SUMMARY
America's national parks preserve not only the nation's most spectacular landscapes, but also some of its most important history. On Judy Woodruff's podcast, "In Pursuit of Happiness," she spoke with Jason Epperson. He is a podcaster and RV traveler who has spent years getting to know the parks with his family.
View the transcript of the story.
NOTE: If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this See, Think, Wonder activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think about? What would you want to learn more about?
News alternative: Check our recent segments from the News Hour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.
WARM-UP QUESTIONS
- Who is Jason Epperson, and what is his background?
- What national parks does he highlight?
- How does he describe the tour of Fort Sumter?
- What has White Sands been known for?
- How can increased focus on the national parks drive future interest?
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
- Epperson discusses the fingerprints from enslaved people and children that you can see in the bricks that make up Fort Sumter, saying that “when you see somebody's fingerprint in something, it's sort of this indelible idea that they were there”. How does this description emphasize the role of individual people in building these sites that we can tour freely today?
- Epperson also discusses the importance of White Sands, and how it’s this “beautiful natural area that is sort of this surprise out of the middle of nowhere, but has this wild human history to it”. As we have designated sites as national parks over time, how can we continue to understand the natural landscape and also our role in affecting and changing these places forever?
Media literacy: Epperson is a podcaster who spends time going around to the parks and is able to give a personal and family perspective of these sites. How different is this perspective versus looking on the National Parks Service website or hearing reporters discuss the parks?
WHAT STUDENTS CAN DO
Look through the “Learn and Explore” section of the National Parks Service website. There’s information on programs, history, art and fossils. Students should read through the tabs on the page, and then discuss the following questions:
- What did you learn about the parks or their history that was new to you? Have you been to or heard of any of the parks that were mentioned in the sections?
- Considering what Epperson said about Fort Sumter and White Sands, how can we understand the individual and collective significance of the national parks sites? How important is it to keep preserving this land for future generations while increasing education about its history?
Written by Alyssa Tinoco, News Hour Classroom intern, and PBS News Hour's Vic Pasquantonio
Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter with Daily News Lessons and community events.
To provide feedback on News Hour Classroom's resources, including this lesson, click here.
