Leading up to the Iditarod is such a fun and exciting time! The longer sun-filled days, the land covered in glistening snow, and the local buzz of excitement about the upcoming race is contagious. Our last day of learning at the Iditarod Teacher’s Conference was loaded with the most incredible speakers I’ve heard in a very long time. We launched the morning with Michael Anderson of the Danish Special Forces. He spoke of his time patroling Northeast Greenland and Iceland with his team of dogs and what life was like. We learned how the dogs are significantly larger, how they are bread based on trip grades, how they do not ride the sled but ski beside it, and also how they are on patrol virtually alone for a long and lonely 4 months at a time. They go out with teams of 13 dogs, specifically 10 males and 3 females. He spoke of how levelheaded they must be as every decision, even how your boots are tied, can have lasting consequences. Their trips are based on 75 years of latitudinal and longitudinal routes mapped out and planned for. To say these incredible men must rely on their loyal lead dogs is an understatement. Our last guest speaker of the day was the legendary Jeff King. We laughed as he told stories of not only his past races but his latest ones as well. What a storyteller! It was a light and more laid back time. The highlight was definitely his tale of being chased by a seal on the sea ice!
It was nice having a little time to explore this afternoon before the education team met at a local restaurant for a VIP dinner with some very lovely people. We all felt very lucky to have spent time with such a lively and likable group who helped us laugh for hours. We really enjoyed discussing the race and their excitement for the ceremonial and offical starts.
Lastly, I was able to cap off the day with a stroll down 4th Avenue as the snow lightly fell over the newly constructed arch. It was a wonderful day and I’m excited to see what tomorrow’s adventure has in store.
Lastly… here’s a few ideas!
- Landforms- Have students create a dictionary of landforms with a photo of each and definition, then putting them in ABC order.
- Literacy- Give students a short passage about the race. Use colored pencils or crayons to “highlight” nouns in one color, verbs in another.
- Lingo- Give them “L” words and then have them use a certain number of them in one sentence. (litter, lead dog, lines, logistics, long-distance, lowland, loyal, landscape, leash, lunge, legs, etc.)
- Landscape- Create Iditarod landscape pictures by using colored chalk and then smudging to soften the lines. Include things like mountains, rivers, tundra, and northern lights.
- Latitude and Longitude- Use the map of Alaska to learn and pinpoint locations using latitude and longitude coordinates.
