Understand That Everyone Can Lead a Physically Fit Lifestyle
Grade Level: / 11th / Subject: / Team Sports / Focus: / Reading Application / Class Period: / 3rd Period
Learning Goal / Design Question / Procedure / Evaluation
Students will be able to . . .
- Understand that everyone can lead a physically fit lifestyle
- Identify relevant details and facts to determine the main idea
- Use text features to better understand meaning and to identify the structure of the text
PE.912.L.2: achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness
LA.1112.1.7.3: determine the main idea or essential message in grade-level or higher texts through inferring, paraphrasing, summarizing, and identifying relevant details and facts
LA.1112.1.7.5: analyze a variety of text structures (e.g., comparison/contrast, cause/effect, chronological order, argument/support, lists) and text features (main headings with subheadings) and explain their impact on meaning in text / Design Question 2: What will I do to help students effectively interact with new knowledge?
Element 6: Identifying critical information
Element 7: Organize students to interact with new knowledge
Evidence:
I will introduce the lesson by reviewing the importance of a daily physical fitness plan. I will remind students of the importance of active reading strategies and review how to use them.
I will model the highlighting strategy to show students how to differentiate which information is critical.
Students will pair with shoulder partners to read the article and mark the text.
I will monitor pairs as they work on the article and guide them when necessary to identify only the information that is important to understanding the text. / As part of our ongoing discussion regarding the importance of a physical fitness plan in everyday life, students will read the article “Kelly Perkins Has the Heart to Climb” which focuses on a heart-transplant recipient who still mountain climbs. Students will practice reading strategies such as identifying text structures, highlighting text, and identifying the purpose of the article.
Article: “Kelly Perkins Has the Heart to Climb”
Highlighters
Probe / After reading and discussing the article, students will complete a 5-question probe to track their reading progress.
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Top of FormKelly Perkins Has the Heart to Climb (Grade 11)
AP Photo/Dorte Pietron, HO
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Achieve3000, March 7, 2007). Kelly Perkins is a mountain climber who doesn't let anything slow her down, not even a heart transplant. Recently, the 45-year-old Californian completed a free climb in the Andes Mountains—with another person's heart beating in her chest.
Perkins led her mountaineering team up one of several unnamed peaks in the remote Cajon de Arenales region, near Argentina's border with Chile. The adventure was all free climbing, meaning that Perkins and the others used ropes and protective gear only for safety purposes, otherwise relying on their hands and feet to locate the crevices in the rock. Perkins dubbed the route they took, "Charmed Heart."
"It was another planet, the landscape was so beautiful," said Perkins, adding, "There are not a lot of places in the world that are so pristine and untouched."
Kelly Perkins is no stranger to challenges. Perkins grew up around Lake Tahoe, California, developing a love for the outdoors and the rigors of mountain climbing in particular. In 1991, Perkins was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a virus-induced disease in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed. After spending three years shuttling in and out of hospitals, trying to locate a donor heart, Perkins finally had a heart transplant on November 20, 1995.
In order to rebuild her strength and prove to herself, her family, and her friends that she could meet an arduous physical challenge, Perkins chose to resume mountain climbing. Perkins found inspiration from an Ansel Adams photograph of Half Dome peak, which hangs in her home. About 10 months after her operation, the courageous climber hiked up the backside of the peak, which is located in Yosemite National Park.
After that first triumph, the tenacious Perkins scaled Japan's Mount Fuji in 1998, Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro in 2001, and Switzerland's Matterhorn in 2003. In 2005, she used ropes to ascend Yosemite's El Capitan. On all of these treks, Perkins took on the same challenges as her companions, and only the contents of her backpack—prescription drugs, medical supplies, and a blood-pressure monitor—suggested that she was any different. Perkins was the first heart transplant recipient to climb these mountains.
This year's Andes climb was more challenging than previous adventures.
"On El Capitan we climbed the ropes to get to the top, but [on the Andes peak] we were very much using our arms, hands, and feet to move up the wall," Perkins said. Since the Andes peak was at a higher altitude, there was less oxygen in the air, making the climb more rigorous and frequently requiring Perkins to stop to catch her breath. In addition, the Andes peak was unexplored, so the route was not established.
