Classroom Programs

Invite a Ranger to Your Class!

We offer a variety of curriculum-based program opportunities that combine California curriculum standards with the natural and cultural resources found in the parks. Our Education Rangers visit classrooms throughout the San Joaquin Valley to present programs that align and expand on lessons teachers provide in the classroom.

Details

• Our classroom programs are free!
• When available, in-classroom programs are usually available from January through April, Monday through Friday.
• The program request period for classroom programs is anticipated to be open some time in October 2025. Check back in the fall for specific updates. Any requests made before the open period will need to be resubmitted during the open period.
• To request a program once reservation requests become available, review the available programs below and fill out a Program Request Form (available in fall 2025). Please note - if you have scheduled a program with us before, this form was new beginning with the 2024-2025 school year. All requests must be submitted via the online form. Emailed requests or previous versions of request forms will not be accepted.

Thank you for your interest in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Education Program.

Program information below is for reference only.

The submission period for curriculum-based program requests for the 2024-2025 school year has closed. Check back in the fall of 2025 to make reservations for the 2025-2026 academic year.

In-Classroom Programs

Program Descriptions

Transitional Kindergarten to Kindergarten

Read with a Ranger - Invite a ranger to read a storybook to your class. Afterwards, connect through a ranger-led activity, like guided drawing or listening.

Transitional Kindergarten to 1st Grade

Birds and Bats - Introduces students to the unique life of bats through a comparison with birds. Includes a ranger introduction, a reading of the book Stellaluna, and ranger-led activities.

Observing with Your Five Senses - Introduces students to the five senses with introduction to NPS, reading & song, and a ranger-led activity.

2nd Grade

Bear Essentials - Introduces students to the American black bear, including habitat, diet, and lifecycle and how human activity can have a negative impact on a bear’s natural behavior. The program includes a ranger introduction, a reading, a song activity, and a discussion about bears.

A Giant's Life – Sequoia Tree Life Cycles - Introduces students to the giant sequoias found at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Includes an introduction to the Natoinal Park Service (NPS), reading and song activities, and discussion on size and adaptations of giant sequoias.

3rd Grade

Layers in Time – An Archeological Dig - Introduces students to the Native American tribes who once lived in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. Students participate in a mock–archeological dig and examine Native American artifacts. Ideally, this classroom program is combined with an in-park field trip to visit sites in person.

Ready, Set, Grow – Plant Adaptations - Introduces students to the average life cycle of plants. Includes a reading, ranger-led activity and presentation on plant diversity.

4th Grade

Life in the Zone – Ecosystems & Elevation - This program introduces students to the concept of life zones within the Sierra Nevada through a virtual trip up into the mountains. Students explore how climate (temperature and precipitation) shapes a landscape and discover how plants and animals adapt to survive in each life zone. This lesson culminates in a hands-on group game.

Meet Your National Parks - Introduces students to a uniquely American invention, the national park. It explores what national parks protect by examining the elements found on the National Park Service arrowhead emblem.

5th Grade

Explore Your Watershed - Introduces students to the concept of a watershed, through the understanding of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. It provides a framework for understanding the local watershed and how human activity can impact the watershed.

Nocturnal Hunters – Owl Adaptations - Introduces students to the unique hunting adaptations of owls. Through the dissection of an owl pellet replica, students will learn what owls eat and how they rely on their senses for hunting. Includes a ranger introduction, a discussion about owl adaptations, and an owl pellet dissection activity.

6th Grade

Fire Ecology in a Changing Climate - Introduces students to the concepts of the natural cycle of fire, human attitudes toward fire over time, and the recovery of forest habitats post-fire. Students will learn how California’s fire ecology is changing, leading to longer and hotter droughts and an extended fire season.

Spying on Skulls – Sequoia Mammals - Introduces students to the concepts of predator and prey. Through an examination of animal skulls and teeth, students learn what and how animals eat and what senses they rely on for obtaining food.