Diane Schaefer's CU

Return to Geology Index Page

Experiencing the Sandias

Diane Schaefer

Academic Setting

I am a teacher of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students at Hodgin Elementary School. The students in my class have a variety of different hearing losses, but all of my students rely on sign language for understanding new or difficult concepts and for the clarification of difficult language or ideas. I have children in my class ranging from third grade to fifth grade. I frequently have the same students for two or more of their elementary school grades. There is a low teacher to student ratio, usually about 1:8. The students are bused to Hodgin from all over the city of Albuquerque, so the children come from a variety of socioeconomic and cultural groups. Some parents that live in outlying towns actually provide transportation for their own children, as there may not be an appropriate program for them in their home school district.

I teach all subjects across the curriculum and address all state standards. I also assess and document student progress toward Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals that are written at formal yearly meetings with input from parents and the child’s educational team.

Rational

Many school children in Albuquerque have never actually visited the incredibly beautiful Sandia Mountain Wilderness, which is practically right outside their front door! To many children, the Sandias are just a one-dimensional mass of rock they see everyday beside their city. These mountains are simply taken for granted. In addition, many young people in our city have not had the experience of riding to the “top of the world” on the Sandia Peak Tramway. Living in the hustle and bustle of Albuquerque, many families do not take advantage of the peace and solitude that can be found in our nearby Sandias.

Thus, in order to introduce my students to the splendor of these mountains, I am creating the following curriculum unit. Leisure and learning opportunities abound in these inspiring mountains. Visiting educational sites in the Sandias is the motivating focal point of this unit so that my students may be exposed to the wonder of the mountainous areas practically right in their own backyard! Through exposure to this area during field trip experiences, and upon completion of the pre-educational and post-educational activities included in my unit, perhaps an understanding of this natural environment can be established. Perhaps this understanding could even help our future generations strive to preserve our natural environment.

            In order to foster this vital understanding of our natural environment, I plan to utilize our nearby Sandia Mountains as an experiential learning tool. This thematic, whole language, hands-on, experiential curriculum unit, centered around four field trip sites, will serve to increase expressive and receptive language skills, which are IEP goals for all of my students. State and Albuquerque Public School standards will be addressed and specified in the lesson plan section of this unit. My hope is that an enthusiasm for the wonderful and diverse beauty of New Mexico will contribute to motivating students and will thus aid in the acquisition of new skills and knowledge. By experiencing a world separate from their own everyday lives, children will gain a new appreciation for the fascinating natural world.

            In order to strive to reach this goal of appreciation, the following curriculum unit will contain language-rich lesson plans that will include some history, geology, and life science of the Sandia Mountains. After completing pre-field trip activities, I will take the students to four interesting and educational sites in the Sandia Mountain area. Some background information, interesting facts, and history of the sites will be provided in the following section. The Sandia Mountain sites are: (1) Elena Gallegos Picnic Area, (2) Sandia Peak Tramway, (3) Sandia Ranger Station and Cienega Springs Picnic Area, and (4) Sandia Mountain Outdoor Education Center. These trips will be spaced throughout the year. After completing the trips, follow up lessons will be presented to reinforce concepts acquired during the actual trips.

The following content and background will give the teacher a basic knowledge of the four field trip sites in this unit. It will also provide basic information about the geology, history, plants, and animals of the Sandia Mountains. This knowledge will be essential to prepare the students for the field trips, and then to utilize the pre- and post-field trip lesson plans that will follow in the Implementation Section of this paper.

Context and Background

Some Basic History and Background of the Sandia Mountains

In order for a teacher to take a class to the Sandia Mountains, it will be important to know some basic history and general background of the area. The children will be fascinated by the teacher’s prior knowledge!

In order to preserve the wilderness character of certain lands, and protect them, Congress passed the Wilderness Act of 1964. Later, the Endangered American Wilderness Act of 1978 created the Sandia Mountain Wilderness near Albuquerque, New Mexico. This included 30,981 acres in the Sandia Ranger’s District of the Cibola Forest. Later, when the Elena Gallegos Grant was included, it increased the acreage of the wilderness area to its present amount of 37,232 acres (Hill 1; Sandia Mountain Wilderness Map). Presently, the primary use of the Sandia Mountain Wilderness Area is recreation (Hill 1).