Charting unknown territory in the Andes reminded Perkins of the first pioneering heart transplants decades ago and the medical breakthroughs since then, which have allowed her to live a fulfilling life since her operation.
"When I first got my heart, my life expectancy was 10 years, so I feel very fortunate," Perkins said. "Needless to say, for me, going from needing to be carried up the stairs in our home at night to climbing and exploring new mountains is unimaginable. This we owe to donors, doctors, drugs, and new technologies, and I am thankful to benefit from all the medical milestones that have made this all possible."
Kelly's husband, Craig Perkins, has given his wife a gold charm for every major mountain climbed since her transplant. He gave her another atop the "Charmed Heart" route—this one of a woman mountaineer leaping for a peak and grabbing it by one hand. A tiny sparkling ruby represents her heart.
Craig Perkins, who frequently joins his celebrated wife at speaking engagements, said he hopes his wife inspires others who have gone through life-changing surgery not to give up. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Question 1:
The reader can infer that one difference between regular mountain climbing and free climbing is that free climbing requires the climber to ______.
/ / Take less time
/ / Carry more equipment
/ / Use less oxygen
/ / Exert more energy
Question 2:
The best alternate headline for this article would be ______.
/ / Heart Transplant Threatens to Derail Mountain Climber's Goals
/ / Mountain Climber Plans Biggest Challenge Yet After First Free Climb
/ / Heart Transplant Inspires Mountain Climber to Take on New Challenges
/ / Mountain Climber Sets Out to Prove That Women Can Climb as High as Men
Question 3:
Which of these took place after Kelly Perkins climbed the Matterhorn but before she received the gold charm with a ruby heart?
/ / Kelly Perkins had a heart transplant.
/ / Kelly Perkins climbed the Andes peak.
/ / Kelly Perkins was diagnosed with heart disease.
/ / Kelly Perkins climbed Half Dome peak.
Question 4:
Which structure best describes the organization of this article:
/ / Information presented in chronological order
/ / Information presented in order of its importance
/ / General information followed by facts
/ / Descriptive information followed by an explanation
Question 5:
According to the article, why did the Andes climb make Kelly Perkins think of modern medicine?
/ / Kelly was climbing an unexplored peak, and at one time, heart transplants were completely new.
/ / Kelly was climbing a remote peak, and she was concerned about whether she would have access to medical care.
/ / Kelly was climbing a difficult peak, and although they have been done for years, heart transplants are still difficult.
/ / Kelly was climbing a remote peak, and she was concerned about whether she had brought enough medication.
Kelly Perkins Has the Heart to Climb
Answer Key
Question 1:
The reader can infer that one difference between regular mountain climbing and free climbing is that free climbing requires the climber to ______.
/ / Take less time
/ / Carry more equipment
/ / Use less oxygen
/ / Exert more energy
Question 2:
The best alternate headline for this article would be ______.
/ / Heart Transplant Threatens to Derail Mountain Climber's Goals
/ / Mountain Climber Plans Biggest Challenge Yet After First Free Climb
/ / Heart Transplant Inspires Mountain Climber to Take on New Challenges
/ / Mountain Climber Sets Out to Prove That Women Can Climb as High as Men
Question 3:
Which of these took place after Kelly Perkins climbed the Matterhorn but before she received the gold charm with a ruby heart?
/ / Kelly Perkins had a heart transplant.
/ / Kelly Perkins climbed the Andes peak.
/ / Kelly Perkins was diagnosed with heart disease.
/ / Kelly Perkins climbed Half Dome peak.
Question 4:
Which structure best describes the organization of this article:
/ / Information presented in chronological order
/ / Information presented in order of its importance
/ / General information followed by facts
/ / Descriptive information followed by an explanation
Question 5:
According to the article, why did the Andes climb make Kelly Perkins think of modern medicine?
/ / Kelly was climbing an unexplored peak, and at one time, heart transplants were completely new.
/ / Kelly was climbing a remote peak, and she was concerned about whether she would have access to medical care.
/ / Kelly was climbing a difficult peak, and although they have been done for years, heart transplants are still difficult.
/ / Kelly was climbing a remote peak, and she was concerned about whether she had brought enough medication.