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CCSS: 4.NBT.A.1

TEKS: 4.2A

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Wild Field Trips

All fourth-graders get a free pass to America’s National Parks. See how it works in the Everglades. 

September 2017
By Alexa Kurzius
National Park Service/Every Kid In a Park Program

Volunteer park rangers teach students about animals that live in the Everglades using skeletons and other artifacts.  

Alligators, pythons, and spiky sawgrass—Everglades National Park in Florida is a potentially dangerous place. Just ask the students at Dante B. Fascell Elementary in nearby Miami. Fourth-graders from the school visited the park in January. At first, toothy gators and prickly sawgrass made some students nervous.

But after the visit, their attitudes changed. “It was very interesting,” says Fabiana García, age 10. “We got to see things you don’t see every day,” says Cecilia Rodríguez, also 10.

In 2015, the National Park Service began a program that gives all fourth-graders free access to every national park in the U.S. for one school year. (Want to visit a park yourself? Go to everykidinapark.gov to learn more.)

Everglades National Park in Florida is a potentially dangerous place. It has alligators, pythons, and spiky sawgrass. Just ask the students at Dante B. Fascell Elementary in nearby Miami. Fourth-graders from the school visited the park in January. At first, toothy gators and prickly sawgrass made some students nervous.

But after the visit, their attitudes changed. “It was very interesting,” says Fabiana García, age 10. “We got to see things you don’t see every day,” says Cecilia Rodríguez, also 10.

In 2015, the National Park Service began a program. It gives all fourth-graders free access to every national park in the U.S. This works for one school year. (Want to visit a park yourself? Go to everykidinapark.gov to learn more.)

Everglades National Park has been hosting school field trips for more than 45 years. Under the new program, the number of schools interested in having field trips to the park doubled. Roughly 10,000 students from the Miami-Dade school district visited it this past school year.

Volunteer rangers help teach the thousands of students who come through. Students visit five stations covering a variety of topics. Some stations are about animals, like alligators and Burmese pythons, an invasive species. Other stations are about native plants like sawgrass.

“We want kids to see wildlife up close,” says Allyson Gantt, an Everglades park ranger. “There are no fences or gates at the park, so the animals are right next to you.”

Everglades National Park has been hosting school field trips for more than 45 years. Under the new program, the number of schools interested in having field trips to the park doubled. Roughly 10,000 students from the Miami-Dade school district visited this past school year. 

Volunteer rangers help teach the thousands of students who visit. Students go to five stations. The stations cover a variety of topics. Some stations are about animals. Students learn about alligators and Burmese pythons, an invasive species. Other stations are about native plants like sawgrass. 

“We want kids to see wildlife up close,” says Allyson Gantt. She is an Everglades park ranger. “There are no fences or gates at the park. This means the animals are right next to you.” 

National Park Service/Every Kid In a Park Program

Students feel real alligator skin to learn about the animal and its habitat.  

After learning about the Everglades water supply, which provides drinking water to 7 million people, Camila Rodríguez began conserving more water.

Camila, 10, thinks people will care more about the environment after experiencing the park. “Learning about the Everglades is very interesting and persuading,” she says.

The Everglades provides drinking water to 7 million people. Camila Rodríguez learned this on her visit. Then she began conserving more water.

Camila, 10, thinks people will care more about the environment after visiting the park. “Learning about the Everglades is very interesting and persuading,” she says.

MATH TALK:

How does multiplying by 10 relate to place value?

MATH TALK:

How does multiplying by 10 relate to place value?

Multiplying by 10

Multiplying by 10

Everglades National Park has 5 stations that students visit on a field trip. Each station takes 10 minutes. Write a multiplication sentence for the total time it would take to visit 5 stations. 

Everglades National Park has 5 stations that students visit on a field trip. Each station takes 10 minutes. Write a multiplication sentence for the total time it would take to visit 5 stations. 

Ten groups of 10 students visit the alligator station. This place value chart represents the total number of students who visit the station. 

Ten groups of 10 students visit the alligator station. This place value chart represents the total number of students who visit the station. 

Express this as an equation in unit form. Unit form is when you express a number using its place value as a unit. (Example: 30 in unit form is 3 tens.)

Express this as an equation in unit form. Unit form is when you express a number using its place value as a unit. (Example: 30 in unit form is 3 tens.)

During the 2014-2015 school year, 32 × 10 × 10 fourth-graders visited Everglades National Park. In the 2015-2016 school year, 68 × 10 × 10 fourth graders visited. On a separate sheet of paper, explain what you notice about number of fourth grade visitors. Use information from the article to support why you think this happened.

During the 2014-2015 school year, 32 × 10 × 10 fourth-graders visited Everglades National Park. In the 2015-2016 school year, 68 × 10 × 10 fourth graders visited. On a separate sheet of paper, explain what you notice about number of fourth grade visitors. Use information from the article to support why you think this happened.

Complete the expression to find the number of students that visited Everglades National Park in the 2016-2017 school year.

9 × 10 × 10 × 10 =

Complete the expression to find the number of students that visited Everglades National Park in the 2016-2017 school year.

9 × 10 × 10 × 10 =

On a separate sheet of paper, draw your answer from part A in a place value chart. 

On a separate sheet of paper, draw your answer from part A in a place value chart. 

Using the data in questions 3 and 4, a student says that about 3 times as many fourth-graders visited the Everglades in the 2016-2017 school year compared with the 2014-2015 school year. On a separate sheet of paper, prove that this is true using an equation. (Hint: Round one of the factors in your equation to the nearest thousand.) 

Using the data in questions 3 and 4, a student says that about 3 times as many fourth-graders visited the Everglades in the 2016-2017 school year compared with the 2014-2015 school year. On a separate sheet of paper, prove that this is true using an equation. (Hint: Round one of the factors in your equation to the nearest thousand.) 

Algebraic Thinking
Expressions
Number & Operations
Whole Number Place Value
persuading

Succeeding in making someone do or believe something by giving the person good reasons
expression

A mathematical phrase that can include numbers, symbols, and/or operators

Example: 6 – 7 is an expression
data

Facts or information used to make or calculate a value
equation

A number sentence that includes an equal sign. The values represented on both sides of the equal sign are the same.

Example: 5 + 4 = 9
multiplication sentence

An equation using multiplication to calculate the product of two or more multiples

Example: 4 x 3 x 5 = 60 is a multiplication sentence
sawgrass

A plant with sharp, spiny-edged leaves that grows in brackish swamps and shores in Florida
artifacts

Objects made or changed by humans, especially tools or other items used in the past
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