Robert Harding Picture Library Ltd/Alamy (skull); Chen Su/Getty Images (Death Valley)

Lost in Death Valley

A story of disaster and survival in one of the most dangerous places on Earth

By Kristin Lewis

From the October 2023 Issue

Learning Objective: to identify key ideas and details in a narrative nonfiction article

Lexiles: 840L, 710L

Featured Skill: Key Ideas and Details,

Other Key Skills: author’s craft, text structure, inference

Listen to this story read aloud.

AS YOU READ

Think about what helped the women survive.

Courtesy of Donna Cooper

Gina Cooper (left) and Jenny Leung

Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth. The searing heat sucks the air out of your lungs and scorches the bottoms of your feet. It’s so bone-dry that corpses don’t rot; they shrivel into mummies. The human body is not made to survive in such an extreme place. Every year at least one person dies in Death Valley.

It was in this desert inferno that three women became stranded on July 22, 2010.

Seventeen-year-old Gina Cooper, her mother, Donna, and their friend Jenny Leung, 19, had no phone service and very little water. Their chances of survival were slim . . . and getting slimmer by the moment.

Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth. The searing heat sucks the air out of your lungs. It scorches the bottoms of your feet. It’s so bone-dry that corpses don’t rot; they shrivel into mummies. The human body is not made to survive in such an extreme place. At least one person dies in Death Valley every year.

It was in this desert inferno that three women became stranded on July 22, 2010.

Devastating Extremes

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Scorpions, which thrive in Death Valley, avoid the extreme heat by hunting at night.

Like so many disaster stories, this one begins unremarkably: with a plan for a pleasant day trip. Jenny, a student from Hong Kong, was spending the summer with Donna, who lived in Pahrump, Nevada. Donna was excited to show Jenny the spectacular sights of the West. Already they’d seen the Grand Canyon, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Now Donna wanted to show Jenny Death Valley. Gina decided to come along.

Death Valley National Park is a place of staggering beauty and devastating extremes. Located in California and Nevada, the more than 3-million-acre park is a geological wonder, having been twisted and mashed over hundreds of millions of years by volcanoes and earthquakes. Rocky snowcapped mountains jut thousands of feet into the sky, while vast salt flats and sand dunes sizzle in the sun on the valley floor below. Summer temperatures soar well above 120 degrees Fahrenheit. (The record is 134.)

These extremes are brutal but also fascinating, which is why more than 1 million people visit Death Valley each year. Most come during the cool winter months.

Donna, Gina, and Jenny knew that visiting in July meant extreme heat. But it would be a short trip, mostly in Donna’s air-conditioned car. The three women planned to explore Scotty’s Castle, a famous mansion from the 1920s that is now a museum.

Still, Donna understood the perils of the desert and the importance of being prepared. She packed food and water for the day. She also stocked the car with maps, tools, blankets, phone chargers, and a first-aid kit.

Little did Donna know how essential her preparations would be. Soon they would all be fighting for their lives.

Like many disaster stories, this one begins unremarkably: with a plan for a pleasant day trip. Jenny was a student from Hong Kong. She was spending the summer with Donna, who lived in Pahrump, Nevada. Donna was excited to show Jenny the spectacular sights of the West. They had already seen the Grand Canyon, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Now Donna wanted to show Jenny Death Valley. Gina decided to come along.

Death Valley National Park is a place of beauty and extremes. The park is more than 3 million acres and is located in California and Nevada. It has been twisted and mashed over hundreds of millions of years by volcanoes and earthquakes, making it a geological wonder. Rocky snowcapped mountains jut thousands of feet into the sky. Vast salt flats and sand dunes sizzle in the sun on the valley floor below. Summer temperatures soar well above 120 degrees Fahrenheit. (The record is 134.)

These extremes are brutal but also fascinating. More than 1 million people visit Death Valley each year. Most come during the cool winter months.

Donna, Gina, and Jenny knew that visiting in July meant extreme heat. But it would be a short trip. And Donna’s car had air-conditioning. While in Death Valley, they planned to explore Scotty’s Castle. It’s a famous mansion from the 1920s that is now a museum.

Donna understood the perils of the desert. She packed food and water for the day. She also packed maps, tools, blankets, phone chargers, and a first-aid kit.

Little did Donna know how important her preparations would be. Soon they would all be fighting for their lives.

Terribly Wrong

As planned, Donna, Gina, and Jenny spent a few hours at Scotty’s Castle. They left for home around 3 p.m. On their way out, they passed a sign for the Racetrack—one of Death Valley’s star attractions. It’s a large, dried-up lake bed scattered with rocks that seem to move on their own, leaving tracks in the dirt behind them. The women decided they shouldn’t miss it.

They drove.

And drove.

And drove.

