Caring for the Iditarod dogs is as thorough and professional as care for human athletes. High school, college, and professional athletes undergo regular physical examinations to ascertain their health and physical condition. So do the Iditarod dogs. The veterinarians and mushers associated with these dogs demonstrate their concern for the dogs’ wellbeing by participating in health and performance studies, feeding the dogs nutritious diets, and evaluating each dog’s health before the Iditarod begins.

About a month before the Iditarod begins, mushers take their dogs to their own vet or to veterinary technicians around the state of Alaska for screening lab work and an ECG (electrocardiogram) diagnostic test. Used for the past 15 years, the ECG measures heart rhythm and activity. The CBC and basic blood panels lab work check, among other things, red and white blood cells and platelets to determine if all is normal in the blood. To identify the dog, its microchip is scanned or if a microchip needs to be placed, the technician does so. The microchip number is particular to that dog and is used to identify it at the next exam for the race as well as in the future.

Physical exams on every dog considered for racing in the upcoming Iditarod are done within 14 days of the race start. Volunteer vets from the United States and other countries use the HAW/L acronym for this exam. H stands for heart and hydration, A for appetite and attitude, W for weight, and L stands for lungs. Every dog’s legs, paws, and temperature are checked, too.

At checkpoints during the race, dogs are examined again by the vets who hopscotch down the trail in bush planes to care for the dogs, performing about 10,000 routine exams. Vets use the musher’s vet book, a diary of vets’ notes from previous checkpoint exams, to follow each dog’s condition during the race. Another team of volunteers handles urine specimen collection for drug testing purposes, another example of concern for the dogs’ wellbeing.

Dr. Michael Davis of Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Services School researches performance and health concerns for the Iditarod dogs, including ulcer studies and prevention of ulcers during the race. Dr. Stu Nelson, chief veterinarian for the Iditarod, is most encouraged by the ulcer prevention protocol, a daily dose of medicine during race time and training.

During the race, mushers check their dogs’ paws, applying ointment and booties, massage their legs and shoulders, and feed them high calorie snacks, caring for them as athletic trainers tape their human athletes’ legs, massage or whirlpool them after games, and monitor their game day diets. And when dogs fly to Anchorage or Nome ahead of their teammates, vets check them there again using the HAW/L acronym. George, a Talkeetna, Alaska vet, examined one of these dogs thoroughly at the Millennium Hotel during the race while explaining to onlookers the HAW/L acronym he was following.

With the physical exams and information Dr. Nelson provides to vets and mushers regarding optimal health care and symptoms to observe, the four-legged athletes of the Iditarod are definitely on the receiving end of a high level of concern for their wellbeing.

For more veterinary information, go to http://iditarod.com/learn/vetcenter.html

Permission is given for teachers to use the pictures in their classrooms.

Primary Grades Lesson Plan—Write a picture book showing the sequence of the vet exam.

Other Lesson and Activity Ideas:

Paper cube—Use this link for the cube template. http://atozteacherstuff.com/pdf.htm?cube_outline.pdf

Print the pictures to glue to each side of the cube. Number each picture in its correct sequence of the vet exam. Then, play a game with the cube. Roll the cube and move a playing piece along a trail map of the Iditarod from checkpoint to checkpoint.

Upper elementary/middle school—Write the story of the vet exam from the dog’s point of view.

Upper middle school/secondary— Use this article as a springboard for a research project. Research physical exams for people and dogs. Compare and contrast these exams in a formal paper. Cite sources in MLA format. Create a power point presentation.

Lesson Plan: Dog Care

Primary Level: Lesson Summary: Students will put the pictures of a vet check procedure in correct order and then write sentences describing the sequence of a vet check using words such as first, next, then, after, last. Each picture and sentence will be on a single page of their book.

Vet Check Sequence Photo Poster for you to download and print out.

Here are two files that shows my one of my students’ letters.  She wants to thank you and your website for helping her learn.

English is her second language and she has never seen or heard of a the Iditarod prior to this or even seen snow!  So this was a good experience for her and she was very excited to learn about something that she has never seen before.

Here is her letter that you can use.  Please let me know when you will post it!

I think she will be very happy!   Thanks again!

Mike.

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One has an infectious smile, the other wears a kilt.  Both received a lot of attention at this year’s Iditarod.  Newton Marshall, from Jamaica, and Wattie McDonald, of Scotland, are two rookies for the 2010 race–and, boy do they have a great deal of pride for their homelands.  On the morning of the ceremonial start it may have been only 20 degrees, but neither musher would’ve been anywhere but on the snowy street in Anchorage.

