In this lesson, students will learn about the National Park System in the United States and, through exploration of the parks (in books, magazines, maps, and on the Internet), identify human modifications to the physical environment and the intended and unintended effects of those modifications.

Geography, social studies, language arts, math, science

Standard 14: "How human actions modify the physical environment"
Standard 18: "How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future"

Two to four hours

• Computer with Internet access
• Paper for making park "passports"
• Markers, colored pencils, glue
• Poster board (one piece for each small group)

Students will

• understand how human actions modify the physical environment; and
• recognize the potential—as well as the limitations—of a physical environment to meet human needs and wants.

Humans have often modified the physical environment for their own benefit. These modifications typically have intended results, usually immediate human benefits. There can also be unintended effects, which can be positive but often are negative. For example, a farmer may cut down trees on a hillside for more pasture (the intended effect), but during heavy rains the newly reduced vegetation may cause mud slides that erode the topsoil (an unintended effect).

The United States National Park Service holdings include hundreds of parks, recreation areas, forests, monuments, and wildlife refuges, as well as historic sites, memorials, and military parks. The National Park Service works in collaboration with other federal agencies, states, tribes, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and commercial enterprises to manage their holdings throughout the country. Have students review the distribution of parklands in the U.S. at the National Park Service's Visit Your Parks section.

Tell students you are going to look at some specific national parks in detail. Show them the photographs at the following Web sites to get a feel for the diversity of parks around the country:

Acadia National Park: Photo Gallery
Craters of the Moon National Park (photographs by John Donohue)
Glacier Bay National Park
National Parks of the Western Mountains and Deserts (includes Arches, Denali, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone)

Give each student or small group four sheets of paper for making their national park "passport." Have students draw a picture of their favorite park on the cover of the passport, and include the park's name and location (they might need your help with researching this).

On each of the inside pages, have them draw pictures of some of the other parks they looked at, and label those, too.

Explain to students that national parks belong to all of us. Why do they think it is important that we take good care of them? Are there animals and plants that need these parks as a home? What would the country look like if all the parks were gone and buildings or parking lots were put up in their place?

Ask students to work in small groups and create public awareness posters for one of the national parks they have studied in this lesson. Each poster should include a picture of the park drawn by the students or a collage of pictures of the park, if you have access to nature magazines they can cut up. If students are not writing much yet, they can simply write: "Save Arcadia National Park," for example, or you can help them. If they are older or more advanced, they can write brief explanations about why it's important to save the park.

If you have the time and resources, you might want to have students do additional research with your help, and look for animals and plants that live in their parks, and draw pictures of them on their posters.

Donna LaRoche of Winn Brook School in Belmont, Massachusetts, contributed classroom ideas for Standard 14.

National Geographic: Xpeditions ActivityTake Action! Steward Our Land
U.S. Department of the Interior: National Park Service
U.S. National Parks Guide
World Wildlife Fund