            Of interest to school children as they study the Sandias might be the fact that the word Sandia means watermelon in Spanish. When Spaniards came to New Mexico during the 16th and 17th centuries, they named the mountains Sandia because of their shape and reddish color at sunset (Matthews 1). They turn a crimson color when hit by the setting sun (Staats 123). There is another name for the Sandia Mountains that we are not so familiar with: Oku Pin, or Turtle Mountain, named by the Indians for their humpbacked, tortoise-shell shape against the horizon when viewed east from the pueblos along the northern portion of the Rio Grande (Matthews 1; Morris 14).

Geology of the Sandia Mountains

Some basic geology of the Sandia Mountain Area will be beneficial to a teacher using this curriculum unit. Albuquerque lies in the central part of the Rio Grande Rift. As reported in the Cibola National Forest’s Sandia Peak Tram Fact Sheet, this rift is a great fracture in the earth’s surface, which extends from Leadville, Colorado, to Las Cruces. This rift or trough cuts New Mexico in half (Chronic 94). The rift was formed when a large block of the earth’s crust subsided forming a low spot bounded by mountains on either side (Cibola National Forest). Now filled with erosional debris from the western slopes of the Sandias, the sunken trough provides an area for the flow of the Rio Grande River (City of Albuquerque 4). Albuquerque’s water needs are met by drilling wells into this porous, permeable gravel that with time has soaked up rain and river water to become a large underground reservoir (Chronic 95; Cibola National Forest).

            Also of interest is that the highest point of the Sandias is at 10,678 feet above sea level and about a mile above Albuquerque (Cibola National Forest). The Sandia Range is about 20 miles in total length (Chronic101). The range is an east tilted fault block of ancient 1.4 billion year old Precambrian granite (Chronic 94; Cibola National Forest). The light-colored granite that makes up the majority of the rock in the Sandia Mountains was formed from magma that cooled and solidified about one and one-half billion years ago far beneath the earth’s surface (Cibola National Forest). These Precambrian rocks, prominent on the western scarp, consist mainly of granite, gneiss, schist, quartzite, and greenstone (Kelley and Northrop 11). These rocks are made up chiefly of mica, feldspar and quartz minerals (Matthews 7).

            There are horizontal, light colored layers of limestone and sandstone that top the Precambrian Sandia granite (Maurer 8). These layers can presently be seen most clearly at the rim of the Sandias (Morris 7). The layers were created about 300 million years ago when the granite was covered by a thin layer of limey material (Chronic 98; Cibola National Forest). This limey material came from the exoskeletons and debris of primitive life forms that settled to the bottom of an ancient ocean after they died (Morris 6). The lime hardened and became the thin, well-layered, fossil-bearing limestone that now caps the Sandia Mountains (Cibola National Forest).

            Subsequently, after the granite and limestone were laid down, about seven to ten million years ago a great fault along the western edge of the Sandias began to move, and the Sandias slowly uplifted and tilted on edge (Albuquerque Environmental Story 1). This upward movement occurred along the fault for millions of years (Morris 7). The children might enjoy the following description of this action: “The rise of this immense fragment of the earth’s crust is somewhat analogous to opening a trap door; the open door is marked by the gently sloping eastern side of the Sandias, whereas the hinge is found in the intensely crumpled rocks of the Cedar Crest Area”(Albuquerque Environmental 1). Due to this movement, the same rock that we see near the Sandia Crest lies buried deep beneath Albuquerque about 20,000 feet below sea level (Chronic 98).

            Due to erosion and weathering over the years, geologists estimate that only about twenty percent of the original uplifted mountain block still remains (Morris 8). The eastern side of the mountain slopes gently to the plains (fifteen degree angle) and the steep, rugged, weathered and eroded western side drops off abruptly to the Rio Grande Rift (Morris 8; Chronic 169). The geology of the Sandia Mountains and their interesting fault action will be depicted in a student-generated clay model explained in the implementation section of this curriculum unit.

