Constitutional Rights Foundation
Conservation, Preservation, and the National Parks
Going green? Scholars investigate the creation of the US National Park program. Through diary entries as well as expert testimony, they synthesize information and analyze the need for conservation and preservation. Finally, they display...
Curated OER
Photography and the National Park Service
During the 1800s the United States was expanding westward; land was there for the taking. Kids explore how some early photographers used their photography to influenced the US Congress to save areas like Mirror Lake. They complete a...
Curated OER
Personal Stories of the National Parks
Students explore historical information about U.S. national parks using the stories of Edward and Margaret Gehrke as a primary source document. In this United States geography, history, and literacy lesson, students view the diary...
Curated OER
The Wilderness Concept: Our National Parks, History and Issues
Students examine the history of the National parks. In groups, they discuss the concepts of conservation and preservation. They discuss the use of natural resources and how some are renewable and non-renewable. To end the lesson, they...
Curated OER
USA National Parks Quiz
In this online interactive geography quiz instructional activity, students examine the chart that includes 58 state names. Students identify the names of the national parks in the listed states in 5 minutes.
Curated OER
Discovering National Parks
Students work to preserve American National Parks. In this environmental activism lesson, students research the history of the national parks and determine why they were created. Students then focus on protecting the land, using it for...
Library of Congress
The Conservation Movement at a Crossroads: The Hetch Hetchy Controversy
Should wilderness areas be preserved or managed? Class members examine primary source documents, including lecture notes, articles, essays and congressional records to better understand the Hetch Hetchy controversy that created a split...
PBS
Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Activist
Scholars examine the courageous efforts made by civil rights activist, Rosa Parks. Discussion questions and a brief writing assignment follows a short film. A photograph and a silent film delve deeper into Park's history and three...
Curated OER
Looking for a Windshield Experience
Students identify American geography by participating in a national parks activity. In this road trip lesson, students view the Ken Burns documentary "National Parks" and identify the importance of automobiles in the park system....
Curated OER
This is America
Students explore world geography by viewing a documentary film in class. In this national parks lesson, students view the Ken Burns documentary about the subject and identify the contributions of individuals in support of the parks...
Curated OER
Ecological Decision Making
High schoolers, beginning individually and later in small groups use the decision making model to address the question of reintroducing the wolf into Yellowstone National Park. Each small group elects a spokesperson to report to the...
Channel Islands Film
A Time Capsule of a Lost Early California Lifestyle
After viewing The Last Roundup, a documentary that examines the transitioning of Santa Rosa from a privately owned island to a National Park, class members adopt the point of view of Tim Vail, a member of the family that once owned the...
Curated OER
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Students explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and explore how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century. They examine how the region was used by Mormon settlers, scientists and the government.
Curated OER
Central Parks
Students identify examples of humans altering nature and the positive and negative effects of these behaviors for both humans and nature. They assess the impact of tourism on specific national parks, as well as conservation efforts in...
Curated OER
National Parks
For this geography worksheet, students examine the names of 15 National Parks in America. Students locate the names in a word search puzzle.
Curated OER
U.S. Geography: The West
Students explore the national parks of the American West. In this geography skills lesson, students watch "U.S. Geography: The West," and examine print and Internet sources about the national parks found there. Students feature their...
Curated OER
Memories from the National Sites
Students write a virtual postcard. In this logo instructional activity students are introduced to the concept of postcard writing. Students research the national sites and states highlighted on quarters for that year. Students take a...
Curated OER
Explorations in American Environmental History
Ninth graders explore the historical perspective of nature and the environment. In this American History lesson, 9th graders examine materials in a variety of formats to understand the contexts of America's concern for the environment.
Curated OER
Teddy Roosevelt
Students examine the life, contributions, and influence of Teddy Roosevelt. They view a slideshow lecture and take notes on a handout, filling in the blanks on the handout. Students then write a persuasive letter to a governmental...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Using Historic Digital Newspapers for National History Day
Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement and passage of the Thirteenth...
DocsTeach
What Else Was Happening During the Civil War Era?
Examine a time of political division and upheaval— not unlike our own—using firsthand accounts. While study of the Civil War often takes center stage in the classroom, the 1850s and 1860s were a period of profound change in other areas...
Curated OER
Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana
Students explore the background behind the building of the access roads to the National Park in Montana. The arguments for the building of these roads in wilderness regions and the environmental issues involved are examined.
Facing History and Ourselves
Civil Rights Historical Investigations
The murder of Emmett Till, the Selma to Montgomery march, and the desegregation of Boston schools are the focus of three units that ask class members to investigate why these events were so key in the struggle for civil rights. Groups...
Curated OER
Sing Away Songs
Students research the history of Bryce Canyon National Park. They identify geological features of the Park while examining its recreational activities. They work together to write lyrics to a song about the Park.