Title: A Journey Through the Trees
Description: The teacher will discuss the importance of trees with the students. The teacher will provide photographs of various trees that grow in Russell Cave National Monument and the surrounding North Alabama area. The teacher will discuss significant features of each tree and pertinent ways to identify them. The collection may include: Dogwood, various Oak, Hickory, Pine, Maple, Cedar, Beech, Elm, and Birch trees. The teacher will take a nature walk with the students in order for each child to choose a tree and do a bark rub. The students will compare their art and write a journal entry in order to describe something they learned about their particular tree. This lesson plan is made possible through the ALEX and the U.S. National Park Service Partnership.
Standard(s):
[ELA] (0) 9: Print upper- and lower-case letters using proper formation, spacing, and letter-line placement.
[ELA] (0) 4: Use words that describe and represent real-life objects and actions.
[ELA] (1) 12: Collect information from print and nonprint resources to investigate a teacher- or student-selected topic.
[ELA] (2) 8: Organize sentences into a paragraph to address a topic or tell a story.
[ELA] (2) 10: Use concrete nouns and action verbs in written communication.
[ELA] (2) 11: Write words and sentences legibly with proper spacing in manuscript.
[ELA] (2) 12: Utilize research skills to collect and record information on a specific topic.
[S1] BOT (9-12) 12: Describe the ecological and economic importance of plants.
[S1] (3) 13: Describe ways to sustain natural resources, including recycling, reusing, conserving, and protecting the environment.
[S1] (4) 5: Describe the interdependence of plants and animals.
[ELA2010] (0) 25: Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative or explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. [W.K.2]
[ELA2010] (0) 31: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. [SL.K.1]
[ELA2010] (0) 34: Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail. [SL.K.4]
[ELA2010] (1) 25: Write informative or explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure. [W.1.2]
[ELA2010] (1) 34: Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly. [SL.1.4]
[ELA2010] (1) 36: Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation. (See Grade 1 Language standard 37 for specific expectations.) [SL.1.6]
[ELA2010] (2) 23: Write informative or explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section. [W.2.2]
[ELA2010] (2) 30: Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. [SL.2.2]

Title: A Prehistoric Connection
Description: This lesson plan is an adaptation of Activity 92 from Project Learning Tree. Students will research the four prehistoric time periods and compare and contrast them with their lives. By doing this, they will recognize the difference between simple subsistence living and modern technology-based living. This lesson plan is made possible through the ALEX and the U.S. National Park Service Partnership.  
Standard(s):
[T1] ALS (4) 2: Describe cultures, governments, and economies of prehistoric and historic Native Americans in Alabama.
[T1] WH3 (8) 1: Explain how artifacts and other archaeological findings provide evidence of the nature and movement of prehistoric groups of people.
[T1] WH3 (8) 2: Analyze characteristics of early civilizations in respect to technology, division of labor, government, calendar, and writings.
[TC2] (3-5) 7: Explain the influence of technology on society.

Title: A Father's Life at Russell Cave
Description: In this lesson, students will learn about a father's life at Russell Cave and learn about different writing genres. This lesson plan is made possible through the ALEX and the U.S. National Park Service Partnership.
Standard(s):
[ELA2010] (4) 30: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. [W.4.9]
[ELA2010] (4) 10: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. [RI.4.1]
[ELA] (4) 3: Use a wide range of strategies, including distinguishing fiction from nonfiction and making inferences, to comprehend fourth-grade recreational reading materials in a variety of genres.
[ELA] (4) 4: Identify literary elements and devices, including characters, important details, and similes, in recreational reading materials and details in informational reading materials.
[ELA] (4) 5: Use a wide range of strategies and skills, including using sentence structure, locating information, and distinguishing fact from fiction, to comprehend fourth-grade informational and functional reading materials.
[T1] ALS (4) 2: Describe cultures, governments, and economies of prehistoric and historic Native Americans in Alabama.

Title: Camouflage (Predator vs Prey) at Little River Canyon National Preserve
Description: The hunter is the predator while the hunted is the prey. Both animals try to make themselves appear as part of their natural surroundings. Predators do not wish to be seen while hunting and prey want to hide when hunted. This lesson plan is made possible through the ALEX and the U.S. National Park Service Partnership.
Standard(s):
[ELA2010] (0) 25: Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative or explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. [W.K.2]
[ELA2010] (0) 35: Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail. [SL.K.5]
[ELA2010] (0) 23: Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding. [RF.K.4]
[S1] (0) 6: Compare size, shape, structure, and basic needs of living things.
[S1] (1) 4: Describe survival traits of living things, including color, shape, size, texture, and covering.
[S1] (2) 6: Identify characteristics of animals, including behavior, size, and body covering
[ELA] (1) 4: Read with comprehension a variety of first-grade narrative and informational texts, including recalling information and retelling a story with beginning, middle, and end.
[ELA] (2) 4: Demonstrate comprehension of second-grade reading materials across the curriculum, including drawing simple conclusions, classifying ideas and things, identifying sequence, and retelling directions and information from informational and functional reading materials.
[AED] VA (2) 1: Apply a variety of procedures, methods, and subject matter in the production of two-dimensional works of art, including landscapes, still lifes, and relief prints.

