Grade Level: 4th Grade

Time: Two Days – 45 minutes

Essential Question: How can we be stewards of Wyoming’s lands to benefit current and future generations?

Objectives: Students will:

• • Identify the different types of public land and the agencies that manage them.
  • Understand that Wyoming’s lands offer multiple opportunities for learning, relaxation, and recreation.

Purpose:  Students will learn that a large part of Wyoming is public land which offers multiple use opportunities.  People have different roles in the stewardship of Wyoming lands.

Required Materials/Resources:

• • Wyoming Land Ownership Map (Source 1- Use document camera to project)
  • Wyoming’s Public and Private Land map http://publiclands.org/Get-Books-and-Maps.php?plicstate=WY (Source 2)
  • Computers/laptops – iPads are not recommended. (If technology is not available, use teacher’s computer, and complete activity as whole group)
  • Wyoming Public Lands Scavenger Hunt (one per student)
  • Chart paper
  • Wyoming Land Ownership chart (This is information for an anchor chart.)
  • Exit Ticket (one per student)
  • Timer
  • Agency Scoot Cards (one set, printed front to back, and cut apart)
  • Agency Scoot student sheet (one for each student)
  • Agency Scoot answer key (one for teacher)

Suggested Teacher Preparation:

• • Be able to display the Wyoming Land Ownership Map.
  • Reserve electronic devices if necessary.
  • Be able to access the website http://publiclands.org/Get-Books-and-Maps.php?plicstate=WY and practice exploring it.
  • Set up the website http://publiclands.org/Get-Books-and-Maps.php?plicstate=WY on student electronic devices.
  • Review and make an anchor chart from the information in the Wyoming Land Ownership chart. (This will be used in step 7)
  • Print and cut apart the Agency Scoot Cards with the agency facts on the front and the question on the back.
  •  Set up eight stations for the Agency Scoot activity, one for each agency.  Place all three task cards for the agency at the corresponding station.

Standards: 

Social Studies: SS5.5.2, SS5.5.1.a (Explicit), SS5.5.1 (Practiced/Encountered)

ELA:  4.RI.7, 4.SL.1.a, d (Practiced/Encountered)

Vocabulary: 

• • Agency – a business or organization established to provide a particular service
  • Monument – a building, structure, or site that is of historical importance or interest
  • Private land – land owned by a person or group and kept for their exclusive use; permission and access for any purpose must be granted by the owner
  • Public land – land owned by a government; may or may not be accessible to the public
  • State parks – state lands reserved to be enjoyed by the public for recreation and tourism, and do not generate income through development
  • State Trust Lands – lands that were granted to Wyoming and designated to generate revenue for public schools and other state institutions
  • Steward – an individual who manages areas or resources
  • Stewardship – As Wyoming citizens, we are stewards entrusted with the responsible development, care, and use of our resources to benefit current and future generations.

Instructional Procedure/Steps:  

Day 1:

1. Display the Wyoming Land Ownership Map. Have a discussion using the questions below about Wyoming’s public and private lands.

• • “What do you notice about the map?” About half of the map is private, and the other half is ownership categories that would be classified as public.
  • “What is private land?” Private land is land owned by a person or group and kept for their exclusive use; permission and access for any purpose must be granted by the owner.
  • “What is public land?” Public land is land owned by a government; it may or may not be accessible to the public. It includes local, state, and federal lands, all having different purposes.
  • “What kind of things can you do on public land?” fishing hunting, hiking etc.

2. Say: “Turn and talk with your elbow partner about the kind of recreational activities you and your family like to do and where you go to do them.”
3. When students are done sharing, pass out electronic devices. Have students explore the Wyoming’s Public and Private Land map on the website http://publiclands.org/Get-Books-and-Maps.php?plicstate=WY.  Give students five to ten minutes to explore independently the interactive map. For easier viewing, click the “More Filters” arrow found above the map in order to select the different public activities and access/ownership entities.
4. Following the student exploration time, have students ask any questions they have about how to read the map and share specific items and/or icons they discover. After this debriefing period, allow an additional two minutes for students to look for the information that came up during the discussion. Have them focus on icons and colors represented on the map.
5. Pass out the Wyoming Public Lands Scavenger Hunt. Give students fifteen minutes to find and list on the Scavenger Hunt sheet historic sites, wildlife areas, campgrounds, scenic trails, grasslands, forests, and national parks or monuments.

