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• 4.RI.1 (5)
• 4.RI.2 (5)
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• 4.RI.4 (4)
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• 5.RI.7 (4)
• 5.SL.1 (4)
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• 6.RI.7 (4)
• 11-12.RH.2 (3)
• 11-12.SL.1 (3)
• 3.L.4 (3)
• 3.SL.1 (3)
• 4.L.4 (3)
• 4.L.4.a (3)
• 4.RI.10 (3)
• 4.RI.6 (3)
• 4.RI.9 (3)
• 4.SL.1 (3)
• 5.RI.10 (3)
• 5.RI.6 (3)
• 5.RI.9 (3)
• 5.W.2 (3)
• 6-8.RH.10 (3)
• 6.RI.10 (3)
• 6.RI.2 (3)
• 6.SL.1 (3)
• 6.SL.2 (3)
• 8.SL.1 (3)
• 8.SL.2 (3)
• 11-12.RH.3 (2)
• 11-12.RH.4 (2)
• 11-12.RH.7 (2)
• 11-12.RH.9 (2)
• 11-12.RI.4 (2)
• 11-12.SL.1.a (2)
• 11-12.SL.1.c (2)
• 11-12.SL.1.d (2)
• 3.L.3 (2)
• 3.RI.1 (2)
• 3.RI.2 (2)
• 3.RI.3 (2)
• 3.SL.1.d (2)
• 3.W.2 (2)
• 4.L.3 (2)
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• 4.W.2 (2)
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• 5.SL.1.b (2)
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• 6.RI.9 (2)
• 6.SL.1.a (2)
• 6.SL.1.c (2)
• 6.W.2 (2)
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• 8.W.2 (2)
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• 9-10.RH.3 (2)
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• 11-12.RH.1 (1)
• 11-12.RH.5 (1)
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• 11-12.SL.1.b (1)
• 11-12.SL.2 (1)
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• 9-10.RH.2 (1)
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Showing 99 results for critical thinking ...

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Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve

Think Like a Bird

• Type: Student Activities
• Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

Students will understand the complexities of nest building by attempting to design and build a nest themselves.

Think like an Archaeologist!

• Type: Distance Learning
• Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

Are you teaching your students how to use primary and secondary sources? Is early American history part of your curriculum-standards? Invite Park Rangers from Castillo de San Marcos into your classroom through live video conferencing!

Tumacácori National Historical Park

Critical Source Evaluation

• Type: Lesson Plan
• Grade Levels: High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade

National parks are valuable repositories of information including subject matter experts, photographs, and tangible objects. One of the founding principles of national parks is that this primary source information be preserved so that people may learn from it in the future. Students today may take advantage of this opportunity both in person and online.

Looking Small, Thinking BIG!

• Type: Lesson Plan
• Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

When you look small, you think BIG!

Gettysburg National Military Park

Pickett's Charge: A Critical Look

• Type: Field Trips
• Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

Battle, as shown by "Pickett's Charge", was a sad, costly, and frightening experience during which soldiers exhibited many examples of courage, devotion, fighting ability and fear. The Pickett's Charge student education program seeks to personalize the battle by having each student focus on the life and sacrifice of one soldier. By role-playing the soldiers in one regiment involved in the infantry assault, it is hoped that the emotional context of battle is revealed.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Art Criticism and Mount Rushmore

• Type: Primary Sources ... Student Activities ... Teacher Reference Materials ... Other Education Materials
• Grade Levels: High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade

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.

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park

I Think I Know About Slavery... Pre-Visit Activity

• Type: Field Trips
• Grade Levels: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade

During the decades preceding the Civil War, when the United States struggled to define itself, no issue more divided and plagued its people than slavery. Even among those who had doubts about its morality, slavery was debated as part of a complex set of interlocking philosophical, social, economic, and political concerns too difficult to resolve and too intertwined with the fate of the nation to consider abolishing.

Gettysburg National Military Park

Artillery & Teamwork: The 9th Massachusetts Battery AND The Round Tops: A Critical Look

• Type: Field Trips
• Grade Levels: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade

Battlefield Footsteps is a program that focuses on character traits that can be learned from the Battle of Gettysburg. Teachers select one of three traits to focus on: leadership, courage, or determination. Students will then "walk in the footsteps" of one of three different units while discovering their roles and action in the battle. The units can be either the 9th Massachusetts Battery (Courage); the 15th Alabama (Determination); or 6th Wisconsin (Leadership)

Animal Track Detective

• Type: Lesson Plan
• Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

By analyzing patterns and measurements, students will be able to identify and label multiple animal track sets in the Track Mystery Table. Students will use critical thinking skills to support their answers.