Plant Life of the Sandias

Children will be interested in learning about the plant life of the Sandias. Because the Sandias extend over four Life Zones (which will be identified later in the section about the Sandia Peak Tramway), plant life is extremely varied. The Sandia Crest National Scenic Byway pamphlet explains, “ Notice the change in plant life as you ascend. Every 1,000 feet of elevation gain is similar to traveling 300 to 600 miles north.” The contrast between vegetation on the western and eastern sides is also of interest. The west side of the mountain has steep slopes, thin soils, and is exposed to much afternoon sun. Thus, forest trees are few at lower altitudes, except in north-facing and shaded canyons (Cibola National Forest). The gently sloping east side has cooler temperatures, so a dense forest of trees can exist at slightly lower altitudes (Cibola National Forest).

            Morris states that there are over nine hundred species of plants that have been identified in the Sandias (22). This wide diversity is due to variations in temperature, precipitation, slope, soils, elevation, fire, and the impact of humans in the Sandias (Maurer 8). Plants include shrubs, cactus, grasses, trees, ferns, mosses, and many wildflowers. Students can learn to identify several kinds of these plants, and will benefit from a scavenger hunt that will be explained in the application portion of this paper.

Animal Life of the Sandias

Students will delight in seeing wildlife on the field trips and will undoubtedly ask the teacher to identify animals that they observe. The ecological diversity of the Sandias also makes it possible for the mountains to support a wide variety of animals. The Cibola Forest Service reports that the Sandias provide a home for many mammals, including mule deer, mountain lions, foxes, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, black bears, rabbits, skunks, and many other animals. The Cibola Forest goes on to state that there are over 200 species of birds, including golden eagles, numerous hawks, turkey vultures, falcons, ravens, woodpecker, jays, flickers, wrens, and many kinds of songbirds. There are thirty-three species of reptiles, six species of amphibians, fourteen species of lizards, and eighteen species of snakes. Some common snakes are bullsnakes, rattlesnakes, and garter snakes.

Facts and History of the Field Trip Sites

The following background and information covers the four field trip sites that are visited in this curriculum unit. This information will help the teacher to plan the trips and to answer student questions that may come up on the trip.

Sandia Peak Tramway

This curriculum unit includes an on-site trip up the Sandia Peak Tramway. This trip is the first in the unit, and will be taken in the fall in order to take advantage of the beautiful seasonal colors. The purpose of the trip is to provide a fun, motivating experience to learn about wildlife, ecology, and our natural environment. If contacted in advance, Tram staff will set up a “Terrace Presentation” at the summit presented by a forest ranger who will discuss the history of the tram, some geology of the Sandias, and the flora and fauna of the area.

            As you ride on the tram with naturally curious children, they may be interested in some history and factual information about the tram operation. The Tramway was manufactured by Bell Engineering, Lucerne, Switzerland in 1964-66 (Salmon 89). It is a Double Reversible Jigback Aerial Tramway. This means it has 2 cars. When one goes up, the other comes down (Salmon 4). The Tramway Fact Sheet explains that 5,000 helicopter trips were made during construction of Tower 2 and cable installation, and that the tram system carries an average of 275,000 passengers a year with an hourly capacity of 220 passengers at 4 trips per hour.

            The tram ride takes passengers over Sandia Mountain Wilderness Area and the Cibola National Forest (Salmon 8). The Cibola National Forest reports that in a 15-minute tram ride, you travel through 4 ecological life zones. At the base (6500 feet), is the Upper Sonoran zone of pinon-juniper, chamisa, and Apache plume. Proceeding up to tower 1 (7200 feet), is a Transition zone of Ponderosa pine. Continuing up to Tower 2(8500 feet), is the Canadian zone of Aspen, scrub oak, and mixed conifer. Finally, at the top of the mountain, is the Hudsonian zone of Engelmann spruce, Douglas fir, aspen, and limber pine.

            The animals most frequently seen during the ride are mule deer. Other animals rarely seen are black bears, raccoons, squirrels, and mountain lions. Birds that have been observed are raven, golden eagles, turkey vultures, hawks, jays, and wrens (Cibola National Forest).