Newton Marshall, a most unlikely musher, gained media attention all year.  Last year he became the first Jamaican musher to complete the Yukon Quest.  Many said it couldn’t be done, but he proved them wrong.  This year he’s been training with none other than Lance Mackey, 3-time Iditarod champion.  Because there are still naysayers, Newton is determined to finish the Iditarod race and set the record straight once and for all.

This persistence and drive is not new to Newton.  Born in St. Ann, Jamaica, Newton didn’t have much schooling.  He had to work to help support his family.  He’d always dreamed of running horses at Chukka Cove Farm.  Newton started working there as a gardener eventually moving up to horse guide.  Chukka Farms offered reading and writing lessons to its employees, so Newton overcame his illiteracy.  When Chukka Farm started to offer dog sledding as an activity, Newton was asked to take on that task.  One thing lead to another and Newton found his way to Alaska competing in dog sled races.  He even gained the attention of major sponsor Jimmy Buffet of Margaritaville fame.  The inspirational story of the Jamaican Dogsled Team can be seen in a documentary movie called Sun Dogs. (Click here to watch a trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1384907033 )

Even people who’d never heard of Newton before this March couldn’t help but notice the Jamaican flag, (watch short video clip here: http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.asp?XID=4359&CID=291226 ), the “Rootin for Newton” buttons and t-shirts, and the vivacious young black man with a huge grin on his face.  Certainly not a normal sight in downtown Anchorage or Willow.  Those who were lucky could even hear him sing reggae to his dogs while waiting for the race to start.

Wattie McDonald may not have gained media attention as early as Newton, but he made up for that on start day.  The reason being–Wattie didn’t come from Scotland alone.  His entourage contained several kilt-wearing bagpipe-playing Scots, and they didn’t seem to mind the cold either.  But, the Scottish fanfare didn’t stop there.  A huge Scottish flag waved from behind his sled and his dogs wore plaid coats as they trotted down 4^th Avenue.  In comparison, John Stewart, a second rookie from Scotland, merely wore the country’s flag like a cape for the ceremonial start.  I almost expected bagpipe music to start playing from the speakers.

Wattie, a Siberian Husky breeder back home, also gained the attention of a major sponsor, Northern Outfitters, and a production company who is filming his challenge.  On his website (http://www.wattiesgreatrace.com/) he describes himself as a man who is “slightly past his prime and given to wearing a kilt whenever possible who wants to cross 1,000 miles of the Alaskan wilderness with just a dog team and a sense of adventure.”  He trained with Dean Osmar last winter and completed his qualifying races to make that dream a reality.

From reggae to kilts, this year’s Iditarod took on an international flair that it hadn’t seen before.  It was fun for the spectators and added to the wonder of the Last Great Race.  While  Iditarod fans hail from all over the world, I’m sure this year the website will see more hits from Jamaica and Scotland than ever before.  So, join me in “Rootin’ for Newton” and cheering on Wattie as they cross the finish line in Nome.

And, who knows from where the next international musher will come?  I know of one musher in training from New Zealand, and dog mushing is becoming more popular in South Africa.  I guess we’ll have to wait until the Musher’s Picnic in June to find out.

For More Information:

*Jamaican Dogsled Team Website:  http://www.jamaicadogsled.com/

*Newton Marshall Profile (video):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKMsI1lm9nk

*Newton Talks to the AP (video):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF_DiDpuY_w&feature=fvw

*Meet the Rookie:  Wattie McDonald:  http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/2010/01/21/meet-the-rookie-wattie-mcdonald/

*Wattie at the Ceremonial Start:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_0GMEQLV3k

*Wattie’s Restart:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs8c1U80oRI&feature=youtube_gdata

Also, check out the Iditarod Insider for video clips of both mushers (some videos require subscription):  http://insider.iditarod.com/

Lesson Plan Ideas:

*Research Jamaica and Scotland.  Compare and contrast the two countries.  Draw conclusions about which country would be the easiest to come from as an Iditarod musher.

*Use the race statistics from Iditarod.com for Newton and Wattie and translate the military time (Alaska time zone) into the times in Jamaica and Scotland.

*Wattie McDonald doesn’t have a t-shirt for sale on his website.  Design a t-shirt (or other items) for him to sell to his fans to raise funds for future races.

*Watch the documentary “Sun Dogs,” and write a movie review or make a web of the character traits exhibited in the movie.

*Research dog sled associations around the world.  What countries have them?  Mark them on a map of the world.

*Learn about reggae music.  Write a reggae style song about Newton Marshall.

*Learn about Scottish food.  Create a meal for Wattie to take on the trail so he feels like he’s back home.

