America’s National Parks Unit
The United States is home to the world’s greatest National Park System, which was created to preserve our countries greatest natural & historic treasures. 8th grader World Geographers will be emabarking on an adventure through this system and exploring the basics on…
#1 - Why/How these lands are preserved?
#2 - What is available to visitors to these places? (landscape, history, animals, plants, etc)
#3 - How can I (an 8th grader) find and visit a National Park that would excite me?
Students will be working through a variety of activities to give them the “basics” and the unit will conclude with the “My Fav. National Park” broshure project that will incorporate a bit of Topographic Map skills from our last unit of study.
“the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely
democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst."
- Wallace Stegner
National Parks - Short Film Festival
CLICK HERE to Download a Printable Film Festival Questions Worksheet
Video #1: History Channel - How the NP Started
1) What current National Park was 1st protected by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War?
2) What was the 1st National Park & which US President declared it?
3) President Teddy Roosevelt believed that experiencing nature was instrumental in building character…what did Teddy do between 1901 & 1909 to strengthen wild areas in the US?
4) The Antiquities Act was signed into law in 1906…what does this act basically do? (Explain)
5) What US President in 1916 signed the act to create the National Parks Service?
6) Congress declared that the National Parks System is to….
7) Briefly explain the Congressional Acts below:
Historic Sites Act of 1935
Wilderness Act of 1965
Native American Graves Protection & Reparation Act of 1990
Video #2: Types of National “Parks”
Please list the 19 types of National Parks (Protected Areas) within the National Parks Service.
Video #3: TedTalk - Who Owns the NPs?
1) What country did the United States get the solution for how to manage/run protected wild areas?
2) The Mission of the National Park Service has Two basic goals…briefly explain each.
3) The goals of the National Park Service contradict each other a bit…why? (explain)
4) YES…all Americans benefit from the protection of the wild/beautiful areas within the National Parks, but what group of people generally “LOST” when it came to preservation of these lands
Video #4: Who is John Muir? (a quick intro)
1) John Muir: the myth, the man, the ____________________ legend.
2) Mr. Muir is considered…what is his unofficial title?
3) John Muir is a VERY important influencer to the preservation of “wild lands” in the United States. He is known as a what in society?
4) What form of Media did John Muir use in order to educate & influence the people?
5) List a few (at least 3) National Parks that John Muir directly help to preserve & gain “National Park” status?
National Parks Scavenger Hunt
“Physical Features”
CLICK HERE to Download a Printable Copy of Scavenger Hunt
Please use printed, online resources or your own experiences to Name Park & State using the clues below…happy trails!
Thousands of Hoodoos dominate the landscape of this park…Hoodoo = red rock spires/pillars
Considered to be about 360 million years old…the river in this park is considered one of the OLDEST rivers on the planet…many geologists believe it is the 2nd oldest! (FYI: the Nile in Africa is considered the 7th oldest)
Badlands are found in dry terrains & they are formations created by erosion of sedimentary rock… what 2 National Parks are dominated by these beautiful erosive features?
The Highest Point (tallest) mountain in North America can be found here?
(please include name of peak & elevation in answer)
Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America @ 282 feet below sea-level…where can one stand in the typically HOT park?
About 7,500 years ago Mt. Mazama blew its top (Volcanic eruption) & the giant hole created by this explosion slowly filled with water and created the deepest lake in the United States. (1,943 feet deep)
This park's dominant feature (canyon) was carved out over the past 70 million(ish) years by the Colorado River?
Water has slowly (slowly = about 12 million years give or take a few million) dissolved the rock in this National Park to form the world’s longest cave system.
Considered the “most predictable geographic/geologic feature on earth”... the Old Faithful geyser will erupt every 91 minutes spewing hot water.
95% of the sites within this park are underwater…the main attractions are the viewing shipwrecks and marine life within the Coral Reef that dominates this area of the ocean.
Standing on Cadillac Mountain, within the borders of this park, a visitor can feel the warmth of the 1st sunbeams that hit the United States daily.
Name the ONLY National Park that lies South of the Equator.
Found on the western shore overlooking the Mississippi River…only 91 acres in size…this park is the smallest National Park in the US.
Home to the world’s largest concentration of natural rock “arches”.
(there are over 2,000 of these formations)
This NP is an archipelago within the Gulf of Mexico & is home to the largest barrier reef in North America.
The name of this park is very fitting…there is a deep gorge within this park & there is a section of this gorge that only receives 33 minutes of sunlight each day.