Donna, Gina, and Jenny spent a few hours at Scotty’s Castle. They left for home around 3 p.m. On their way out, they passed a sign for the Racetrack. It’s one of Death Valley’s star attractions. It’s a large, dried-up lake bed. The rocks scattered across it seem to move on their own, leaving tracks in the dirt behind them. The women wanted to see it.

They drove.

And drove.

And drove.

Robert Zehetmayer/Alamy Stock Photo

At 282 feet below sea level, Death Valley’s famed Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America.

Finally, they came to a crossroads called Teakettle Junction. This must have been where they took a wrong turn, because they began gaining elevation, driving up into the mountains. They tried to head back the way they’d come, but with each passing mile, they became more lost.

“Everything looked the same,” Donna recalls. “It was awful.”

Only the park’s main roads were shown on their map, so they turned on the car’s GPS. Similar to navigation apps like Google Maps, a vehicle’s GPS tracks location and provides directions.

Turn right in 500 yards. Continue straight for 1 mile, the GPS instructed with cool certainty.

To the women’s dismay, it soon became clear that the GPS was useless. Back then, such navigation systems were notorious for leading travelers astray. Even today, these systems can be unreliable in remote places. The year before, a woman had gotten lost in Death Valley following her GPS. She survived, but tragically, her young son did not.

Hours went by. The women drove hundreds of miles. The fuel tank was almost empty, and their drinking water was running low. Darkness fell, and a blaze of stars lit up the night sky. Around 10 p.m., the car sputtered to a stop.

They were out of gas.

By now, their friends and families were starting to worry. Among them was Donna’s 21-year-old daughter, Sky, who lived in Florida. Sky had just had surgery, and when her mother didn’t call to check in, Sky knew something was terribly wrong.

Finally, they came to a crossroads called Teakettle Junction. This is likely where they took a wrong turn. They began driving up into the mountains. They tried to head back the way they’d come. But with each passing mile, they became more lost.

“Everything looked the same,” Donna recalls. “It was awful.”

Their map showed only the park’s main roads. So they turned on the car’s GPS. Similar to navigation apps like Google Maps, a vehicle’s GPS tracks location and provides directions.

Turn right in 500 yards. Continue straight for 1 mile, the GPS instructed.

But it soon became clear that the GPS was useless. Back then, such navigation systems were notorious for leading travelers the wrong way. Even today, these systems can be unreliable in remote places. The year before, a woman had gotten lost in Death Valley following her GPS. She survived, but tragically, her young son did not.

Hours went by. The women drove hundreds of miles. The fuel tank was almost empty. Their drinking water was running low. Darkness fell. Around 10 p.m., the car sputtered to a stop.

They were out of gas.

By now, their friends and families were starting to worry. Donna’s 21-year-old daughter, Sky, lived in Florida. Sky had just had surgery. When her mother didn’t call to check in, Sky knew something was terribly wrong.

Desperate Situation

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Early the next morning, Donna, Gina, and Jenny awoke from a long and frightening night in the car. Looking around, they realized how desperate their situation was. Yet they remained clearheaded. A teacher had imparted survival skills to Donna when she was young. Now she would need to use what she’d learned if she was to keep them all alive.

Gina set out on foot to look for signs of life, while Donna and Jenny searched for food. They found pine needles, which are rich in nutrients, and some cactuses, but the plants proved too difficult to eat, even using Donna’s knife.

Two hours later, Gina returned with grim news. She had seen car tracks but no people—only parched and barren land.

By now, only a few sips of precious water remained. The heat was growing steadily more oppressive. Gina begged her mom to try starting the car again.

It seemed pointless—the car was out of gas. But why not? Donna turned the key.

Vroom!

The car sprang to life.

Early the next morning, Donna, Gina, and Jenny awoke from a frightening night in the car. Looking around, they realized how desperate their situation was. Yet they remained clearheaded. A teacher had taught Donna survival skills when she was young. She knew she had to use what she had learned if she was to keep them all alive.

Gina set out on foot to look for signs of life. Donna and Jenny searched for food. They found pine needles, which are rich in nutrients, and some cactuses. But the plants were too difficult to eat, even using Donna’s knife.

Two hours later, Gina returned with grim news. She had seen car tracks but no people—only parched and barren land.

By now, only a few sips of water remained. The heat was growing more oppressive. Gina begged her mom to try starting the car again.

It seemed pointless—the car was out of gas. But why not? Donna turned the key.

Vroom!

The car sprang to life.

The Search Begins

Back in Florida, Sky was sick with worry. She logged in to her mom’s bank account online, looking for clues to where Donna might be. She saw that her mom had used a credit card to buy a T-shirt at Scotty’s Castle the day before.

Immediately, Sky called the California Highway Patrol (CHP). And immediately, the state agency launched a search.

At that point, Donna, Gina, and Jenny had been missing for 24 hours. Finding them as soon as possible was critical. But scouring the 5,200 square miles of Death Valley—a region the size of Connecticut—would be a slow and difficult process.

