Staff Development Curriculum Database

Lesson: KDT! Everest

Subject Grade Time Length Author English Language 5 Varies miriam.mack Arts

Lesson Description Reading and discussing the book Everest Book Two: The Climb by Gordon Korman while relating it to personal and group challenges that students may face at the KDT! Cayuga Nature Center field trip.

Major Understanding People grow in the way that they meet the challenges presented to them.

Essential Questions How does working together or individually to meet challenges head on help people grow emotionally?

Skills Students read or listen to the story and then discuss questions from the reading.

Vocabulary expedition claustrophobia behemoth Sherpa staccato ABC yak chortled turmoil panhandlers crevasse jet-stream winds hypocrite serac jackhammer prayer wheel alpinist palpitating reverie plummeted untethered seedy lama Powwow tarmac sahib troposphere crampons foray paramilitary altimeter Cwm telepathically scuttle Nuptse Wall piston respirator acclimatization disgruntled dubiously adrenaline moraine glissade velocity pinnacle terminal careening Titan raucous precipice debris avalanche hypoxic edema Yeti vigil

Assessment Participation in group discussions.

Ithaca City School District Page 1 December 27, 2010 Staff Development Curriculum Database

Procedure Building background information: 1. Locating Nepal on a map or Google Earth. Introduce that Mt. Everest is the highest peak in the world and find where it’s located. 2. Maybe find a picture of Kathmandu and it’s prayer flags because the story starts there. 3. Opening questions: There are some people that find climbing mountains challenging and enjoyable. Ask students what they think the greatest challenges of mountain climbing would be. Mt. Everest is the highest peak in the world. Hypothesize why certain people would want to climb it. (Personal satisfaction, prestige, other…) 4. Teacher states: In our story, many of the characters will face the same conditions that you’re about to view in this clip on climbing Mt. Everest. Show the video clip from Teacher’s Domain: “Trying to Breathe on Mt. Everest” http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.watcyc.nooxygen/ (registration required for multiple views). Content: Begin reading Everest Book Two: The Climb, by Gordon Kormon as either a reading group or read aloud using the attached study guide based on one developed by Marilyn Mayer. Replay the Nova Clip from Teacher’s Domain for clarification as needed. Vocabulary words: expedition, Sherpa, yak, panhandlers, hypocrite, prayer wheel, reverie, seedy, tarmac, crampons, altimeter scuttle, acclimatization, adrenaline, pinnacle, Titan, debris, edema, claustrophobia, staccato, chortled, crevasse, serac, alpinist, plummeted, lama, sahib, foray, Cwm, Nuptse Wall, disgruntled, moraine, terminal, raucous, avalanche, Yeti, behemoth, ABC, turmoil, jet-stream winds, jackhammer, palpitating, untethered, powwow, troposphere, paramilitary, telepathically, piston respirator, dubiously, glissade velocity, careening precipice, hypoxic, vigil.

Would be good to show a picture of these items. Continue reading at group or read aloud pace following up each chapter with discussion questions outlined in the study guide or as brought up by students. At the book’s conclusion: Discuss the challenges for each of the four characters and how meeting their challenges changed them personally. Potentially you could create a before and after grid for the characters or just have a group discussion making sure to relate it to the “challenge by choice” theme of the Cayuga Nature Center ropes course field trip.

Technology Integration Teacher uses computer with Google Earth and the ability to play QuickTime movies, a projector and Internet access.

Culturally Affirming Components Peoples’ bodies adapt to living at different altitudes.

Special Needs Accommodation Read aloud would be appropriate for below-level readers. Pair students to help those struggling to answer reading questions.

Resources

Copies of Everest Book Two: The Climb by Gordon Kormon for your class; study guide handouts; computer with Google Earth and the ability to play QuickTime movies, projector and Internet access.

