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LESSON PLANS

There are many lesson plans which help learn about expeditions and the outdoors. We have reviewed hundreds of sources and are pleased to present what we think are the best lesson plans available which demonstrate key issues around our expedition to Mount Logan and what our climbing team will face. Enjoy, there is some great classroom and informational tools here for teachers and students from any part of the globe.

How the body uses O2:
PBS - We depend on air for our survival. More specifically, we depend on oxygen. Without it, we would die. But with it, we thrive. Enough oxygen must reach the tiny cells throughout our body to feed them, giving them the energy necessary for life. As the NOVA mountaineers climb ever higher up Mt. Everest, their bodies must try to get enough oxygen to their cells, despite the thin air at extreme altitude. But sometimes, no matter how fit the body, it falls victim to the effects of low oxygen—fatigue, hyperventilation, fainting, or worse.
  www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/exposure/body.html
   
Lifecycle of a glacier:
PBS - At first glance, it may seem that the life cycle of a glacier couldn't be more straightforward: snow accumulates at the high end of a glacier, and the ice that the snow turns into flows downhill until it melts, evaporates, or falls into the sea. Well, it turns out that a biography of your average glacier is more eventful than that, as you'll discover when you follow the journey of a single snowflake as it takes a ride through a glacier, a process that can take as much as 30,000 years to complete.
  www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mtblanc/glacier.html
   
You can climb any mountain:
National Geographic - It is important to encourage young children to think about what it takes to be really good at an activity, whether schoolwork, a sport, or a hobby. In this lesson, students will think about the skills and qualities required to be a good mountain climber and read about renowned climber Ed Viesturs and his experiences in the Himalaya mountains, especially Mount Everest. Finally, students will consider how studying mountain climbing has taught them about what it takes to be good at their own favorite activities.
  www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/04/gk2/climbmountain.html
   
The Geography of Ascent:
National Geographic - In this lesson, students will explore what it would be like to climb one of the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each continent: Aconcagua, Denali, Mount Elbrus, Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro, Puncak Jaya, and Vinson Massif. They will become familiar with the world's biomes and learn that biomes change not only with latitude but also with elevation.
  www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/04/g35/climbascent.html
   
The Physical and mental effects of climbing:
National Geographic - As students learn more about human biology, they should be encouraged to see examples of how the human body reacts to various "real-life" situations. This lesson asks them to investigate the things that happen to a person’s body as he or she ascends a mountain. Students will consider the effects of high altitude on a climber's mental state and will read about why renowned climber Ed Viesturs has decided to climb without supplemental oxygen.
  www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/04/g912/climbeffects.html
   
Introduction to the Yukon:
Natural Resources Canada - This lesson introduces students to the value of the online Atlas of Canada as a research tool while interpreting information about the physical and human characteristics of the Yukon Territory.
  http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/lesson_plans/
elementary_school/yk_es.html
   
A Tour of the Life of a Glacier:
National Snow and Ice Data Center - Most of the world's glaciers are found near the Poles, but glaciers exist on all of the world's continents, even Africa. Australia doesn't have any glaciers; however, it is considered part of Oceania, which includes several Pacific island chains and the large islands of Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. Both of these islands have glaciers. The glacier story starts with the Growing Years of a glacier.
  http://nsidc.org/glaciers/story/
   
Sir William Logan:
Natural Resources Canada – Mount Logan is named after this famous individual who founded the Geological Survey of Canada.
  http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/hist/logan/index_e.php
   
Glaciers + Icebergs:
Discovery Education – Students will understand the following:
1. As glaciers move, they create a variety of patterns on landforms by a process called glacial scraping.
2. The scraping patterns left by a glacier depend on how the glacier moved over the landform.
3. The evidence of glaciation left by glacial scraping provides clues to the climate in a particular place over a long period of time.
  http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/iceberg/
   
Body Systems – Surviving Extremes:
Discovery Education – Students will examine the potential health dangers of mountain climbing in high altitudes and deep-sea diving; and write a health and safety column for a fictional magazine about extreme outdoor sports that explains the risks involved in these activities
  http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/survivingextremes/