The Arts
Iditarod Mushers are naturally Design Thinkers. They are constantly thinking and looking for ways to make things more efficient, more cost-effective, more comfortable… safer, faster, easier. So why not give your students real life design challenges centered around problems that mushers face daily in their training and racing? The lesson plan features a challenge centered …
Mushers are constantly tinkering – working on ways to build better sleds, harnesses, cookers, dog jackets, etc… Your students are also natural tinkers too – always playing and fiddling around with found objects…. Why not mesh the two together with these Iditarod Inspired Tinker Tubs? Students will be provided materials to try to build various …
Each year, ‘The Iditarod Trail Song’ is sung in classrooms around the world. Watch this performance and listen to students in Maryland sing this song at their school program. 2018 – Spring (with Hobo Jim granting permission) Here’s the words to the chant that the students recite prior to singing. In the land of the midnight sun, …
Each year the Teacher on the Trail™ gets to create their own patch and mine has finally come in! My patch was designed by my 4th grade student, Libby McMahon. Libby’s design was one of 35 submitted, and it was selected as the winner by the 3rd-8th graders at Saint Andrew. Libby’s design included three important things—an …
Herb Brambley, 2010 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ Enjoy these musical arrangements by Herb Brambley. Herb is a K-6 environmental education and technology teacher at Southern Fulton Elementary School in Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania. He is also a part time grant writer for the district and has been instrumental in helping the school secure more than $115,000 …
Music is enjoyed by so many people across the world. From rock to pop, and country to classical, music is all around us. Music can tell a story, convey a feeling, or simply help us relax. The music in the Insider videos help us catch the feel of the race, while listening to Hobo Jim …
In my class we have been learning about the differences between perspective and point of view in our writing and in the stories we read, and how they help us understand someone’s experiences in a different and unique way. We wanted to write about the point of view of the different participants in the Iditarod: dedicated …
I have spent a great deal of time getting to know our 2016 Iditarod mushers this year. My special focus has been to share the stories of the rookie mushers, and their personal journey to the starting line. Like many teachers we have a poetry unit each year, but I wanted to find an Iditarod …
One of the special benefits of the Jr. Iditarod is that the young mushers bond with each other in a unique and lasting way. In the woods at Yentna Station, after taking great care of their dogs for the night, they bonded over a campfire and shared trail stories. It was remarkable to see, …
What do mushers see on the trail? In art classes, the Iditarod and the study of Alaska and the Arctic have been a special project this year. The students at Eanes Elementary School researched the geographic landscape and animals found along the trail and created amazing clay dioramas to represent what they found. The …