Beacon Lesson Plan Library
On Top of the World
Cynthia Youngblood
Santa Rosa District Schools
Description
After the teacher reads excerpts from an autobiography and a magazine article about a blind's man journey to climb farther than the eye can see, students write a bio-poem about him.
Standards
Florida Sunshine State Standards
LA.B.1.3.2.8.8
The student analyzes and revises draft to further develop a piece of writing by adding or deleting details and explanations; clarifying difficult passages; and rearranging words, sentences, and paragraphs to improve meaning.
Florida Process Standards
Information Managers
01 Florida students locate, comprehend, interpret, evaluate, maintain, and apply information, concepts, and ideas found in literature, the arts, symbols, recordings, video and other graphic displays, and computer files in order to perform tasks and/or for enjoyment.
Critical and Creative Thinkers
04 Florida students use creative thinking skills to generate new ideas, make the best decision, recognize and solve problems through reasoning, interpret symbolic data, and develop efficient techniques for lifelong learning.
Materials
-A copy of the book: Weihenmayer, Erik. Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther than the Eye Can See. New York, New York: Dutton, 2001. (Teacher can orally share selected passages.)
-Magazine article(s) about Erik's adventure to climb Mt. Everest (See Preparations)
-Class copies of A Brief Biography handout (See Attached File)
-Class copies of Reflection Starters (See Attached File)
-Bio-Poem handout for each student (See Attached File)
-Pencil or pen for each student
-Paper for each student
Preparations
1. Obtain a copy of the autobiography: Weihenmayer, Erik. Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther than the Eye Can See. New York, New York: Dutton, 2001.
2. Obtain a copy or a reprint of a magazine article about him. (Refer to Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature in the media center or search the archives online.) Note: Erik Weihenmayer's story, A Hero's Ascent was the cover of Time on June 18, 2001. This article is listed in the online archives, but can only be accessed by payment. (See Web Links)
3. Make copies of the Bio-Poem handout for students. (See Attached File)
Procedures
1. Tell students that they will be listening to numerous excerpts from an autobiography about Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, Mt. Everest. Distribute handout copies of a brief biography of Erik's life and orally read the information to the class. (You may call on a student in the class to orally read the biography.)
2. Read excerpts to the class from the autobiography Touch the Top of the World. (See Materials)
3. Next, read excerpts from the Time magazine article about Erik's adventure of being the first blind man to climb Mt. Everest. (See Web Links)
4. Give students about ten minutes to respond about Erik's biographical information, using the Reflection Starters. Students should complete each of the sentences. (See Attached File)
5. After they have completed their writing, ask students to orally share their reflections with the entire class.
6. Lead students in a class discussion about the life of Erik Weihenmayer.
7. Explain the biographical poem (bio-poem) after handing out copies of the bio-poem formula. (See Attached File) Tell the students that they will be writing their own bio-poems about Erik. A bio-poem is a poem that relates specific information about a person. It is a formula for creating a quick picture of someone.
8. Share orally the bio-poem on the handout. (See Attached File)
9. As a homework assignment to be completed overnight, tell students to use information from both of the previously studied sources and write a biographical poem about Erik Weihenmayer. Students may also use information on the Internet. (See Weblinks)
10. Assess their poems. (See Assessments)
Assessments
The bio-poems are assessed to see if the students' poems are focused on the topic of Erik Weihenmayer and reflect insight into the writing situation (LA.B.1.3.2).
Extensions
Students could write a comparison/contrast essay using two sources of information about a topic.
Web Links
Web supplement for On Top of the World High Sights PresentationsSearch Time archives for articles and letters to the editor about Erik TIME
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