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Erin Montgomery 2015 Teacher on the Trail
This past weekend teachers, mushers, and even kids attended the Midwest Sled Dog Symposium and Iditarod Teacher Conference in Curtis, Michigan. The symposium, hosted by Nature’s Kennel, had breakout sessions for both mushers and teachers. The teacher presenters came from around the country; Nancy Wendt and Linda Fenton from Wisconsin, Jen Reiter from Maryland, and me, from …
Research to find the answer to this week’s trivia question. Every dog on the musher’s team has a job to do. What are names of the team positions for the dogs that are pulling the sled? Click here for the answer.
If you are following our journey of checkpoints, you know we were just at Yentna Station. Our journey will take us up the trail 30 miles to Skwentna. Welcome to Skwentna Checkpoint. Most of the trail to Skwentna is on the Yentna River. The population in 2010, the latest census, was 37. Skwentna is …
Alaska is our largest state. In fact, it is ten times larger than Iowa (my state). Since my class learns a lot about Alaska, I think it is important for them to see just how large of a state Alaska is. We study many different countries in my classroom. Each time we get to a …
Have your class research the number of checkpoints that are on the Iditarod Trail. There are two routes on the Iditarod Trail, the Northern Route and the Southern Route. On even years, the trail takes the Northern Route and on odd years the trail goes the Southern Route. Click here for the answer.
The “Restart,” the official start of the Iditarod. The Iditarod officially begins on Willow Lake in Willow, Alaska. At 2:00 p.m. on the first Sunday after the first Saturday in March, dogs and mushers begin their journey to Nome. It is hard to fathom that just 8 months earlier this lake was a peaceful lake with …
Have your students research the “Father of the Iditarod.” Who is he? When did he start the race? Why did he start the race? Did he ever race in the Iditarod himself? Does he have family members still racing? Click here for the answer. Visit the Online Iditarod Museum for additional information on the …
The definition of volunteer is a person who performs a service willingly and without pay. There are thousands of people who volunteer each year for the Iditarod. Without these many volunteers, there is absolutely no way this race could happen. The journey of a volunteer does not just take place during the few weeks of …
As part of the Iditarod Summer Camp for Educators, we are given the opportunity to hook up with a rookie musher and follow them throughout the year. My class is working with Cindy Abbott. The students are very excited to have the opportunity to follow and communicate with her this year. Our first task was …
Have your students estimate how much snow must be brought into Anchorage for the Ceremonial Start? Where does this snow come from? How many streets are used in Anchorage for the Ceremonial Start? Click here for the answer to the trivia question.