Olivia’s Elk Expedition: Exploring the Elk of Cataloochee

Materials Needed

• Notebook or field journal
• Pencil, colored pencils, or crayons
• Map of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cataloochee Valley, printed or digital
• Ruler or measuring tape
• Optional: binoculars, nature guide, computer or tablet, and headphones
• Optional: craft materials for building a small elk habitat model

Lesson Overview

Learner: Olivia, age 11

Suggested time: 60–90 minutes, with an optional outdoor observation activity

Big question: How do elk survive and affect the ecosystem of Cataloochee Valley?

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, Olivia will be able to:

• Locate Cataloochee Valley and explain why it is a special place for elk.
• Describe at least four elk adaptations, or body and behavior features that help elk survive.
• Explain how elk interact with plants, predators, people, and other parts of the ecosystem.
• Use evidence from a short reading or observation to make a claim about elk behavior.
• Create a field-journal entry, habitat model, or mini-presentation that shows what elk need to live.

Success Criteria

Olivia’s work is successful if it:

• Correctly identifies Cataloochee Valley as a place in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
• Includes accurate information about elk food, habitat, body features, and behavior.
• Uses at least two pieces of evidence to support an idea.
• Explains how elk are connected to their environment.
• Includes careful observations, labeled drawings, or clearly explained ideas.

Introduction: Hook and Objectives

Elk Detective Mystery

Tell Olivia:

You are a wildlife detective visiting Cataloochee Valley. You find a patch of grass that has been grazed, a tree with rubbed bark, and large hoofprints in the mud. What animal might have been here, and what clues could help you solve the mystery?

Give Olivia one minute to draw or list what she thinks the animal might look like and what it may have been doing.

Share the Mission

Explain:

“Today we will investigate the elk that live in Cataloochee Valley. We will learn where they live, what they eat, how their bodies help them survive, and how they affect the plants and animals around them.”

Background Information: Elk in Cataloochee

Cataloochee Valley is a mountain valley in the North Carolina section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Elk once lived in much of the eastern United States, but they disappeared from many areas because of hunting and loss of habitat. In 2001, elk were brought back to the park as part of a restoration project.

Today, elk can sometimes be seen in open fields and nearby forests in Cataloochee Valley. They are large members of the deer family. Male elk are called bulls, females are called cows, and young elk are called calves.

Elk eat plants such as grasses, leaves, and other vegetation. Bulls grow antlers each year. During the fall breeding season, bulls may make a loud call called a bugle. Elk usually spend time in groups, and they use their strong legs and sharp senses to find food and avoid danger.

Elk are wild animals. Visitors should watch them from a safe distance, never feed them, and never approach or block them. Keeping wildlife wild protects both people and animals.

Body Part 1: I Do — How to Investigate an Elk

Teacher or Adult Modeling

Use the following example to show Olivia how scientists organize information:

Question	Example Answer	Evidence or Reason
What does an elk eat?	Grass, leaves, and other plants	Elk are herbivores, which means they eat plants.
Where might an elk find food?	Open meadows and forest edges	These places can provide grasses, leaves, and shelter nearby.
How could antlers help a bull elk?	They can help him compete with other bulls during breeding season.	Bulls use displays and sometimes spar with their antlers.
Why are strong legs useful?	They help elk travel through hilly land and escape danger.	Cataloochee is a mountain environment.

Vocabulary

• Habitat: The place where a plant or animal finds food, water, shelter, and space.
• Adaptation: A body feature or behavior that helps a living thing survive.
• Herbivore: An animal that eats plants.
• Ecosystem: Living and nonliving things interacting in one area.
• Restoration: Helping bring a species or environment back to an area where it once lived.

Quick Check

Ask Olivia:

1. What is the difference between a bull, cow, and calf?
2. Why might elk spend time near both meadows and forests?
3. What is one elk adaptation?
4. Why should people never feed elk?

Body Part 2: We Do — Elk Evidence Challenge

Read each clue aloud. Work together to decide what it may tell you. Olivia should write the clue, her conclusion, and her evidence in her notebook.

1. Clue: A large group of elk is standing in an open field near the edge of the forest.

   Discuss: What might the elk be doing? What advantages could the field and forest provide?

2. Clue: A bull elk has large antlers during the fall.

   Discuss: What might the antlers be used for? Why would growing antlers every year be useful?

3. Clue: Visitors hear a loud bugling sound.

   Discuss: What could the sound communicate? Why might it be especially common during the fall?

4. Clue: Plants are shorter in an area where many elk have been feeding.

   Discuss: How can elk change their environment? Could this affect insects, birds, or other animals?

Think-Pair-Share Option

If another person is available, Olivia thinks silently, discusses her idea with a partner, and then shares it. If she is working alone, she can record a voice explanation or write a short response before checking her answer with an adult.

Body Part 3: You Do — Choose an Elk Mission

Olivia may choose one main project. Choice encourages her to use the learning style she prefers.

