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

Zoom Lens – Chukchi Dogs use Half Harness

It’s the harness that connects the dog power to the sled and there are a variety of harnesses out there. Mikhail Telpin uses a harness called the half harness. It’s really a musher, dog choice as to what harness is used. This style harness is good for preventing harness rub. It’s also sometimes used for …

Dropped Dogs Are…

  supervised, examined, kept safe, fed, loved on, and are the dogs that mushers drop from their teams when they arrive in checkpoints along the race. A dog can be dropped for a number of reasons–perhaps it has a sore wrist or shoulder, perhaps it isn’t feeling 100 %, perhaps it is running a temperature, …

LET THE RACE BEGIN!

Hi Boys and Girls, What an exciting day.  4th Avenue is full of snow, the dog trucks will be arriving soon and setting up for the day, the iditariders are beyond excited for the opportunity to ride in their favorite mushers sled and fans are waking up and looking forward to an exciting ceremonial start …

Forces of Flight Applied to My Sled

Lift, weight, thrust and drag are the four physical forces that make flight possible. Which of these physical forces can be applied to a dog sled as it glides along the trail? Teacher on the Trail™, Linda Fenton, posed that exact question to her third grade students while learning about and experimenting with the 4 …

Hello Texas!

The 2013 Winter Conference for Educators is now officially underway.  Teachers and presenters are gathered here from Alaska and the Lower 48 states.  New for the conference this year is presenter Barbara Cargill who is the chair of the State Board of Education in Texas.  Barbara is committed to Science curriculum in her state, and …

Zoom Lens – School with a View and a Teacher on the Trail

Shaw Elementary School outside of Wasilla, Alaska is a school with a view. The Chugach Mountains are visible beyond the school in this photo. Teacher on the Trail™, Linda Fenton, is presenting at five Mat-Su Valley Schools, including Shaw, prior to beginning her journey on the Iditarod Trail when the race begins on March 3rd. …

Use Your Fingers

Here is a cute, easy project for elementary students.  These dog teams were made using thumb and index fingerprints.  The sled is clip art.  Students added legs, facial features, and a gangline.  The idea for this piece of artwork was created by my friend and colleague, Missy Durrant.  Students in her class each made one …

Serum Run, the Rest of the Story

Back in January of 1925 there seemed to be an outbreak of tonsillitis in Nome – except tonsillitis is rarely fatal. Nome’s sick children were dying. With more research into the symptoms of the children, Dr. Curtis Welch realized Nome was on the brink of an epidemic that could take as many lives as the …

Triangle Poem

A Triangle Poem is a quick, easy poem students of any age can do.  The first line of the poem states the subject and an action.  Line two describes the action and the third line tells where the action takes place.  Ava’s poem in the picture is about the dogs on the Iditarod trail; some …

Choose A Musher

As the Iditarod Race quickly approaches (27 Days 6 Hours 26 Minutes  48 Seconds and counting so the clock at iditarod.com tells me) it is time to choose a musher.  There are a few different ways to do this.  The classrooms at my school – including the kitchen staff, office staff, custodian, and aides – …