Tips and Tools

Filling the Dog Yard!

NOTE:  This lesson plan was updated August 2023 to reflect active links and current race information. One more idea for room set up as the summer starts to wind down…. I am calling my classroom the 3A Dog Yard these days…. for reasons that I am sure you can understand!  To get my students in …

IditaRead Finisher’s Certificate

Your IditaRead “mushers” may be crossing the finish line soon. Here are the PDFs and jpeg for a black and white or a color finisher’s certificate for you to present to your finishers. Additionally, we want to thank the over 1,200 teachers that signed up for the digital IditaRead program.  The suggestion box is live …

Get I.C.E.d ~ Become an Iditarod Certified Educator!

The Iditarod Certified Educator program equips teachers to best represent the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race by providing educators accurate and factual history of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, an authentic background in dog sledding in indigenous Alaskan communities, and instruction in writing quality Iditarod themed standards-based lessons.The program is a four-month-long professional development …

2023 Musher Banquet Centerpiece Project for Students

Teaching Volunteerism The Iditarod takes place because thousands of volunteers play major roles in every aspect of the race and the events that surround it.  Your students can join the team as official “Classroom Volunteers”! Join the annual musher banquet table centerpiece project!   Classrooms will create and send the decorations that will be featured …

Memories

Greetings, Teachers! Spring is in the air and temperatures are rising. While basking in the sun and taking an afternoon nap the other day on the front porch, my buddy, Topaz, and I overheard sweet music coming from the house. Capturing our attention and echoing dreamily in our ears was a set of lyrics from …

Iditarod: The First Ten Years – Reading Informational Text

Following our Teacher on the Trail’s theme of the Iditarod Air Force, this month’s lesson prompt, based on the book “The First Ten Years”, is for pages 114 – 115, 117 – 118. “The History of the Early Iditarod Air Force” by Rob Stapleton. The comparison text is “Iditarod Air Force: lifeblood of the race” …

Iditarod: The First Ten Years – September 2021

Welcome back to a new school year! The 2022 race is the 50th running of the Iditarod. The anthology, Iditarod: The First Ten Years, was compiled to preserve the stories of those who launched The Last Great Race. The goal of the Old Iditarod Gang was to have this book for classrooms to use as …

Iditarod Sleds: From 1973 to Today!

Sleds are an essential piece of equipment in the Iditarod. Typically, 50-80 sleds start the race and even more are shipped down the trail for use later in the race. Sleds have evolved since the first race in 1973, and mushers often build their sleds themselves. The sleds first used in Iditarod were long freight …

Pick a Musher: Fantasy Draft Style

With the way school is working while we gear up for the 2021 Iditarod Race, many of the tried and true staples of our Iditarod curriculums aren’t going to work the way they always have. In some ways, this will help push us to find new and possibly better ways to do things. For years, …

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race: 101 What you need to know!

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is also called the “Last Great Race on Earth®” This page gives basic answers to the 5Ws of the race – who, what, when, where, and why. Follow the posted links for a wealth of current information. And have fun learning more and sharing this with your students.   …