Betsy Long

School Librarian, Doby’s Mill Elementary School, Lugoff, SC

Idita-READ

A Reading Motivation Program

By: Betsy Long, Doby’s Mill Elementary School

All my life, I have been a dog lover. Yes, I was one of those little girls who read every dog-eared, gnawed-on book at 636.7 and frequently pestered my librarian to pleeeease get some new dog books. Since reading Gary Paulsen’s Winterdance, about his own experiences in twice completing the Iditarod, I have been fascinated with “the last great race on Earth” The thrill, the adventure, & the danger captivate me and fill me with awe & admiration. A few of years ago, in celebration of the race, which spans approximately10-17 days in early March, I started giving daily Iditarod updates on the morning news show, teaching the kids about the1150+ mile race, sharing facts about the mushers, Alaska, and the dogs. There are dozens of great children’s books that can be used to illustrate these ideas. A few that I have used are: Akiak: A Tale from the Iditarod, by Robert Blake, Dogteam, by Gary Paulsen, the non-fiction selection, Dogs of the Iditarod, by Jeff Schultz, and of course, Balto, the historical-fiction tale of the 1925 delivery by sled dogs of lifesaving diphtheria serum to Nome.

Last year, I ramped it up a bit, giving each teacher detailed and enlarged maps of the trail so they could follow along with my reporting in the classroom. I created book and informational displays about the race in the Media Center, and I invited classes in for lessons integrating research skills, reading, writing, math, science, and social studies through the Iditarod. We researched arctic animals, learned about Alaska and the Inuit, calculated distance using the trail map, and utilized the official Iditarod website (www.iditarod.com), which is full of wonderful information & stunning photography & video. I also hosted a guest musher from South Carolina. That’s right! The Palmetto State (Chapin, to be exact) is home to Chapin Burgess, a sled dog racer who plans to run the Iditarod sometime in the near future. He was an outstanding speaker who mesmerized my students with his fascinating presentation and beautiful dogs, of which he brought six!

I cannot take credit, however, for coming up with the idea to organize a reading incentive program or devising teaching opportunities that parallel the race. Several schools across the nation coordinate related events. Using the search terms Iditarod + lesson plans reveal scores of lesson possibilities on the Internet. I recently stumbled across a homeschooling group on the Internet (WorldWide IDEA) that has a very interesting and organized Idita-READ program. The Official Iditarod website has an entire section just for educators, offering lesson plans and other educational opportunities, one of which includes being the “Teacher on the Trail,” an educator that rides along with a musher during the race! After reading about several schools’ Iditarod reading programs, I tailored one that worked for my school setting. Perhaps it will inspire you to try something similar this year…

For our Idita-READ, I challenged all students in grades PK-5 to record all minutes that they spent voluntarily reading. They could count time spent reading independently or time that someone read to them. The two classes who read the most number of minutes earned an invitation to the State Read-In in Columbia. We ran the contest for a two week period. I sent home an explanatory letter and a reading log for each week and I tracked each class’ progress on a prominent bulletin board. Since the Iditarod is over 1150 miles long, I set each class’ goal at 1150 minutes. I secretly hoped (and dropped hints to the effect on the morning news show) that each class could easily read at least 2500 minutes if each child read just 20 minutes a day for the entire period. I was absolutely thrilled to watch nearly every class in my school pass the 2500 mark by the end of the contest. Even better, I finally had a successful reading incentive program that didn’t involve reading certain books at a certain level or taking computerized tests! For this program, the kids could literally read ANYTHING they desired—imagine that!

The students, teachers, and parents really enjoyed participating in the program, and several of my classes (enthused by their teachers) were truly competitive in the process. I ended up taking a second grade and a fifth grade class (who read over 8000 minutes between them) to the State Read-In, and we had an outstanding time! On the way home, we stopped for lunch at a local park and enjoyed a nature walk before heading back to school just in time for dismissal. It was an awesome way to celebrate the students’ reading accomplishments, and the only expenditure for the library was the cost of the bus, which I paid for with book fair money. As a testament to the program’s success, I’ve had kids asking about the 2008 Idita-READ since this school year began, and the countdown is about to begin. As soon I submit our book award votes, I’ll start making plans for this year’s event. I hope some of you will join me. Mush!

Click here to view the letter to parents.

]]> http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/2010/03/14/i%e2%80%99ll-%e2%80%9cmush%e2%80%9d-vicariously-through-books-video-and-the-official-websitets/feed/ 0 http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/2010/02/25/iditarod-poetry-read-then-get-writing/ http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/2010/02/25/iditarod-poetry-read-then-get-writing/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:59:42 +0000 Diane http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/?p=2879 All around the globe, it is time to write Iditarod poetry.  Send us your poems and we’ll share them with our readers!

Thank you Marcia and Rhonda for sharing your poetry!

Iditarod   by Marcia Claesson

The frosted fingers of cold pinch my skin.