            The children from Albuquerque will be accustomed to high elevations, but undoubtedly might still breathe deeply as they climb the stairway to the tram base terminal entrance. One author, Salmon, explains that upon reaching the terminal landing, they can see a 180-degree view of the western horizon. Children might ask about the narrow dirt road that winds its way up to Tower One. Salmon explains that this road was used in the construction of the tram and still serves as maintenance access. Children might be curious about an orange windsock at Tower Two. Salmon also explains that his windsock can actually be seen from the bottom and top of the mountain. At the bottom, the console operator checks it often for winds. At the top, hang gliders check it for wind direction in planning launches (4,6)

            As you proceed on the ride, you might gently explain to the children about the plane wreckage at one of the canyons near the top of the tram. This canyon is called TWA canyon because in 1955 a TWA four engine plane crashed into the mountain in dense clouds, killing all 16 passengers aboard (Salmon 4). While the tram was being constructed, small remnants of the wreckage were airlifted from the mountain, but larger pieces were left behind (Salmon 4).

            Children will be excited by the different landforms they see on the ascent and at the top of the tram. They will want to know the name for the shadowy shapes they see in the horizon. As reported by Salmon, when viewing the area from the top of the tram, there is an 11,000 square mile vista of mountains, deserts, canyons, riverbanks, farmlands, cities, and towns (8). Taos is to the north and Sierra Blanca is to the south (160 miles in each direction). Mt. Taylor is sixty-seven miles away to the west. To the northwest are the Jemez Mountains. Looking toward the north, are the Sangre Christo Mountains and Santa Fe (8). Cabezon Peak stands alone on the northwestern horizon (Morris 3).

            At the top of the tram is a Forest Service Visitor Center with a self-guided Nature Trail (20 minutes), observation decks with pipe sights, restaurant, and ski area (Cibola National Forest). The children will hike the half-mile nature trail. Interpretive signs describe the geology and plant and animal life characteristic of this area.    Temperatures at the top can be quite a bit cooler than at the bottom, so students need to dress accordingly. In my opinion, particularly stunning is a ride up the tram at daylight and a descent at starlight, but this would obviously be difficult on a school day trip with children.

City of Albuquerque, Parks and Recreation Department’s Open Space Division

The second site visited in this curriculum unit (late fall) takes place at the Elena Gallegos Picnic Area, located in the foothills of the Sandias. The picnic area is in a section of the Open Space Lands of the Albuquerque area. These areas actually also include many sections of the Sandia foothills, the Rio Grande Valley State Park, farm lands, west mesa grasslands, Petroglyph National Monument, east mountain areas, and Montessa Park (City of Albuquerque14). According to the 1969 Albuquerque City Goals Committee, the goal of the Open Space Division “is to preserve the unique, natural features of the metropolitan area by achieving a pattern of development and open spaces-respecting the river, land, mesa, mountains, volcanoes and arroyos.” The total acreage of Open Space acquired by the City of Albuquerque is approximately 28,000, valued at over $250 million dollars(City of Albuquerque).

             Open Space provides excellent environmental education programs for school children. Teachers can arrange a Traveling Trunk Presentation or Open Space on-site education by contacting the Education Coordinator at 452-5205. The coordinator will send you informational literature on the 5 different Traveling Trunk Presentations. This literature will explain these programs, which bring the ideas of Open Space directly into classrooms. The programs last about one hour each and are designed for grades K-5. A staff member with the Educational Program will actually present the engaging hands on activities to your class. This can be a valuable resource to accompany a variety of Science or Social Studies units that an educator might be developing.

            This curriculum unit will utilize the Traveling Trunk program From Lava to Limestone: Geology of the Albuquerque Area. The goals of this program, as outlined by printed material available by contacting the Educational coordinator are: (1) Students will learn the geologic history of the Albuquerque area, including the Sandia Mountains, the Rio Grande Rift, and the volcanic West Mesa. (2) Students will gain an appreciation for geological time. (3) Students will learn the difference between igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock. (4) Students will gain a personal connection to rocks. These objectives match well to the goals of my curriculum unit presented in this paper.

