 Adirondack
Curriculum
Project - www.adkcurriculumproject.org 
NYS Content Area Standard
ELA #1 Language for info & understanding
Social Studies #5, Civics, citizenship & government
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Title: Protect
and Preserve
Grade Level: 12th/Government
Author: Natalie R. Scavone
Email: nscavone@cayboces.org
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Adirondack Curriculum Content Area
_X_ Natural History
___ Human History
___ Culture & the Arts
_X_ Government & Civics
___ Economy
___ Health, Recreation &
Life Skills |
Investigative Question or Issue: How might we persuade the
public to help protect and preserve the Adirondack Forest Preserve?
Challenge:
Context for this Challenge:
The Adirondack Park is the largest publicly protected area in the
contiguous United States, greater in size than Yellowstone, Everglades,
Glacier, and Grand Canyon National Park combined. The boundary of the
Park encompasses approximately 6 million acres, nearly half of which
belongs to all the people of New York State and is constitutionally
protected to remain a “forever wild” forest preserve. The remaining
half of the Park is private land that includes settlements, farms,
timber lands, businesses, homes, and camps.
In 1894 a new covenant was adopted into the Constitution of the State
of New York to achieve meaningful protection for the Forest Preserve.
Henceforth, the Adirondack Forest Preserve would be "forever wild". In
1971 the Adirondack Part Agency was created to to develop long-range
land-use plans for both the public and private lands within the Blue
Line. Since then, many individuals, government agencies. and
organizations have worked to preserve the park.
To set up the following challenge, show students the PBS program "The
Adirondacks". Ask students to take notes as they watch the program in
preparation for a formal journal essay they will be asked to write at
the conclusion of this unit of study.
Focus their notetaking on two questions:
1) What is special
about the Adirondacks that make it worthy of protection and
preservation?
2) What place or resource associated with the
Adirondacks would you personally want to preserve and protect? Why?
Following the program, invite the class members to discuss their
responses to the two questions above. Explore the details of their
thinking with them. Ask them to describe the range of motivations
behind their desire to preserve and protect various places and/or
things.
Share the quote from Jacques-Ives Cousteau, "People protect what they
love." To what extent do the students think this quote is accurate?
What insight does Cousteau provide us regarding the protection and
preservation of the Adirondacks? How might we support and expand
efforts to preserve and protect the Adirondacks?
Before proceeding too far in this challenge, the teacher will no doubt
want to spend time with students discussing a common understanding of
the following terms :
- "ad" campaign
- persuasion; persuasive language and argument
- preservation of natural resources
- protection of natural resources
The Challenge: In
teams of two organized with the help of your teacher, prepare an
advertising campaign to be used as part of a non-profit effort to
encourage the public to help preserve and protect a specific place or
specific resource that is an essential part of the Adirondack Forest
Preserve. As you prepare your campaign, consider the following:
1) You will be expected to vigorously defend your choice of a specific
place or specific resource as essential to the long term well
being of the Adirondack Forest Preserve and therefore worthy of
protection. Be sure your research is thorough, your information
accurate, and your arguments persuasive.
2) Your ad campaign should have both text and visual components.
Therefore as part of your campagin package:
- Create an engaging and informative poster that
will persuasively communicate the essence of your message to the public.
- Create an interesting and informative 30
second radio ad that could be used on NPR or other public medium to
communicate your message.
- Write a formal business letter to a
state or local politician who has influence regarding Adirondack
issues. In this letter persuasively "make your case" for his/her
continued support of public policies that protect or preserve your
chosen place or resource. Be sure your letter is in proper form and
that the information you use to support your arguments is accurate.
Both authors of this campaign should be prepared to
share and interpret their work for other class members and be ready to
persuasively defend their point of view.
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Quality Standards:
- All information included in the products of
the ad campaign is accurate
- Poster is persuasive, engaging, and informative
- Thirty second radio script is interesting and
informative
- Formal business letter is written in correct
form and is error free
- Content of the business letter is persuasive
- Authors are able to respond persuasively to
all questions about their work
Examples of Student
Work
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Adapted for the Adirondack
Curriculum Project from
the work of Education By Design TM and Leading EDGE, LLC
©ACP 2002
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Produced
at the 2008 Adirondack Geography Institute