Back in Florida, Sky was sick with worry. She logged in to her mom’s bank account online. She looked for clues to where Donna might be. She saw that her mom had bought a T-shirt at Scotty’s Castle the day before.

Immediately, Sky called the California Highway Patrol (CHP). And immediately, the state agency launched a search.

At that point, Donna, Gina, and Jenny had been missing for 24 hours. Finding them as soon as possible was critical. But Death Valley was the size of Connecticut, about 5,200 square miles. Searching an area that big would be slow and difficult.

One in a Million

Meanwhile, Donna, Gina, and Jenny found themselves driving along a road—if it could be called a road—that was utterly terrifying: a series of steep hills that rose and fell sharply, one after the other. Donna gunned the car up each hill, then let gravity take them down.

“If we got stuck between hills, I knew we were done for,” Donna remembers. “We’d never be able to climb out.”

Gina gripped the passenger grab handle in fear. On one especially violent bump, it ripped right off in her hand.

And then they saw it—a splash of glorious green in a sea of desolate brown. It was a stand of trees off in the distance. In fact, they’d glimpsed the same trees the previous day, after they’d lost their way.

Now their lives depended on reaching those trees. Because where there are trees, there is water.

The women drove until they ran out of gas and the car stopped, this time for good. Thankfully, the trees were only a short hike from the car. But every step was agony. It was at least 125 degrees Fahrenheit. The superheated rocks on the ground burned their feet through their shoes.

Meanwhile, Donna, Gina, and Jenny were driving along a road that was terrifying: a series of steep hills that rose and fell sharply, one after the other. Donna gunned the car up each hill. Then she let gravity take them down.

“If we got stuck between hills, I knew we were done for,” Donna remembers. “We’d never be able to climb out.”

Gina gripped the passenger grab handle in fear. On one especially violent bump, it ripped right off in her hand.

And then they saw it—a splash of glorious green in a sea of desolate brown. It was a stand of trees off in the distance. They had seen the same trees the previous day, after they’d lost their way.

Now their lives depended on reaching those trees. Where there are trees, there is water.

The women drove until they ran out of gas. The car stopped, this time for good. Thankfully, the trees were only a short hike from the car. But every step was agony. It was at least 125 degrees Fahrenheit. The superheated rocks on the ground burned their feet through their shoes.

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This feathered fellow is a greater roadrunner. It can outrun a human, kill a rattlesnake, and flourish in Death Valley’s punishing heat.

The human body is not made to withstand such high temperatures. Prolonged exposure is extremely dangerous. Sweat pours forth, leading to dehydration. The heart rate speeds up. The brain becomes addled, making it difficult to think, much less make critical lifesaving decisions. Eventually, heat stroke sets in and organs start to shut down. Without treatment, death will follow.

But Donna, Gina, and Jenny were not about to give up. And when they reached the stand of trees, they discovered something incredible: three trailers and a covered porch.

“The chance of finding that in the middle of Death Valley was one in a million,” Gina says.

That crude campsite would become their lifeline. Inside one trailer, they found stale oatmeal, cans of beans, and some dried meat so old it had turned white. It wasn’t much, but Donna was over the moon. “I thought, OK, I can keep us alive for two weeks on this,” she recalls.

They also found two mattresses, which they dragged out to the porch. That night, any sleep was hard-won in the unrelenting heat.

In the morning came what would prove to be the best find of all. Attached to the back of one of the trailers was a hose. They turned it on, and to their pure joy, hot water gushed out.

“It was the worst water I’d ever tasted but also the best,” Gina says.

That day, the women had a lot to do. They explored the area, looking for anything they could use. They broke into the other two trailers and found a radio. Gina hooked it up to the car battery, but the heat was too intense to stay in the sun long enough to reach anyone on it.

By then, Gina was sick from dehydration and exhaustion and felt unable to eat. Donna coaxed her into swallowing a few bites of oatmeal.

The day wore on, and the women prepared for their third night in the wilderness.

The human body is not made to withstand such high temperatures. Prolonged exposure is extremely dangerous. Sweat pours out, leading to dehydration. The heart rate speeds up. The brain becomes addled, making it difficult to think, much less make critical lifesaving decisions. Eventually, heat stroke sets in and organs start to shut down. Without treatment, death will follow.

But Donna, Gina, and Jenny did not give up. They reached the trees. And then they discovered something incredible: three trailers and a covered porch.

“The chance of finding that in the middle of Death Valley was one in a million,” Gina says.

That crude campsite would become their lifeline. In one trailer, they found stale oatmeal, cans of beans, and some old, dried meat. It wasn’t much, but Donna was over the moon. “I thought, OK, I can keep us alive for two weeks on this,” she recalls.

They also found two mattresses. They dragged them out to the porch. That night, any sleep was hard-won in the unrelenting heat.

