Lost in Death Valley

Science: Ecology, health 

Social studies: Geography 

Social-emotional learning: Responsible decision-making (solving problems); relationship skills (teamwork)

Problem and solution, setting, key details, author’s craft, text features, descriptive details, cause and effect, inference

Watch a Video/Preview Text Features (25 minutes)

• Look at pages 4 and 5 with the class. Direct students to the title, subtitle, and photograph. Ask them what they think the story will be about. Point to the subtitle and ask: What problem do the women in this story face? How does the photograph help you imagine what it was like to be lost in Death Valley?
• Point to the map and caption on page 7. Read aloud the caption with the class. Explain that students can find the location of Death Valley National Park on the small inset map of the U.S. Ask students to identify Scotty’s Castle Visitor Center and the Racetrack on the map. These are two important locations in the story. Then point to the photo of the Racetrack on page 8. Read aloud the caption with the class.
  
• Help students use the compass rose to find the direction that the visitors had to drive from Scotty’s Castle to the Racetrack.
  
• Read aloud the remaining photo captions and titles on pages 6-9. Ask: How did Jenny probably feel as she walked toward the camp in the photo on page 8?
  

Introduce Vocabulary (15 minutes)

• We have highlighted in bold eight words that may be challenging and defined them on the page. Preview these words by projecting or distributing our vocabulary activity and completing it as a class. You may also play our Vocabulary Slideshow.
• Highlighted words: historical, jut, attraction, sputtered, dehydrated, heatstroke, stranded, ordeal
  

Set a Purpose for Reading (5 minutes)

• Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read and Think and Write boxes on pages 5 and 9. These support the story’s featured skill, problem and solution. Ask students to look for details in the story that help them identify the problem faced by the women and how they solved it in order to survive.
  

Reading and Unpacking the Text

• First read: Read the story as a class. Ask students to identify any vocabulary words or details they don’t understand in each section.
• Second read: Distribute the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions to the class. Preview them together. Ask students to read the article again and answer the questions as a class or in small groups. (These questions are now also available in Google Forms on our site so students can type in their answers and email them to you.)
  

Close-Reading Questions (30 minutes)

• Read the first section. Where does the story take place? (setting) The story takes place in Death Valley, a desert on the border of California and Nevada.
• In “Extreme Heat,” what details help you understand what Death Valley looks and feels like? (key details) There are snowcapped mountains and hot sand dunes. The temperature can reach 125 degrees.
  
• Read the last sentence of “Extreme Heat.” Why does the author say that the women will “soon be in a fight for their lives”? (author’s craft) The women would soon become lost in one of the hottest places on Earth. They will have to work very hard to survive.
  
• Read “A Wrong Turn.” How does the map on page 7 help you understand what happens to the women in this part of the story? (text features) The map shows the locations of Scotty’s Castle and the Racetrack.
  
• In “Bad News,” what do the words “Vroom! The car sprang to life,” help you imagine? (descriptive details) They help readers imagine what the car sounded like when the engine turned on unexpectedly and how relieved the women must’ve been to hear it.
  
• Read “The Search Begins.” Why is extreme heat so dangerous? (cause and effect) It causes people to become dehydrated. As a result, our heart rate speeds up, thinking becomes difficult, and heatstroke sets in. In extreme cases, it can even lead to death.
  
• In that same section, why does Gina say, “It was the worst water I’d ever tasted but also the best”? (inference) Although the hot water tasted horrible, it helped save their lives.
  
• Read “The Rescue.” Look at the photo of Donna’s car on page 7. What did the women do that helped the helicopter pilots rescue them? (cause and effect) The women left their car on the road and wrote a message on the back of the car asking for help. Jenny also waved a yellow blanket in the air. This attracted the pilots’ attention.

Critical-Thinking Question (10 minutes)

• This story shows how nature can be more powerful than humans. What steps did different people in the story take to save Donna, Jenny, and Gina from the powerful heat in Death Valley? (cause and effect) Answers can discuss what the women did to stay alive and to help others find them. They can include details about what Donna’s daughter Sky did to track the women down, as well as how the rescue pilots from the California Highway Patrol were able to find them.
  

• Distribute our Problem and Solution activity sheet. Have students work in small groups to complete it.
• Discuss the writing assignment in the Think and Write box on page 9. Remind students to look for details in the photos and captions as well as the text to use in their letters. Students can complete the letters in class or as homework.