Curriculum Materials

10 minutes classroom time https://youtu.be/vHwgJKtEuxs Students will discover what makes the Niobrara National Scenic River unique and examine a river from their own life following the model of Langston Hughes, a 20th century poet, and create a river poem themselves.

60 minutes classroom time, or split into two 30 minute lessons https://youtu.be/5xPK4AJ4nQg Students will learn about the many different caretakers of the Niobrara River through-out history and examine the impact that the river had on their families and culture at those times. Each era of Niobrara Caretakers is followed by a discussion and writing prompt asking students to examine their own experiences of family and culture today.

35 minutes classroom time https://youtu.be/7U5ai5NQ5Yc Students will hear the untold story of the Black American Solders, Buffalo Soldiers, who lived and worked at Fort Niobrara on the Niobrara River and then examine the dominant and counter narratives of the soldiers along with dominant narratives in their own lives by writing for inquiry and critical analysis of current events.

40 minutes classroom time https://youtu.be/N1baY1BbEYA Students will be able to compose a fictional first-person narrative from the perspective of a prehistoric species of the Niobrara National Scenic River following the guided prompts to examine and articulate its internal and external life experience of changing climate and landscape in a 9 minute essay.

What happens when two species combine? This lesson is a great introduction to the answer. The included activity combines science and art to introduce the concept of hybrids.

This lesson overviews the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers. Students will create their own food webs using plants and animals found in the Niobrara River Valley.

By exploring the community of the Niobrara valley students will develop an understanding of the significance of development and its hand in hand existence with preservation of a natural resource students will: understand the interrelationships contained in the river system and write a descriptive essay, Two alternative essay assignments are also included.