Zion National Park

The Forests, Wetlands, and Deserts of Zion

• Type: Distance Learning
• Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

This distance learning program focuses on the plants and animals that live in Zion’s varying ecosystems. Students will learn about their adaptations and relationships to each other in this interactive lesson with a creative and critical thinking activity. (45 minutes)

Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve

Winter Track Mystery: SnowSchool Post-visit Activity

• Type: Lesson Plan
• Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

Students will use careful observation to identify and label multiple track sets in the track mystery diagram. They will then complete a series of questions based on their interpretation of the diagram using critical thinking and writing skills to support their answers.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Consider the Source: The Stories We Tell and The History We Know (Grade 6 -8) Lesson 3 of 3 Carl Sandburg Home NHS     

• Type: Lesson Plan
• Grade Levels: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade

This is the 3rd of 3 lessons designed to contribute to middle school student's working knowledge of Black history in Western North Carolina (W.N.C.) and to give them the skills to identify common myths of the region as well. This lesson introduces critical thinking concepts such as anachronisms and explores myths and deferred histories from W.N.C. This lesson is intended to exercise historical thinking skills and encourage the dialogue studied in previous lessons.

Everglades National Park

“Survival: Risky Business” Wildlife 4-6 Grade

• Type: Lesson Plan
• Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

Students will receive an endangered or extinct mystery animal card taped to their backs. They must use critical thinking skills to ask the right questions and discover the identity of their mystery animal. They will discuss what it means to be extinct or endangered and ways they can help those animals that are threatened with extinction.

Andersonville National Historic Site

Using the Film "Andersonville" in the Classroom

• Type: Teacher Reference Materials
• Grade Levels: High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade

Popular media, such as books and films, have long been used to teach the story of Andersonville. The 1996 film "Andersonville" continues to be a popular classroom tool. This material is intended to assist teachers in clearly identifying historical reality versus Hollywood illusion and aiding students to think critically about the portrayal of historic events.

Frederick Douglass National Historic Site

Frederick Douglass, The Educator of Anacostia: “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

• Type: Lesson Plan
• Grade Levels: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade

Students will learn about Frederick Douglass’s passion for learning and sharing knowledge with the African-American community. They will use 3D printed replicas to practice skills in primary source research, critical thinking, discussion, and writing. Este plan de clase con actividades incluido también está disponible en español.

Fort Stanwix National Monument

A Day in the Life: A Virtual Fort Stanwix Field Trip

• Type: Distance Learning ... Field Trips ... Student Activities ... Guest Speakers
• Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

Join park volunteer Louisa on this virtual field trip of the fort. Learn more about the reasons why the fort was built, what a soldier's job was, and how their families helped support them. For teachers, there are critical thinking questions throughout for your class. Pause the video and have a discussion about the challenges of 18th Century life.

Zion National Park

Carving the Canyon - The Geologic Story of Zion

• Type: Distance Learning
• Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

Trace the geologic history of earth through the stunning canyon walls of Zion National Park. This program introduces students to the unique and complex story of Zion and the southwest, and allows students to gain a deeper understanding of geologic processes. Students interact with park rangers to discuss the formation of this canyon, and then engage in a critical-thinking activity about erosion. (60 minutes)

Andersonville National Historic Site

The American Civil War: A Humanitarian Perspective

• Grade Levels: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade

Learning about humanitarian law helps students connect lessons of the past with the issues of the present. Students will explore historical events through the lives of those who experienced the American Civil War and will participate in hands-on exercises that make for challenging and exciting class projects and discussions. The lessons will also help students develop critical thinking skills and character.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Consider the Source: The Words We Mean: An Exercise and Study on Euphemisms, Language, and Dialogue about Chattel Slavery in Western North Carolina and the United States (Grades 6-8) Lesson 1 of 3 Carl Sandburg Home NHS

• Type: Lesson Plan
• Grade Levels: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade

This is the 1st of 3 lessons designed to contribute to middle school student's working knowledge of Black history in Western North Carolina. This lesson introduces students to the language of Black history and its relevance to their own dialogues and historical skills. With multiple interactive opportunities, and historical and artistic sources, students will develop language arts and critical thinking skills. 

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve

Bears of Glacier Bay 3: Be Bear Aware

• Type: Student Activities
• Grade Levels: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade

Students will become “bear aware” by exploring ways to reduce human-bear interactions and applying them to different real-life scenarios. They will use critical thinking skills to make a list of considerations when camping, hiking, fishing, and at home. Students will conclude by creating a “Bear Aware Campaign” by making posters, creating podcasts or videos, or writing news stories.