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The Iditarod Classroom Adventure!

Energize your classroom by connecting your curriculum to Iditarod.

by Diane Johnson

11/05/2007

 November is an exciting month for classrooms around the world as they as they begin to check www.iditarod.com to see which mushers have signed up to run the 2008 Iditarod.  To read the bios about the mushers who have signed up, click on the menu tab, "2008 Iditarod" and then click, "Musher Listing".

Iditarod begins on the first Saturday in March each year and ends when the last musher arrives in Nome.  The race is run on one of two trails. In the even numbered years, such as 2008, it follows a northern route.  On the odd years, such as in 2009, the race follows a southern route.  LEARN MORE about the trail.

Many educators are planning their curriculum units, aligning their lessons to the state content and cultural standards, and starting to introduce the race as a topic to capture the interest of the students.   To learn about educational connections, the FOR TEACHERS section of the website provides many ideas. Additional helpful hints include: 

• Discover curriculum connections at the Teacher on the Trail^TM section of the website. Last summer, 2008 Teacher on the Trail^TM Jane Blaile, Phoenix, Arizona, began placing lesson ideas on the website. All teachers, regardless of their grade level or teaching area will find ideas that can be used in the classroom. Each month, Jane will place more ideas on website. During the race, Jane will be flying from checkpoint to checkpoint with the Iditarod Air Force and reporting her observations and experiences, as well as providing lesson connections for students. Don't miss Jane's lessons and journal!
• Looking for a Service Learning project? "Books to the Trail" is a project that brings new books to students in Alaska. For more information, read about this and other projects.
• Do you have a unique Iditarod art project that would make a great table top or centerpiece? Get involved in our service learning project and submit an idea for this project. Your students could design and create the table decorations that are used at the Mushers' Banquet that is held in Anchorage prior to the start of the race. CLICK HERE!
• Are you looking for a musher tracking form for students to use during the race? Are you looking for ideas on writing to mushers? For more information, CLICK HERE!
• Follow the journey of the Iditarod Traveling Quilt. CLICK HERE!
• Consult all areas of the For Teachers section of the website to discover information about our teaching projects including our Iditarod Ready! Storm Ready! curriculum materials. CLICK HERE!
• Contact us if you have questions or comments: djohnson@iditarod.com
• Are you an Iditarod Insider subscriber? Iditarod Insider is an engaging teaching tool that brings not only the sights of the race to the classroom --- but the sounds of the race. Each day during the race, video segments are placed on Iditarod Insider, providing the subscriber with race video reports from the checkpoints. A library of past race and historical video segments provide a great deal of information about the race. Iditarod Insider contains an educational materials section that hosts curriculum connections for pre K- high school students in all curriculum areas. The fly by map is a favorite tool of students. No doubt about it, Iditarod Insider is a tool that enhances the learning and is a lot of fun. To learn more about Iditarod Insider, CLICK HERE!

Are you new to using Iditarod as a classroom teaching tool?

A mere glance at the variety of lesson ideas and projects can be overwhelming to the educator.  Where does one start?  How does one get connected to the race?  Follow these easy steps:

1.       Choose specific standards or a curriculum area as your focal point.  Search through our curriculum materials for ideas that match your focus area and are relevant to what your students need to learn.

2.       Discover ideas from our Teacher on the Trail^TM Jane Blaile and follow her during the race.  Her journal will provide you with insight into the race.  Introduce your students to Teacher on the Trail^TM Jane soon!

3.       Make a literature and writing connection by choosing Iditarod related books to read to the students or for the students to read on their own.  Need information?  CLICK HERE!

4.        Plan on following mushers during the race.  "Adopt" 3 or 4 mushers to follow as a class or have each student adopt their own favorite musher to follow.  Check the website many times a day during the race and record the musher's progress on a map.  Have students write about the musher and the race.

5.       Contact the Iditarod Education Department and let us know you are using the race with students.  We'd enjoy hearing about your lessons.  If you have questions, contact us.  We are happy to assist you any way we can!  djohnson@iditarod.com

6.       After the race, reflect on what worked with your students and the academic progress of your students.  Begin planning lessons for the next year.

7.       Consider joining us at an Iditarod Teacher's Conference.  For details, CLICK HERE!  Iditarod holds two conferences in Alaska each year, one in June and one in February.  Both conferences are excellent opportunities for educators to earn university credit while learning first hand about the Iditarod.

Iditarod is a tried and true teaching tool that is used by teachers in preschool through university level. Teachers from Alaska and around the world have discovered that Iditarod ‘hooks' students into a learning adventure that empowers students to be academically successful while being engaged in adventure learning projects.  Iditarod is an adventure learning opportunity, allowing students to practice basic curriculum while learning about a real event in real time via technology, and provides many opportunities for students to transition the learning to their own level or community.  Iditarod is more than a race.  Iditarod is an educational and motivational tool that results in academic success. 

 Don't miss the opportunity to join us for the adventure!