Home to the largest glacier (Emmons) in the contiguous (lower 48) United States.
Home to the wettest forest (100+ inches of rain per year) in the United States…officially making it a “Rainforest”. Note: not a tropical rainforest…that would need to be within the tropics region near the equator. (please include name of forest with answer)
National Parks Adventure Imax Film
National Parks Adventure Imax Film - Full Feature Film 42 min
National Parks Adventure - Video Questions - Downloadable Video Worksheet
Who did the Native Americans think nature belonged to?
What is the first national park that they name, which has the largest super volcano on earth?
What creates the colors in the geyser?
What were the highways of the Native Americans?
What did the Colorado River carve?
What did the Native Americans build in New Mexico?
How did Devil’s Tower form according to geologists?
What animal is playing outside of Devils Tower?
What animal supposedly made the “claw marks” of Devil’s Tower?
What is the name of the second national park they visit?
What state is Redwood National Park in?
Why is 95% of the redwood forest gone?
What do new trees need to grow in Yosemite Valley?
Who is John Muir?
What president started the idea of National Parks?
True or False: The Statue of Liberty is part of the National Parks System.
What is the name for the Bryce Canyon spires? How did they form?
After watching the film…Answer Q’s below in complete sentences.
How many of these parks have you visited? What are their names?
Do you have a National Park that you would like to visit? Why?
Name five different landforms you saw in the film.
My National Park Brochure Project
Basic Task:
You have been hired by your World Geography teachers to create a travel brochure that highlights one of America’s magnificent National Parks. This brochure should not only be informative, but full of color, images, and language that “lures” potential travelers to visit your chosen park. Final NP brochures should be neat, easy to read, colorful & concise in order for the reader to get a quick glance of what is “in store” for them upon arrival.
Details:
Students will be given a template to create their brochure with six informational panels. Each panel has a specific theme and geographers will use these panels to “tell the story” of their particular park. Note: students will be choosing their National Park, but we will be limiting repeats based on a lottery within their class period…we are asking kids to pick a “top 3” & will try to guarantee one of these for their project.
The panels include:
My National Park Cover Page - basic overview/intro page
The Sights - dedicated to some images of the park (can be drawn or printed/colored)
Flora & Fauna - plants & animals (sketches, word art, or downloaded/colored images)
Top 5 Things to Do - YOU pick the 5 TOP Activities…be SPECIFIC!
ex/ “Hiking” = nope? “Hike the 8.5 Bright Angel Trail” = YES!
5 Themes of Geography - Please categorize your park (short descriptions, sketch, word art)
NP Road Trip - very basic trip planning document to show reader “How to” from Waconia
Grading: _____/60pts (10 pts per panel)
In hopes to keep the grading simple as possible, kids will be given a total of 10 points for each completed panel within their National Park brochure. Attention to detail, color, general neatness, a finished/final draft appearance & having ALL required panel information is expected throughout a student’s final product.
Common things to avoid for a Final Draft include…spelling errors, eraser marks, lack of color, messy handwriting, forgetting to Capitalize proper nouns, general messy appearance of crumpled paper/tears in paper & improperly folding the tri-fold brochure.
My National Park Advertisement
Persuasive Paragraph
Now that you’ve learned all about your National Park, persuade a potential traveler in a paragraph on why they should visit your park. Paragraphs should be at least 5 sentences and no longer than 8 sentences in length. (this is NOT a paper). These paragraphs should be short, to the point and filled with specific details/facts and colorful/persuasive language (wording) to get a traveler excited and PUMPED to head out to explore your park. Think of your paragraph as a “commercial” or advertisement for your park!
Your Paragraph should include…
#1 Topic/Intro Sentence - “Hook”...ask a question, state an interesting fact & try to WOW your reader
#2 Main Body: at least three details/describers (activities, landforms, park highlights, etc…) that would entice someone to visit your park
#3 Closing Sentence: restate/reword your topic sentence…leave the reader excited and ready to pack up their car
#4 Works Cited: include a quick “Works Cited” below your paragraph…simply “cut/paste” websites used or list printed media
Please type your Paragraph & include Works Cited Info!
Note: Grammar, Spelling & Sentence Structure should be a TOP Priority when writing this paragraph
FYI - remember to HIT SUBMIT when finished
CLICK HERE For Single Paragraph Grading Rubric
National Parks - Online Resources
The National Park Experience (honestly one of the best online NP resources)
Offical National Parks NPS.gov (the official website of the NP Service)
Textbook Chapter 6 - National Parks: Saving the Natural Heritage of US/Canada