![](https://iditarod.com/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-instagram.png"){kind=icon}
Martha Dobson 2011 Teacher on the Trail
Yentna Station Roadhouse 2.27.11, 4 degrees Temperature Updates Wasilla 2.26.11, 12 degrees, windchill -1 degree The Junior Iditarod started yesterday at Knik Lake, (say ka-nick) near the homestead of Joe Redington, Sr., Father of the Iditarod. The 14 -17 year old mushers, 14 total, raced to Yentna Station Roadhouse to spend their 10 hour layover around …
The thirty-fourth running of the Junior Iditarod race start is Saturday, February 26. The field of 14 mushers, ages 14-17 years old, departs Knik Lake at 10 a.m. with mushers leaving every 2 minutes. This 150 mile race from Knik Lake to Yentna and then to Willow is a qualifying race for the Iditarod, ending …
Temperature in Wasilla, high 32°F, winds 5 mph During my school visits the past two days, I’ve noticed that the schools are more than the place young people attend to learn. These buildings serve as community centers, a place for families and students to gather and take part in activities outside of school hours. At …
Temperature in Wasilla, late morning, 20°F, little wind Teachers want to know what works in the classroom to facilitate student learning and to achieve growth in their learning. The research-based document,What Works in Classroom Instruction by Robert Marzano, Barbara Gaddy, and Ceri Dean (http://www.leigh.cuhsd.org/teachers/pdf/Marzano_Strategies.pdf), is a good resource which explains the research behind classroom strategies and …
Temperature in Wasilla, high of 22, light winds Surrounded by the Chugach Mountains, we drove to Anchorage from Wasilla. I kept my eyes open for moose and eagles. A moose was spotted far off the road, as well as an eagle perched in a tree near Lake Hood in Anchorage. The eagle reminded me of the huge …
Temperature in Anchorage, 8 a.m. 14 °F Fill Your Sled is the theme of this year’s posts—fill your sled with ideas for your classroom, fill your sled with photographs, fill your sled with experiences to enrich your students’ learning. Today I filled my sled with a new experience—standing on the runners of a sled behind …
In my classroom, our study of poetry falls at the end of March. To ease the transition from the Iditarod and Alaska to poetry, I start with The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service. “There are strange things done in the midnight sun/By the men who moil for gold; The Arctic trails have their secret …
Honest dogs—I first came across those words in Gary Paulsen’s book, Woodsong, used to describe one of his dogs, Storm. Paulsen defined Storm as a dog who always worked, always pulled, ran many miles, and taught Gary many things about life. Curious about the phrase, I researched it by asking people who asked others about …
When I arrive in Alaska around February 22, I’ll post often to keep you in the loop about what I am doing and what is going on with the race. And, when the race starts March 6, I’ll post daily about the race and teachable moments. The NUMBER ONE question I’m asked is: “Don’t you …