NYS Standards Language Arts 2005

The reading competencies common to all four ELA standards that students demonstrate during grade 5 are (5-5) Background Knowledge and Vocabulary Development (5-5) Learn grade-level vocabulary through both direct and indirect means (5-5) Use prior knowledge and experience in order to understand ideas and vocabulary found in books (5-5) Acquire new vocabulary by reading a variety of texts (5-5) Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words by using context clues, dictionaries, glossaries, and other resources (5-5) Comprehension Strategies (5-5) Read a variety of grade-level texts, for a variety of purposes, with understanding (5-5) Ask questions to clarify understanding and to focus reading (5-5) Make connections between text being read and own lives, the lives of others, and other texts read in the past (5-5) Read grade-level texts and answer literal, inferential, and evaluative questions (5-5) Participate cooperatively and collaboratively in group discussions of texts (5-5)

Supporting Materials Everest Study Guide.doc

Supporting Web Sites http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.watcyc.nooxygen/

Lesson Status

Status Last Updated Curriculum Chair Submitted for Approval 2010-08-03 13:41:03 lvandewe

Lang. Arts Name______

Date______Everest Study Guide

Ch. 1 expedition: a journey organized for a specific purpose queue: a line of people Sherpa: A Tibetan people who live on the high southern slopes of the Himalayas, they’re especially skilled at mountain climbing. yak: a beast of burden found throughout the Himalayas, they supply milk & meat as well. panhandlers: people who beg for money 1. Who are the four youth members of the Summit Quest Team? 2. List three things that the team was surprised by when meeting Babu Pemba?

Ch. 2 hypocrite: someone who professes a belief in one thing, but her/his actions don’t live up to what s/he says. prayer wheel: wheels found at Buddhist temples, believers turn them with the belief that their prayers will be answered. reverie: daydreaming; to be lost in thought. 1. Explain Tilt’s elitist view of Katmandu, “This town’s a sewer.” 2. Why did Dominic want to visit the temple near his hotel? 3. Who is Ethan Zaph?

Ch. 3 tarmac: the paved area at an airport where an airplane lands crampons: small spikes attached to boots so that a person can walk on ice. altimeter: a device that measures how high one is in elevation. acclimatization: getting used to the thinner atmosphere at a higher elevation, as one goes up in elevation, the oxygen decreases. 1. Why does Tilt think he can “cash in” by climbing Mt. Everest? 2. According to Tilt, why is Perry on the expedition? 3. What conditions does Tilt observe that make him comment, “This country is a sinkhole?”

Ch. 4 adrenaline: a natural body chemical that kicks in under stress. debris: scattered pieces of trash or loose, broken pieces of rock. pinnacle: the top of something, to be at the best of the best. 1. What extreme things has Sammi already done? 2. What is Tilt’s secret? 3. Explain the Khumbu cough. 4. Explain what a moraine is. 5. What is HAPE & how does one get it?

Ch. 5 claustrophobia: a fear of being in small, tight places. staccato: something that beats at a very fast rate. 1. Describe the Gamow bag. 2. What’s the doctor’s opinion of Dominic climbing Mt. Everest? 3. What is Cap’s opinion of Dominic climbing? 4. Who are “the baboons” to which Tilt refers?

Ch. 6 chortled: a breathy, gleeful laugh. Guam: a South Pacific island owned by the United States 1. What 2 new records was Ethan trying to set? 2. List two of “the gimmicks” trying to summit Mt. Everest. 3. How does Sammi defend Cap’s judgement?

Ch. 7 crevasse: a deep open crack in a glacier or ice field. serac: a pinnacle, sharp ridge, or blocks of ice among the crevasses of a glacier. 1. What was the coolest thing Sammi had ever done? 2. Describe Perry’s emotions as he crawls across the ladder. 3. What is Perry’s strength as a climber? 4. “…an alpinist relied not on technical skill, but on a mixture of courage, blind faith and pure stubbornness that bordered on insanity,” (45) according to Perry. What do you think about that statement?

Ch. 8. plummeted: to fall or drop down at a fast speed. lama: a spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism. 1. How does Babu save Sammi? 2. What was the young lama’s vision? 3. How does Dominic interpret the vision?

Ch. 9 1. Why is it hard to start a fire at such high altitudes? 2. How can Sammi feel like she could fry on a sheet of ice? 3. How did Tilt divert attention from himself as the one who leaked information to The National Daily? 4. How did the Japanese accident affect Dominic?

