Daily Planet: In Search of Mount Everest
Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: 6-12
Curriculum Focus: Life Science
Lesson Duration: Four class periods
Program Description
Scaling Everest — Explains the importance of up-to-date gear for prepared climbers. Adventures
on Everest — Demonstrates how the Gamo Bag, a portable hyperbaric chamber, helps save
climbers suffering from altitude sickness. Mount Everest Sherpas — Explores Dr. Cynthia Beall’s
research into the Sherpa people’s adaptations to life in a low-oxygen environment. Filming on
Everest — Discusses the challenges facing a documentary team as they take their technology up
the mountain. Mount Everest Altitude — Describes the dangers of altitude sickness and the role of
physical and mental preparation for Everest climbers.
Discussion Questions
•
How is the environment on Mount Everest similar to or different from other environments on
Earth?
•
What challenges do people face when they try to survive in extreme mountain environments?
•
What strategies, adaptations, or technologies help people survive at high altitudes?
Video Index
Segment 1: Scaling Everest
Description
Everest host Valerie Pringle looks at just what it takes to scale the world's most infamous peak, why
modern gear is so important, and why some die in the attempt.
Pre-viewing question
Q: What types of equipment do you think are most important for mountain climbers?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why are high-tech boots so important for Everest climbers?
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Teacher’s Guide
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A: Proper boots help protect climbers against extreme cold. Climbers face serious risks, including
the loss of toes, if their feet are not properly protected. Leather boots, used in the past, were not
adequate for Everest climbers.
Segment 2: Adventures on Everest
Description
Valerie Pringle finds out how an odd-looking contraption called a Gamo Bag is designed to stave
off the effects of high altitude sickness; it could be a mountaineer’s new best friend.
Pre-viewing question
Q: What kinds of technology might help protect mountain climbers against high altitude sickness?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: How does the Gamo Bag help mountain climbers suffering from altitude sickness?
A: The Gamo Bag is a hyperbaric chamber. In other words, it can create air pressure that is greater
than that of the surrounding environment. The air pressure inside the bag is increased with a foot
pump. The device therefore simulates a descent down the mountain. For a sick climber, being
inside the bag is akin to being at a lower altitude with higher air pressure. As a result, the amount
of oxygen in the climber’s bloodstream increases. The Gamo Bag is not a cure, but it helps rescue
climbers suffering from altitude sickness.
Segment 3. Mount Everest Sherpas
Description
Sherpas, the Tibetan people who live at the base of Mt. Everest and help climbers reach the summit
every year, are particularly adapted to the high-altitude thin-air climate. A Sherpa holds the record
for reaching Everest’s summit in only eleven hours. And research suggests there’s a genetic reason
for it. Valerie Pringle has the details.
Pre-viewing question
Q: What physical adaptations might help some people survive at high altitudes?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What do Sherpas process effectively, allowing them to thrive in their high-altitude environment?
A: Sherpas process oxygen effectively. The human body requires oxygen, but high-altitude
environments lead to low levels of oxygen. The Sherpas have adapted to this environment.
Segment 4: Filming on Everest
Description
Valerie Pringle has brought us many stories from Mount Everest, giving us a glimpse into the
challenges of heading for the summit. But with a documentary crew in tow, it turns out base camp
is no walk in the park. In fact, it gives new meaning to the term “roughing it.”
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In Search of Mount Everest
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Pre-viewing question
Q: What challenges might a team of Mount Everest climbers face if they were a documentary film
crew with a lot of high-tech equipment?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: How does the Discovery team provide power to their equipment?
A: The team brings its own power generators to base camp. They also bring solar panels as a backup system. The batteries that power equipment such as cameras are charged at base camp.
Segment 5: Mount Everest Altitude
Description
On the highest mountain on Earth, the biggest challenge isn't the technical climb, but the effects of
altitude. Learn what happens to your body, the higher you go.
Pre-viewing question
Q: How do you think high altitudes might affect the human body?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What does the human body suffer a lack of at high altitudes?
A: At high altitudes, the human body suffers a lack of oxygen. (This can affect the lungs and brain,
for example causing tiny blood vessels to leak. Altitude sickness is very dangerous, and can be
fatal.)
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
•
Develop understanding of the extreme environment on Mount Everest and the dangers it
presents for humans, particularly for mountain climbers
•
Develop understanding of strategies, biological characteristics, and technology that can assist
mountain climbers seeking to scale Mount Everest
•
Apply knowledge of survival in extreme environments by designing a “survival kit” for Mount
Everest climbers
•
Develop skills important to successful scientific inquiry, such as investigation, research,
problem-solving, and communication
Materials
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In Search of Mount Everest video and VCR, DVD and DVD player, or CD-ROM and computer
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Computer(s) with Internet access (optional)
•
Print materials on Mount Everest and survival in extreme environments
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In Search of Mount Everest
Teacher’s Guide
•
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Art materials for students to create posters (poster paper, markers, rulers, scissors, pencils,
crayons, glue, old magazines, access to computers)
Procedures
1. Watch the In Search of Mount Everest video segments (or just the Mount Everest Sherpas segment)
and discuss them with the class. What challenges do mountain climbers face? How does the
human body react to high altitudes, low temperatures, and other dangers? How well
acclimatized are different people to mountain environments? What adaptations allow some
people to thrive in environments where others suffer?
