Are you looking for blended or remote learning activities that are educational and will keep your students engaged? Take your students on a Virtual Road Trip to explore the top 5 most visited National Parks! Students will use Google Earth and multiple print and digital sources to quickly draw information to answer questions pertaining to the National Parks.
This virtual field trip includes both print and digital formats. A Google Slides edition is included so that students can complete the Park Pages digitally!
What is a virtual field trip?
Students begin by reading a short passage about a National Park to build background knowledge. Next they will use the super cool 360 degree navigation features on Google Earth to explore the parks, and answer the questions on their Park Pass. In addition, students will navigate to the National Parks website to learn more.
Which parks do students explore?
Students will explore the top 5 most visited National Parks. If you would like to view a free sample of the virtual field trip, check out the road trip to Yellowstone National Park here.
Students will explore the:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Zion National Park
Yosemite National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
How long does the field trip take?
This lesson can be conducted over the course of a week, with students spending time exploring one park per day. Students will fill out a road map throughout the trip to track their location. Usually, it will take students about one hour to explore each park. So this means the total road trip is about 5 hours.
Is this self-guided?
Yes, you can send this activity to your students in Google Classroom very easily as all of the instructions are included on the Park Pass. Depending on how tech-savy your students are, you could also conduct this teacher-led and explore the National Parks together.
What’s Included?
Teacher Set Up Instructions
Grading Rubric
Google Earth Keyboard Short Cuts Reference Sheet
National Parks Labels (label manila envelopes to stay organized, this is for in-class use & optional)
Reading Passages (5 parks included; Google Compatible)
Park Passes (5 parks included, all student instructions are included on the sheets; Google Compatible)
Road Map (students label their road trip locations on the map, optional)
Answer Keys (check student work before receiving the next Park Pass)
2 Extension Sheets (analyze the text; Google Compatible)
Assessment Sheet
What Technology is Needed?
Students will need access to Google Earth, and the websites provided. Google Earth can be accessed using Chrome as the browser. Your students can also access Google Earth on a tablet or smart phone using the Google Earth App. All of the navigation features are accessible through the app as well.
Your students will also need access to Google Slides to complete the activity digitally. You could assign in Google Classroom. A print version is also included, if you would rather your students complete by hand.
You will want to ensure ahead of time that the websites are not blocked by your school’s server. Also, websites change from time to time. I have done my best to include questions that will make sense even if a website changes, however I will also do my best to ensure that this resource is up to date and reflects any major website changes.
This resource in aligned with the following Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.7 Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.7 Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
This resource is also aligned to the new Washington State Social Studies Standards:
GEOGRAPHY 1: Understands the physical characteristics, cultural characteristics, and location of places, regions, and spatial patterns on the Earth’s surface.
Enduring Understanding: Knows that the use of tools (e.g., maps, globes, charts, graphs) is important to understanding the world around us.
G1.5.4 Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their environmental characteristics
Enduring Understanding: (US) The United States is a geographically diverse nation with distinct physical and cultural regions whose characteristics have impacted the nation.
G1.6-8.5 Explain and analyze physical and cultural characteristics of places and regions in the United States.
G1.6-8.6 Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.
GEOGRAPHY 2: Understands human interaction with the environment.
Enduring Understanding: Knows that the human-environment interactions are essential aspects of human life in all societies and they occur at local-to-regional scale. Human actions modify the physical environment and, in turn, the physical environment limits or promotes human activities
G2.5.3 Explain how the cultural and environmental characteristics of places change over time.
G2.6-8.6 Analyze how the environment has affected people and how people have affected the environment in the United States in the past or present.
Check out this free virtual field trip to Yellowstone National Park