Ch. 10 alpinists: people who climb mountains (The word is taken from the mountain chain in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, etc.: The Alps.) sahib: a polite term or form of address for a man in India. 1. Why does Dominic pause when crossing on the ladder? 2. Why are Sherpas so crucial to any Everest expedition? 3. What was the sudden snap, and how did it sober Dominic? 4. How did Pasang’s problem get solved? 5. What two bits of good news greeted Dominic upon his return to camp?

Ch. 11 raucous: making a harsh or loud noise avalanche: a mass of snow & ice falling suddenly down a mountainside. 1. How do climbers get their drinking water on Everest? 2. What was the equivalent to the Academy Awards night? 3. What was the result of the avalanche?

Ch. 12 ABC: Advance Base Camp turmoil: confusion, uncertainty 1. Why do the Sherpas like Dominic so much? 2. Why is Cicero’s mind in turmoil? 3. What was “classic Dominic”?

Ch. 13 jet-stream winds: a narrow band of high speed winds generally blowing from the west; they often exceed 250 mi. per hr. 1. What was the “Sherpa lowdown” on the various climbing groups? 2. Why don’t the Sherpas like Tilt? 3. Why does Nestor say that Ethan isn’t the one leaking information? 4. Why does Dominic want to put sand at the summit of Mt. Everest?

Ch. 14 jackhammer: a portable pneumatic hammer or drill that loudly

Ithaca City School District Page 6 December 27, 2010 Staff Development Curriculum Database breaks up concrete or blacktop. palpitating: to beat rapidly, sometimes at an irregular rate untethered: to no longer be attached by a rope or chain powwow: an informal meeting for the purpose of discussion or celebration; American Indians hold annual powwows and they serve like a family reunion. troposphere: the layer of atmosphere just below the stratosphere, it extends to about 7-10 miles from the Earth’s surface; temperatures decrease rapidly as altitude increases. 1. Describe Lhotse Face. 2. What had Perry dreaded? 3. Describe the tent and sleeping conditions at Camp III.

Ch. 15 paramilitary: a group organized in similar fashion to a military force, e.g. a border patrol telepathically: being able to read another’s thoughts 1. Why were Nepalese helicopters coming into camp? 2. How was Tilt going to expose Dominic? 3. What is Ethan’s reaction to being accused of leaking information to The National Daily?

Ch. 16 1. Explain the helps in, “Supplemental oxygen helps you survive in the Death Zone.” 2. Why isn’t Perry nervous? 3. What was the barrage of angry words about?

Ch. 17 piton: a peg or spike driven into a crack to support a climber 1. Why was the summit bid foiled for SummitQuest? 2. How did Nestor get knocked out? 3. Tilt thought Pasang was attacking him, but what was he doing? 4. What unbelievable feat of strength did Ethan accomplish?

Ch. 18 1. What do Dominic, Sammi, & Perry decide to do? 2. How does Perry prepare for the rescue? 3. At 5 mi. above seal level, what temperature was it? 4. What sentimental object does Perry use in the rescue?

Ch. 19 respirator: an apparatus worn over the face to aid breathing

1. What gruesome sight unnerved the team? 2. How long had Ethan been in the Death Zone without oxygen? 3. What happened to Nestor’s back? 4. Why didn’t Nestor bleed out?

Ch. 20 1. How did Tilt help to save Ethan? 2. What amazed Sammi? 3. Why did Nestor run out of oxygen? 4. Explain Dominic’s plan to save Nestor.

Ch. 21 dubiously: unsure of, untrusting glissade: to slide in a standing or squatting position down a snow-covered slope without skis. velocity: the speed of something in a given direction careening: moving in an uncontrolled way precipice: a tall and very steep rock face or cliff 1. Why was Nestor’s descent held up a second time?

Ch. 22 hypoxic: a state of oxygen deprivation in which not enough oxygen is reaching the tissues of the body vigil: to stand watch or guard over 1. How did the lama’s vision come true for Dominic? 2. What’s the humor in, “And now an innocent Slinky is dead”? 3. What is the Code of Honor for mountain climbers?

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