GHV 4th Graders Showcase National Parks

GARNER- Where would you like to go on your next vacation? Fourth graders at Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Elementary may have some recommendations for your next trip to see the USA!

On January 17, the class held an open house to showcase what they had learned about the National Park System. This was the 4th year for the National Parks Unit, under the direction of 4th grade Social Studies teacher Tony Heitland.

This unit is part of our Social Studies curriculum,” said Heitland. “In order to make things more meaningful, we added the making of dioramas of National Parks.  Then we added an open house, to share the information that the students learned with their families.  Hopefully families will see all the beautiful parks around the United States and want to pick one out to visit.”

Students were organized into teams and assigned one of this country’s national parks and regional natural treasures to research and create a display highlighting what they learned. Parents, grandparents and friends could roam from display to display while students shared what they had learned.

The U.S. has 63 national parks spread across the country. Students’ displays were diverse including Acadia National Park in Maine to Indiana Dunes, Hawaii’s volcanoes, Saguaro National Park in Arizona, Glacier National Park, Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, the Everglades in Florida, and many more.

Adding to the open house was a taxidermy display of Iowa wildlife on loan from the Hancock County Conversation Department.