Title: Creating a Prehistoric World
Description: In the lesson, students will research, create, and present knowledge gained about Prehistoric and Historic Native Americans in Alabama. This lesson plan is made possible through the ALEX and the U.S. National Park Service Partnership.
Standard(s):
[T1] ALS (4) 2: Describe cultures, governments, and economies of prehistoric and historic Native Americans in Alabama.
[TC2] (3-5) 9: Use technology tools to organize, interpret, and display data.
[TC2] (3-5) 2: Use various technology applications, including word processing and multimedia software.
[AED] VA (4) 1: Produce two- and three-dimensional works of art with a variety of traditional and digital processes, materials, subject matter, and techniques.

Title: Fred the Fish - A Little River Trip
Description: Little River is home to 47 kinds of fish including the threatened "Blue Shiner" Cyprinella caerulea. These fish depend on the good water quality at Little River. This skit allows students to observe pollution's effects on a small scale and allows them to make choices affecting the environment.  This lesson plan is adapted from Chilton-Stringham, Patricia and Wolanin, Jan (1991). National Science Teachers Association, Karen K. Lind (Eds.) Water, Stones, and Fossil Bones (pp. 54-57). This lesson plan is made possible through the ALEX and the U.S. National Park Service Partnership.
Standard(s):
[S1] (1) 9: Identify ways to conserve Earth’s resources.
[S1] (3) 13: Describe ways to sustain natural resources, including recycling, reusing, conserving, and protecting the environment.
[T1] C&S (1) 7: Identify ways to take personal action to protect the environment.
[T1] PPR (3) 3: Identify components of various ecosystems.

Title: Little River Canyon's Carnivorous Green Pitcher Plants
Description: A digital slide program introduces the Green Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia oreophila) to the students.  Students use a model of the Green Pitcher Plant and plastic insects to role play. They will tell the story of habitat adaptation and interaction around the pitcher plant bog. Pitcher Plants and the animals in the neighborhood have lives interconnected to the environment. This lesson plan is made possible through the ALEX and the U.S. National Park Service Partnership.
Standard(s):
[S1] (0) 6: Compare size, shape, structure, and basic needs of living things.
[S1] (1) 4: Describe survival traits of living things, including color, shape, size, texture, and covering.
[S1] (2) 5: Identify the relationship of structure to function in plants, including roots, stems, leaves, and flowers.
[S1] (3) 10: Determine habitat conditions that support plant growth and survival.
[S1] (3) 13: Describe ways to sustain natural resources, including recycling, reusing, conserving, and protecting the environment.
[S1] (4) 5: Describe the interdependence of plants and animals.
[S1] (5) 9: Describe the relationship of populations within a habitat to various communities and ecosystems.

Title: Living in the Wild
Description: In this lesson, students will compare and contrast how the Prehistoric Americans lived off the land at Russell Cave and how Sam Gribley from "My Side of the Mountain" lived off the land. This lesson plan is made possible through the ALEX and the U.S. National Park Service Partnership.
Standard(s):
[ELA2010] (5) 14: Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause and effect, problem and solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts. [RI.5.5]
[ELA2010] (4) 40: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. [L.4.3]
[ELA2010] (4) 39: Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. [L.4.2]
[ELA2010] (4) 34: Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points. [SL.4.3]
[ELA2010] (4) 30: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. [W.4.9]
[ELA2010] (4) 25: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 22-24 above.) [W.4.4]
[ELA2010] (4) 24: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. [W.4.3]
[ELA2010] (4) 7: Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text. [RL.4.7]
[ELA2010] (4) 3: Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions). [RL.4.3]
[ELA2010] (4) 2: Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text. [RL.4.2]
[ELA2010] (6) 10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the Grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. [RL.6.10]
[ELA2010] (6) 9: Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics. [RL.6.9]
[ELA2010] (5) 19: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the Grades 4-5 text complexity band independently and proficiently. [RI.5.10]
[ELA2010] (5) 12: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text. [RI.5.3]
[ELA2010] (5) 8: Compare and contrast stories in the same genre (e.g., mysteries and adventure stories) on their approaches to similar themes and topics. [RL.5.9]
[ELA2010] (5) 3: Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact). [RL.5.3]
[T1] ALS (4) 2: Describe cultures, governments, and economies of prehistoric and historic Native Americans in Alabama.
[ELA] (4) 3: Use a wide range of strategies, including distinguishing fiction from nonfiction and making inferences, to comprehend fourth-grade recreational reading materials in a variety of genres.
[ELA] (4) 4: Identify literary elements and devices, including characters, important details, and similes, in recreational reading materials and details in informational reading materials.
[ELA] (4) 5: Use a wide range of strategies and skills, including using sentence structure, locating information, and distinguishing fact from fiction, to comprehend fourth-grade informational and functional reading materials.
[ELA] (4) 7: Compare story elements and the experiences and feelings of literary characters to students’ lives.
[ELA] (4) 9: Respond in writing to open-ended questions.
[ELA] (5) 2: Use a range of strategies, including drawing conclusions such as opinions about characters based on their actions and summarizing passages, to comprehend fifth-grade recreational reading materials in a variety of genres.
[ELA] (5) 4: Use a wide range of strategies and skills, including using text features to gain meaning, summarizing passages, and drawing conclusions, to comprehend fifth-grade informational and functional reading materials.
[ELA] (6) 1: Apply strategies, including making complex predictions, interpreting characters’ behaviors, and comparing and contrasting, to comprehend sixth-grade recreational reading materials.
[ELA] (6) 17: Use listening skills for remembering significant details, directions, and sequences.