In the morning, they found something even better. Attached to one of the trailers was a hose. They turned it on. To their pure joy, hot water gushed out.

“It was the worst water I’d ever tasted but also the best,” Gina says.

That day, the women looked for anything they could use. They broke into the other two trailers and found a radio. Gina hooked it up to the car battery. But the heat was too intense to stay in the sun long enough to reach anyone on it.

By then, Gina was sick from dehydration and exhaustion. She felt unable to eat. Donna coaxed her into swallowing a few bites of oatmeal.

The day wore on, and the women prepared for their third night in the wilderness.

Shutterstock.com

How Does GPS Work?

GPS, or Global Positioning System, is a group of satellites that orbit Earth. These satellites constantly send out radio signals. GPS-equipped devices, such as smartphones, use these signals to figure out exactly where we are and give us directions. GPS is used in search-and-rescue efforts, to help planes safely navigate the skies, to track animal migrations, and to help predict where major storms will occur.

Still, GPS isn’t always reliable. In remote areas, for example, thick forests and towering peaks can affect its accuracy. Unless a satellite happens to be directly overhead, mountains and trees can block devices from receiving clear signals. That’s one reason it’s important to bring a paper map on any wilderness adventure.

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How Does GPS Work?

Wildly Waving

On July 25, two CHP pilots, Tyler Johns and Scott Steele, were searching from their helicopter. Their mission had been reclassified. It was no longer a rescue. It was a recovery. The women had been lost for three days, and there was now little hope of finding them alive.

The pilots were about to give up when they decided to take a final pass over one of the most remote parts of the park. And that is when they spotted it: Donna’s car.

Down on the ground, Donna and Gina were in one of the trailers when they heard Jenny screaming. They ran out to see Jenny waving a yellow blanket.

There, in the sky, was a helicopter—and it was flying straight toward them!

They were saved.

When Johns and Steele landed, they were overjoyed to find the women alive. The pilots arranged for a man known as Lizard Lee, who lived up in the mountains, to bring gas and show the women to the main road. Lizard Lee, the only resident for hundreds of miles, is a volunteer for the park service. In fact, he had spotted the women days earlier but had lost track of them.

Giddy happiness overtook the women as they raced out of the park. When they pulled into a gas station, Gina and Jenny tore through the aisles, grabbing nachos, hot dogs, chips, ice cream, soda—anything they could get their hands on—and shoveling the food into their mouths.

It was as though they’d arrived at the finest restaurant in the world.

Tyler Johns and Scott Steele are CHP pilots. On July 25, they were searching from their helicopter. Their mission had been reclassified. It was no longer a rescue. It was a recovery. The women had been lost for three days. There was little hope of finding them alive.

The pilots were about to give up. But they decided to take a final pass over one of the most remote parts of the park. Then they spotted it: Donna’s car.

Down on the ground, Donna and Gina were in one of the trailers when they heard Jenny screaming. They ran out to see Jenny waving a yellow blanket.

There, in the sky, was a helicopter. It was flying straight toward them!

They were saved.

When Johns and Steele landed, they were overjoyed to find the women alive. The pilots arranged for a man known as Lizard Lee to bring gas and show the women to the main road. Lizard Lee was the only resident for hundreds of miles. He is a volunteer for the park service. In fact, he had spotted the women days earlier but had lost track of them.

Giddy happiness overtook the women as they raced out of the park. When they pulled into a gas station, Gina and Jenny tore through the aisles. They grabbed nachos, hot dogs, chips, ice cream, soda—anything they could get their hands on—and shoveled the food into their mouths.

It was as though they’d arrived at the finest restaurant in the world.

Looking Back

It’s been 13 years since that ordeal in the desert. Today Gina is a nurse in Florida. Jenny’s love of nature led her to study environmental sciences in college. Donna became friends with the owners of the campsite that saved their lives. And for years, she sent Christmas cards to Johns and Steele.

Gina looks back on what happened with a sense of pride. She says it changed her, made her more confident. Surviving something so horrible, she says, prepared her for anything life may throw at her.

“You have to be thankful for every day you get,” Gina says.

It’s been 13 years since that ordeal in the desert. Today Gina is a nurse in Florida. Jenny studied environmental sciences in college. Donna became friends with the owners of the campsite that saved their lives. And for years, she sent Christmas cards to Johns and Steele.

Gina looks back on what happened with a sense of pride. She says it changed her, made her more confident. Surviving something so horrible, she says, prepared her for anything life may throw at her.

“You have to be thankful for every day you get,” Gina says.

Writing Prompt

Survival stories often demonstrate the power of resilience and problem-solving. How did these traits help the women survive in Death Valley? Answer in a well-organized essay. Use text evidence.

Writing Prompt

Survival stories often demonstrate the power of resilience and problem-solving. How did these traits help the women survive in Death Valley? Answer in a well-organized essay.

