Hello Teachers!  Hello Students!

Welcome! Thanks for visiting Zuma’s Paw Prints.

We hope that you visit this section of the website often! The K-9 journalists will have many articles for you and your students. Reading articles will help you and your students understand the race and other topics of interest.

FIRST: Please note that we have four K-9 Reporters. Each writes at a different reading level. Please read the information below to help you know which reporter’s articles are most appropriate for your students.  You can read all of the articles, but you may want to focus on a reporter that meets your reader’s needs.

To read articles from ONE of the K-9 Reporters,   sort the articles. On the left side of the page you see a menu bar. Notice it beneath Zuma’s Paw Prints, the K9 Journalists are listed. Click on the name of the dog that you’d like to focus on and articles will sort  so that you only see the articles from that K9 journalist. Or when on Zuma’s Paw Prints main page, click the picture or name of the reporter.

Why does Zuma have a journalist team?

Our main goal is to provide you and students with more news covering many different topics and written at several different reading levels. We encourage you to select the K-9 reporter that best meets your needs and read that reporters articles. As time permits and as your students ability allows, read articles by the other K-9 reporters, too.

Hints to help you: Please note the journalist assignments.

Sanka W. Dog: Writes for the higher reader, provides more indepth details, encourages students to go above and beyond in learning and research. (6th- adult) To read all of the articles by Sanka W. Dog click the K-9 Reporter Sanka menu item link.

Gypsy: Writes for the middle level reader (3th-6th/7th) or the average reader. Articles provide a great amount of detail and information, and encourages students to go above and beyond in reading and learning. To read all of the articles by Gypsy, click the above K-9 Reporter Gypsy menu item link.

Libby: Writes for the lower readers. Shorter articles or general details. Often Libby’s topics are expanded upon by other reporters in other articles. To read all of the articles by Libby, click the above K-9 Reporter Libby menu link.

Zuma: Editor and “Lead” journalist. Zuma writes general articles and maintains the ‘action’ of the blog. To read all of Zuma’s articles, click the above Zuma menu link.

To read more about all of the K-9 reporters, click under Zuma’s Paw Prints: Meet the Reporters.

What do Teachers and Classrooms do to follow Zuma’s Reporters?  

First — read. Read the articles that best meet the student needs by having students read independently or by you reading the articles to the students.

Second: Discuss the information formally or informally, as a class, by small groups, or have students respond/reflect in journals to the information they read or hear in the articles.

Third: Respond in an appropriate manner considering your students and the educational needs or standards you are working on during your school day. Your response may be within your classroom setting, taking notes, creating a class chart, or verbal discussions. You can also email the K9 journalists. (zuma@iditarod.com)

What else do teachers need to know?

 The sky is the limit as to how you use Zuma’s Paw Prints.

How often will you find new articles?

During the race: We plan on providing daily coverage from one or more of the reporters. This means, we MIGHT have more than one article in a day, but remember, you don not need to read ALL of the articles, just the ones you want.

During the school year: Our schedule will depend on what is happening but we have a goal of adding something new each month, so read Zuma’s Paw Prints during the rest of the school year as well.

During the summer: We plan on having at least an article a month, depending on what is happening in the world of “Iditarod”!

PLEASE REMEMBER: Something old is new again…. Our past articles and the comments are good reads for students any year. Don’t forget to go back and read some of those articles.

Finding information on the blog is easier than it has been in the past. Please note that along the left side of the page, there are other options to help you and your students.

OUR MISSION

The change from regular articles on the website— to the blog is an answer we’ve formulated after reading the comments from teachers and from surveys. It was an administrative decision given to us to better our communications and time management. What are teachers telling us? We’ve been asked to provide reading material geared for different reading abilities. We’ve been asked to provide better communications with classrooms. We’ve been asked to build our readership. We’ve been asked to appear ‘more 21st century in technology’ and be more prompt at providing information for readers. We’ve been asked to provide new articles for our readers— more often during the school year and to continue regular articles during the race.

We are dedicated to meeting the goals that have been developed after listening to our readers.

Why do we need changes, rules, and guidelines for the blog?

The change from articles to the blog was a necessary website and readership change. The rules and guidelines we’ve developed are designed to keep the site safe and interesting for all of our readers. This is a collaboration zone and an on line learning environment. It is a place to read, read, read, and have fun, fun, fun! It is a place to learn all about Iditarod, sled dogs, mushing, and Alaska.

We look forward to sharing the race with you!

Zuma, Sanka w. Dog, Gypsy, and Libby