            This curriculum unit will also actually utilize one of the on-site outdoor educational programs that Open Space provides. This particular program is located at Elena Gallegos in the Sandia Foothills. By contacting the Open Space Educational Coordinator, a time and date can be set up and a staff member from this Division will meet your school group and present a program covering the history, geology, plant life, animal life, and natural resources of the Elena Gallegos lands.

            Teachers may want to briefly present some information about the Elena Gallegos area before the trip. The City of Albuquerque reports that it is considered to be one of Albuquerque’s most prized and popular Open Spaces. Through a series of attempts, the city has retained the 640-acre site known the Albert G. Simms Park, which contains the Elena Gallegos Picnic Area. The area is located in the Upper Sonoran Desert Lifezone, at an elevation 6000-7000 feet, and is characterized by pinon pine, one-seed juniper, cane cholla, prickly pear and numerous types of grasses.

            Many activities are enjoyed at Elena Gallegos, including biking, horseback riding, picnicking, site seeing, and hiking. In my opinion, the foothills of the Sandias provide a wonderful spot to view the spectacular sunsets for which New Mexico is famous! More specifically, in this curriculum unit on site visit, the students will enjoy the 1/4-mile Cottonwood Springs Trail, which is one of the many trails in the park.

            It is fully wheelchair accessible and has beautiful interpretive tile displays, which explain the natural environment of the area. If time permits, students can also enjoy the half -mile, self -guided nature trail. An informative brochure, available at the park entrance, has numbers that correspond with the posts in order to guide the walker through interesting aspects of the area. Additionally, the students might marvel at the idea of someday returning with their parents, and hiking up the popular Pino Trail, which has its trailhead in the Park. This trail continues 4.5 miles up to the Sandia Crest Ridge. The park is easy to access, just up the road from the intersection of Tramway and Simms Park Road on the eastern edge of Albuquerque. There are road signs showing the way, whether approaching Simms Park Road from the north or from the south, traveling on Tramway.

Cieniga Springs Picnic Area

This curriculum unit will include a third (late spring) on site trip to the Cienega Springs Picnic Area located on the East Side of the Sandia Mountains. The area is reached by driving approximately 1.8 miles on Highway 536 past the Highway 14 junction. Turn left at the Cienega Canyon-Sulfur Canyon turnoff and continue to the picnic area. This picnic area is in a beautiful, shaded location. Usually there is water in the creek that flows through the canyon. This area is part of the Sandia Mountain Wilderness Area of the Cibola National Forest. Information about the area can be obtained by calling the US Forest Service, Sandia Ranger District, at 505-281-3304.

            The students will enjoy the Cienega Nature Trail located in this picnic area. This 0.2 mile paved trail is barrier-free and offers easy to read information (both written and in braille) about the area’s resources (Cibola Forest Map). There are other trails in the area, including the Cienega Spring Trail that continues 2.3 miles up to the Sandia Crest. If shown a Cibola Forest hiking trail map, the children can understand that the Cienega Spring Trail meets up at the Sandia Crest with the Pino Trail that originates in Elena Gallegos.

Sandia Mountain Ranger Station

In conjunction with the Cienega Springs trip, is a stop at the Sandia Ranger Station, which is operated by the National Forest Service, and is located near the village of Tijeras. The staff will provide a presentation about forest fires and fire prevention. More information can be obtaining by calling the station at 505-281-3304

Albuquerque Public Schools and Sandia Mountain Natural History Center’s Ecology Field Program

My fifth grade students already participate in the Outdoor Ecology Education Program co-sponsored by Albuquerque Public Schools and the Museum of Natural History at the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center, located on the west side of the mountain. This program will be utilized in this curriculum unit as it provides another excellent opportunity for students to experience the Sandia Mountains. The staff at the location present wonderful hands on activities about the animals, plants, and geology of the Sandias.

            The program includes a hike of about a half-mile up the mountain. Narrative talks are given at different stops along the way. The topics include information about the Pinon-Juniper Life Zone, the Ponderosa Pine Life Zone, Douglas Fir Forest, the Sandia Mountains, the Rio Grande Rift, fossils, and Native American ruins. For more information, call the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center at 281-5259.

