Thematically Related

Text Set:
Mountaineering
Lauren Stewart
Unit Overview
I chose to create a text set on mountains and mountaineering. Seeing as I have climbed ¼ of Colorado’s
fourteeners and both my father and maternal grandfather have climbed all of Colorado’s 54 fourteeners,
I have a deep interest and love for this topic. This text set was created with a fifth grade classroom in
mind. Ideally, this unit would be paired with a Science unit on landforms or plate tectonics. This way,
students can connect their Science knowledge of mountain formation to their knowledge of
mountaineering during Reading and vice versa. In this text set, I have included pieces on local
mountains and mountaineering areas which students may be familiar with. I have also included texts
which tell the stories of child and female mountaineers as well as mountaineers of color. I feel these
perspectives are very important to read about since the majority of well-known mountaineering stories
are those of adult white men. Through this unit, students will not only read and learn from a variety of
rich texts and resources, but they will also learn about the exciting and challenging sport that is
mountaineering!
 Landforms: Mountains. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2018, from

Introduction to the Topic https://newsela.com/read/elem-sci-landforms-mountains/id/352

26/

This article about mountains is from Newsela, a website with a

variety of informative and news articles for students. This
particular article discusses mountains, how they are formed, their
climate, and what life is like for civilizations which live in
mountains. Newsela gives teachers the opportunity to change
the lexile level of their texts. While this is intended to be a sixth
grade article, the text features can be altered to different reading
levels, going as low as a second to third grade reading level.
Through this feature, I can differentiate the reading for each of
my students without changing the content. Newsela also
highlights “power words”, or vocabulary words. When the reading
level changes, so do the power words. With these power words,
students can use their context clues to determine the words’
definitions. This article is a great way to introduce the topic since
it builds on their prior knowledge of mountain formation in
Science. A final feature of this article is the wide variety of
pictures of mountains from across the globe.
 K. (2016, December 30). AdAmAn Club begins 96th climb up Pikes

Starting Local Peak for annual fireworks display. Retrieved March 11, 2018, from
http://www.kktv.com/content/news/AdAmAn-Club-preps-for-95th-clim
b-and-fireworks-display-408357045.html

This multimedia piece from KKTV 11 News in Colorado Springs

discusses the AdAmAn Club’s annual trek up Pikes Peak to set off
fireworks on New Years Eve. The written piece gives a brief summary
of the club’s annual tradition which has lasted for 98 years. Following
the article is a video which extensively tells the history of Pikes Peak,
the AdAmAn club, and how the club functions today. Sections of the
video give insight into the harsh winter climbing conditions as well as
the climbing gear needed to complete the climb. In addition to this, the
narrator tells how club members come from all walks of life and notes
the inauguration of the club’s first female member in the 1990’s. We
will watch the first 13 minutes of the video. Seeing as there are
Image of the fireworks set off by the AdAmAn club on mountaineering specific words used in the article and video, I will front
New Years Eve from Pikes Peak. Retrieved from load this text by introducing key terms such as summit and ascent.
Google Other difficult words like despite and sponsored will also be discussed.
A Different View of
Mountaineering
Keller, J. (2007). Ricky Rock Climbs in Garden of the Gods.
Colorado Springs, CO: Mothers House Pub.

Ricky Rock Climbs in Garden of the Gods is an easy read with

fun colorful illustrations. Despite the lower reading level, this
book creates a fun reading rhythm through its ABCB rhyming
pattern, perfect for introducing poetry. The text tells the story of
Ricky’s first time rock climbing at Garden of the Gods, a popular
Images retrieved site in Colorado Springs. Through this book, readers learn about
from Google rock climbing basics, the park, patience, and courage. While
Garden of the Gods does not have any mountains, rock climbing
is an important aspect of mountaineering. This text allows
students to widen their lens on what it means to be a
mountaineer.
 Girl Power
Robertson, J. (2003). The Magnificent Mountain
Women: Adventures in the Colorado Rockies. Lincoln:
University of Nebraska Press.

The Magnificent Mountain Women is a testament to

the crucial role women played in making Colorado the
beautiful, mountain-loving state it is today. While it is
a novel, I selected the “Chronology of Mountain
Women” timeline as well as two maps of Colorado
from the beginning of the book. The timeline gives a
thorough yet concise history of the achievements of
dozens of female mountaineers in Colorado. It spans
from 1858-1988, listing 40 unique historical events in
Colorado women’s history. Such events include
summits, published books, deaths, and efforts to
Pictures taken from
create National Parks. The maps, on the other hand,
The Magnificent
Mountain Women serve as a helpful aid, since many of the timeline
events refer to specific mountains, towns, and/or
National Parks. With these resources, students will
further broaden their mountaineering lens to include
the feminist perspective while also deepening their
knowledge of Colorado’s geography.
 If you’re thinking of Mills, J. (2013, May 09). All African-American Team Takes on Denali –

climbing Mt. Denali, it

Why It Matters. Retrieved March 11, 2018, from
http://adventureblog.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/09/first-all-afri

