Why Do We Have National Parks?

Introduction

After finishing this WebQuest you will be able to explain why we have national parks and where some of the most famous ones are. 

Image result for national park service

Task

Your goal in this WebQuest is to learn what National parks are.  You will also learn who came up with national parks and what some of the biggest ones are.  After learning about national parks, you will decide which one you think would be the most fun to visit.  When you know which park you would like to visit, you will make a project about that park.

                                                               

                                                                                                   

Process

  • Start by looking through some of these links to learn about national parks with the help of your parents. You will find information about the history of national parks as well as information about specific parks.

https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/how-many-national-parks-are-there

https://www.nps.gov/index.htm

https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/faqs.htm

https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/hisnps/NPSHistory/timeline_annotated.htm

  • After learning about national parks, look at the parks in this link to decide which one you want to make your project about.

https://www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks

  • Now that you know about the national parks and which one is your favorite, you can make a project about that park!  Your project can be of any style you want as long as it teaches about your favorite national park.    

              click to see asset described as A park ranger stands inside an Ancestral Puebloan ring of stones and points his laser to a planet in the night sky at Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico.

 

 

 

 

Evaluation

This is your rubric on how your project will be scored.

 

      Objective         One Star      Two Stars   Three Stars Score

Student successfully completed the project.

 Student did not complete the project.   Student partially      completed the      project.    Student successfully        completed the project.  
 Student showed an understanding of national parks.  Student showed no understanding of national parks. Student showed an understanding of the history or importance of  national parks. Student showed a complete understanding of the history and importance of national parks.  
   Student used      classroom time     appropriately. Student used no   classroom time on the project. Student used classroom time, but had trouble staying on task. Student used all available classroom time appropriately.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

The national parks are a fun and important part our our country. You've learned a lot about the history of national parks as well as which parks are your favorites. Do you think you will ever see all of our national parks? Did you know that other countries have national parks too? Maybe you can be the first person to see EVERY national park in the world! 

                                                               

Credits

Thank you to everyone who has helped me realize how amazing national parks are. 

Thank you to the students who agree with me that the national parks are important and beautiful!

Links borrowed from

Images borrowed from

Teacher Page

By Katie Greenwood, St. Jacob's Academy

 

This WebQuest was designed to introduce our kindergarten class to our national park system.  Hopefully the project has led to a fascination with the outdoors and the magnificence of nature.  After completing this project, students will know about the history and importance of national parks as well as some of the biggest and most beautiful parks our country has to offer.