
Lesson Plans
These lesson plans are available for download to use in your classroom with your students. The following table shows which grade level TEKS each activity has been correlated with. Please note that almost all the activities can be modified to meet TEKS for other grade levels.
Activity | Activity Summary | Subjects | Grade Levels |
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Students will go on a guided tour through the Discovery Passages at Natural Bridge Caverns and learn how different geological processes formed the cavern system. | Science | 1-8 & Earth & Space Science |
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Students will compare the properties of different soil types including filtration rate. Students will relate the filtration rates to pollution and learn about aquifers and the impact humans can have on them. | Science | 7 |
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Students will compare the properties of different soil types including texture, particle size, and filtration rates. | Science | 4 |
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Students will play a game to simulate how human impact can affect the habitat of bats. | Science/English, Language Arts & Reading | K-3 |
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Students will investigate the actual growth rates of flowstone formations. | Science and Math | 8, Earth & Space Science |
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Students will analyze "water" samples taken from a “spring” on two different occasions. | Science | 4-5 |
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Students will simulate the work of archaeologists as they look for artifacts to describe the types of communities that different prehistoric groups lived in. | Social Studies and Archaeology | 2-7 |
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Students will use clay models of a landscape to create a topographical map. | Science | 8 |
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Students will drip vinegar onto rocks to demonstrate the weathering effect of a weak acid on limestone. | Science | 4-8 |
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Students will use crayons to model the processes that create igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rock. | Science | 4-7 |
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Students will simulate the way a mother bat locates her baby when she returns to the nursery and relate this experience to the story Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. | Science/English, Language Arts & Reading | K-2 |
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Students will physically manipulate clay models to demonstrate changes in the Earth's crust. | Science | 3-8 |
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Students will observe rock and mineral samples to learn about the basic properties of minerals and the three different rock types. | Science | 4-8 |
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Students will work together as city planners to design a community. They must take into account the needs of community members, businesses and the environmental impact on the land itself. | Science and Social Studies | 6-8 |
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Students will learn how sinkholes form as well as the impact humans can have on groundwater quality. | Science | K-8 |
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Students will use their findings from bags of mining rough to group the rocks based on their properties and characteristics. | Science | K-1 |
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A guide for teachers detailing the entire Discovery Tour at Natural Bridge Caverns. | Science | ALL |
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Students will play a board game as a review of their trip to Natural Bridge Caverns. Questions include key vocabulary. | Science | 4-8 |
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Students will play a board game to review the Rock Cycle. | Science | 6-8 |
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Students will use manipulatives to match the term with the correct definition, example or picture. | Science | 4-8 |
Exploring Caves Story and Activities
Students will follow the adventures of two children as they explore a cave. A talking bat serves as their guide. Students will learn the science behind caves as well as take part in various activities to increase their knowledge and appreciation of caves.
* Stories and activities created by the USGS and modified by Natural Bridge Caverns. Originals found at usgs.gov.
Chapter 1: Lost In The Cave
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Chapter 3: A Strange Lunch in the Cave
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