1. Cliff Hanger by Jean Craighead George
Vocabulary, Spelling, and Skills

2. belay being tied to a person or a rock with a rope for safety
“On belay,” Axel’s father called
out to him.

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

4. harness a set of straps that can attach to a safety rope
Axel took a dog harness
and slipped it over Grit’s
head.

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

6. rappel to come down a cliff by sliding down a rope
I took a deep breath and
began to rappel down the
ridge.

7. trekked made a slow and difficult journey on foot.
Axel and Dag trekked
steadily up the rocky
trail.

8. 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 – metal rings used by rock climbers to attach ropes to themselves or to climbing nuts
avalanches –areas of rock, snow, or earth that fell down a mountain

9. bracing – making firm, steadying
plunging – falling suddenly and quickly
splats – short splashing noises
void – a large, empty space
handhold – something to hold on to for support
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.

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

11. 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.

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.
washer washable washing washed

13. Base Words Write the base word on your white board.
planned shivering counted
comfortable drummed wrapped
stopping slipping unhappy
Practice Book page 16

14. 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

15. 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 h in the alphabet, friend and flash come before harness and hand.
Friend and flash begin with the same letter so we will look at the second letter.
flash friend hand harness