Curriculum Materials

Lesson plans for Mount Rushmore National Memorial are available at the following link: https://www.cyark.org/about/lessonplans/

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    • Type: Student Activities,Teacher Reference Materials,Other Education Materials
    • Grade Level: Lower Elementary: Pre-Kindergarten through Second Grade
    • Subjects: Science
    • Tags: Mount Rushmore,Mount Rushmore National Memorial,bats,pollinators,bat behavior
    A small brown bat clinging to the bark on a tall ponderosa pine tree.

    People have far more in common with bats than they realize, and people rely on bat populations throughout the world in a variety of ways. In this lesson, students will study the skeleton of a bat, learn about their special adaptations through games, discover why bats are important to our environment and find that bats are friends, not foes.

  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial

    Black Hills Fire Ecology

    • Type: Distance Learning,Student Activities,Teacher Reference Materials
    • Grade Level: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
    • Subjects: Science
    • Tags: fire,Prescribed Burn,Prescribed Fire,Fire ecology
    Flames roar through a pine forest, burning the underbrush

    How does fire help our landscapes? In this lesson students will learn about prescribed burns and the helpful side of fire through an activity and lesson.

  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial

    Symbolism in National Parks

    • Type: Distance Learning,Primary Sources,Student Activities
    • Grade Level: Lower Elementary: Pre-Kindergarten through Second Grade
    • Subjects: Literacy and Language Arts,Social Studies
    • Tags: arrowhead,symbols,Symbolism
    NPS Arrowhead icon

    History of the iconic NPS Arrowhead logo, and a dive into what symbols are, and how we use them. Students will get activities to create their own symbols about their lives.

  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial

    Art Criticism and Mount Rushmore

    • Type: Primary Sources,Student Activities,Teacher Reference Materials,Other Education Materials
    • Grade Level: High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade
    • Subjects: Literacy and Language Arts
    • Tags: art in parks
    A black and white sketch of mount rushmore.

    Through reading the essay, "The White Bird," by John Berger, students will learn about the qualities of art and how art can shape human perception. They will then use this to help reflect on Mount Rushmore as art.

  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial

    George Washington: Father of the Nation

    • Type: Student Activities,Teacher Reference Materials,Other Education Materials
    • Grade Level: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
    • Subjects: Social Studies
    • Tags: Mount Rushmore,Mount Rushmore National Memorial,George Washington,South Dakota,history,social studies
    Photo of George Washington

    Students will learn who George Washington was and how he contributed to the creation and foundation of the United States. Specifically, students will learn about Washington’s role in the American Revolution, and the example he set for future presidents. Additionally, while this will focus on George Washington, student will also begin to gain an understanding of different systems of government, and why America elected to be a democracy.

  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial

    Symbols of America

    • Type: Student Activities,Teacher Reference Materials,Other Education Materials
    • Grade Level: Lower Elementary: Pre-Kindergarten through Second Grade
    • Subjects: Social Studies
    • Tags: Mount Rushmore,Mount Rushmore National Memorial,South Dakota,symbols,social studies
    Photo of Mount Rushmore looking through ponderosa pine trees under a bright blue sky.

    Students will learn what a symbol is and why symbols are used. They will learn symbols of both America and of South Dakota, as well as the significance behind these symbols.

  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial

    3D Modeling and Scale

    • Type: Student Activities,Teacher Reference Materials,Other Education Materials
    • Grade Level: High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade
    • Subjects: Math
    • Tags: Mount Rushmore,Mount Rushmore National Memorial,3d model,scale
    A digital rendering of the 1/12th scale plaster model of Mount Rushmore. Image by CyArk

    Construct a topographic model of Mount Rushmore. After the model is completed, students use concepts of scale and proportion (similarity concept in math) to calculate the scale of their model by comparing to real-life measurements.

  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial

    Preservation at Mount Rushmore

    • Type: Student Activities,Teacher Reference Materials,Other Education Materials
    • Grade Level: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
    • Subjects: Math,Science
    • Tags: Mount Rushmore,Mount Rushmore National Memorial,South Dakota,sculpture,Sculpture Maintenance,erosion,Education program,curriculum,curriculum materials
    Mount Rushmore

    Learn about the various preservation concerns at Mount Rushmore. By learning to recognize the various types of rocks found in Mount Rushmore and their different characteristics and varying rates of erosion, students will be able to understand the complexity of caring for a monument like Mount Rushmore.

  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial

    Mount Rushmore as Scuplture

    • Type: Student Activities,Teacher Reference Materials,Other Education Materials
    • Grade Level: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
    • Subjects: Math
    • Tags: Mount Rushmore,Mount Rushmore National Memorial,South Dakota,art,sculpture
    Mount Rushmore as seen from the air.

    Recreate the Mount Rushmore sculpture with accuracy in mind but using non-traditional sculpture materials. Use drawings and 3D content to get an understanding of the 3-dimensional volumes of the model for accuracy.

  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial

    Designing a Monument

    • Type: Student Activities,Teacher Reference Materials,Other Education Materials
    • Grade Level: High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade
    • Subjects: Math
    • Tags: Mount Rushmore,Mount Rushmore National Memorial,South Dakota,art,sculpture
    Gutzon Borglum works on an early version of his Mount Rushmore model.

    Students utilize resources available in the art classroom to recreate the Mount Rushmore Sculpture, or design their own version, where they choose the four figures from history they feel should be represented by the monumental sculpture. Students will present their final art piece to the classroom with a persuasive argument for their choices of the figures.

More National Park Service Related Materials

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    • Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
    • Subject(s): Social Studies
    picture of NPS arrowhead

    The arrowhead is the symbol for the National Park Service. This shape reminds us of the culture and history National Park sites protect. Each picture inside the arrowhead represents something that is protected in a National Park site. Students learn how the design of the National Park Service arrowhead is made up of symbols and then have a chance to create their own design.

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