Title: Save the Forest
Description: President Theodore Roosevelt believed in the need for conservation and was called America's first environmental president. What steps did he take to help preserve the environment and its natural resources? Today we can enjoy the beauty of our nation in national parks like the Little River Canyon National Preserve. This lesson plan is made possible through the ALEX and the U.S. National Park Service Partnership.
Standard(s):
[T1] US4 (6) 4: Describe changing social conditions during the Progressive Period.
[T1] US4 (6) 6: Identify cultural and economic developments in the society of the United States from 1877 through the 1930s.
[ELA] (6) 14: Use organizing and paraphrasing in the research process.
[ELA2010] (6) 34: Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions, facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. [SL.6.4]
[ELA2010] (6) 35: Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information. [SL.6.5]

Title: Tad the Tadpole
Description: Tad the Tadpole is designed to demonstrate how pollution in various areas affects wildlife in their native habitats. The lesson is designed to stress the importance of conservation for animals and their surrounding environment.  Upon conclusion of the lesson, the students will determine ways they could take care of the environment as opposed to further pollute. This lesson plan is made possible through the ALEX and the U.S. National Park Service Partnership.
Standard(s):
[S1] (1) 4: Describe survival traits of living things, including color, shape, size, texture, and covering.
[S1] (1) 9: Identify ways to conserve Earth’s resources.
[S1] (3) 10: Determine habitat conditions that support plant growth and survival.
[S1] (3) 13: Describe ways to sustain natural resources, including recycling, reusing, conserving, and protecting the environment.
[T1] S&F (0) 5: Identify personal wants and needs.
[T1] C&S (1) 7: Identify ways to take personal action to protect the environment.
[T1] P&P (2) 7: Describe ways people throughout the world are affected by their geographic environments.
[T1] PPR (3) 3: Identify components of various ecosystems.

Title: The Medicine Leaf Man
Description: The teacher will briefly discuss Mississippian time period medicine men. The teacher will read Leaf Man by Louis Elhert and discuss leaves of various trees that grow in Russell Cave National Monument and the surrounding North Alabama area that were used for medicinal purposes. Students will then create a medicine man using the discussed medicinal leaves and tree parts. This lesson plan is made possible through the ALEX and the U.S. National Park Service Partnership.
Standard(s):
[AED] VA (0) 6: Identify artistic characteristics of cultures, times, and places.
[AED] VA (1) 1: Create works of art using a variety of techniques.
[AED] VA (2) 2: Apply analogous and intermediate colors, symmetrical balance, and geometric and organic shapes in the production of works of art.
[S1] (0) 9: Identify seasons of the year.
[S1] (1) 4: Describe survival traits of living things, including color, shape, size, texture, and covering.
[S1] (3) 7: Describe the life cycle of plants, including seed, seed germination, growth, and reproduction.
[T1] P&P (2) 1: Compare features of modern-day living to those of the past.
[T1] ALS (4) 2: Describe cultures, governments, and economies of prehistoric and historic Native Americans in Alabama.

Title: Where am I?
Description: This lesson teaches one of the geography themes called location. Students will learn about absolute location and relative location as they search the globe. This lesson plan is made possible through the ALEX and the U.S. National Park Service Partnership.
Standard(s):
[S1] (6) 8: Describe how Earth’s rotation, Earth’s axial tilt, and distance from the equator cause variations in the heating and cooling of various locations on Earth.
[T1] US3 (5) 1: Locate physical features that impacted the exploration and settlement of the Americas.
[T1] US4 (6) 1: Describe the Westward Expansion and its technological, economic, and social influence on the people of the United States prior to World War I.