Safety, including Supplies and Equipment Necessary for Outdoor Field Trips with Children

In order to insure a successful day trip, it is important to plan ahead to meet the physical needs of the children in your care. In his book, Best Hikes with Children, Bob Julyan recommends bringing the proper food, clothing, and equipment. Food choices should provide energy and nutrition, be resistant to rough handling, and taste good. Make sure children drink water often (12). In my experience with being with children on day trips, I have noticed that they do not realize when they are becoming dehydrated. Children need to be reminded to drink lots of water before, during, and after an outdoor trip. In addition, all of the sites that I have chosen to visit have restrooms or outhouses. This is an important consideration in planning for outings!

            Some additional safety tips should also be mentioned. Explain to children that they should not to throw anything over the edge at the top of the crest, as there might be people or wildlife below. Caution children to stay back from ledges and overlooks. I recommend an adult to child ratio of 2:1 to ensure that young children do not get too close to potentially slippery cliff edges. Always instruct children to stay on designated trails. Talk about not disturbing wildlife, especially snakes and scorpions. These trips are also a perfect time to discuss the importance of “leaving no trace” and packing out all trash or disposing of it in appropriate containers.

            I have compiled a personal list of recommended supplies to bring on trips. Each individual child should personally bring a disposable water bottle, sack lunch, lightweight or winter jacket (the weather can change quickly), rain poncho or large trash bag with a hole cut for the head (need will depend on the day’s forecast), sun protection (hat, sunscreen), and comfortable walking shoes. The teacher should bring extra water for students, first aid kit (including tweezers, sting relief, bug spray, eye drops, band aids, blister supplies), tissues, hand wipes, and an extra set of clothing. After each experience in the field, new insights and experiences will cause this list to grow, but hopefully these provisions will help to ensure comfortable, safe trips.

Implementation

As discussed in the previous Context and Background section of this paper, this curriculum unit revolves around four Sandia Mountain field trips. Background information for each location has been presented in the previous section. This implementation section will provide pre-trip activities and post-trip activities for each site. The emphasis will be on science, literacy and art activities.

Trip #1 Sandia Peak Tramway

(Recommended Months: September or October)

Pre-Activity #1 (State Science Content Standards A1 Benchmark 1; E5 Benchmark 2 and Language Arts Content Standard IA.1 )

-Show pictures of the Sandia Mountains to the students and explain that they will be going on four field trips during the year to experience these mountains.

-Have the children generate a list of facts, ideas, feelings, and experiences that they already know or feel about these mountains.

-Have children then generate a list, in question format, of some things they would like to learn about the mountains during the year. Use sentence strips to record the questions in order to make it easy to save for the entire year. After each trip, ask the children if any of their questions were answered. Remove sentence strips containing the answered questions and save the unanswered questions for the remaining trips.

Pre-Activity #2 (State Science Standard B2 Benchmark 3)

-Go outside to the highest vantage point at school and have the children draw a silhouette of the contour line of the crest of the Sandia Mountains. These contour lines will be utilized in the first step of an on-going, year long, art activity explained below:

The art activity is a progressive group mural project. The children will add to the class mural after each field trip. To start, give each child a piece of large blue construction paper. Have each child put their name on the back. Collect the papers and lay them all out next to each other in a horizontal line. Using a compilation of the contour lines of the mountains that the children sketched, draw the entire crest line from left to right across the upper part of all the papers (leaving some blue above the line to represent sky).

            Give each child back their own piece of blue paper, which now contains a line representing a portion of the crest drawn across the top of the paper. To make the mountains, have each child cut out brown construction paper to glue onto the bottom portion of the paper, cutting a customized top line to ‘fit’ the mountain contour line on their paper.

            Find a space in the room to display the papers, side by side in mural fashion for the remainder of the year. The papers need to be attached to wall in such a way that they can be easily removed and then hung back up as the children add to the mural throughout the year. Before each trip the students will be asked to notice five items that they could add to their pictures after returning from the trip. As the children finish each field trip, they will make and add cut out paper figures of plants, animals, scenery, boulders, rock formations, etc. to their individual papers. The finished class product will be a beautiful mural of the mountains.

