Jen Reiter 2014 Teacher on the Trail

2014 Teacher on the Trail Jen Reiter’s Most Memorable Moment

Every teacher who has served as the Iditarod Teacher on the Trail has the same reaction to the question, “Share your most memorable moment from the trail.” The reaction? An immediate sigh followed by an utter feeling of defeat as you know you will never be able to do your journey justice with one memorable …

Going North – The Rush Is On!

In September of 1898, the “Three Lucky Swedes” discovered gold on Anvil Creek, founded the Nome Mining District, and started a new rush to the North.  By 1898, Nome had a population of 10,000, many of whom had arrived for the Klondike Gold Rush.  When gold was discovered on the beaches of Nome, the rush …

Multiplication Challenge

This lesson is a fun way to have your kids review multiplying by two digit numbers, while introducing them to the role of vets and vet checks in the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. The kids will take on the role of a volunteer vet and complete a series of challenging word problems as they make …

“Mathing” Down the Trail – A 165 Page Booklet of Lessons Geared to Common Core Standards, by Jen Reiter, Iditarod Math Teacher

Lessons in this math packet can be used to add rigor to your math curriculum.  Lessons are geared for grades 2 – 6.  With adaptation, the lessons can be used with students in other grades.  What are you waiting for?  Get on the trail and fill your sled with ways to increase math scores while …

I Guess It’s Finally Time…

This is my last post at the 2014 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail.  Today I’m headed back to Alaska for the Summer Camp for Teachers.  I’ve got a last few bucket items I will check off my list on this trip – visiting the Seavey kennel in Seward, visiting Jeff King’s kennel and horseback riding …

Behind the Scenes

Part of me lives at the Smithsonian now… And my students’ artwork is there too… Talk about being honored and proud! I recently had the honor of visiting the Smithsonian’s American History Museum and taking a “backstage” tour with Jane Rogers, curator of sports.  You may remember that I first met Jane two years ago …

We Want You!

We Want You…   To be the next Iditarod Teacher on the Trail! As my time starts to wind down, I want to take a minute to encourage anyone and everyone who has ever thought about applying to be the Teacher on the Trail to go for it! It honestly has beenthe most rewarding professional …

Summing it All Up

We summed up our year of Iditarod fun the same way we started it… with the Quilt.  If you remember, our class hosted one of the Iditarod Travelling Quits.  You can read that original post here:  LINK To summarize our experiences, we decided to create our own quilt square to be added to a new …

Robitarod!

So this year everything I’ve touched has gone to the dogs… and that includes my Robotics Club! I work with a group of fourteen fourth and fifth graders once a week after school using Lego Mindstorms to begin to explore programing and basic robotics.  We usually spend the fall semester learning how to program and …

Giving a Hero His Due

I was recently sent a copy of a book to preview, and just today ordered a class set of them for my classroom for next year! Dog Diaries #4: Togo by Kate Klimo is a fantastic story of Togo who, according to many historians, should get the most credit for the success of the 1925 …