Mr. Roosevelt's Neighborhood:
A Changing Island Community

To the Teacher

There are few places in the Washington metropolitan area more suited to introducing students to the concept of conservation than Theodore Roosevelt Island. It's named after the 26th president, who was pivotal in bringing conservation concerns to the front of the American agenda for the first time. Preserved almost entirely in its natural state, the island also is a diverse outdoor laboratory, with habitat ranging from upland forest to tidal wetland and riverine. All of it is available for students to explore, promoting a deeper understanding of conservation and the National Park Service's role in protecting our resources.

Mr. Roosevelt's Neighborhood: A Changing Island Community is a Parks As Classrooms program designed to help students in grades three through five develop the skills necessary to learn about our natural environment. Like all Parks As Classrooms programs, it was developed in cooperation with teachers to compliment and enhance existing curriculum.

While park specific, each program takes concepts students learn in the classroom and applies them to field situations in a national park. These Parks As Classrooms pages will prepare students for visiting Roosevelt Island, providing background information and activities that can be used in the classroom.

This Web site is broken down into several sections. The Program Description provides a sense of what students will be experiencing on their visit to the marsh. This section also includes program logistics and a sample itinerary.

Following a statement of the program's theme and objectives, there is background information about Roosevelt Island. Please share this information with students prior to your visit and make use of it while conducting the activities.

The pre-visit and post-visit activities are designed to support the program's theme and objectives. Pre-visit activities will provide students with the information they need for a positive and meaningful experience on the island. Post-visit activities are designed to reinforce the concepts students learned during their park visit.

Also included are guidelines addressing safety issues, chaperones, items to bring on the day of your visit and a list of terms that students should be familiar with prior to their visit to the island. Please make note of the evaluation form for Dyke Marsh: Stability Through Diversity. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help upgrade and further develop this Parks as Classrooms program.

And of course, this program would not have been possible without the assistance of numerous people. The National Park Service gratefully acknowledges their contributions.

Thank you for participating in the Parks As Classrooms program. Should you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact the Parks as Classrooms Program Coordinator at (703) 289-2556 or write to the Virginia District, George Washington Memorial Parkway.

See You on the Island!