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Teach and Learn
Engaging lessons based on Insider video clips.
Our four-legged correspondents write for all ages..
Collection of all things Iditarod.
Latest Teach and Learn Posts
Welcome back to a new school year! The 2022 race is the 50th running of the Iditarod. The anthology, Iditarod: The First Ten Years, was compiled to preserve the stories of those who launched The Last Great Race. The goal of the Old Iditarod Gang was to have this book for classrooms to use as …
Attention 5th – 12th Grade Artists, Teachers, & Parents: We have a special art contest just for you & your students! We are thrilled to announce our second annual student art contest to create the 2022 50th Anniversary Iditarod Trail Mail judged by official Iditarod artist Jon Van Zyle and artist Jona Van Zyle. What …
As we get closer to halfway through summer, students often need serious inspiration to be motivated to read. The books we have on our Elementary Fiction and Elementary Nonfiction lists are bursting with tales of inspiration, daring, adventure, and acceptance. With beloved characters like Balto and Togo and inspiring new stories like Sled Dog School, …
Summer is ticking along and kids have all kinds of activities going on, but there are always those moments for relaxing, filling time between the water park and the summer movie series, and riding in the car to the next great vacation destination. Or use reading goals to incentivize reading for your student; they will …
The idea of awarding a red lantern to the final finisher in a dog race apparently got its start during the Fur Rendezvous races in 1953 as a joke. When the the Iditarod came into existence, the tradition continued. The award has come to represent the preservation and grit needed to finish the race. The …
This winter looked a little different in downtown Anchorage than it normally does. With the Covid restrictions that were in place, sled dogs were not seen downtown taking off from Fourth Avenue for the start of the Fur Rendezvous or the Iditarod Ceremonial Start in March as they traditionally do. As a way to keep …
On February 7, the Iditarod Education Department launched the new digital version of a favorite Iditarod classroom activity, an Iditaread. Embracing technology and realizing the need for virtual and digital tools for learning, the education department and our technology partners developed version 1 of the IditaRead Digital. And you, our Iditarod teachers, responded immediately and …
This is one of my favorite new lessons that I have added to my Iditarod interdisciplinary unit. Programming and coding are two skills that have become much more prevalent in the world of education, and students’ skills with technology are beginning at earlier stages in their development. Adding coding as a part of our …
Something that every Iditarod Rookie looks forward to is “earning his or her buckle.” Each Iditarod finisher is awarded a brass finisher’s belt buckle upon the completion of their first race signaling that they are a rookie no more! In the early days of the race, the Nome Kennel club wanted to do something to …
One of the iconic images of the Iditarod is the Burled Arch that stands at the end of the epic journey the teams take across the state of Alaska. But, did you know the current Burled Arch is actually the second arch in Iditarod History? Using the Source With Students: Display the historic photo above …