DocsTeach
Environmental Case Study: Hetch Hetchy Valley
What is more important: building a new school or preserving a nature reserve? Keeping a natural area clean or providing clean drinking water to a city of millions? Young scholars weigh these questions—almost literally—using an...
Curated OER
Stewardship of Yosemite National Park
Middle schoolers devise a plan that would be true to John Muir's spirit of stewardship toward Yosemite. They analyze a core map to determine the original plan and usage of the park and compare the original plan to a current park map.
Curated OER
You Can Depend On me
Discover the natural beauty of California. With a conservation bent, this activity delves into some of the attributes that make this state unique. Learners discuss Yosemite and the forest habitat. They focus on the things plants and...
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...
American Museum of Natural History
Theodore Roosevelt's Outdoor Adventures
Time for a virtual sightseeing trip. Pupils explore the Grand Canyon, Devil's Tower, and Yosemite Valley in an interactive online experience. They answer questions about the organisms in each location and draw conclusions based on their...
Curated OER
Geology of Yosemite
Students are shown slides of Yosemite and explore how the valley was formed by performing an experiment. Instructions on how to set up the lab are included. They can be assessed orally or by writing a report on the outcome of the lab.
Curated OER
Mapping It Out: A Post-Trip Lesson
Students make a rough map of Yosemite and add elevations to the map. They are encouraged to bring photos from the trip and add them to their map.
Curated OER
Pre-Trip Readiness
Students demonstrate an understanding of one of the forces, floods, affecting Yosemite. After watching a video of a 1997 flood of the valley, students go to a website imbedded in this plan and answer questions.
K12 Reader
What Glaciers Leave Behind
Glaciers may seem distant and stationary, but they are huge deposits of moving ice that have made changes to the earth's surface. Your pupils can learn about the different types of impressions left by glaciers by reading the short...
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
Glaciers
Seventh graders summarize how Earth processes today are similar to
those that occurred in the past. They read excerpts from John Muir's "Yosemite Glaciers" and explain how slow geologic processes have large cumulative effects over long...
Curated OER
Geology
Pupils, in groups, observe the effect of water and ice on surface features of the land. They alsoexplore erosion and deposition.
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...
Middle Tennessee State University
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? A Comparison in American Culture
As part of their study of the Progressive Era, class groups examine a 20th century version of "The Three Little Pigs" through a New Era lens and identify how ideals such as the value of hard work, creativity, and problem solving, etc.,...
Curated OER
Problem Solution Writing
Students, after brainstorming possible problem solving activities, choose from one of the many and write what the problem is and a solution to solve it.
Curated OER
A Campfire Conversation
Students examine point of view as it relates to public issues. In this point of view lesson, students become familiar with the point of view of John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt about the wilderness. Students debate if the wilderness...
Curated OER
You Can Depend on Me
Learners identify how they depend on others, and examine and discuss the images on the California Quarter Reverse. They view and discuss images of various habitats, complete a Habitat Research worksheet, and create a habitat diorama.
Curated OER
Earthquakes
Sixth graders explain that earthquakes are sudden motions along breaks in the crust called faults. They list the major geologic events including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and mountain building, which are the result of crustal plate...
Curated OER
Earthquakes
Sixth graders explore reasons for earthquakes. They discuss and describe the types of faults. Using the internet, 6th graders research a specific location of a former earthquake. They describe the damage, magnitude, the epicenter,...
Curated OER
How Does Preserving Wilderness Enhance Forestry
Students identify events of the environmental movement in the United States. For this environment lesson students study Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir, who had a great impact on the environmental movement.
Curated OER
Glaciers
Seventh graders summarize how Earth processes today are similar to those that occurred in the past, and explain how slow geologic processes have large cumulative effects over long periods of time.
Curated OER
Oh, California: Understanding Primary Sources: What Did John Muir See?
Students read a selection from the writings of John Muir. They discover his view on California and its natural resources. They create a display of images that show what California has to offer.
Curated OER
Chief Sealthe's Speech
Students explain the conflict over land between Native Americans and the United States government. They evaluate Native American values and the results of the U.S. expansion into Native American lands.
Curated OER
Planning a Railroad
Students use a topographical map to plan a route from Doknner Summit to Truckee, then compare it to the route selected by Theodore Judah.