Option A: Create an Elk Field Journal

Olivia creates a two-page field-journal entry about an imaginary visit to Cataloochee Valley.

Her journal should include:

• The date and weather
• A labeled sketch of an elk or elk habitat
• Three observations
• Two questions she still has
• One claim about what the elk were doing
• At least two pieces of evidence supporting her claim

Example claim: “The elk were probably feeding because they were gathered in a grassy meadow and the plants showed signs of grazing.”

Option B: Build a Cataloochee Elk Habitat

Using paper, blocks, craft materials, or a digital drawing tool, Olivia creates a model of a healthy elk habitat.

Her model must include and label:

• Food, such as grasses and leafy plants
• Water
• Open meadow
• Forest or shelter
• Space for elk to travel
• At least one way people can protect elk

After creating the model, Olivia explains: “Elk need this feature because…” for each labeled part.

Option C: Design a Wildlife-Safe Visitor Guide

Olivia creates a one-page guide for visitors to Cataloochee Valley. It should include:

• Three elk facts
• Three safe wildlife-viewing rules
• A short explanation of why elk need both food and space
• A catchy title or slogan, such as “Give Elk Room to Roam!”

Option D: Elk Math Investigation

Use the following pretend observation data. Explain that scientists often record data to look for patterns.

Day	Morning Elk Count	Evening Elk Count
Monday	8	15
Tuesday	11	18
Wednesday	6	14
Thursday	10	20

Olivia answers:

1. On which day were the most elk seen in the evening?
2. How many more elk were seen Thursday evening than Monday morning?
3. What pattern do you notice between the morning and evening counts?
4. What are two reasons the counts might change from one observation to another?

Optional Outdoor Investigation

Olivia does not need to visit Cataloochee Valley to complete this activity. She can observe a local park, yard, or natural area instead.

1. Choose a safe observation location.
2. Look for signs of animals, such as tracks, chewed plants, feathers, sounds, or droppings. Do not touch unknown materials.
3. Record what you see, hear, and smell without disturbing wildlife.
4. Identify the resources an animal might find there: food, water, shelter, and space.
5. Explain whether the area seems like a good habitat and why.

Safety reminder: Observe wild animals from a distance. Never feed, chase, touch, or corner wildlife.

Formative Assessment and Feedback

Stop-and-Check Questions

• What makes an elk a herbivore?
• How are antlers different from horns?
• Why might elk use open fields?
• How can elk affect plants in their habitat?
• How can people help protect elk?

Feedback Routine

After Olivia completes part of her project, use two comments:

• Glow: Identify one accurate detail or strong piece of evidence.
• Grow: Suggest one way to add more detail, labels, explanation, or evidence.

Summative Assessment

Olivia presents her chosen project in a two- to three-minute explanation or submits a written version.

Simple Rubric

Skill	Excellent	Developing	Needs More Practice
Elk knowledge	Includes four or more accurate facts.	Includes two or three accurate facts.	Includes one or no accurate facts.
Habitat understanding	Clearly explains food, water, shelter, and space.	Explains some habitat needs.	Gives little explanation of habitat needs.
Evidence	Uses at least two pieces of evidence to support an idea.	Uses one piece of evidence.	Does not use evidence.
Communication	Ideas are organized, labeled, and easy to understand.	Ideas are mostly understandable.	Ideas need more organization or explanation.

Differentiation and Adaptations

Support for Learners Who Need Scaffolding

• Use a word bank: elk, bull, cow, calf, antler, habitat, meadow, forest, herbivore, ecosystem.
• Allow Olivia to answer questions orally instead of writing every response.
• Provide sentence starters:
  • “Elk need ______ because ______.”
  • “My evidence is ______.”
  • “One adaptation is ______, which helps elk ______.”
• Complete the first example together before asking Olivia to work independently.

Extensions for Advanced Learners

• Research why elk were reintroduced to the Great Smoky Mountains.
• Compare elk with white-tailed deer or moose.
• Investigate how scientists balance elk conservation with protecting plants and forests.
• Create a food web that includes grass, elk, insects, birds, predators, and decomposers.
• Write a short argument explaining why visitors should keep a safe distance from elk.

Conclusion: Closure and Recap

Three-Two-One Reflection

Olivia records:

• Three facts she learned about elk
• Two adaptations that help elk survive
• One question she would ask a wildlife biologist

Final Explanation

Ask Olivia to complete this statement:

“Elk are important to Cataloochee because they ______. They need ______, ______, and ______ to survive. People can help them by ______.”

Review the main takeaway:

Elk are large herbivores that were restored to Cataloochee Valley. Their bodies and behaviors help them live in a mountain ecosystem, and their feeding can affect plants and other animals. People help elk by protecting their habitat and observing them safely from a distance.

Optional Follow-Up Activity

Have Olivia design a “Welcome to Cataloochee” sign that includes a map symbol, an elk drawing, two habitat facts, and one wildlife-safety rule. She can display it at home or use it as the opening slide for a short presentation.