   Analysis

    In this task, students will be engaged in the higher order thinking skill of analysis by analyzing and choosing symbols on the map that help them complete their Wyoming Public Lands Scavenger Hunt.
6. Say: “Remember, public land is land owned by the government that may or may not be accessible to the public. Public lands include local, state, and federal lands, all having different purposes. Click on the map symbols you found on your scavenger hunt to display the site name and the name of the administrative agency that takes care of the site.”  Some students might recognize common locations of landowners and/or common administrative agencies among the locations. After some more exploring time, ask the class: “What did you find?” Listen for students to share: what agencies manage what recreation areas, the activities that are available at that site, and acknowledgment or awareness of a new site.
7. Display the Wyoming Land Ownership anchor chart, and say: “National parks are for enjoyment, Fish and Wildlife are for wildlife refuge (management), the BLM and Forest Service are for multiple use sustained yields (i.e. camping, grazing). The State Trust Lands are for generating funds for schools and for limited recreation.  State Parks are for recreation and enjoyment by the public.” Using the Wyoming Land Ownership maps, guide students to find each type of public land. Have them note the color and the agency that manages that land.
8. “Find the areas of the map that are colored peach. These areas are managed by the Bureau of Indian affairs and include the Wind River Indian Reservation. The Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone are sovereign nations with their own systems of governance. The reservation is land set aside for their use.” Draw students’ attention to reservation land to the anchor chart.
9. Ask: “What do the white areas represent?” Private land.  Say: “Private land is owned by a person or group and kept for their exclusive use. Permission and access for any purpose must be granted by the owner. What can private land be used for?”  Draw their attention to private land to the anchor chart
10. The anchor chart should continue to be posted for use in future lessons.

Assessment: Hand out Exit Tickets and have each student complete one. Correct responses should include: Private land is owned by a person or a group; it is not accessible without permission of the owner.  Public land is owned by the government and managed through different agencies. The rest of the answer will depend on the type of land chosen by the student.

Day 2:

1. Say: “Yesterday we learned about the different types of land ownership in Wyoming. Today, we will learn a little more about the agencies who work to manage that land.”  Hand out the Agency Scoot student sheet.
2. To play Agency Scoot:

a.   Set up eight stations around the room, one for each agency.

b.   Place the task cards for each agency at the corresponding station.

c.   Divide your students into groups of three.

d.   Set a timer for 3 minutes at each station.

i.   Each student gets an Agency Scoot Card, reads the card and answers the question.

ii.  Exchange Agency Scoot Card with someone in their group and complete the steps again.

iii. When everyone in the group has finished all of the cards at an agency station the group will check answers and discuss the information.

1. When the timer sounds the teacher announces “Scoot!”
2. Everyone stands up and rotates to the next station. Continue until all 8 stations have been completed.

Assessment:  When students have completed all eight stations, lead a discussion about how Wyoming land is managed by a variety of agencies and people.  Ask: “Who is responsible for managing the land?”  Federal and State agencies and private landowners. Say: “Name some ways that Wyoming land is managed. How does this show good stewardship?” Have each student quickly share one job that is interesting to them.

Credits/Sources:

1. 1. Public Lands Interpretive Association. (1997-2017). Wyoming. Retrieved August 13, 2017, from http://publiclands.org/Get-Books-and-Maps.php?plicstate=WY
   2. National Park Service. (2017, August 1). About Us. Retrieved August 14, 2017, from https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/index.htm
   3. National Park Service. (n.d.). National Park Service Overview. Retrieved August 19, 2018, from https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/upload/NPS-Overview-07-03-18.pdf
   4. National Park Foundation. (n.d.). Careers. Retrieved August 14, 2017, from https://www.nationalparks.org/careers
   5. PaddleTaxi.org. (2012, July 12). National Park Service. Retrieved August 14, 2017, from http://paddletaxi.org/national-park-service/
   6. USDA.gov. (n.d.). What We Believe. Retrieved August 14, 2017, from https://www.fs.fed.us/about-agency/what-we-believe
   7. USDA.gov. (n.d.). About the Agency. Retrieved August 14, 2017, from https://www.fs.fed.us/about-agency
   8. Bureau of Land Management. (n.d.). BLM:Wyoming – What We Manage. Retrieved August 14, 2017, from https://www.blm.gov/about/what-we-manage/wyoming
   9. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. (2013, April). National Wildlife Refuge System Overview. Retrieved August 14, 2017, from https://www.fws.gov/refuges/about/pdfs/OverviewFactSheetApril2013.pdf
   10. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. (2018, August 14). Careers in Conservation. Retrieved August 19, 2018 from https://www.fws.gov/humancapital/
   11. Wyoming State Parks & Cultural Resources. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved August 15, 2017, from http://wyospcr.state.wy.us/\
   12. Wyoming Game & Fish Department. (2011-2017). About Us. Retrieved August 15, 2017, from https://wgfd.wyo.gov/About-Us/About-the-Department
   13. Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments. (n.d.). State Trust Lands. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from http://slf-web.state.wy.us/ForestryDivision/WildlandFire/StateTL.pdf
   14. Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments. (n.d). Wyoming
       Trust Lands, Mineral Leasing Section. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from http://slf-web.state.wy.us/MLease/brochures/MineralLeasingF.pdf