Drawing Connections: Summer Safety in National Parks

• This video explains how national park visitors can stay healthy and hydrated as annual temperatures increase in more than 90% of national parks. 
• Students will learn that the National Park Service is adapting to higher temperatures by creating shady rest areas for visitors, providing water bottle filling stations, and investing in low pollution transit infrastructure. 

Positives

• Students will learn how high temperatures can affect people's health and impact their ability to participate in recreational activities.
• The video description provides a link to an audio-described version of the video.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should be familiar with the terms vulnerable, strenuous, hydrate, efficiency, transit, exacerbate, itinerary, and pursuits.

Differentiation

• Younger students could plan a virtual summer trip to a national park of their choice. To plan for the trip, students could research and answer the following questions:
  • What month will you visit?
  • What is the average temperature in the park during that month?
  • What do you plan to do in the park?
  • How will you cool off?
  • How will you stay hydrated?
  • What will you do if you get overheated or dehydrated?
• Students could make a list of the ways that national parks are adapting to higher temperatures and decide if any of the adaptations will help mitigate climate change.
• Other resources on this topic include this article on how countries are adapting to extreme heat, this interactive map on global warming scenarios and rising temperatures, and this SubjectToClimate lesson plan on analyzing data to understand rising temperatures.
  

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.