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25 Best Parks in the United States - Anna Smith, HTownBest

Grades
K to 12
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Do you have a favorite US national park? Did it make this list? This article shares the author's top 25 national parks and briefly introduces what makes them great. In ...more
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Do you have a favorite US national park? Did it make this list? This article shares the author's top 25 national parks and briefly introduces what makes them great. In addition to information about the top parks, this article also shares some general tips to follow when planning a visit to a national park. Be sure to scroll down to near the bottom of the page to find an interactive map of the parks created with Thinglink, reviewed here. Click the map image to open and access in Thinglink.

tag(s): geology (62), national parks (29), states (124)

In the Classroom

Share this article to engage students as they learn about the states and geographic features of the United States. Start with either the descriptions in the article or the interactive map as an introduction to your unit. Using the interactive map, take students on a virtual trip around the country by visiting the links shared to the national parks. If using the descriptions, use Google Earth, reviewed here, to locate each park. Many of the parks offer virtual tours provided by Google Earth. After introducing students to the parks, ask students to choose a national park that interests them as a starting point for a research project. Share resources with students on a curation tool such as Padlet, reviewed here. As students gather information, ask them to use Ideaboardz, reviewed here, to organize information. For example, have students create three sections on their Ideaboardz to organize information by animals, plants, and geography facts about the location. Extend learning by asking students to become national park project creators and share information from their research. Offer various multimedia options for student presentations, such as creating an interactive image using Genially, reviewed here, or video presentation created with Clipchamp, reviewed here. Once students' national parks projects are completed, use Google My Maps, reviewed here, to create a virtual class visit to the featured parks.