Introduction

In this section, students will read the novel Peak by Roland Smith and complete the performance tasks to demonstrate ELA 1 and 2 skills.

"When fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello's long-lost father presents the opportunity for them to summit Everest together, Peak doesn't even consider saying no--even though he suspects there are a few strings attached. And if he makes it to the top before his birthday, he'll be the youngest person ever to stand aboe 29,000 feet. It's not a bad turn of events for a guy who's been stuck in New York City with only skyscrapers to (illegally) scale. Here, in Peak's own words, is the exhilarating, gut-wrenching story of what happened on that climb to the top of the world--a climb that changed everything" (Back cover of Peak).

Videos

Watch the following videos and then answer the questions in the Google Form by clicking on the button entitled "Mt. Everest Video Quiz." This will give you a glimpse into the world of climbing and provide you with some previous knowledge of the Mt. Everest climb.

While you read...

...answer the questions on the Reading Comprehension Question document. Read the chapter and then answer the question or questions.

Do the writing competency tutorials that you identified in your last conference. They are on your Tutorial Tracker Form and they are also assigned to you in SLATE. Only do the ones that you were assigned!

Click on the link and make a copy of the Google doc. Once it is finished, upload it to SLATE.

2.1 Topic

2.1 Thesis

2.1 Purpose/Significance

2.2 Organization

2.2 Content

2.2 Graphics

2.2 Techniques

2.3 Transitions between paragraphs

2.3 Transitions within paragraphs

2.4 Punctuation, Grammar, Spelling

• Commas #1

• Commas #2

• Commas #3

2.4 Tone

2.4 MLA Format

2.4 Sentence Structure

2.5 Content

2.6 Proofreading

2.6 Revise and Edit

2.6 Proactivity

After you finish reading the novel...

...prepare to write an argument essay on the prompt below. The purpose of an informative essay is to inform the reader or explain something to the reader. It does not include personal opinion.

Prompt:

• Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness." For this essay, explain how selfishness is destructive and how altruism is creative. You can use your own anecdotal evidence or examples from the text to justify your explanation.