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Effigy Mounds National MonumentKids at Fire point Overlook
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Effigy Mounds National Monument
Lesson Plans & Teacher Guides

How to Use This Guide

*This link leads to an archived website; if you find it not to be active, please check back. The information will be added to the current website soon.


Effigy Mounds National Monument, in its commitment to accessibility, has structured this highly text oriented on-line teachers' guide so educators can view and print lesson plans without spending valuable time waiting for graphics to download. Where appropriate, graphics have been included to facilitate teaching.

Teachers can access information in one of several ways. To the right and also at the bottom of all screens, they can access lesson plans by grade level. These plans are organized by age level into 1-3 grade, 4-6 grade, 7-8 grade, and 9-12 grade. In addition, on this page and on the grade level index pages, teachers can access groups of activities by clicking on subject icons. These icons, located next to activity names, indicate to which strand each activity belongs.

Finally, a glossary has been included for both teacher and student use. In the on-line version, a click on the term in the activity description page will take the user to the appropriate term in the glossary. Educators may also find it beneficial to print out the glossary for their students to use while doing the activities.

Park Operational Information

For operational information about Effigy Mounds National Monument, we suggest you consult our park's website for hours of operation, phone numbers, etc. 

Information on How to Make a Reservation


Regional Background Information

The following pages are in-depth articles about topics pertaining to Effigy Mounds National Monument.

Prehistory Geology
History Ecology

Lesson Plan Activities By Strand

Archaeology Language Arts
Art Math
Computers Physical Education
Conservation Science
Home Economics Social Studies

Other Resources

Ellison Orr at Desk: Most of Orr's collections reside at effigy Mounds National Monument  

Did You Know?
An important figure in the documentation of Iowa's effigy mounds was Ellison Orr. Born in 1857, Orr worked other jobs while pursuing research in archeology. After retiring at the age of 73, Orr began a career as an archeologist spending the next 20 years conducting surveys and excavations.

Last Updated: October 23, 2007 at 16:49 EST