**Feel free to scroll to the bottom if you want to jump straight to the attached math lesson plan for September!

Learning how to read a map and covering basic US geography is my favorite way to start the school year in social studies. Students look at maps more often than they realize such as looking at a map of the United States while checking the weather or looking at a GPS while riding in the car. I like to start with the basics, which cover the map title, scale, legend, etc. Then I have students navigate from one location to the next on the map. When my classroom was self-contained, I would read The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau during reading class with my fifth graders. Many books, such as this one, have a map at the beginning of the book that helps students visualize the location and its surroundings.

World Map with a Different Perspective. Photo Credit: Maggie Hamilton

I have several maps posted around my classroom, but my favorite is a world map that shows the international date line in the center. Students are most familiar with a map that has North and South America featured in the center, but this one shows the Americas on the far right. When a student fully understands how to read a map, they will look at the world around them with a different perspective.

The lesson for this month focuses on learning about cardinal directions while using a map of Iditarod’s southern route. It is geared toward lower elementary; however, older students could benefit from the review or this could be mixed into a math lesson by combining the cardinal and inter-cardinal directions with angle measures. I have created several attachments, including a hands-on activity for small groups and an individual assignment/assessment. I color coded several checkpoints on the map in the lesson (adapted from the Anchorage Daily News), but the map is not specific to the lesson and could be used for many different lessons using the Iditarod. Access the full lesson here!

Passing Trail Markers. Photo Credit: Terrie Hanke

It is important for mushers to know which direction to travel between checkpoints. Did you know that there are about 13,000 trail markers placed along the trail that help to guide the mushers? Stay tuned for an upcoming lesson about these trail markers and the process for placing them!

Please send me an email and let me know other ways that you could make this lesson cross-curricular in your classroom: emailtheteacher@iditarod.com. I hope to hear from you!