Grade 9-12 Teacher Resources

A researcher applying a radio tag to a LeConte's Thrasher (Toxostoma lecontei), one of the bird species included in the Climate Watch Survey.

NPS Image | John Mark Simmons

Standards-Based Lesson Plans for Educators

Our teacher resources have been evaluated to meet the Nevada State Academic Content Standards for Science, which are based on the national Next Generation Science Standards. Download our teacher resources for traditional and homeschool classroom use.

National Parks in the History of Science: Radiocarbon Dating

• Objective: Students will identify key information about the history and use of radiocarbon dating.
• Link to National Parks in the History of Science: Radiocarbon Dating Video
• Standards:
  • HS ESS1 6: Apply scientific reasoning and evidence from ancient Earth materials, meteorites, and other planetary surfaces to construct an account of Earth’s formation and early history.

Climate Change and Bird Range

• Objectives:

1. Students will compare the effects of climate change on different bird species.
2. Students will propose possible solutions to climate change.

• Standards:
  • HS-LS2-2: Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.
  • HS-LS2-7: Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity
  • HS-LS4-5: Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species.
  • Common Core CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Ice Age Mammals of Tule Springs

• Objectives:

1. Students will identify key information about a past species.
2. Students will describe modern relatives of a species found in the fossil record.

• Standards:
  • HS-LS4-1: Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.
  • Common Core CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2: Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.

Tule Springs: Past vs. Present

• Objectives:

1. Students will describe the past species and climate of Tule Springs.
2. Students will research the modern species and climate of Tule Springs.

3. Students will theorize the effects climate change could have today at Tule Springs.

• Standards:
  • HS-LS2-2: Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.
  • HS-LS4-5: Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species.

Tule Springs Biodiversity Hunt

• Objectives:

1. Students will identify different species of plants, insects, and animals that live in Tule Springs.

• Standards:
  • HS-LS2-2: Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.