US national parks are overcrowded.

Some think ‘selfie stations’ will help

Level: Advanced – Teacher’s notes
Key:
Article summary: Innovative solutions are 1. quirky 4. reckless
being introduced to keep record numbers 2. clogged 5. strain
of visitors to national parks safe, and to 3. shuttle 6. trails
enhance their experience in these areas of
natural beauty. 3. Find the information
Time: 90 minutes+ a. Students first find and highlight all the problems and
challenges faced by the National Park Service.
Skills: Reading, Speaking, Writing
b. Then, with a partner, they complete the table
Language focus: Vocabulary
information from the article. Allow students to
complete the table in their own words and be aware
Materials needed: One copy of the
that each pair of students may come up with slightly
worksheet per student
differing answers to this task.

Key (suggested answers):

1. Warmer Challenge or Cause Solution
problem
a. With a partner, students write the names of five
Parks having to More visitors Limiting the
natural attractions and national parks in their area or
close their gates than they can number of
elsewhere in the country. Collect the names of these
deal with at any visitors through
places on a board or shared screen as they will need
one time timed entry slots
to refer back to them for task 6.
Emergency Car parks at Limiting the
2. Key words vehicles unable national parks number of
to get where full so the visitors
a. Students write the correct word from the wordpool they are needed emergency
next to the definitions on the lines provided. Then, vehicles have
they should find and highlight them in the article to no room to get
read them in context. where they need
to be
Key: Graffiti, rubbish Record numbers Limiting the
1. reckless 9. congestion and reckless of visitors number of
2. throngs 10. repurposing behaviour visitors
3. trails 11. clogged Accidents and Visitors all Encouraging
4. overrun 12. shuttle dangerous aiming to get the visitors to take
5. corral 13. muting situations at same perfect selfies in other
6. quirky 14. geysers popular spots photographs paces to prevent
7. strain 15. enhance with the famous them all being at
8. anticipate attractions the same place
and setting up
b. Before reading the article carefully, students selfie stations,
use some of the key words to fill the gaps in the creating guides
sentences to ensure that they understand and know for safe
how the words are used in other contexts. selfie-taking
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 US national parks are overcrowded. Some think ‘selfie stations’ will help
Level: Advanced – Teacher’s notes

Local trails Everyone trying Asking people 4. Key language

overrun with to get photos not to geotag
photo-tourists of the most their photos (on a. Students find phrases from the article.
beautiful views social media)
Key:
No tickets or People wanting Encouraging
1. hard truth 6. rolling out
access available to visit the most people to visit
2. in the process 7. maintain a sense
to the place you popular and other attractions
3. stunning vista of peace
want to visit well-known in the area
4. timed-entry slots 8. drive home the
attractions when the one
5. in the vicinity importance of
they planned to
visit is too busy,
b. Next, they use them to talk about the article.
using an app
created for this
c. Then they choose the ones they would most like
purpose
to learn to use well and write one or two example
Dealing with As above – a Using predictive
sentences for each one.
overcrowding in continuing technology
the future situation that anticipates
5. Discussion
crowds
and plans
a. Students discuss the questions directly connected to
accordingly.
the article.
Using QR codes
that show how
6. In your own words
many people
are in one place
a. With a partner, students choose one of the natural
at any given
attractions or national parks that they mentioned
time and limiting
in task 1, find out more about it and share this
access to further
information in presentations.
visitors when
overcrowded.
b. Set time limits for the presentations to suit the time
Traffic Visitors driving Autonomous you have available and the number of students in
congestion from main (driverless) your class.
within the attraction to shuttle vehicles
national parks main attraction that transport 7. Extra reading
visitors from
attraction to a. Students can read and discuss first-person
attraction accounts from visitors and people who work in the
Noise, noise Too many Areas dedicated parks, about how record numbers of visitors are
pollution, not people being to quiet where changing national parks in this further article from
being able to loud people are the Guardian:
hear the sounds asked not to talk
of nature loudly and put `It’s not sustainable’: overcrowding is changing the
their electronic soul of US national parks by Mai Tran on
devices on silent www.theguardian.com

c. Students now talk in larger groups about the

challenges, causes and solutions, and what they
think of them.
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