Curated OER
Exploring our National Parks
Students utilize maps/Atlases to find key spatial information, locate U.S. National Parks, characterize the geography of a specific region, and create a National Park brochure.
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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...
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People Behind the Parks
Explore U.S. geography with your class by viewing a documentary. Show a portion of the Ken Burns documentary "The National Parks," and identify the individuals responsible for keeping the parks in order. Elementary and middle schoolers...
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Expanding the Mission: Historical Parks
Students explore U.S. geography by viewing a documentary in class. In this national parks lesson, students view video clips of individual national parks and locate them using Google Earth software. Students create a persuasive...
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Turning Parks into Islands
Students discuss the effects of isolating areas in a park to make "islands" for nature. In this nature lesson, students role play park rangers who are developing a new section of the park. Students work in groups to plan a park, after...
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Let's Roam Together
Pupils collect information about buffalo and transform their classroom into a wildlife park. For this conservation lesson, students work in groups to research a question pertaining to buffalo populations and habitat requirements. They...
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Civil War: Generals at the Battle of Stones River
Students explore U.S. history by creating a computer presentation in class. In this Civil War battle lesson, students read assigned text about the Battle of Stones River and research individual generals from the battles. Students utilize...
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Bake, Boil, or Fry
Students write a journal entry about where there food comes from. In this Civil War lesson, students discuss journals, the crops grown within the U.S., the import/export process and what food preparation must have been like on a...
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Cover the Music
Students explore U.S. history by listening to musical pieces in class. In this Civil War era instructional activity, students discuss the types of musical instruments that were available to soldiers during the war and the themes of their...
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It Wasn't a Bullet
Students explore U.S. history by researching disease in class. In this Civil War injury instructional activity, students identify the different causes of death most soldiers faced while fighting in the war. Students role-play and write a...
National Park Service
A Natural Resource Called Peace
Get your pupils outside and teach them about peace at the same time! Scholars create a list describing peace, hike outside, add to that list, and later create poems. The exercises support differentiation for your individual classes as...
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ABC's of the Louisiana Purchase
Students investigate the Louisiana Purchase by reviewing the ABC's of the purchase. Each letter of the alphabet is accompanied by information pertaining to the event. They participate in a variety of activities to reinforce the concepts...
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States and Capitals Unit
Fifth graders explore the regions, states, and capitals that make up the United States. Through the five lessons in this unit students locate and name the fifty states and their capitals.
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You Are Here
Students map local places and learn to use scale and distance. In this mapping lesson, students map their school and a favorite place. Students recreate their maps showing distance and scale sizes. Students locate their location on a...
National Park Service
Same Colors, Different Flavors
Who says getting to know your neighbors has to be difficult? The first resource in a three-part series creates an engaging project that teaches your scholars about Canadian culture. A question-and-answer format takes place via e-mail and...
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Is There Room for Everybody?
Third graders examine the capacity of animals able to live in one habitat. In this habitat lesson plan, 3rd graders play a game that shows the food chain and the interactions between animals in an area. Students discover that food is a...
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Rock Stories
Youngsters pretend they are rocks sitting on a hill. They listen to the provided guided imagery script to conceptualize the process of how rocks change over time. They draw a diagram of what happened to them as rocks during the story. An...
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Painted Lodges
Students explore lodge construction as a representation of culture. In this cultural diversity and Native American history lesson plan, students listen to a narrative explaining the origin of Native American painted lodges. Students...
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Boundaries and People
Students map watersheds to find their boundaries. In this watershed activity students map and then give their "watershed address." Students show the trail from stream, larger stream to oceans. Students describe the boundaries of the...
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Forest Communities
Students identify tree specimens. In this tree specimens lesson, students collect different parts of a tree from the areas around the school or their home. They then work in groups to create booklet that identifies tree specimens.
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Tracks along the Trail
Pupils identify animal tracks outdoors. For this animal life lesson, students go outdoors and find several different animal tracks to identify. Pupils also discuss how animals must adapt in the winter months.
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Puzzle it Out
Students study the Earth's climatic system and construct a puzzle that names all of the pieces of the components involved. In this Climate lesson, students draw a picture on a puzzle piece depicting a specific component. Students then...
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My World
Students study maps. In this social studies lesson, students draw a map of either their room at home or the route they take to school. Students label items on their maps.
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Garbage in the Garden
Students create their own compost. In this soil lesson, students fill a bag with waste and soil, in order to create a mini compost bin. Students observe the baggies over a 6 week period, they record their findings and collect data on...