Lesson Plan: Prepare for a Backcountry Trip

Lesson Plan

Before Exploring

Tell students that they will work in small groups to plan a winter expedition in the mountains. As a class, discuss some of the steps they might take before their trip, during their trip, and in case an avalanche occurred.

Outline the Opportunity

Direct students to the topic Avalanche! on the CBC Digital Archives website. In their small groups, have students browse the clips titled "A survivor's story", "How to survive an avalanche" and "New Year's nightmare".

On the download sheet Backcountry Trip Plan groups should list the ways they would prepare for a backcountry winter trip.

Assessment Tip
Have students evaluate how well their group members examined the clips, listened to one another, contributed ideas, contributed positive feedback, and stayed on topic. Students share and discuss the evaluation with their group.

Revisit and Reflect

Gather students to share and discuss their lists. Ask: Do you feel like you would be well prepared for a backcountry trip with this list? Why? What else might you like to add? If groups missed any planning information, they can add it to their charts.

Extension

Students can research avalanche rescue dogs. They may want to find out how they are trained, how they work to find victims, and which dogs make the best rescuers.