Ashley Dockins

Rick Harper

Title:  What are the land characteristics and animals that live in the Grand Canyon?

Broad Goals: Cognitive: Students will demonstrate knowledge of Grand Canyon characteristics and                                                                                                                       wildlife.                                                                                                                                                                                                       
                      Affective: Students will appreciate the characteristics and beauty of Grand Canyon and thewildlife that lives there.

Standards:

National:  NSS-G.K-12.2 Places and Regions. Students should understand the physical and human characteristics of places.

               NSS-G.K-12.3 Physical Systems. Students should understand the physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth’s surface.

State: 17.A.1a Identify physical characteristics of places, both local and global (e.g. locations, roads, regions, bodies of water)

Lesson Objective: The students will a gain a better appreciation of Grand Canyon through exploring its beauty, characteristics, and wildlife.

Materials: My Grand Canyon Scene worksheet

Resources:

Halvorsen, Lisa. (2000). Letters Home from Grand Canyon. Blackbirch Press, Inc. Woodbridge,    Connecticut.

 Retrieved on October 27, 2009 from http://www.arizona-leisure.com/grand-canyon-animals.html

Retrieved on October 27, 2009 from                                                                                                                        http://wildlife-reserves.suite101.com/article.cfm/wildlife_in_grand_canyon

Retrieved on October 27, 2009 from http://www.travelwest.net/parks/grandcanyon/animals.html

 Retrieved on October 27, 2009 from http://www.desertusa.com/gc/gc_map.html

Retrieved on October 27, 2009 from http://www.nps.gov/grca/parkmgmt/statistics.htm

Focusing Activity: The teacher should begin by asking the students if they remember what was discussed last week? (The Grand Canyon and its many layers of rocks) Ask the students what the beautiful colors in the rocks remind them of? (a rainbow or strips) The teacher should comment that today we are going to learn more about the Grand Canyon and ask if any of the students remember from last week which state the Grand Canyon is in? (Arizona) Students should be made aware that today they will learn about the animals that live in the Grand Canyon and some interesting facts about the Grand Canyon as well.

Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to gain knowledge of the characteristics of Grand Canyon National Park and about the wildlife found there.

Instruction:

The teacher should start by telling the students interesting characteristics about the Grand Canyon. The teacher should remind the students that the Grand Canyon was made by the Colorado River. It would be appropriate at this time for the teacher to the students the Grand Canyon is one mile deep and 277 miles long. A comparison to 277 would be roughly how far away Charleston is from Chicago. It can also be stated that the canyon is about ten miles wide which would be roughly from Charleston to Mattoon. The teacher should mention the dessert landscape and how deep down in the canyon it gets really hot, but on the highest points of the canyon which are roughly 7,000 feet about sea level (above sea level may need to be explained) where the climate is often cool and snowy.

Start a power point presentation with a number of pictures displaying the Grand Canyon so the students really gain an appreciation for the beauty of the National Park. Allow for any discussion students may have about the pictures of the Grand Canyon. Next on the power point should be pictures of the wild life found through out the park. The teacher should make special mention of what each animal is. (Big Horn Sheep, Coyotes, Mule Deer, California Condor, Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, Turkey Vultures, Wild Turkeys, Rattlesnakes, Chuckwalla Lizard, and Scorpions) It would be appropriate to have a discussion about how some of these animals were or are on the endangered species list. Stress the importance of National Parks and how they help to ensure these animals a safe home. It should also be mentioned that many animals that live in the park such as mules or horses were domesticated to help carry things from the bottom of the canyon to the top. It would be a good opportunity to explore that when some tourists come to the Grand Canyon they take mule or horse rides along the canyon’s edge.

Response Activity: Students will demonstrate knowledge about the characteristics about the park and the animals that can be found in the Grand Canyon through the completion of My Grand Canyon Scene. The teacher should comment on what a scene means using; in a movie or the sunset as examples. Their scene should be what the different animals and sites they view make up the Grand Canyon after the discussion.  Students will be asked to pick an animal or two that they just learned about and describe the animal and where the animal lives (Grand Canyon). The students will be asked to include information they learned about those topics in the discussion. Furthermore, the students would also be encouraged to make a drawing of their scene. The student should be given guidelines which include writing one fact about an animal and one fact about the Grand Canyon. The teacher should then distribute My Grand Canyon Scene worksheets for the students make their drawings and write their facts on. The students should be encouraged to use their imaginations and write what they think.

Conclusion: After students have finished if time allows students who would like to share their work with the others may do so at this time. Also the teacher should recap main ideas from the lesson. It would be appropriate at this time to go over the study guide or discuss what the students will be doing Friday for the Lab Day.

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