Teacher's Guide for ODYSSEY^TM Survival

Format:
Article, Page
Summary
Skills

"Mayday!," pg. 6

This personal account of survival after a "perfect" plane crash highlights the importance of being prepared for emergencies. A sidebar (pg. 8) explains the physiology of an adrenaline rush.

Critical Thinking, Cause and Effect

"From Lost to Found: Signaling for Survival" pg. 10

Survival can depend on communicating quickly and clearly. Here's how.

Symbolic Patterning, Following Directions

"Rescue!," pg. 12

ODYSSEY follows a rescue group from the SOLO Wilderness and Emergency Medicine School in Conway, New Hampshire, on a training exercise. A sidebar (pg. 13) details the history of SOLO, while another (pg. 14) contrasts wilderness and urban rescues.

Procedural Analysis, Comparison and Contrast

"Bare-Bones Survival" pg. 17

Ninth-grader Jason Hagler successfully completed the Bare Bones primitive survival course. Here's how. Sidebars recommend essential supplies for a daypack (pg. 19) and explain orienteering (pg. 21).

Inferential Thinking, Creative Applications

"Decide to Survive" pg. 22

Survival is as much a state of mind as any piece of equipment. Ask Aron Ralston, who amputated his own arm in order to survive.

Problem-solving, Procedural Analysis

A soldier tells what it takes to be a survivor of the war in Iraq.

First-Person Narrative, Vocabulary

"Presents of Mind: A Test of Survival" (Activity), pg. 27

Try to find a creative solution to each of these survival dilemmas. Then think "outside the bag" to invent some creative uses for a plastic garbage sack.

Lateral Thinking, Applications

"Beat the Beetles" (Brain Strain), pg. 29

You have to pick the red beetle, but someone has rigged the contest. Doesn't that just bug you? Can you win anyway?

Lateral Thinking

"School Trip" pg. 30

Weighing choices in this futuristic tale, teacher Amber Fairlight finds the path to survival for herself and her class.

Critical Thinking, Plot Analysis

"Survival Kit: A Backpack of Books" pg. 34

Looking for adventure in gripping tales of survival? These 10 titles should keep you on the edge of your seat. After reading one, send an original book cover design to ODYSSEY.

Comprehension, Graphic Design

"The Electric Girl and Other Shocking Tales" pg. 36

Most of those who are struck by lightning survive, but aftereffects linger. A sidebar (pg. 36) lists Web sites that offer safety tips.

Deductive Reasoning, Cause and Effect

"The Best Part of Winter" (What's Up and Planet Watch), pg. 38

With its long nights, December is great for skywatching. Look for Mercury and Jupiter in the morning and Venus, Mars, and Saturn in the evening. Also, look for the Geminid Meteor Shower on the December 13. For cloudy nights, celebrate the stars with your own starbox (pg. 40).

Observation, Following Directions

"Apollo 13: Flight for Survival" pg. 43

The familiar story of Apollo 13 is not one of a failed mission, but the saga of a successful survival.

Problem-Solving, Lateral Thinking

Think Tank: (Discussion Starters to Use Before Reading the Magazine):

1. What does it take to be a survivor? Brains? Muscles? Hope? How important are those traits? Also, what does it take to be a rescuer? Are there special personality characteristics that suit a person for the job?

2. What true stories of survival can you recall? Do you remember stories of one person acting alone or of many people working together? How important are luck and clear thinking in crisis situations? Which do you think is more important?

Classroom "Syzygy": Talk, Connect, Assess

Pg. 12 -- "Rescue!"

Talk it Over:

1. Members of SOLO teams practice frequently. What might happen if they didn't? What sorts of mistakes could come from well-intentioned -- but wrong -- treatment or procedures? What procedures do they follow that you wouldn't have guessed were important?

2. What is the purpose of the SOLO course? Can you teach people all they need to know to respond in an emergency? What would be the hardest thing to teach or learn? First aid? Transporting victims? Staying calm in a crisis?

