The following outdoor classroom programs challenge students with hands-on learning experiences in the park’s cultural and natural resources, including critical issues affecting these resources. All programs are correlated with state and national curriculum standards for the specific grade level, with an emphasis on science and social studies.

Kindergarten

Students will use their senses to learn about a forest community. The two-hour program includes a short, ranger-led walk through a forest. Students will interact with a “talking chimney,” feel and smell their way along a sensory rope, discover the forest through a magnifying glass, and “listen” to the sounds of the forest. This program is offered at the Sugarlands Valley Classroom located near Sugarlands Visitor Center.

First Grade

Through a short walk in a forest, students will become nature detectives to recognize the interdependence of plants and animals and to realize that plants and animals have individual needs and characteristics. This three-hour program (including a lunch break) is offered at the Sugarlands Classroom near Sugarlands Visitor Center and the Cooper Branch Classroom near the ranger station at Cades Cove.

Second Grade

Students will utilize tools to recreate the experience of building a log home, learn how the forest was used as a supermarket and drugstore, and visit some structures that were a part of the mountain community. This three-hour program (including a lunch break) includes a ranger-led walk of approximately one mile and is offered at the Porters Flat Classroom in Green-brier and the Cove Homeplace Classroom in Cades Cove.

Third Grade

Students will be given clues to discover how specific animals are interdependent in a forest or stream habitat and build their own habitat using a diversity of species. Students will also examine and inventory the soil and report their discoveries. The three-hour Habitat Diversity Classroom (including a lunch break) is conducted at Metcalf Bottoms and Cosby picnic areas. Please specify preferred location. Class size is limited to 50 participants.

Fifth Grade

Students will examine the plant and animal interactions in a high elevation forest ecosystem, including impacts resulting from a non-native insect and air pollution. This three-hour program (including a lunch break) includes a 1/2 mile hike through a disappearing forest community to the highest point in the Smokies. Students will also visit an air quality monitoring station at the Clingmans Dome Classroom. A similar program is also offered at the Look Rock Classroom on the Foothills Parkway.

Sixth Grade

Students will travel around Cades Cove on a seven-mile bicycle trip. They become park managers and plan the future    of key resources critical to the Cove while participating in role playing activities. This three-hour program (including a lunch break) involves pre-visit preparation for the bicycle ride. Bicycles must be rented from the concessionaire at Cades Cove. Class size is limited to 30 participants for the Cades Cove Loop Classroom. A similar hayride program is available for larger groups.

Seventh Grade

Students will learn how scientists and historians preserve the Cove by looking at its cultural and natural resources. They will learn about equipment used to manage animals like the black bear, elk and wild hog and use clues and teamwork to examine historical structures in Cades Cove. All activities for the Cades Cove Classroom are conducted in a three-hour program (including a lunch break) near the visitor center, with short walks between stations.

Seventh or Eighth Grade

Students will study biodiversity through hands-on sampling and an inventory of insects and salamanders in forest/stream habitats. They will use scientific methods and equipment in their investigations. Classroom size is limited to 40 students. This three-hour long Biodiversity Classroom (including a lunch break) requires short walks.

Teacher Training
Through a generous grant from Friends of the Smokies, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is offering teacher seminars in both natural and cultural history for teachers of all grades.