^{This article was originally published in the October 2023 issue.}

video (1)

Audio ()

Activities (13)

Quizzes (1)

Answer Key (1)

video (1)

Audio ()

Activities (13)

Quizzes (1)

Answer Key (1)

1. Prepare to Read

2. Read and Discuss

3. Write About It

4. Writing Spotlight

5. Support for Multilingual Learners

6. Connected Readings

Essential Questions: How can we make good decisions in challenging situations? What does it take to survive? Who’s in charge: humans or nature?

1. PREPARE TO READ (20 MINUTES)

Watch the Video (10 minutes)

Watch the Behind the Scenes video, which will introduce students to Death Valley and offer insights into the writing process. Have students respond to the Video Discussion Questions (available in your Resources tab) in small groups or pairs.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

Project the Google Slides version of Vocabulary Definitions and Practice on your whiteboard. Review the definitions and complete the activity as a class. Highlighted words: addled, crude, geological, inferno, notorious, oppressive, perils, reclassified. Audio pronunciations of the words and a read-aloud of the definitions are embedded on the slides. Optionally, print the PDF version or share the slideshow link directly to your LMS and have students preview the words and complete the activity independently before class.

Watch the Video (10 minutes)

Watch the Behind the Scenes video, which will introduce students to Death Valley and offer insights into the writing process. Have students respond to the Video Discussion Questions (available in your Resources tab) in small groups or pairs.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

Project the Google Slides version of Vocabulary Definitions and Practice on your whiteboard. Review the definitions and complete the activity as a class. Highlighted words: addled, crude, geological, inferno, notorious, oppressive, perils, reclassified. Audio pronunciations of the words and a read-aloud of the definitions are embedded on the slides. Optionally, print the PDF version or share the slideshow link directly to your LMS and have students preview the words and complete the activity independently before class.

2. READ AND DISCUSS (45 MINUTES)

Invite a volunteer to read the As You Read box on page 5 or at the top of the digital story page.
Read the article once as a class. (Differentiation: Share the lower-Lexile version or the Spanish version of the article.) Optionally, have students listen to author Kristin Lewis read her article aloud while they follow along. The audio read-aloud is located in the Resources tab in Teacher View and at the top of the story page in Student View.
Divide students into groups to read the article again and respond to the following Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking questions, also located in the Resources tab.

Close-Reading Questions (25 minutes)

What is the mood of the first paragraph? How does author Kristin Lewis create this mood? (author’s craft) The first paragraph has a dire mood—that is, a mood of desperate urgency. Lewis vividly describes Death Valley as a place of danger. The phrases “hottest place on Earth,” “sucks the air out of your lungs,” and “scorches the bottoms of your feet” show the intensity of the environment. By stating that at least one person dies in Death Valley each year, Lewis emphasizes the danger of the place.
The author calls Death Valley a place of “devastating extremes.” Which details support this description? (key ideas and details) Death Valley has extreme land features and temperatures. Lewis writes, “Rocky snowcapped mountains jut thousands of feet into the sky, while vast salt flats and sand dunes sizzle in the sun on the valley floor below.” In fact, the lowest point in North America is located in Death Valley’s Badwater Basin at 282 feet below sea level. The temperature can rise to more than 120 degrees in the summertime, with a record of 134. And the desert is drier than dry; Lewis writes, “It’s so bone-dry that corpses don’t rot; they shrivel into mummies.”
What factors contributed to the women getting lost? (key ideas and details) The women took a wrong turn, likely at Teakettle Junction; small roads, which you can infer they were on, were not on their map; their GPS was ineffective because Death Valley is so remote; everything looked the same, so they couldn’t find their way back.
The section “Terribly Wrong” includes little description of the women’s feelings, yet their emotions are easy to detect. How does Lewis achieve this? (author’s craft) By describing the situation the women were in, the author makes it possible for the reader to infer their feelings. For example, she writes, “They drove. And drove. And drove,” on separate lines to evoke the frustrating and scary feeling of becoming lost. Lewis also describes the GPS giving the women what turn out to be incorrect instructions “with cool certainty.” You can infer how frustrated and alarmed the women must have felt to realize they could not trust the calm voice of their GPS. Lewis also provides details that make it easy for the reader to imagine being in the women’s position as their car “sputtered to a stop” under a dark sky full of stars—the reader can infer how isolated and frightened the women must have felt.
In the section “One in a Million,” why does the author include the paragraph that starts “The human body is not made to withstand . . . ”? (text structure) This paragraph provides information about the effects of heat on the body. This helps readers understand what Donna, Gina, and Jenny were going through physically and just how much danger they were in.
What can you infer about how the three women helped one another survive? (inference) You can infer that the women helped one another survive by working as a team and by offering one another encouragement. Gina went to look for signs of life while Donna and Jenny gathered pine needles and cacti. Gina convinced her mother to try starting the car again. Donna cared for Gina when she got sick with dehydration and exhaustion. None of them gave up.
As a class, discuss the following questions.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

