DESTINATIONS

Water Park Lesson Plan

Please note, this lesson plan was created by FieldTripDirectory.com as a general guide and is not specific to any particular venue listed on our site.

FUN FACTS

Water parks have grown in popularity since their introduction in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The United States has the largest and most concentrated water park market, with over a thousand water parks and dozens of new parks opening each year. The tallest free-fall water slide on record is the 120-foot (37-meter) “Summit Plummet” in Walt Disney World’s Blizzard Beach.

Why do you think some water park rides have height requirements? Predict what percentage of rides have requirements. Do you think these rides are more popular? Why?

 

 

PREPARE YOURSELF
✓ Ask if the park has educational resources for school trips.
✓ Print out a map of the park and make copies for students.

PREPARE YOUR STUDENTS
✓ Conduct a lesson prior to the trip that assesses students’ prior knowledge of the location and gives students some background information. This might include visiting the park’s website, reviewing a map of the park, or discussing students’ previous experiences at the park.

OBJECTIVES
Students determine the purpose of ride restrictions by collecting numerical data and representing the data in graphs.

MATERIALS
Park maps, Poster paper, Pencil, Note paper, Clipboard

KEY VOCABULARY/CONCEPTS:
Bar graph                        Circle graph                   Data

Step 1: Explain to students that we will be traveling throughout the amusement park to collect data about the different rides in order to determine if the park is a good place to bring smaller children. We want to know the percentage of rides with height requirements and what those height requirements are.

Step 2: Place students into 4 groups. Each group will be responsible for collecting data while in the park and then representing the data in a graph.

Step 3: Explain that students will record the height requirements for all rides (to be represented in a bar graph) and the number of rides with a height requirement (to be represented in a circle graph).

Step 4: After the trip, model how to chart data in a bar graph and circle graph. For a review and interactive practice visit Math Games.

Step 5: In groups, students create their graphs on chart paper. Have them share their findings.

Step 6: Students answer the following questions:

What similarities did you notice about the rides with height requirements?
What is the purpose of height requirements?
Is this park a good place to take smaller children? Why or why not?

 

FOLLOW UP

Design a water park with your group.

Complete a water park activity sheet.

Research how much water is needed to fill a water park.