1. Teacher Guide
This lesson is designed to teach kids to ask a critical thinking question that you can’t just put into a search box to solve. To do that, we encourage them with smaller questions that search can help them answer. Make sure that you read the notes for each slide: they not only give you teaching tips but also provide answers and hints so you can help the kids if they are having trouble.
Remember, you can always send feedback to the Bing in the Classroom team at You can learn more about the program at bing.com/classroom and follow the daily lessons on our Partners In Learning site.
Want to extend today’s lesson? Consider using Skype in the Classroom to arrange for your class to chat with another class in today’s location. And if you are using Windows 8, you can also use the Bing apps to learn more about this location and topic; the Travel and News apps in particular make great teaching tools.
Ja'Dell Davis is a Los Angeles native who currently divides her time between New York City and Madison, Wisconsin. She is currently a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, pursing a PhD in Sociology. Ja’Dell previously taught high school in Philadelphia public schools, and implemented college access and academic enrichment programming in Chester, Pennsylvania and New York City in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood. Ja’Dell received her B.A. from Swarthmore College with a special major in History and Educational Studies, and a minor in Black Studies. She completed her M.S.Ed in Secondary School Education at the University of Pennsylvania.  In addition to her studies and work in the education field, Ja’Dell is a dancer, musician, avid people watcher, and Scrabble enthusiast.
This lesson is designed to teach the Common Core State Standard: Reading: Informational Text
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.1Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.8Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.2Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

2. Does living at high altitudes have an affect on human beings?
© AirPano
Having this up as kids come in is a great settle down activity. You can start class by asking them for thoughts about the picture or about ideas on how they could solve the question of the day.

3. Does living at high altitudes have an affect on human beings?
Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park has a higher elevation than neighboring canyons – a full 1,000 feet above nearby Zion National Park. With that elevation come cooler temperatures and more precipitation, so heavy snow isn’t uncommon inside Bryce Canyon this time of year.
The park doesn’t close just because of the white stuff. Visitors can enjoy cross-country skiing, star-gazing events, and even guided snowshoe hikes by the light of the full moon. Need to challenge your expectations of the Southwest? Go enjoy the snow in Bryce Canyon.
Depending on time, you can either have students read this silently to themselves, have one of them read out loud, or read it out loud yourself.

4. Does living at high altitudes have an affect on human beings?1
Map Search
Find Bryce Canyon National Park on a map. 2
Web/Map Search
Find another city at high elevation in the United States. Locate this city on a map. 3
Find a city at high elevation outside of the United States. Locate this city on a map. 4
Web Search
What are benefits of living at high elevation? 5
What are drawbacks of living at high elevation?
There are a couple of ways to use this slide, depending on how much technology you have in your classroom. You can have students find answers on their own, divide them into teams to have them do all the questions competitively, or have each team find the answer to a different question and then come back together. If you’re doing teams, it is often wise to assign them roles (one person typing, one person who is in charge of sharing back the answer, etc.)

5. Does living at high altitudes have an affect on human beings?5
Minutes
You can adjust this based on how much time you want to give kids. If a group isn’t able to answer in 5 minutes, you can give them the opportunity to update at the end of class or extend time.

6. Does living at high altitudes have an affect on human beings?1
Map Search
Find Bryce Canyon National Park on a map. 2
Web/Map Search
Find another city at high elevation in the United States. Locate this city on a map. 3
Find a city at high elevation outside of the United States. Locate this city on a map. 4
Web Search
What are benefits of living at high elevation? 5
What are drawbacks of living at high elevation?
You can ask the students verbally or let one of them come up and insert the answer or show how they got it. This way, you also have a record that you can keep as a class and share with parents, others.

7. Does living at high altitudes have an affect on human beings?1
Map Search
Find Bryce Canyon National Park on a map.
Using the “maps” link on the Bing search page, and the search term “bryce canyon national park”, find the location here:

8. Does living at high altitudes have an affect on human beings?2
Web/Map Search
Find another city at high elevation in the United States. Locate this city on a map.
Possible queries: “high altitude cities US”
From Wikipedia (
This site gives a listing of cities in the US by highest altitude. Top listed is Alma, Colorado, found here:

9. Does living at high altitudes have an affect on human beings?3
Web/Map Search
Find a city at high elevation outside of the United States. Locate this city on a map.
Possible queries: “high altitude cities around the world”
From About Education (
This site gives a listing of cities in the world by highest altitude. One city listed is La Rinconada in Peru, found here:

10. Does living at high altitudes have an affect on human beings?4
Web Search
What are benefits of living at high elevation?
Possible queries: “benefits of high elevation”
From Health Mad (
The Good Aspects
The good news about high altitude living is that some studies suggest it can lead to a longer life. A study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health showed that those living at altitudes above 3,000 feet in Greece had a longer life expectancy than those living closer to sea level. Not only did they live longer, but their heart disease rate was almost half of their lower lying counterparts. Researchers believe that the adjustments the body makes for high altitude living may be beneficial for overall heart health. When exercising at higher altitudes, the body has to work harder which helps to strengthen the heart and improves stamina and endurance.

11. Does living at high altitudes have an affect on human beings?5
Web Search
What are drawbacks of living at high elevation?
Possible queries: “effects of high elevation”
From Health Mad (
The Risks
Moving to or visiting an area at high altitude when you’re accustomed to living at sea level carries with it certain health risks. At higher altitude the air pressure is lower and the number of oxygen molecules taken in with each breath is reduced. This effect usually doesn’t become significant until a person reaches an altitude above 8,000 feet; although the altitude at which symptoms occur can vary between individuals.
With high altitude living, the body gradually acclimates to the lower air pressure and decreased oxygen intake by elevating the heart and breathing rate and increasing production of red blood cells to carry more oxygen to the body. Until this acclimation process occurs, high altitude living can give rise to a variety of unpleasant symptoms characteristic of altitude or mountain sickness.

12. Does living at high altitudes have an affect on human beings?
This slide is a chance to summarize the information from the previous slides to build your final answer to the question.