7-12 Activities

The 7-12 activities concentrate on inter-relationships and ecosystem connections. This is one of the major themes for the significance of protecting Glacier National Park. The story of Pluie the Wolf again is a good introduction that illustrates how all of the private and public land in Northwest Montana is connected. The area that is now Glacier National Park is a central piece of the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem.

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Unit One: An International Peace Park – This unit focuses on the relationships between Canadians and Americans, Waterton Lakes and Glacier National Parks, and the concept of “peace.” Click here for teacher background information and the introduction to 7-12, Unit One.

• Activity 1: Same Colo(u)rs, Different Flavo(u)rs… – e-mail discussion between Canadian and American students about their similarities and differences.
• Activity 2: “A Peace Park (eh?)” – facilitated group activity about the historical and present functioning of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.
• Activity 3: “A Natural Resource Called Peace” – creative group writing about the various meanings of “peace” through a park hike and/or a guided image experience.

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Unit Two: A Serious Economics Nut - This unit focuses on the interrelationships surrounding whitebark pines in the subalpine. Click here for teacher background information and the introduction to 7-12, Unit Two.

• Activity 1: “Nutcracker Fantasy” – an outside “hide and retrieve” game illustrating the memory capabilities of the Clark’s nutcracker.
• Activity 2: “It Was a Very Good Year” – dendrochronology and climate change in whitebark pines, and art projects doing tree rings of student personal histories.
• Activity 3: “It’s Not Easy Being Grizz” – outdoor game illustrating the calories du jour sequence for grizzlies; whitebark pine decline effects and bear relationships with squirrels.
• Activity 4: “News Bearly Fit to Print” – an archival look at the times and types of bear – human conflicts (related back to whitebark pine); a visit by a bear management specialist (students construct overlay of bear-human conflict locations).
• Activity 5: “Subalpine Web” – the classic information cards for members and yarn for connections “web game”, removing keystone whitebark pine from the web to show effects.

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Unit Three: Parks in the Parks: The Aspenlands – This unit focuses on the interrelationships in the aspen parklands. Click here for teacher background information and the introduction to 7-12, Unit Three.

• Activity 2: “Leave it to Beavers” – role-playing the beaver’s family; compare to human family (overlay of beaver pond locations – compare to aspen).
• Activity 4: "Hibernation - Migration Fascination” – side-by-side comparison of bear “hibernation” and marmot/ground squirrel “true hibernation”; same with highland and lowland east side grizzlies.

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Unit Four: Land of the Giants – Unit four focuses on the interrelationships in the old growth west side forests. Click here for teacher background information and the introduction to 7-12, Unit Four.

• Activity 3: “The Secret of Life” – a first-hand examination of soil and recycling of death, and a literary approach.
• Activity 4: “Fitting In” – a scavenging game illustrating interspecies cooperative feeding and highly specific niches in the old growth.

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Unit Five: A Park Not Alone – Unit Five is about: the study of three-watersheds, biodiversity, and the connections of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park to issues outside of the park. Click here for teacher background information and the introduction to 7-12, Unit Five.

• Activity 1: “Who Grows There?” – introduced plants, identification, range expansion, with a public service activity / eradication project.