“Onekama’s fifth grade students have been watching the Internet and reading about Ed Hommer. Ed became a part of our reading unit ‘Journey to Adventure.’ After reading his Internet journal, the students would write in their own journals. Below are some of the things the kids wrote on our web site.” — Mrs. Barb Eldridge, Teacher

Student comments: “We are following the quest of Onekama graduate, Ed Hommer, as he climbs to the summit of Mount Everest. Several times a week we check the Internet to see what is happening on the mountain. After reading, we discuss our ideas and put them on paper or in our own journal. Reading aloud what we have written helps us. Our partner can make suggestions. (We also hear our own mistakes and fix them.) After we discuss the topic and brainstorm for ideas, we begin putting our sentences on paper.”

Ed Hommer & Matthew Henson by Lucie
Matthew Hanson and Ed Hommer are both good adventurers. They like to go to cold places trying to be first. Ed Hommer wants to be the first to be a double amputee person to climb Mount Everest. Matthew Hanson was the first black man to get to the North Pole. But, Matthew Hanson went in 1908 and Ed Hommer is there right now. They are both really brave explorers.

Adventurers by Alexi
Matthew Henson and Ed Hommer are both adventurers. They both went or are at cold places. Matthew went with Eskimos, had dog sleds, went in 1908 and went to the North Pole. Ed is climbing in 2001, is a double amputee, at Mount Everest and is hiking.

Ed Hommer & Matthew Henson by Mallory
Matthew Henson and Ed Hommer are alike in many ways. One is they are adventurers. They both explored cold places. Also they were trying to be first. Matthew Henson was trying to be the first to reach the North Pole. Ed Hommer is trying to be the first double amputee to climb Mount Everest. Now I will talk about how they are different. Matthew Henson was trying to reach the North Pole and Ed Hommer is trying to climb Mount Everest. Matthew Henson did his exploration in 1908 and Ed Hommer is doing his in 2001. That’s what I know about Mattew Henson and Ed Hommer.

He Tried Really Hard by Jake G.
On October 4, strong winds hit Ed’s base camp in Tibet. He is really nervous that he’s not going to make it. I think he is doing a great thing because it encourages people to try new things. It is really cool that Ed used to go to Onekama schools, the same school I’m in. It would be cool if Ed came to the school. I found out it’s true he’s not going to make it. I saw that he wrote on the Internet in his journal was that it was a struggle to try to get there. So they’re putting this to a rest for now. That’s too bad, I thought he would make it. Well I think he tried really hard to make it.

Ed Is Brave and Courageous by Mallory
Ed Hommer is very interesting. He was born right here in Manistee, and was an Onekama graduate. He now lives in Duluth, Minnesota. Him and his wife have three kids. Their names are Carmen, Mitch, and Garrison. Ed was born on November 19, 1955. He is 46 almost 47 years old. Ed wanted to be the first double amputee to climb Mount Everest. Ed is traveling in a group. His climbers are Scott Anderson, Dan Bronstein, Tom Halverson, Brian McCullough, Kelly Raymond, Jim Stugis, Karl Swanson, and Jim Wickwire. I think Ed is brave and courageous. To climb Mount Everest you would have to be brave. Ed is a great person for lots of things like when he built that memorial for the friends he lost.

Ed Is Very Brave by Braeden
Ed used maps and walkie-talkies and Morse code to communicate with the camp. Ed carried a lot of supplies. Some of Ed’s friends died in the airplane crashes. Ed made a memorial for his friends who died so he could remember them. Now the weather is bad and Ed has to turn back. I don’t blame him. I think Ed is very brave. Ed is a really good guy. I hope someday Ed will try again later.

Ed Hommer Is a Very Special Person by Anna
Ed Hommer is a very special person. He’s trying to be the first double amputee to climb Mt. Everest. His legs got frost bit a while ago and he had to get his legs amputated. Now he has to walk on fake legs. I’m not exactly sure how or when he got his legs frost bit. I think it would feel weird to have to walk on fake legs. I also think that it’s amazing that he graduated from this school and he was born here in Manistee on November 19, 1955. I think it was brave of him to keep going after the terrorist attack. It was really nice of him to put up a memorial for the people that died in the plane crash. Most people say that he didn’t succeed, but I think he succeeded in getting as far as he is now. And you have to remember that he is a double amputee. I still think that it is an amazing thing that he climbed that far, even if he doesn’t reach his goal.

Mountain Climber by Jacob B.
Ed Hommer has been a mountain climber for twenty-five years. Right now he is on Mount Everest. Ed Hommer is having some trouble on the mountain because of storms. I think that Ed is not going to make it to the top of the mountain by the time he wanted to because today is October 9, 2001 and he wanted to get there on the 10th, but he has no chance of getting there by tomorrow. I still hope he finishes his journey.

Ed Hommer Went to Our School by Lucie
I think Ed Hommer is very amazing. He tried to climb Mt. Everest and he is double amputee. I don’t think I could make it up the mountain because it’s too cold. Ed Hommer climbed 26,000 feet. That’s really high for me. Ed Hommer is climbing down the mountain right now. I wish he could have made it. Did you know Ed Hommer went to our school? That means a lot of our teachers have met him. I wish I could meet him someday so I could get his autograph. I might want to be a mountain climber someday.

More Excerpts:
by Travis
I learned that yaks live in the mountains at high altitudes. I learned that there are glaciers on Mt. Everest. I also learned that Mt. Everest has a lot of crevasses and it is 21,000 feel tall.

by Erin
I think it’s amazing that Ed has two fake legs and he’s climbing a mountain. I feel good that he is not sitting in a wheel chair feeling bad for himself. It’s awesome that he graduated from Onekama! He was smart to take someone with him that could take care of his legs.

by Levi
Today I read that Jim Wickwire left on the 6th of September because of high altitude headaches, and because he is short of breath when he is climbing. Some people camp out in tents that have solar lights.

 

See contest entries from Altoona Middle School (Altoona, WI), Hillcrest Elementary School (Delphi, IN) and Kimberly Lane Elementary (Plymouth, MN).

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