Pre-Trip Activity #3 (State Science Standards F6 Benchmark 6; J10 Benchmark 1b;K11 Benchmark 5; E5 Benchmark 1b and Social Studies State Standard IID and Language Arts Content Standard IB.2)

Explain the 7 different life zones on our earth, showing pictures of each zone. Point out pictures of the 4 different life zones that the class will travel through on the ride up the Tram. There are excellent diagrams of these zones in the Sandia Crest Scenic Drive Booklet (Cibola National Forest) or The Sandia Tram Fact Sheet (call the tram office and they will mail you a packet). Discuss the different zones and identify vegetation in each. Assign each individual child one of the life zones to research. Each child can present their edited, written report, along with diagrams.

Pre-Trip Activity #4 (State Standard K11 Benchmarks 1,2,3,5,6,8 and Language Arts Content Standard IA.1)

There are Ranger Worksheet Papers for children available from the Cibola National Forest. These worksheets have questions for the students to answer as they read the informational plaques along the nature trail at the top of the tram.

Have the children read the questions prior to the trip, so they know what information they need to look for on the actual trip.

Post-Trip Activity #1

Answer any questions from the pre activity #1 above.

Post-Trip Activity #2

Add to the class art mural explained above.

Post-Trip Activity #3 (Language Arts Content Standard IIB4,6))

On the trip, each child will take a digital picture of the area that represents the life zone that they previously researched. After returning from the trip, each child will write a short story about what they actually observed and learned about their life zone. This picture and story, along with the previously finished report, will be the start to a Sandia Mountain Field Trip Portfolio. Each trip taken throughout the year will have an entry in this assessment portfolio.

Trip #2- Elena Gallegos Picnic Area

(Recommended Months: October, November, March)

Pre-Trip Activity #1 (State Social Studies Standard 1A)

-Assign homework in which the children draw a picture of the Sandias at sunset each night for one week. Perhaps children can take turns taking home motivating art mediums (pastels, watercolors, colored pencils, etc.).

-Let the student share their drawings with the class, then show the students actual photographs of the Sandias at sunset when the mountains turn their pinkish-red color. Explain the origin of the Spanish word ‘Sandia’ and how it relates to the name of the mountain range. Also explain the origin of the Native American’s name for the Sandias: Turtle Mountain.

-Have real watermelon for a snack! Use the seeds to make a mosaic picture of a turtle.

Pre-Trip Activity #2 (State Science Content Standards B2 Benchmark 3; L12 Benchmark 3 and State Social Studies Content Standards ID and IID)

-Display pictures of the Sandia Mountain Range to the children. Show children examples of several different rocks. The students can predict which rocks might be found in the Sandias. Then the teacher can go through each sample and point out the rocks that actually exist in the mountain range and where the rocks are found.

-Discuss where the igneous Sandia granite examples would exist in the bottom part of the mountains and where the sedimentary examples would exist in the upper layers of sandstone and limestone.

-Using pictures, point out the slope of the eastern side of the Sandias and the rough, craggy, steep western side of the Sandias and discuss the fault action that occurred in this mountain range millions of years ago.

-Modeling the teacher, the children can construct a clay model of the Sandias prior to the fault action. Use different colors for the lower granite layer and the upper two layers of sedimentary rock. Use toothpicks with labels to name the rock areas. Then cut the layers to show the fault line and demonstrate the actual uplift of the fault action that occurred to create the different western and eastern sides.

Have the children construct an historical time line of the geological actions that occurred to create the Sandias, drawing pictures and writing out the steps sequentially.

Pre-Trip Activity #3 (State Science Standard Standards B2 Benchmark 3 and State Social Studies Content Standard IID)

Invite presenter from Albuquerque’s Open Space Education Department as guest speaker to present the program discussed in the Context and Background Section.

Post-Trip Activity #1

Add to the class wall art mural described in Pre Trip Activity #1

Post Trip Activity #2 (State Science Standard F6 Benchmark 5,6 and Language Arts Content Standard IIC.4))

During the trip, have children take pictures of different rock types that encounter. Using the National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals, help the children to identify the rock type in their pictures. The children can then write a narrative in the first person personifying their rock. The rock picture and story can be entered in the Field Trip Portfolio.