What role did luck play in the women’s survival? What choices did they make that also helped them survive? The women were lucky that their car started again the morning after it had stopped, and that they found a campsite, which provided enough food, water, and shelter to keep them alive. They were lucky that Tyler Johns and Scott Steele decided to make one more pass in their helicopter before giving up. The women also took numerous steps that helped them survive. Donna had stocked the car with supplies, showing that she knew to plan for the unexpected. They gathered nutrient-rich pine needles. They also left their car in the road so it could be seen, which helped Johns and Steele find them.
What crucial role did other people play in helping the women to survive? The women would not have survived if not for the intervention of people outside Death Valley. Donna’s daughter Sky suspected something was wrong and managed to figure out that her mother had been at Scotty’s Castle, Death Valley. Sky contacted the California Highway Patrol, which ultimately found and saved the women.

Invite a volunteer to read the As You Read box on page 5 or at the top of the digital story page.
Read the article once as a class. (Differentiation: Share the lower-Lexile version or the Spanish version of the article.) Optionally, have students listen to author Kristin Lewis read her article aloud while they follow along. The audio read-aloud is located in the Resources tab in Teacher View and at the top of the story page in Student View.
Divide students into groups to read the article again and respond to the following Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking questions, also located in the Resources tab.

Close-Reading Questions (25 minutes)

What is the mood of the first paragraph? How does author Kristin Lewis create this mood? (author’s craft) The first paragraph has a dire mood—that is, a mood of desperate urgency. Lewis vividly describes Death Valley as a place of danger. The phrases “hottest place on Earth,” “sucks the air out of your lungs,” and “scorches the bottoms of your feet” show the intensity of the environment. By stating that at least one person dies in Death Valley each year, Lewis emphasizes the danger of the place.
The author calls Death Valley a place of “devastating extremes.” Which details support this description? (key ideas and details) Death Valley has extreme land features and temperatures. Lewis writes, “Rocky snowcapped mountains jut thousands of feet into the sky, while vast salt flats and sand dunes sizzle in the sun on the valley floor below.” In fact, the lowest point in North America is located in Death Valley’s Badwater Basin at 282 feet below sea level. The temperature can rise to more than 120 degrees in the summertime, with a record of 134. And the desert is drier than dry; Lewis writes, “It’s so bone-dry that corpses don’t rot; they shrivel into mummies.”
What factors contributed to the women getting lost? (key ideas and details) The women took a wrong turn, likely at Teakettle Junction; small roads, which you can infer they were on, were not on their map; their GPS was ineffective because Death Valley is so remote; everything looked the same, so they couldn’t find their way back.
The section “Terribly Wrong” includes little description of the women’s feelings, yet their emotions are easy to detect. How does Lewis achieve this? (author’s craft) By describing the situation the women were in, the author makes it possible for the reader to infer their feelings. For example, she writes, “They drove. And drove. And drove,” on separate lines to evoke the frustrating and scary feeling of becoming lost. Lewis also describes the GPS giving the women what turn out to be incorrect instructions “with cool certainty.” You can infer how frustrated and alarmed the women must have felt to realize they could not trust the calm voice of their GPS. Lewis also provides details that make it easy for the reader to imagine being in the women’s position as their car “sputtered to a stop” under a dark sky full of stars—the reader can infer how isolated and frightened the women must have felt.
In the section “One in a Million,” why does the author include the paragraph that starts “The human body is not made to withstand . . . ”? (text structure) This paragraph provides information about the effects of heat on the body. This helps readers understand what Donna, Gina, and Jenny were going through physically and just how much danger they were in.
What can you infer about how the three women helped one another survive? (inference) You can infer that the women helped one another survive by working as a team and by offering one another encouragement. Gina went to look for signs of life while Donna and Jenny gathered pine needles and cacti. Gina convinced her mother to try starting the car again. Donna cared for Gina when she got sick with dehydration and exhaustion. None of them gave up.
As a class, discuss the following questions.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

What role did luck play in the women’s survival? What choices did they make that also helped them survive? The women were lucky that their car started again the morning after it had stopped, and that they found a campsite, which provided enough food, water, and shelter to keep them alive. They were lucky that Tyler Johns and Scott Steele decided to make one more pass in their helicopter before giving up. The women also took numerous steps that helped them survive. Donna had stocked the car with supplies, showing that she knew to plan for the unexpected. They gathered nutrient-rich pine needles. They also left their car in the road so it could be seen, which helped Johns and Steele find them.
What crucial role did other people play in helping the women to survive? The women would not have survived if not for the intervention of people outside Death Valley. Donna’s daughter Sky suspected something was wrong and managed to figure out that her mother had been at Scotty’s Castle, Death Valley. Sky contacted the California Highway Patrol, which ultimately found and saved the women.

