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National Parks: USA's Natural Wonders

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Lesson Plan

National Parks: USA's Natural Wonders Lesson Plan

Students will be able to identify and describe key features of the 63 U.S. National Parks, understanding their geological significance and the importance of conservation.

Understanding our national parks fosters appreciation for natural landscapes, promotes environmental stewardship, and provides insights into geological processes that shape our planet. This knowledge encourages responsible tourism and informed civic engagement.

Audience

High School Students

Time

70 minutes

Approach

Through an interactive slide presentation and guided discussion.

Materials

Projector and screen, Computers/tablets (optional, for individual exploration), and National Parks Slide Deck

Prep

Teacher Preparation

15 minutes

  • Review the National Parks Slide Deck to familiarize yourself with each park and its key features.
    - Ensure projector and computer are set up and working.
    - (Optional) Prepare additional resources or videos for specific parks if time allows or student interest is high.

Step 1

Introduction: What's a National Park?

10 minutes

  • Begin by asking students what comes to mind when they hear "National Park."
    - Discuss the purpose of National Parks (conservation, public enjoyment, historical preservation).
    - Briefly introduce the idea that the U.S. has 63 incredible parks, each with unique features.

Step 2

Journey Through the Parks

45 minutes

  • Present the National Parks Slide Deck.
    - Dedicate approximately 30-45 seconds per slide, focusing on the park's name and its most famous geological features or landforms.
    - Encourage students to note down any parks that particularly interest them or features they find striking.
    - Facilitate brief pauses for questions or quick observations after every 5-7 parks.

Step 3

Discussion & Reflection

10 minutes

  • Open a class discussion using prompts like:
    - "Which national park surprised you the most and why?"
    - "If you could visit one national park, which would it be and what would you hope to see?"
    - "Why do you think it's important to protect these places?"
    - "What role do geological features play in making these parks unique?"
    - Connect back to the idea of conservation and stewardship.

Step 4

Wrap-Up: Your Top Pick

5 minutes

  • Ask each student to quickly share their 'top pick' national park from the presentation and one reason why.
    - Conclude by emphasizing the diversity and beauty of America's natural heritage.
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Slide Deck

National Parks: USA's Natural Wonders

Discover the incredible landscapes, diverse ecosystems, and unique geological features of all 63 U.S. National Parks!

Welcome students to the journey! Introduce the concept of National Parks and briefly explain what they will explore today.

1. Acadia National Park, Maine

Known for its stunning rocky headlands, granite peaks, and diverse coastline. Home to Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the U.S. East Coast.

Introduce Acadia National Park, known for its rocky headlands and Cadillac Mountain.

2. American Samoa National Park, American Samoa

Features coral reefs, rainforests, volcanic islands, and Samoan culture. One of the most remote National Parks.

Introduce American Samoa National Park, a remote park known for coral reefs and rainforests.

3. Arches National Park, Utah

Home to over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the iconic Delicate Arch, as well as balanced rocks and pinnacles.

Introduce Arches National Park, famous for its sandstone arches.

4. Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Characterized by its sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires, alongside the largest protected mixed-grass prairie in the United States.

Introduce Badlands National Park, known for its eroded buttes and prairies.

5. Big Bend National Park, Texas

A vast expanse of Chihuahuan Desert, mountains, and the Rio Grande River. Features diverse geology, including volcanic formations and limestone canyons.

Introduce Big Bend National Park, a vast desert park with mountains and the Rio Grande.

6. Biscayne National Park, Florida

A water-based park protecting Biscayne Bay, coral reefs, islands, and a diverse marine ecosystem.

Introduce Biscayne National Park, known for its marine ecosystem and coral reefs.

7. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

Known for its dramatic, deep, and narrow canyon carved by the Gunnison River, exposing Precambrian rock.

Introduce Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, featuring a deep, narrow canyon.

8. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Distinguished by its unique geological structures called hoodoos, formed by frost weathering and stream erosion of sedimentary rock.

Introduce Bryce Canyon National Park, famous for its hoodoos.

9. Canyonlands National Park, Utah

A vast, rugged desert landscape carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries into countless canyons, mesas, and buttes.

Introduce Canyonlands National Park, a rugged desert landscape with canyons.

10. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Protects a 100-mile long wrinkle in the Earth's crust called the Waterpocket Fold, a monocline exposing layers of rock.

Introduce Capitol Reef National Park, known for its Waterpocket Fold.

11. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

Features over 119 known caves, including the 'Big Room,' formed in limestone by sulfuric acid.

Introduce Carlsbad Caverns National Park, home to spectacular underground caves.

12. Channel Islands National Park, California

Comprises five offshore islands, home to unique flora and fauna, sea caves, and kelp forests.

Introduce Channel Islands National Park, protecting islands and marine life.

13. Congaree National Park, South Carolina

Preserves the largest intact tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the southeastern United States, with some of the tallest trees on the East Coast.

Introduce Congaree National Park, known for its old-growth bottomland hardwood forest.

14. Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Site of North America's deepest lake, formed in the caldera of a collapsed volcano (Mount Mazama). Known for its clear blue water.

