back together and will work to -

determine a food web arrangement by taping their data disks to the board. Students will watch the clip Inside Yellowstone: Wolf Cascade (http://www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/iy-wildlife.htm), which illustrates the impact of reintroducing the grey wolf to the park. Students will discuss conflicts and competition found throughout the food web display. The teacher will explain that conflict also happens between wildlife and park visitors, sharing a photograph of human/animal interaction. The teacher will explain that just as the animals within the parks have to compete with each other for resources, in a way people compete for the natural spaces that the parks encompass and the uses of the parks. The teacher will remind students of the concept of perspective. Just as the parks may represent different things to different cultures, different people want to see different things happen with the parks depending on their particular relationship to them. The teacher will share images of Niagara Falls focusing on its tourism draws in the late-19th century, explaining that while tourist attractions may have brought people in, they also exploited the natural surroundings. The teacher will also share that todays national parks experience overcrowding, and that today the students will be working to determine a solution to this problem. Students will be assigned a particular role to play as they research tourism at Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon through the eyes of a conservationist, a tourism representative, a park service employee, and a park visitor. Student groups containing one person representing each role will research their assigned park and complete a graphic organizer. Group members will then meet to discuss their responses to the question, What is the best way to protect the parks while still continuing to allow visitors? Group members will not debate but will state their suggestions from the perspective of the role they are representing. Students will write in their journals in response to the prompt, To whom do the parks belong? What do you believe is the best solution to overcrowding in the parks? Lesson 7 Why should we share our knowledge of the national parks with others? The teacher will explain that while the parks represent a contradiction, the national park system is there for people to visit, experience, enjoy, and educate others about. As a culminating activity for this unit, students will work in groups to plan a trip to the national park of their choice. Group members must research a route to reach the park, estimate the mileage and approximate fuel costs, decide on a necessary supplies list, investigate lodging options, identify wildlife viewing and sightseeing opportunities, provide a suggested length of stay and an itinerary including the top three to five things to see or do while visiting. Groups will also include a brief history of the park, what makes this park special, why it should be protected, and images (including a map of the park) to support their findings. Student groups will organize their information into a presentation format (poster, trifold board, PowerPoint, Prezi, Poplet, brochure, etc.). Parents will be invited

to view the full exhibition titled, What I Want to Do on My Summer Vacation. Students will staff their exhibit to answer questions from the parents and act as educational representatives of their chosen national park. In conclusion, students will complete a self-assessment ranking their performance in relation to the completeness of their information, the organization of the material presented, their contribution to the group, and anything they would change or do differently if given the chance. Students will also peer assess their group members.

Materials: Copy of video set, The National Parks: Americas Best Idea Copies of KWL chart Map of the United States and national parks Variety of travel guides Computers with Internet access TV or computer with projection and screen Stuffed animal Copy of Camping with the President Document camera Materials for nature journals Graphic organizers Data disk materials Poster exhibition materials and laptops for those doing digital presentations _____________________________________________________________ Motivation/hook: Students will be exposed to the spectacular beauty found within our national parks system. This unit incorporates a great deal of online exploration and use of technology. _____________________________________________________________ Differentiation: Students will be provided with numerous choices throughout this unit. A variety of print and electronic resources will be available for use during research activities. Students will self-select their roles in participating in the culminating activity based on their interests and skills.

Websites and Resources http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/for-educators/lesson-plans/#mapping http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/for-educators/lesson-plans/#campfire http://www.nps.gov/personnel/

http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/for-educators/untold-stories-discussionguide/ http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/for-educators/lesson-plans/#tourism http://www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/iy-wildlife.htm