1-Pager
Plan
By Phase By Day Calendar
Empathize
Students will build wonder about National Parks, study how real visitor guides communicate with readers, begin understanding landforms and park protection, and gather early evidence about audience needs for their own zine writing.
Days 1 - 4
🎬 Parks Premiere & Wonder Wall
Launch 45m
🏞️ Landforms Match Park Places
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
📚 Ranger Brochures Under the Magnifier
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
🗺️ My Park Choice Pitch
Deliverable 45m
Define
Students will define what makes their chosen National Park worth protecting by organizing early research, studying how landforms were shaped, and turning notes into a clear problem statement for a real audience. They will use evidence, peer feedback, and teacher conferencing to decide what readers most need to know in a visitor guide zine.
Days 5 - 8
🪨 Park Landforms Evidence Sort
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
📝 Paraphrase Notes for Park Facts
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
🎯 Why Protect This Park Claim
Deliverable 45m
📂 Research Organizer Checkpoint
Assessment 45m
Ideate
Students will generate and compare possible ways to organize and communicate what makes their National Park worth protecting, using science evidence, audience needs, and peer feedback to choose a strong direction for their visitor guide work.
Days 9 - 12
🗂️ Visitor Guide Feature Sort
Knowledge/Skill Building 40m
🏞️ Landform Ideas Sketchboard
Project Work 45m
💬 Two-Peer Zine Feedback
Deliverable 45m
✅ Park Page Plan Checkpoint
Assessment 45m
Draft
Students will turn their park research into first drafts for their National Park visitor guide zine by organizing information, drafting sections with text features, explaining landforms with science vocabulary, and revising through structured peer and teacher feedback before moving into testing.
Days 13 - 18
🗂️ Visitor Guide Section Map
Knowledge/Skill Building 40m
📝 Paraphrase Notes to Paragraphs
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
⛰️ Landform Science Diagram Draft
Knowledge/Skill Building 40m
📚 Visitor Guide First Draft
Deliverable 50m
💬 Two-Peer Zine Feedback Round
Project Work 45m
✅ Draft Conference Checkpoint
Assessment 45m
Test
Students will test their draft National Park visitor guide pages and poem choices with real readers, gather evidence about what is clear and engaging, and use feedback to plan meaningful revisions before the next critique phase.
Days 19 - 22
🧭 Visitor Guide User-Test Moves
Knowledge/Skill Building 30m
👥 Park Zine Peer Test
Deliverable 45m
🏞️ Ranger Question Rehearsal
Knowledge/Skill Building 30m
📝 Research Organizer Test Checkpoint
Assessment 45m
Critique
Students will use structured critique, peer feedback, and revision to strengthen their National Park visitor guide zine pages and park poem choices so their science explanations, research writing, and design decisions are clearer for a real audience.
Days 23 - 26
🧭 Visitor Guide Critique Moves
Knowledge/Skill Building 35m
📝 Zine Section Feedback Round
Deliverable 45m
🔍 Park Pages Gallery Walk
Project Work 45m
✏️ Revision Conference Checkpoint
Assessment 45m
Notice & Reflect
Students will synthesize what they learned about their National Park, share their polished zine and poem with an authentic audience, document how feedback shaped their final choices, and reflect on how science, research, writing, and performance helped them answer what makes a place worth protecting.
Days 27 - 30
🗣️ Exhibition Talk Practice Cards
Knowledge/Skill Building 40m
🖼️ Zine Display Feedback Round
Deliverable 45m
🌲 National Park Night of Voices
Assessment 50m
📝 Growth Letter and Rubric Check
Deliverable 45m