Introduce Crater Lake National Park, featuring North America's deepest lake.

15. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

Follows the Cuyahoga River, featuring waterfalls, rolling hills, and forests.

Introduce Cuyahoga Valley National Park, known for its waterfalls and forests.

16. Death Valley National Park, California/Nevada

The hottest, driest, and lowest national park, known for vast salt flats, sand dunes, badlands, and mountains.

Introduce Death Valley National Park, the hottest and driest place in North America.

17. Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Encompasses Denali (Mount McKinley), North America's highest peak, and a vast wilderness of taiga and tundra.

Introduce Denali National Park, home to North America's highest peak.

18. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida

A cluster of seven small islands, accessible mostly by boat or seaplane, known for coral reefs, abundant marine life, and historic Fort Jefferson.

Introduce Dry Tortugas National Park, known for its coral reefs and historic fort.

19. Everglades National Park, Florida

The largest tropical wilderness in the United States, a vast wetland ecosystem home to alligators, crocodiles, and wading birds.

Introduce Everglades National Park, the largest tropical wilderness in the U.S.

20. Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska

America's northernmost national park, a vast, roadless wilderness above the Arctic Circle, characterized by glacial valleys and mountains.

Introduce Gates of the Arctic National Park, a remote wilderness above the Arctic Circle.

21. Gateway Arch National Park, Missouri

Commemorates the Louisiana Purchase and westward expansion with the iconic 630-foot tall Gateway Arch on the Mississippi River waterfront.

Introduce Gateway Arch National Park, home to the iconic Gateway Arch.

22. Glacier National Park, Montana

Known as the 'Crown of the Continent,' featuring active glaciers, pristine forests, alpine meadows, and rugged mountains.

Introduce Glacier National Park, known as the 'Crown of the Continent' with its glaciers and mountains.

23. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska

A majestic landscape of tidewater glaciers, snow-capped mountains, and a rich marine and terrestrial ecosystem.

Introduce Glacier Bay National Park, known for its tidewater glaciers.

24. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

A steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River, exposing billions of years of geological history in its layered rock formations.

Introduce Grand Canyon National Park, one of the most famous natural wonders.

25. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Dominated by the stunning Teton Range, with peaks rising dramatically from the valley floor, alongside pristine lakes and diverse wildlife.

Introduce Grand Teton National Park, featuring the Teton mountain range.

26. Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Features ancient bristlecone pine groves, a 13,000-foot peak (Wheeler Peak), and the underground formations of Lehman Caves.

Introduce Great Basin National Park, known for its ancient bristlecone pines and Lehman Caves.

27. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado

Contains the tallest sand dunes in North America, formed by wind currents, set against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Introduce Great Sand Dunes National Park, home to the tallest dunes in North America.

28. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina/Tennessee

Known for its misty, forest-covered mountains, rich biodiversity, and ancient mountains with diverse plant life.

Introduce Great Smoky Mountains National Park, known for its misty mountains and biodiversity.

29. Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas

Protects the world's most extensive Permian fossil reef and Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas.

Introduce Guadalupe Mountains National Park, featuring the highest peak in Texas.

30. Haleakalā National Park, Hawaii

Preserves the dormant Haleakalā volcano, with its massive crater, and protects endangered species and unique ecosystems.

Introduce Haleakalā National Park, home to a massive dormant volcano.

31. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

Home to two of the world's most active volcanoes, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, showcasing dramatic volcanic landscapes and ongoing geological processes.

Introduce Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, featuring two active volcanoes.

32. Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

Preserves 47 naturally heated spring water sources flowing from the Hot Springs Mountain. Known for its historic Bathhouse Row.

Introduce Hot Springs National Park, known for its naturally heated spring water.

33. Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana

Stretches along 15 miles of the Lake Michigan shoreline, featuring sand dunes, wetlands, prairies, and diverse ecosystems.

Introduce Indiana Dunes National Park, known for its diverse ecosystems and sand dunes.

34. Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

A remote island wilderness in Lake Superior, known for its rugged shoreline, forests, and moose and wolf populations.

Introduce Isle Royale National Park, a remote island wilderness in Lake Superior.

35. Joshua Tree National Park, California

Where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet, characterized by rugged rock formations and the unique Joshua Trees.

Introduce Joshua Tree National Park, where two deserts meet.

36. Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Famous for its population of brown bears and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a barren landscape created by a massive volcanic eruption.

Introduce Katmai National Park, known for its Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and bears.

37. Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

Protects the Harding Icefield, one of the largest icefields in the U.S., and a dramatic coastal landscape of fjords, glaciers, and abundant marine life.

Introduce Kenai Fjords National Park, home to the Harding Icefield and coastal fjords.

38. Kings Canyon National Park, California

Features massive canyons, towering mountains, and groves of giant sequoia trees, including the General Grant Tree.

Introduce Kings Canyon National Park, featuring deep canyons and giant sequoias.

39. Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska

Protects the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, the largest active sand dunes in the Arctic, and the Kobuk River.

Introduce Kobuk Valley National Park, known for its sand dunes above the Arctic Circle.

40. Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska

A mosaic of active volcanoes, glaciers, pristine lakes (like Lake Clark), and abundant wildlife.

Introduce Lake Clark National Park, a wilderness of volcanoes, glaciers, and lakes.

41. Lassen Volcanic National Park, California

Features all four types of volcanoes: shield, composite, cinder cone, and plug dome. Known for hydrothermal areas like Bumpass Hell.

Introduce Lassen Volcanic National Park, home to all four types of volcanoes.

42. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

Preserves the world's longest known cave system, with extensive underground passages, formations, and ecosystems.

Introduce Mammoth Cave National Park, the world's longest known cave system.

43. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Preserves the ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings and other archaeological sites, offering insight into an ancient civilization.

Introduce Mesa Verde National Park, protecting ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings.

44. Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Dominated by Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, surrounded by glaciers, subalpine meadows, and ancient forests.

Introduce Mount Rainier National Park, dominated by an active volcano.

45. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, West Virginia

Protects the New River, one of the oldest rivers in North America, flowing through a deep, rugged canyon. Famous for the New River Gorge Bridge.

Introduce New River Gorge National Park, known for its rugged river and bridge.

46. North Cascades National Park, Washington

A vast, rugged wilderness of jagged peaks, deep valleys, active glaciers, and hundreds of alpine lakes.

Introduce North Cascades National Park, a rugged mountain wilderness.

47. Olympic National Park, Washington

Encompasses three distinct ecosystems: rugged Pacific coastline, temperate rainforests, and glaciated mountains (Olympic Mountains).

Introduce Olympic National Park, featuring diverse ecosystems from mountains to coast.

48. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

Known for its globally significant deposits of petrified wood, colorful badlands, and fossils.

Introduce Petrified Forest National Park, known for its petrified wood.

49. Pinnacles National Park, California

Formed by volcanic activity, featuring spire-like rock formations, talus caves, and a rich ecosystem.

Introduce Pinnacles National Park, protecting volcanic formations and caves.

50. Redwood National and State Parks, California

Protects nearly half of the world's remaining old-growth redwood forests, including the tallest trees on Earth.

Introduce Redwood National Park, home to the world's tallest trees.

51. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Known for its spectacular mountain scenery, including peaks over 14,000 feet, alpine tundra, and diverse ecosystems.

Introduce Rocky Mountain National Park, featuring high mountains and alpine tundra.

52. Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Protects the iconic saguaro cactus, North America's largest cactus, in the Sonoran Desert landscape.

Introduce Saguaro National Park, home to the iconic saguaro cactus.

53. Sequoia National Park, California

Home to giant sequoia trees, including the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree on Earth by volume, and the highest point in the contiguous U.S., Mount Whitney.

Introduce Sequoia National Park, known for its giant sequoia trees.

54. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Stretches along the Blue Ridge Mountains, featuring forests, waterfalls, and the scenic Skyline Drive.

Introduce Shenandoah National Park, known for its Blue Ridge Mountains and Skyline Drive.

55. Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

Comprises three separate units of badlands terrain and grasslands in western North Dakota, honoring President Roosevelt's conservation efforts.

Introduce Theodore Roosevelt National Park, protecting badlands and prairies.

56. Virgin Islands National Park, U.S. Virgin Islands

Protects coral reefs, tropical forests, and historic sugar plantation ruins on the island of St. John.

Introduce Virgin Islands National Park, protecting coral reefs and tropical forests.

57. Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

A water-based park with a network of interconnected lakes and forests, popular for boating and fishing.

Introduce Voyageurs National Park, a water-based park with interconnected lakes.

58. White Sands National Park, New Mexico

Preserves the world's largest gypsum dunefield, creating a stunning landscape of white sands.

Introduce White Sands National Park, known for its vast gypsum dunefield.

59. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska

The largest national park, encompassing towering mountain ranges (including Mount St. Elias) and massive glaciers.

Introduce Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest national park with mountains and glaciers.

60. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming/Montana/Idaho

The world's first national park, famous for its geothermal features like Old Faithful geyser, hot springs, and diverse wildlife.

Introduce Yellowstone National Park, the first national park, known for geysers.

61. Yosemite National Park, California

Renowned for its granite cliffs (like El Capitan and Half Dome), giant sequoia groves, and spectacular waterfalls.

Introduce Yosemite National Park, known for its granite cliffs and waterfalls.

62. Zion National Park, Utah

Features massive sandstone cliffs, narrow canyons (like The Narrows), and a unique ecosystem at the junction of three geographical regions.

Introduce Zion National Park, known for its massive sandstone cliffs and narrow canyons.

63. Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota

Known for its complex cave system featuring unique boxwork and popcorn formations, as well as its prairie and forest ecosystems above ground.

Introduce the last National Park, which is Wind Cave. It is known for its calcite formations.

Explore Our National Treasures!

Which park captured your imagination the most?
What natural feature do you want to see firsthand?
Let's continue to learn and protect these incredible places!

Encourage students to explore more about their favorite parks or plan a virtual trip.

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