2. Challenge students to learn more about how humans survive in difficult conditions. Explain
that they will work individually to conduct research on Mount Everest and other extreme
environments. They will then apply this knowledge by designing a “survival kit” for Mount
Everest climbers. This kit may include safety and technological items, but also biological
characteristics — anything that would help someone survive Everest’s difficult environment.
3. Provide students with print and/or Web resources and assist them in conducting their research.
Students should focus on finding out more about the extreme conditions humans face while
climbing Mount Everest, and on what it takes to survive there. Topics researched could include
physical adaptations and characteristics, physical and psychological training, technology and
safety gear, altitude sickness, cold temperatures, food and shelter, famous expeditions to
Everest, and so on. Student may also choose to research how humans survive in other extreme
environments, such as in the deep sea, in space, in deserts, or in the Arctic or Antarctic.
Researching other environments will enable them to broaden their knowledge, make links, and
perhaps even apply survival strategies from other environments when they are generating ideas
for their survival kits. The following Web sites may provide some useful information for
students’ research:
• Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
•
MountEverest.net: by climbers
•
EverestNews.com
•
Everest (Peakware World Mountain Encyclopedia)
http://www.mounteverest.net/
http://www.everestnews.com/
http://www.peakware.com/encyclopedia/peaks/everest.htm
•
NASA, or NASA Kids
http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html?skipIntro=1
http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/
•
Nunavik Arctic Survival Training Centre
•
Savage Seas: Survival Beneath the Surface (PBS.org)
http://www.nastc.ca/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageseas/deep-article.html
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4. Once students have completed their research, instruct them to design their “survival kits.”
Students will each create a poster representing their kits. They may choose to include survival
products and/or advantageous physical traits in their kit. They should include pictures or
diagrams and detailed explanations of each item or trait and why it is important. Students
should include at least five items or traits (or up to ten for older classes). For example, a student
might choose to include a genetic ability to metabolize oxygen efficiently, or a pair of high-tech
insulated boots, as described in the video segments. In each case, the student should explain
what the item or trait is and how it helps climbers to survive. In the former case, a detailed
explanation would address the dangers of altitude sickness and the benefits of being able to
process oxygen well. In the latter case, the student should explain the dangers of extremely low
temperatures on Everest, and the importance of insulating footwear.
5. Have students share their survival kits with the rest of the class in brief (2 to 5 minute) oral
presentations. Or, simply display the posters in the classroom for all to view.
6. Engage students in a final class discussion regarding Mount Everest and survival in extreme
environments. What did they learn about the mountain and its natural hazards? What did they
learn about human survival for climbers? Would they ever be interested in making such a
climb? Why or why not? What items or traits from the different survival kits were most
interesting? What questions do they still have?
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson.
•
3 points: Students participated actively in class discussions; conducted research
independently; and created a thorough, accurate, and attractive survival kit poster.
•
2 points: Students participated somewhat in class discussions; conducted research
adequately; and created an adequately thorough, accurate, and attractive survival kit poster.
•
1 point: Students participated to a limited extent in class discussions; conducted research
only with help; and created an incomplete or inaccurate survival kit poster.
Vocabulary
adaptation
Definition: A physical or behavioral characteristic that allows an organism to survive in its
environment, or the process of developing such characteristics
Context: Because of adaptation, Sherpas are suited to life in high-altitude environments.
altitude
Definition: Height above a certain level, such as sea level or the surface of the Earth
Context: At high altitudes, many people suffer from hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen.
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In Search of Mount Everest
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altitude sickness
Definition: An illness caused when people are not adapted to high altitudes (e.g. above 8,000
feet), with symptoms ranging from headaches and fatigue to seizures and coma
Context: Altitude sickness poses a serious risk for people climbing Mount Everest.
mountain
Definition: A high, often rocky area of land, usually raised more than 2,000 feet or 600 meters
above the surrounding area
Context: Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
Sherpas
Definition: A people who live mainly in the Himalayan Mountains in northeastern Nepal, and
are famed for working as guides for mountain climbers
Context: Sherpas are used to life at high altitudes, and do not suffer altitude sickness as easily as
people from lower-altitude environments.
Academic Standards
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL’s Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
•
Life Sciences: Understands biological evolution and the diversity of life
•
Nature of Science: Understands the scientific enterprise
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences provides guidelines for teaching science in grades K-12 to
promote scientific literacy. To view the standards, visit this Web site
http://books.nap.edu/html/nses/html/overview.html#content
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
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Life Science: (5-8) Diversity and adaptations of organisms; (9-12) Biological evolution
•
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: (5-8) Natural hazards; (9-12) Natural and
human-induced hazards
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In Search of Mount Everest
Teacher’s Guide
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Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
•
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.