An Activity Guide for Teachers: Everglades National Park. Grades 4-6.

Everglades National Park is recognized as one of the most threatened National Parks in the country. Human and technological intervention has affected the park's water resources, fauna and flora through the introduction of foreign species. This curriculum-based activity guide is intended for intermediate grade students. It has been designed from a myriad of educational activities mutually created by classroom teachers and park staff, and used in the park's Environmental Education program. It is designed to meet the needs of teachers and students who may never visit the park as well as for on-site lessons about the everglades ecosystem. The document presents the following: (1) four activities to introduce students to the purpose of the National Park System, and basic concepts associated with the Everglades ecosystem; (2) six activities that introduce components of the ecosystem, the interrelation of these components, and recommendations for future use of the environment that will impact these components; (3) seven activities that focus on the importance of plants and trees in the Everglades, and an evaluation scheme concerning future human impact upon them; (4) 12 activities that focus on the wildlife of the Everglades food chains; (5) eight activities involving the issues of timing, quantity, quality, and distribution of water resources in the Everglades; and (6) a series of appendices that provide background information for the activities, supplementary activities, songs, a vocabulary of common Everglade and ecological terms, and a list of resource materials and bibliography. Each lesson plan begins with a section containing pertinent subject areas, length of activity, location, and key vocabulary. This section is followed by instructional objectives and methods, background information, materials, procedures, and an evaluation section. (MCO)