4-6 Activities

Just as in the K-3 activities, the 4-6 activities focus on connections as illustrated in the journey of Pluie the wolf. The connections are not just biological. They are also economic, political, cultural and spiritual. For this reason, we have intentionally widened the scope of the units and activities to a trans- or cross-discipline approach, and an ecosystem perspective.

Along with the ecosystem focus, the 7 units of the 4-6 activities also include explanations and discussion of 5 of the other significant themes for why Glacier is protected as a national park- biodiversity, wilderness, Native American connections, International Peace Park designation, and geology.

Many of the activities in this section are from Work House, the Glacier Science Education and American Indian Curriculum.

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Unit One: The Geography of Me - A geographic look at watersheds in the W-GIPP. Click here for teacher background information and the introduction to 4-6, Unit One.

• Activity 1: You Are Here – mapping play places and fitting them into the W-GIPP watershed context .
• Activity 2: Boundaries and People – mapping watersheds on large and small scale maps – including W-GIPP map.
• Activity 3: Turning Parks into Islands –Y2Y (Yukon to Yellowstone) -adapted activity that role-plays fragmentation issues around parks.

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Unit Two: The Ice Spirits (from Work House) – A Native American and geologic perspective on glaciers. Click here for teacher background information and the introduction to 4-6, Unit Two.

• Activity 1: Breaking it Down – the physics of glacial erosion.
• Activity 2: Carving Mountains – modeling glacial landforms.
• Activity 3: Model Glaciers – forming mini-glaciers from water, sand and gravel.

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Unit Three: Our Medicine, Our Food (from Work House)- Native American Plant lore and use. Click here for teacher background information and the introduction to 4-6, Unit Three.

• Activity 1: Who Says Plants Can’t Move? – plant dispersal and ecology.
• Activity 2: Native Harvest – research and construction of illustrated book on Native plant uses.
• Activity 3: What’s in a Name? – bilingual approach to the meaning of plant names.
• Activity 4: Forest Communities – making a class book on tree identification.

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Unit Four: Shared Spirits (from Work House)– local people, animals and their environment. Click here for teacher background information and the introduction to 4-6, Unit Four.

• Activity 1: Painted Lodges – art activity examining the roles people have in their cultures, and their relationships to animals.
• Activity 2: My Favorite Animal – research activity on Peace Park animals.
• Activity 3: Visual Vocabulary – pantomime on ecological concepts.
• Activity 4: What’s that Habitat? – art activity on WGIPP animal habitat components.
• Activity 5: Beaver Succession Mural – mural of changes in a beaver pond area.
• Activity 6: Balance of Nature Pyramid – physical education activity on ecological systems.
• Activity 7: Meadow Madness – outdoor game on the changes in a beaver meadow.
• Activity 8: Models of Succession – applying succession modeling to human towns.

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Unit Five: Winter Wanderings – winter, and adaptations to cold and snow. Click here for teacher background information and the introduction to 4-6, Unit Five.

• Activity 1: Snug in the Snow – creating a diorama of life under the snow.
• Activity 2: Winter-time Temps – examining microclimates under the snow.
• Activity 3: Tracks Along the Trail – field trip examining real tracks and their stories.
• Activity 4: Track Traces – art project with animal tracks.

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Unit Six: Skyscrapers: Cities in the Old Growth – studies in old growth forest. Click here for teacher background information and the introduction to 4-6, Unit Six.

• Activity 1: Mature Forest Mime – vocabulary charades game.
• Activity 2: Trees: the Inside Story – 3D art project on parts of trees.
• Activity 3: Old Growth Forest Mural – components of old growth forests and related conservation issues.
• Activity 4: Eco-enrichers – classroom study on role of earthworms.
• Activity 5: Build a Tree – creative dramatics exercise on tree growth.
• Activity 6: Up the Down Tree House – role play of life, death and decomposition in the forest.
• Activity 7: Forest Poetry – exercise making a group poem.
• Activity 8: Meet a Tree – observation and memory exercise on individual characteristics of trees.

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Unit Seven: The Peace Park: A Climate Laboratory – student research and climate studies in the W-GIPP. Click here for teacher background information and the introduction to 4-6, Unit Seven.

• Activity 1: Climate Mime-it - climate concepts charades game.
• Activity 2: Predicting the Future – probability exercise on prediction of future climate.
• Activity 3: Puzzle It Out – art and puzzle exercise on climate interactions.
• Activity 4: Carbon Cycle Capers – fast-moving tag game on the carbon cycle.
• Activity 5: Village Research – holistic thinking field trip on the complexity of social and climate conditions.

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