don’t matter if you’re

can-american-team-takes-on-denali-in-june-why-it-matters/

black or white… or does it? This National Geographic blog post informs readers on the first all
African-American expedition to attempt Mount Denali, the tallest peak
in North America. In addition to this, the post discusses the issue of
colorblind racism in the climbing community. Seeing as a majority of
the climbing community are white males, their white privilege masks
their ability to see the importance of such an expedition. Mills also
mentions how few people of color participate in mountaineering and
other outdoor activities, which further stresses the significance of this
attempt at Denali. This blog post can serve as both a window and a
mirror to children of color who would otherwise not know about
mountaineering. I plan on reading the blog post outloud to the class
since it is a vocabularily complex text. I will stop at the end of difficult
sentences and paragraphs to discuss the meaning and gist. If I have
students who will struggle immensely with the text, I would alter the
wording to make it more comprehensible.
You Wouldn’t Want
to Climb Mount Graham, I. (2010). You Wouldn’t Want to Climb Mount
Everest. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Everest! Moving from the highest peak in North America to the
highest peak in the world, the next book in the text set
describes the arduous journey one needs to take to
climb Mount Everest. Part of a popular book series
(You Wouldn’t Want to books), You Wouldn’t Want to
Climb Mount Everest engages and challenges
intermediate grade children with its colorful pictures
and 5.3 AR rating (5th grade and 3 months reading
level). This book is perfect for students who want to
read an informational grade level text without
committing to a chapter book or novel. I would give
this book as a choice for students to read during
independent reading time.
 Literature Circle and
Socratic Seminar Texts Ullman, J. R. (2016). Banner in the Sky. Halifax, Nova
Scotia: Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority,
Library.

Banner in the Sky is a coming of age chapter book

which chronicles Rudy’s dream and mission to climb
the mountain his late father died on. Taking place in
mid-nineteenth century Switzerland, this book details
the danger and adventure involved in mountaineering,
as well as the grief involved with losing a family
member. At a lower fifth grade reading level, this book
is perfect for student driven literature circles and
Socratic seminars. The teenage protagonist allows
students to see through yet another lens of
mountaineering. By reading this story, students can
see mountaineering isn’t just an adult sport, but an
activity for all ages.
 Literature Circle and Gemeinhart, D. (2016). The Honest Truth. New York:
Scholastic Inc.

Socratic Seminar Texts In The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart, Mark, a

terminally-ill twelve year old takes his life into his own
hands. Per his grandfather’s dying wish, Mark runs
away from home and sets off on an expedition to
Climb Mount Rainier with his trusty dog, Beau. The
alternating chapters switch between Mark’s point of
view and that of his best friend Jessie who wonders if
she should betray Mark’s trust by telling his family
where he is. Due to its changing point of view, this
book is a great way to teach character perspective
and opinion. Themes of honesty, betrayal, and living
life to the fullest can also be discussed. The 4.0 AR
reading level makes The Honest Truth a friendly read
for lower level readers. This as well as the previous
text would be used in Literature Circles, Book Clubs, or
small group Socratic Seminars. After a few chapters,
groups will meet and discuss the events which took
place. As a moderator, I will also ask probing
questions.
Reading Strategies
● Previewing: Since a few of the texts have a higher reading level, I plan on having students preview the text before they read it. This
would involve having students read the title and headings as well as look at any pictures or illustrations. This process activates
students’ prior knowledge and further builds and scaffolds their schema on the topic. In addition to this, I would want students to
take note of words they do not understand in the text. Beforehand, I would highlight or box these words so students can find them
easily. Even if students do not know the highlighted words, previewing these words before actually reading them in the text will
help them be more aware of a word and its context while reading. Another aspect of previewing is reading a summary of the text. I
would do this with the Literature Circle books. This allows students to have a general idea of the text before reading. Overall, this
will provide for a smoother read and better comprehension.

● Repair Strategies: While there are many types of repair strategies, two I would like to especially focus on are jumping over and
looking back. When used together, these strategies help students use context clues to define an unknown word. As noted in
Gunning (2016), the following are helpful steps to introduce using context clues to students: 1) Reread and gather clues 2) Identify
the part of speech 3) Summarize what the text has said up until now 4) Use background knowledge to make a hypothesis 5) See if
your hypothesis makes sense in the text 6) If your hypothesis does not make sense, go back and revise your hypothesis. Using
context clues to define an unknown word since many of the texts have complex vocabulary words. By using context clues,
students can gain a deeper understanding of the text through their investigation.

● QAR: During Literature circles, I would love for students to create questions for themselves and their peers using the QAR strategy
during Literature Cricles. This model of questioning allows for students to analyze the text at a surface level as well as a deeper
level. When students create questions, they build on this knowledge since asking quality questions requires students to know the
text relatively well. I would implement the QAR strategy one of two ways. First, I would assign students to create at least four
questions (one of each type of question) on one of the chapters they read. Each student in the literature circle is responsible for
one chapter. Another way to implement QAR is to have one person be the question asker for the week while other students
summarize, illustrate of facilitate discussion.
Writing Activities
● In a Climber’s Boots: This activity would be paired with the article and video on the AdAmAn club and
their annual trek up Pikes Peak on New Year’s. After reading the article and watching the videos I would
have students write a narrative as if they were a member of the AdAmAn club climbing Pikes Peak on
New Year’s Eve. Students would include what gear they brought, what the weather was like, and describe
the long journey to the summit. Students must use their knowledge from this resource to successfully
write this piece. Students may also use their background knowledge of cold weather, perseverance, and
climbing gear (if applicable). This assignment allows students to creatively engage with the material as
well as personally engages them with the topic of mountaineering.

● For Purple Mountains Majesty: This activity would be paired with Ricky Rock Climbs in the Garden of the
Gods. Since the book has an ABCB rhyme scheme, I would have students create their own poems or raps
about mountains and/or mountaineering. Students can write the poems on mountain formation, specific
mountains, and what gear or characteristics are needed to be a mountaineer. This activity promotes
phonemic awareness through rhyming in a fun and creative way.