National Parks

Special land protected for everyone.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 28

A national park is special land that the country protects, so everyone can enjoy it, now and in the future.
Yellowstone became the first national park in 1872, before Roosevelt was President. It has bison, bears, and geysers: hot water that shoots up out of the ground, like Old Faithful!
The Grand Canyon, in Arizona, is a canyon: a deep valley with steep sides. The Colorado River carved it over millions of years.
Roosevelt visited the Grand Canyon and said, Leave it as it is. In 1908, he protected it. Later, it became a national park.
Roosevelt camped in Yosemite, in California, with John Muir, a man who loved nature. They slept outside, under giant sequoia trees.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is not far from Georgia. Its mountains are covered in forests.
Parks protect every kind of landform: mountains, valleys, deserts, and coasts.
Park rangers take care of national parks. They keep visitors and animals safe, and teach about the land.
Try it with a grown-up! Look at pictures of a national park. Which landforms can you find?

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:

SS1H1.a — Identify the contributions made by these figures: Benjamin Franklin (inventor/author/ statesman), Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence), Meriwether Lewis and William Clark with Sacagawea (exploration), Theodore Roosevelt (National Parks and the environment), George Washington Carver (science), and Ruby Bridges (civil rights).
SS1G1.c — National Parks (Theodore Roosevelt)
SS1G3.c — Identify and describe landforms (mountains, deserts, valleys, and coasts).