The programs utilize Park Rangers as primary instructors with assistance from teachers. These k-8 programs reflect North Carolina and Tennessee curriculum objectives and educational goals. In the Sugarlands Valley Classroom, kindergarten students use their senses to learn about a forest community. In the Sugarlands Classroom , 1st grade students discover the diversity of animal and plant life found in the Smokies. They become nature detectives, discovering the interdependence between plants and animals in their habitats during a discovery hunt and walk to a waterfall.
Students also learn characteristics of different animal groups.
A similar program is also offered at the Coopers Branch classroom in Cades Cove. In the Porters Flat Classroom , 2nd grade students will utilize tools to recreate the experience of building a log home. They learn how the forest was both a supermarket and a drugstore to mountain communities. The students also learn about the lives of mountain children. This program is also offered at Cades Cove.