Grand Canyon National Park Travelin’ Trunks are an outreach endeavor of Grand Canyon Association. GCA designed the program in a way that transports students and teachers to one of the world’s premier learning destinations without actually leaving the classroom. Trunks may also be used pre- or post-visit. Most materials and lessons are geared toward fourth- through eighth-grade students; however, GCA also offers a Grand Canyon Primary trunk for kindergarten through third-grade students.
The trunks focus on the ecology, human history, and geology of Grand Canyon. Trunks contain books, videos, posters, slides, maps, and other interesting and appropriate materials. Each trunk also includes lesson plans. Teachers may choose the lessons and activities most appropriate to their learning goals. GCA designed the lessons to align with Arizona Academic Standards and National Science Education Standards. Education specialists created the activities and lesson plans, and appropriate National Park Service staff and other outside experts reviewed the materials for accuracy.
Travelin' Trunks themes include:
Grand Canyon Ecology Trunk-includes multimedia materials and lessons about Grand Canyon Communities and the factors that affect their existence and survival. Desert, desert survival, and canyon-based Web of Life lessons are included as well.
Colorado River Ecology Trunk-based on a hands-on activity that facilitates students' exploration of the ecology of the Colorado River pre- and post-Glen Canyon Dam. A debate activity is included to look at the stakeholders and their points of view with respect to the changes, drawbacks, and benefits resulting from the dam.
Grand Canyon Human History-This trunk provides a general overview of cultural history at Grand Canyon. Profiles of Grand Canyon characters, books, photos, materials for 'hands-on' activities, and information on Native Americans of the area are included in this trunk.
John Wesley Powell Trunk-This trunk allows students to investigate Powell's journey through Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. It includes a fun and challenging boat building activity.
Primary Trunk-Materials in this trunk are designed to give the young learner a variety of means to explore and learn about Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon Geology Trunk-Here students will find interesting materials and activities for exploring the wonders of geology at Grand Canyon. Topics covered by lessons in this trunk include geologic time, Grand Canyon layers, fossils, and topographic map reading.
Travelin’ Trunk Lesson Plans
The Travelin’ Trunk lesson plans are available below as .pdf files. We welcome you to download and utilize any or all of these lessons free of charge. The lessons have been designed to align with Arizona Academic Standards and National Science Education Standards. Education specialists created the activities and lesson plans, and appropriate National Park Service staff and other outside experts reviewed the materials for accuracy.
4 comments:
What great ideas!! I will e-mail my son's teacher about this!!
What a great idea! I'll forward this on.
That looks really interesting. My son is going to a conference on cataloging fauna in the Smoky Mountains. I love this sort of thing.
thats such a good idea
i'd love to visit the grand canyon - but this looks like a fun substitute
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