3. WRITE ABOUT IT: KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS (45 MINUTES)

Have students complete the Featured Skill Activity: Key Ideas and Details. This activity prepares them to respond to the writing prompt on page 10 in the printed magazine and at the bottom of the digital story page:

Survival stories often demonstrate the power of resilience and problem-solving. How did these traits help the women survive in Death Valley? Answer in a well-organized essay. Use text evidence.

Alternatively, have students choose a task from the Choice Board, a menu of culminating tasks. (Our Choice Board options include the writing prompt from the magazine, differentiated versions of the writing prompt, and additional creative ways for students to demonstrate their understanding of a story or article.)

Have students complete the Featured Skill Activity: Key Ideas and Details. This activity prepares them to respond to the writing prompt on page 10 in the printed magazine and at the bottom of the digital story page:

Survival stories often demonstrate the power of resilience and problem-solving. How did these traits help the women survive in Death Valley? Answer in a well-organized essay. Use text evidence.

Alternatively, have students choose a task from the Choice Board, a menu of culminating tasks. (Our Choice Board options include the writing prompt from the magazine, differentiated versions of the writing prompt, and additional creative ways for students to demonstrate their understanding of a story or article.)

4. WRITING SPOTLIGHT: DESCRIPTIVE WRITING (15 MINUTES)

Project the Writing Spotlight: Descriptive Writing activity, available in the Resources Tab, on your whiteboard for a mini-lesson on descriptive writing, using mentor sentences from the article. Read and discuss Slides 1-4 as a class. Answers should be similar to:
- Slide 2: hot and dry; “hottest place on Earth,” “searing heat,” “sucks the air,” “scorches,” “bone-dry,” “shrivel into mummies,” “extreme,” and “inferno”
- Slide 3: Details about Death Valley’s effects on the human body are missing from Ed’s version. Lewis likely started her article the way she did to impress upon readers just how dangerous of a situation the three women were in. Plus, Lewis’s description evokes an emotional reaction that Ed’s version does not.
- Slide 4: The passage on the left contains greater detail and more evocative writing. Lewis uses verbs and details to bring the scene she is describing to life in a way the passage on the right does not. For example, the passage on the left says “Rocky snowcapped mountains jut thousands of feet into the air,” while the passage on the right says “It has mountains.”
Have students complete the You Try It on Slide 5 on their own. Then ask volunteers to share their sentences.
- Answers will vary. Possible answer: “And then they saw it—a splash of glorious green in a sea of desolate brown. It was a stand of trees off in the distance. In fact, they’d glimpsed the same trees the previous day, after they’d lost their way.”

Project the Writing Spotlight: Descriptive Writing activity, available in the Resources Tab, on your whiteboard for a mini-lesson on descriptive writing, using mentor sentences from the article. Read and discuss Slides 1-4 as a class. Answers should be similar to:
- Slide 2: hot and dry; “hottest place on Earth,” “searing heat,” “sucks the air,” “scorches,” “bone-dry,” “shrivel into mummies,” “extreme,” and “inferno”
- Slide 3: Details about Death Valley’s effects on the human body are missing from Ed’s version. Lewis likely started her article the way she did to impress upon readers just how dangerous of a situation the three women were in. Plus, Lewis’s description evokes an emotional reaction that Ed’s version does not.
- Slide 4: The passage on the left contains greater detail and more evocative writing. Lewis uses verbs and details to bring the scene she is describing to life in a way the passage on the right does not. For example, the passage on the left says “Rocky snowcapped mountains jut thousands of feet into the air,” while the passage on the right says “It has mountains.”
Have students complete the You Try It on Slide 5 on their own. Then ask volunteers to share their sentences.
- Answers will vary. Possible answer: “And then they saw it—a splash of glorious green in a sea of desolate brown. It was a stand of trees off in the distance. In fact, they’d glimpsed the same trees the previous day, after they’d lost their way.”

5. SUPPORT FOR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS

These questions are designed to help students respond to the text at a level that’s right for them.

Yes/No Questions

Ask students to demonstrate comprehension with a very simple answer.

Is Death Valley a hot place? Yes, it is.
Is Death Valley National Park a popular place to visit? Yes, it is.
Did Gina, Donna, and Jenny reach the Racetrack? No, they didn’t.
Did the women’s GPS help them find their way out of the park? No, it didn’t.
Did the women survive? Yes, they did.

Either/Or Questions

Encourage students to use language from the question in their answer.

Is it better to visit Death Valley in the summer months or the winter months? It is better to visit Death Valley in the winter months.
Is Death Valley a dry place or a rainy place? Death Valley is a very dry place.
Who alerted CHP about the missing women, Sky or Lizard Lee? Sky alerted CHP about the missing women.
Did CHP search for the women using a helicopter or a car? CHP searched for the women using a helicopter.
Did the women spend three hours in the wilderness or three nights in the wilderness? The women spent three nights in the wilderness.

