Cliff Hanger

by Jean Craighead George

Vocabulary, Spelling, and Skills

belay

being tied to a person or a rock with a rope for safety

“

On belay,” Axel’s father called out to him.

descent



A trip down into or from something, such as a mountain They reached the top and were ready for their descent

.

harness

•a set of straps that can attach to a safety rope

Axel took a dog harness and slipped it over Grit’s head.

ledge

a shelf of rock Half way up the mountain he reached a ledge to hold on to.

rappel to come down a cliff by sliding down a rope

I took a deep breath and began to rappel down the ridge.

trekked

made a slow and difficult journey on foot.

Axel and Dag trekked steadily up the rocky trail.

Other Vocabulary

Cathedral – a large or important church registration book – a book used to record the names of guests at a hotel, club, or school climbing nuts – rock climbing tools that are jammed into cracks in the rock and used to anchor ropes carabiners to attach ropes to themselves or to climbing nuts – metal rings used by rock climbers avalanches –areas of rock, snow, or earth that fell down a mountain

bracing – making firm, steadying plunging splats – falling suddenly and quickly – short splashing noises void – a large, empty space handhold support – something to hold on to for foresaw – knew something before it happened vertical – straight up and down free climb – to climb without being attached to anything concentration – the act of thinking hard, staying focused.

Spelling Words

Words with short vowel patterns mix milk thick thin stick send left smell class last head friend test empty dish glance

Comprehension Cause and Effect - T49A Cause and effect is when one event brings about another event Cause – makes something happen Ask yourself, “Why does this happen?” Effect – the event that happens Ask yourself, “What happened?” Look at Practice Book page 12.

Structural Analysis/ Vocabulary: Base Words T49C



Many words are made by adding beginnings and endings to smaller words called base words.

In

climbing

, the ending –ing has been added to the base word

climb

.

When you come to a new word look for the base word.

wash er wash able wash ing wash ed

Base Words

Write the base word on your white board.

planned shivering counted comfortable drummed wrapped stopping slipping unhappy Practice Book page 16

Short Vowel Patterns a, e, and i T49D A short vowel sound is usually spelled with one vowel followed by a consonant.

Find the short vowel patterns in the following phrases.

The planned route Split open the black cloud Roped himself to them his left hand

Vocabulary: ABC Order in a Dictionary T49G Words in a dictionary are arranged in ABC order.



Start with the first letter.



When words begin with the same letter, move on to the second letter.

friend harness hand flash Since f comes before come before h harness in the alphabet and hand.

, friend and flash Friend and flash begin with the same letter so we will look at the second letter .

f l ash f r iend h a n d h a r ness