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Curriculum
Combine the experience of world class videography of musher interviews, dogs, race footage, compilations, checkpoint action, dogs, pre and post musher interviews, veterinarians, dogs, wilderness vistas, and did I say dogs? Each month this article will have a standards based lesson idea connected to one of the Insider video clips. There will be ideas for …
Severe weather, sleep deprivation, and animal encounters are just a few of the challenges of participating in the Iditarod. In Gary Paulsen’s Woodsong, he recounts his adventures in completing the Last Great Race on Earth! This book of memoirs is great for upper elementary and middle school students. It gives students the opportunity to experience …
Music is enjoyed by so many people across the world. From rock to pop, and country to classical, music is all around us. Music can tell a story, convey a feeling, or simply help us relax. The music in the Insider videos help us catch the feel of the race, while listening to Hobo Jim …
In many parts of the country, including Chicago, fall is a season full of sports! Hockey season is just beginning, college and professional football are well under way, and major league baseball is nearing the 2016 World Series, in which the students of Saint Andrew School are hoping to see their neighborhood team go all …
In my class we have been learning about the differences between perspective and point of view in our writing and in the stories we read, and how they help us understand someone’s experiences in a different and unique way. We wanted to write about the point of view of the different participants in the Iditarod: dedicated …
I have spent a great deal of time getting to know our 2016 Iditarod mushers this year. My special focus has been to share the stories of the rookie mushers, and their personal journey to the starting line. Like many teachers we have a poetry unit each year, but I wanted to find an Iditarod …
One of the special benefits of the Jr. Iditarod is that the young mushers bond with each other in a unique and lasting way. In the woods at Yentna Station, after taking great care of their dogs for the night, they bonded over a campfire and shared trail stories. It was remarkable to see, …
What do mushers see on the trail? In art classes, the Iditarod and the study of Alaska and the Arctic have been a special project this year. The students at Eanes Elementary School researched the geographic landscape and animals found along the trail and created amazing clay dioramas to represent what they found. The …
In honor of Valentine’s Day and the Iditarod, my students and I worked together to write a special form of poetry called an ode. An ode is an exaggerated poem that celebrates something ordinary as extraordinary. They are great fun to write because they use figurative language, vivid verbs, expressive language, personification, and can be …
The Iditarod Summer Camp for Teachers is a remarkable opportunity to meet mushers at the volunteer picnic as they sign the dotted line and enter the Last Great Race on Earth®. I had the pleasure of meeting rookie musher Mary Helwig that day. I remember Mary casually mentioning to me that she had lost …