Trip #3-Sandia Mountain Natural History Center

(Date arranged by Center)

Pre-Trip Activity #1 (State Science Standard K11 Benchmarks 2,3,4,6)

-Call the New Mexico Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and find out what animals in the Sandias are currently endangered. “Each student can research one of the animals and present an edited report and drawing of their animal.

-Given different musical selections from which to pick, each student can choose a piece of music that expresses the movement, habits, and personality of the animal and move in the fashion of the animal to the music. This activity can be done before or after reading the report to the class. The teacher will take pictures of the student during the performance, and then the report, drawing, and picture can be entered into the Field Trip Portfolio.

Post-Trip Activity #1 (Language Arts Content Standard IIC.1,3)

-Students will write a fiction story with the Sandia Mountains as the setting. The edited story will be published in an accordion- style book with a silhouette of the mountains cut out for the top border. This book will be placed in the Field Trip Portfolio.

Post-Trip Activity #2

Students will add to class wall mural.

Trip #4 Cieniga Springs Picnic Area

(Recommended months: April, May)

Pre-Trip Activity #1 (State Science Standard G7 Benchmark 1)

Using different objects in the environment, teach the children how to make a “texture rubbing” by placing a piece of paper on the object and lightly shading over the object using a crayon or pencil until the shape and textures of the object show up on the paper. The children will use this skill to make nature rubbings while on the trip.

Post-Trip Activity # 1 (Language Arts Content Standard IIC.2)

During the trip, have children make nature ‘texture rubbings’ of tree bark, leaves, rocks, etc. Also take a digital picture of the real objects. Following the trip, classify the rubbings in different groups according to an assortment of attributes. For example, living vs. non-living; animal vs. plant; rough or smooth; dark color vs. light color. Record the generated attributes and use them as descriptive words to write a Haiku poem about one picture of choice. Place the picture, rubbing, and poem in the Field Trip Portfolio.

Post-Trip Activity #2

Add to class mural project described in Field Trip #1

Documentation

Bibliography

Albuquerque. Dept. of Parks and Recreation, Open Space Division. Elena Gallegos Nature Trail              Guide.

Albuquerque. Dept. of Parks and Recreation, Open Space Division. Windows of Open Space....A              Room with a View.

Chronic, Halka. Roadside Geology of New Mexico. Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing
            Company, 1987.

Hill, Mike. Hikers and Climbers Guide to the Sandias. Albuquerque: Adobe Press,1983.

Julyan, Bob. Best Hikes With Children in New Mexico. Seattle: The Mountaineers, 1994.

Kelley, Vincent C., Stuart A. Northrop. Geology of the Sandia Mountains and Vicinity,                New Mexico. Socorro: University of New Mexico Printing Plant, 1975.

Matthews, Kay. Hiking Trails of the Sandia and Manzano Mountains. Chamisal: Acequia Madre                Press, 1995.

Maurer, Stephen G., ed. Sandia Mountains, Cibola National Forest, Sandia Ranger District.               Albuquerque: Southwest Natural and Cultural Heritage Association, 1990.

Morris, James A. Oku Pin, The Sandia Mountains of New Mexico. Albuquerque: Seven Goats                  Printing, 1980.

Rosner, Hy and Joan. “Albuquerque’s Environmental Story-Geology and Geological History” 1996.                 6/2/2002 <http://www.cabq.gov/aes/s1geol.html>.

Salmon, Pamela. Sandia Peak: A History of the Sandia Peak Tramway and Ski Area. Tijeras:                    Salmon Communications, 1998.

Sandia Peak Tram Facts Sheets and Teacher Guide. Sandia Peak and Cibola National Forest.

Stats, Todd. New Mexico-Off the Beaten Path. Guilford: Globe Pequot Press, 1993.

U.S. Forest Service, Dept. of Agriculture. Sandia Mountain Wilderness Map. 1991.

United States. Dept. of the United States Forest Service and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History. Sandia Crest National Scenic Highway. Albuquerque: Southwest Natural and Cultural Heritage Association.