I was interested in presenting this lesson to my students as a way to celebrate the end of their state testing and to also introduce my students to the true meaning of self-sacrifice, commitment, survival, and endurance.  The project began with the documentary of Sven Haltmann to build background knowledge and to make a personal connection with a musher who would be running the 2009 Iditarod.

We have tracked his progress from Anchorage-Nome using a statistics form and the internet website at iditarod.com.   Students have felt connected from the beginning and have learned the life values of commitment, integrity, respect, responsibility, tolerance, and fairness through the interaction of the project at large.

This has been my first year using the race; however, it will not be the last as it has been a remarkable teaching tool for teaching life values.

My students are my true heroes.   They may not think so at times, but they are my “team” that lead me to the finish line every year. Without my student’s remarkable abilities and diverse personalities I would have a very boring life.   I too have learned many lessons through following Iditarod 2009.

I cannot imagine a better way to involve students in learning geography, math, science, and reading.

This lesson has provided an enriching experience for all my students.

Penny

Florida