Connections:

1. Creative Writing: Review the information on urban rescues on pg. 14. Write a short story about a city rescue team (of which you were a member) and a difficult urban rescue. Make your story both suspenseful and realistic, using as many specific details as you can to bring your story to life.

2. Current Events Research: In a newspaper or magazine or on the Internet, find an account of a recent rescue. Try to find out what the rescuers did and how their training prepared them for the mission. What procedures did they follow? What medical techniques did they employ?

3. Creative Design: Design a brochure for a SOLO school. Include photos or drawings, a list of classes and techniques being taught, and information about fees, the length of training, and what your students can expect from the course.

Student Assessment:

1. Organize the rescue techniques described in the article into a chronological checklist. Explain why each entry is important and tell why you included it.

2. A private foundation is offering funds for an urban rescue training program. Write a letter to the foundation's director advocating expansion of the program to include wilderness component.

Pg. 17 -- "Bare-Bones Survival"

Talk It Over:

1. What are the seven priorities for survival? Why are they organized in this order? Is anything out of place or missing? Why?

2. Notice that the first priority is a positive mental attitude. How can an attitude be more important than a first-aid kit? Why is a positive mindset so essential in a survival situation?

Connections:

1. Communication Skills: Log on to the Mountain Shepherd Web site (www.mountainshepherd.com). Explore the different pages and links and write a review of the site. Your review should include your opinion of the importance of information, the ease of navigating the site, the level of interest, the usefulness of the links, and the attractiveness of the site.

2. Creative Writing and Performing Arts: After reviewing the seven priorities, tell about them in a rap song. Keep the topics in order, make your lyrics informative, and try to use the multiple rhymes of typical rap music. If you dare, perform your song!

3. Graphic Arts: Select any one of the seven priorities from the article and create a poster showing its importance to survival. Make your poster both informative and visually appealing. Organize a display of the posters for your school or community.

Student Assessment:

1. "My attitude was as important as my gear," Jason Hagler notes in the article. In an informative essay, explain his comment. Describe how attitude affects performance and outcomes in survival situations.

2. Pretend you are a teacher speaking for the first time to a new group of students in your survival school. Prepare a 5-minute introduction to their survival course. Try to inform your students about the course and inspire them to do their best in the days ahead.

Far Out!: Moving Beyond the Magazine (Survival quotes at no extra charge.)

"The recommended daily requirement for hugs is four per day for survival, eight per day for maintenance, and twelve per day for growth." -- Virginia Satir, U.S. family therapist and author

Whole-Class Project: 

Find books about survival in bookstores and libraries. Have each student read one and write a review. Collect the reviews into a booklet for the school library.

"... passion for survival is the great theme of women's poetry." -- Adrienne Rich, U.S. poet, essayist, and feminist

Individual Writing Assignment:

Make a list of settings and circumstances -- for example, a family trip to Katmandu or a canoe ride on the Colorado River -- and write them on 3-in. by 5-in. cards. Make enough cards so that each student in the class gets one. Challenge each student to write a fictional account of survival based on the situation given on the card. Share stories and see if others can spot the good and bad choices made by the characters.

"Our pleasures were simple -- they included survival." - Dwight D Eisenhower, 34th U.S. president, commenting on his childhood

Community Connection: Invite an employee or volunteer member of a local rescue group or agency to talk with your class. Possible speakers include firefighters, emergency medical technicians, or ski patrol members. Ask your visitor to talk about emergency procedures and demonstrate techniques such as first aid for fractures or snakebites.

"There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning." -- Thorton Wilder, American writer

Small-Group Collaborative Project: Organize the class into teams of three. Present this survival challenge: A flash flood has trapped a group of campers on what is now an island in the middle of a raging river. It's your job to get them out. Have each team devise a rescue plan and make a list of the materials needed to effect the rescue (similar to the list on page 19). Remind each team to come up with plans for contingencies, or unexpected events.

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Updated: 11/21/08 02:07 pm
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