Short-Answer Questions

Challenge students to produce simple answers on their own.

Why is it important to bring a paper map on any wilderness adventure? Devices that have GPS, like our phones and the women’s vehicle in the story, don’t always work in remote places or places with a lot of trees and mountains.
What is one thing that helped the women survive? The women found a campsite that provided food, water, and shelter.

Language-Acquisition Springboard: Learn words related to hot temperature.

Review and discuss words related to hot temperatures used in the article. These words are often used when talking about cooking or fire:

sear (“searing heat”)
scorch (“scorches the bottoms of your feet”)
sizzle (“sand dunes sizzle”)
burn (“the ground burned their feet”)
blaze (“a blaze of stars lit up the night sky”)

Additional words not in the article:

boil
bake
blister
steam
scald

These questions are designed to help students respond to the text at a level that’s right for them.

Yes/No Questions

Ask students to demonstrate comprehension with a very simple answer.

Is Death Valley a hot place? Yes, it is.
Is Death Valley National Park a popular place to visit? Yes, it is.
Did Gina, Donna, and Jenny reach the Racetrack? No, they didn’t.
Did the women’s GPS help them find their way out of the park? No, it didn’t.
Did the women survive? Yes, they did.

Either/Or Questions

Encourage students to use language from the question in their answer.

Is it better to visit Death Valley in the summer months or the winter months? It is better to visit Death Valley in the winter months.
Is Death Valley a dry place or a rainy place? Death Valley is a very dry place.
Who alerted CHP about the missing women, Sky or Lizard Lee? Sky alerted CHP about the missing women.
Did CHP search for the women using a helicopter or a car? CHP searched for the women using a helicopter.
Did the women spend three hours in the wilderness or three nights in the wilderness? The women spent three nights in the wilderness.

Short-Answer Questions

Challenge students to produce simple answers on their own.

Why is it important to bring a paper map on any wilderness adventure? Devices that have GPS, like our phones and the women’s vehicle in the story, don’t always work in remote places or places with a lot of trees and mountains.
What is one thing that helped the women survive? The women found a campsite that provided food, water, and shelter.

Language-Acquisition Springboard: Learn words related to hot temperatures.

Review and discuss words related to hot temperatures used in the article. These words are often used when talking about cooking or fire:

sear (“searing heat”)
scorch (“scorches the bottoms of your feet”)
sizzle (“sand dunes sizzle”)
burn (“the ground burned their feet”)
blaze (“a blaze of stars lit up the night sky”)

Additional words not in the article:

boil
bake
blister
steam
scald

CONNECTED READINGS

Other survival stories from the Scope archives:

Narrative Nonfiction: “Disaster in Space”
Narrative Nonfiction: “Stranded at Sea”
Narrative Nonfiction: “Trapped in a Cave”
Drama: Disaster on the Ice

Other survival stories from the Scope archives:

Narrative Nonfiction: “Disaster in Space”
Narrative Nonfiction: “Stranded at Sea”
Narrative Nonfiction: “Trapped in a Cave”
Drama: Disaster on the Ice

Text-to-Speech

Lost in Death Valley

How Does GPS Work?

How Does GPS Work?

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

Table of Contents

1. Prepare to Read

2. Read and Discuss

3. Write About It

4. Writing Spotlight

5. Support for Multilingual Learners

6. Connected Readings

1. PREPARE TO READ (20 MINUTES)

2. READ AND DISCUSS (45 MINUTES)

3. WRITE ABOUT IT: KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS (45 MINUTES)

4. WRITING SPOTLIGHT: DESCRIPTIVE WRITING (15 MINUTES)

5. SUPPORT FOR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS

CONNECTED READINGS

Help/Support

Help/Support

About Us

About Us

Subscriber Information

Subscriber Information

Lost in Death Valley

How Does GPS Work?

How Does GPS Work?

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

Table of Contents

1. Prepare to Read 2. Read and Discuss 3. Write About It 4. Writing Spotlight 5. Support for Multilingual Learners 6. Connected Readings

1. PREPARE TO READ (20 MINUTES)

2. READ AND DISCUSS (45 MINUTES)

3. WRITE ABOUT IT: KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS (45 MINUTES)

4. WRITING SPOTLIGHT: DESCRIPTIVE WRITING (15 MINUTES)

5. SUPPORT FOR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS

CONNECTED READINGS

Help/Support

Help/Support

About Us

About Us

Subscriber Information

Subscriber Information

Connect with Us

1. Prepare to Read

2. Read and Discuss

3. Write About It

4. Writing Spotlight

5. Support for Multilingual Learners

6. Connected Readings