Old Faithful: Yellowstone National Park

Introduction | Task | Process and Resources
Evaluation | Conclusion

Introduction:

Craggy peaks capped by glimmering glaciers, fields full of wildflowers, lakes as smooth and blue as a summer sky-these images from the Rocky Mountains represent for many people just what a national park should look like. But will they be there for future generations to enjoy? Will real estate development and plans for oil and gas drilling cause the death of such a beautiful area? Will the habitats of animals be endangered in the future?

Glacier National Park

The Task:

Put on your traveling shoes! You have just become a “first rate” travel agent for one of the seven national parks found in the Rocky Mountain Region of the American West. Your job is to research one of the seven available parks. There are four requirements for your job as a travel agent: 1) take a virtual tour (on-line) of one of the parks, you may visit any link on the national park site; 2) keep a dated daily journal (at least seven entries, could be more entries if you wish) about what you have seen and things to do while in the park; 3) on the website, find the address to write to that park and write a letter requesting information about the park; the letter must be written in correct letter format; 4) create a travel brochure for the park that you visited. You may include drawings, pictures, etc. in your journal. Your travel brochure may be in any form (example: written or video) and should highlight the best aspects of your national park to tell a prospective visitor what they should expect to see and what activities are available while at the park. Remember, your goal as a “first rate” travel agent is to get people to visit the park.

Badlands National Park

The Process & Resources:

· Your first task is to complete a virtual tour of one of the seven national parks in the Rocky Mountain Region. When you get to the site, click where it says: Website Visitor Center. You may also visit any link at the site that you think will give you more information. You will become an expert on that one park and your travel clients will be counting on you to report back what you do and see while in the park.

These are the websites for the seven Rocky Mountain Region national parks:

      1.      http://www.nps.gov/glac/ (Glacier National Park)
2.      http://www.nps.gov/thro/ (Theodore Roosevelt National Park)
3.      http://www.nps.gov/yell/ (Yellowstone National Park)
4.      http://www.nps.gov/wica/ (Wind Cave National Park)
5.      http://www.nps.gov/romo/ (Rocky Mountain National Park)
6.      http://www.nps.gov/grte/ (Grand Teton National Park)
7.      http://www.nps.gov/badl/ (Badlands National Park)

Map: Grand Teton National Park

· Your second task is to write your dated journal. It will be used as a resource and guide in creating your travel brochure. Your journal must include at least seven entries but you may have more if you wish. Your journal must be written in complete sentences and be very detailed. You are the eyes of your perspective clients. Use all of the five senses (hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, and seeing) in your descriptions. Pictures or drawings will enhance your journal.

· Your third task is to write to your national park and request any information that they are willing to send to you concerning that national park. Your letter must be written in correct letter format and will be typed using Clarisworks or Student Writing Center on the computer. You must provide an envelope and a stamp.

· Your fourth task is to create a travel brochure for the park that you visited. You may complete it by writing and illustrations or you may wish to video tape your brochure. If you choose to use a written form, you may use a publishing tool such as Clarisworks or Student Writing Center on the computer. Pictures are required for your brochure.

Additional resources where you could find information are:
Britannica www.britanicca.com http://wneo.org/gasp http://liveatthepark.com

Calcite Lake and Purple Prairie Clover:
	Wind Cave National Park

BONUS ACTIVITIES:

Go to the following websites and complete the listed task:

1. http://www.nps.gov/yell/kidstuff/index.htm

Complete the task labeled Yellowstone Website Scavenger Hunt

2. http://www.nps.gov/grte/

Once at the site, go to where it says A Student Bibliography. It is near the bottom of the site.

Click on the words student bibliography. You will find a list of books. Choose a book from the list and try and find it at the library. Be prepared to give a BookTalk on the material.

Chromatic Spring: Yellowstone National Park

Evaluation:

You will be given a grade on your project from 0 to 100 points.

Criteria for total project:
Overall content of journal	20
Letter, proper format Heading, greeting, body, salutation, signature	30
Travel Brochure	30
Design Clarity of brochure Use of color, neatness, etc	10
Design creativity of brochure	5
Grammar, Spelling	5
TOTAL 100 points

Up to 20 bonus points can be earned for completing the Yellowstone Website Scavenger Hunt and/or Student Bibliography.

Conclusion:

Congratulations! You have completed a tour of a Rocky Mountain Region national park without leaving home! Think about what you could do with the information that you have learned. Could you find the miles from your home to the national park? Could you follow a road map to get there?

Think about…

Using the information you’ve gathered as research for a social studies report.
Doing further research on other national parks in another region of the United States.
Our country’s westward expansion.
How national parks came to be in existence. What was the first national park? Why were national parks created?
Problems facing our national parks. What about land development and oil drilling around the fringes of the parks? What about the endangered animals? Reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park? Reintroduction of grizzly bears into the “lower 48 states?”
Researching animals that live in our national parks.
Visiting other WebQuests concerning national parks.