Explore This Park

Rings, Ripples,& Echoes

Grades K-5

To participate in Rings, Ripples, & Echoes please phone for a reservation. We need 2 to 3 weeks advance notice. We would also be happy to talk to you more about this educational opportunity. For reservations please call [phone].

 

 

 

Your students travel on a self-guided inquiry-based journey through Muir Woods and other natural communities along the Redwood Creek Watershed. They consider the interrelationships of the forest communities and understand the healthy patterns of a forest habitat.

Getting Ready for the Park Visit In Muir Woods National Monument

National Park Service staff will greet you and your class when you arrive at Muir Woods. Staff will conduct a 15-minute talk on the ecosystem in a special outdoor classroom. Also, you will be provided with self-guides to aid you while hiking in the woods. Groups at the park on an educational visit will receive an admission-fee waiver.

Rings, Ripples, & Echoes uses the Understanding by Design framework, and aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core Standards.

To download the K-2^nd grade Rings, Ripples, & Echoes Understanding by Design grid, please click here.

To download the 3^rd-4^th grade Rings, Ripples, & Echoes Understanding by Design grid, please click here.

To download the 5^th grade Rings, Ripples, & Echoes Understanding by Design grid, please click here.

Program Description

Rings, Ripples, and Echoes is framed by the Essential Question –

K-2^nd Grade – "What do living things need to survive in their habitat?"

3^rd-4^th Grade: "How do living things thrive in their habitat?"

5^th Grade: "How are our cultures influenced by where we live?"

Rings, Ripples, & Echoes is structured in three parts:

Classroom preparation – lessons delivered by the teacher with resources provided by the park

Field session – the forest experience in which students investigate the forest, engage in scientific inquiry, and discuss cultural uses of the land

Classroom Assessment - opportunities for students to demonstrate what they have learned through writing stories, illustrated poems, or developing models based on evidence gleaned from plant identification cards, information on Coast Miwok land use, and their own forest visit.

To download the K-2^nd grade Teacher's Guide and program description, please click here.

To download K-2^nd grade pre-site activities, please click here.

To download the 3^rd-4^th grade Teacher's Guide and program description, please click here.

To download the 3^rd - 4^th grade pre-site activities, please click here.

To download the 5^th grade Teacher's Guide and program description, please click here.

To download the 5^th grade pre-site materials, please click here.

Please click here for a redwood forest animal guide.
Please click here for a redwood forest plant guide.
Please click here to learn how to make a nature journal.

Please visit the Save the Redwoods League website to get more information on Redwood Forests.

Please note: The narrow, winding road leading to the park is not accessible by vehicles larger than 35 feet, according to the regulation of the California Highway Patrol (CHP).