Lost on a Mountain in Maine

Description of the lesson:

The book Lost on a Mountain in Maine can be used for grade levels 3-4 as a read aloud or for guided reading. Our fourth grades use it in conjunction with our Maine Studies unit that lasts approximately 3 weeks. The iMac movie addresses the ruggedness of Katahdin and helps students visualize the terrain Donn Fendler traversed while lost 9 days in the wilderness. A question and answer period with Donn appears directly after the Katahdin video.

Materials needed:

Classroom quantity of the book Lost on a Mountain in Maine.

Learning Results addressed but not necessarily assessed:

English/Language Arts- A1, A2, A5, B1, B2, B3, B4, B6, B7, B8, B9, B10, B11, B12, C1, C2, C4, C6, D2, D3, D4, E6, G7, H3, H4, H5,

Science/Technology-L5

Lessons and activities: The purpose of the iMac movie on Katahdin was to

· Extend the knowledge of Katahdin, its terrain and physical features.

· Compare/contrast what students visualized while reading the book compared to the real mountain images.

· Relate to Donn’s experience by seeing Katahdin.

· Make inferences about blow downs, the Knife Edge, Baxter Peak, Pamola Peak, plateaus, Katahdin’s summit, and what courage it took to survive in the harsh surroundings.

Having students take the days in Donn’s life and rewrite them in a short play can extend this project. Using the iMac program students can experiment filming and editing for a final product.

Supporting www links- http://www.state.me.us/sos/kids/

Special thanks go to the Colby Partnership for Science Education, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Bell Atlantic