False images dance before me like ghosts.

I dodge terrifying trunks where there are none,

Call out to friends who disappear

Into the snowy veils that surround me.

I jolt,

Suddenly aware

Of the whoosh of my runners,

The panting of my dog team

Running across the icy expanse.

Alone with creation

We survive,

We continue,

We prevail,

We are victors,

Together.

Heavenly Encore  By Ronda Swanson

Ching, ching, ching.

The sound of tiny tags clinking together; tiny toes claw across the terrain.

From out of the complete lack of light comes the looming,

luminescent,leaning headlight with the leader in tow.

We see through the Alaskan night the glow of a human headlight and the

glow of the heavenly aurora borealis.

Then ching, ching, ching, fades as does the human headlight.

They, dogs and rider, are separate, yet one, pass by.

The heavenly lights continue their quiet encore.

I use a cross-curricular approach to teaching the Iditarod.  I begin this unit in January using many of my own photographs and personal knowledge of Alaska (I’ve been there several times and LOVE it) Language arts includes the children reading chapter books such as “Balto”, “Stone Fox’, and “Snow Dogs! Racers of the North” and comparing and contrasting what makes each dog and each musher successful—perseverance, courage, determination, etc We also read “Granite”, “Togo”. “Akiak”, and “Big enough Anna”. Creative writing is used regularly: if I could be a musher… and similar ideas.

We use map and geography skills to track the route of the race and the terrain over which the mushers travel. Each child selects a musher about whom he will learn in January. They go to web sites to see and learn about the musher and the dogs. Letter writing skills are taught to prepare for writing to the mushers prior to the race. During the race each child charts and graphs his mushers progress Math skills are used daily as teams change sizes and miles are crossed; we also do an Iditarod problem of the day—a challenge math activity to develop problem solving skills which I create each year using actual musher information. Photos from Iditarod calendars of past years and Iditarod souvenirs are on display to motivate the children. We design Iditarod posters of our own and have booty races—putting booties on large stuffed dogs in the classroom.

This is a popular unit each year and older students come back often to catch up on Iditarod news. It is the unit I most enjoy teaching.

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We’d like to introduce the finalists to you and invite you to follow the interview and selection activities during the next several weeks by checking back at this website for future articles.

Martha Dobson

A lifelong North Carolinian, I am married with three children, a middle school teacher for eight years, and a person for whom challenges are a chance to do the unusual to experience life. A quiet leader, I understand the value of listening, observing, and then taking action.

I hold a bachelor degree in psychology and a middle grades teaching certificate from Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. Over the years I have taught public school, returning to the classroom eight years ago, volunteered extensively in the community through Girl Scouts and service organizations, and traveled within the United States and abroad. Since 2005, I’ve traveled to Alaska five times for the winter and summer Iditarod teacher conferences and vacation, volunteered at the 2006 and 2009 races, and visited five kennels.

In 2005, teaching brought me to the Iditarod, and the bug bit, hard. I discovered the race’s lure and its challenges, and when I learned about the Teacher on the Trail position, I set application for the position as my goal. As Iditarod mushers are closely acquainted with perseverance, I also have become a close and personal friend of this character trait through the application processes for the 2009 and 2010 races, and now the 2011 race.

Riding in the ceremonial race start as an Idita-Rider was the highlight of 2005 for me, the quiet greenway, and only the shushing of sled runners and the jingle of harness to be heard. It was a small taste of what the race could be.

Iditarod hooks students because of the dogs and the uniqueness of the event and Alaska and, students learn, in a unique way, the skills necessary for success.  Borrowing from Professor Randy Pausch (1960- July 2008), Iditarod is a great “head fake” because students are so interested in the race they don’t realize they’re learning educational skills. I’ve seen Iditarod reach students when little else has, and create success for those with limited success. I love introducing them to the uniqueness of the race and Alaska and seeing them come to appreciate a lifestyle so different from their own.

View one of Martha’s lessons, How Cold is It? Temperature 3 Line Graph

Students will accurately plot temperature lows on a graph using dates and temperatures. Students will connect each location’s temperature to create a line graph, creating a 3-line graph, and write a summary of the data. 5th to 8th Grade, Math

Blynne Froke

It seems like Blynne Froke has been on the go her whole life. She was born in Canada and emigrated to California and every summer involved a car trip back home. When her father was sent to Venezuela for work, Blynne went along to start high school. It took seventeen years and three states to complete her college education, but she didn’t give up.

Summer 2007 found her back in South America with her brother working in Bolivia. For the last thirty years though Blynne has lived in rural northern California where she raised two beautiful daughters with husband, Mike and an ever growing assortment of dogs and cats.

After teaching English at the junior high level for almost 12 years, Blynne decided she was up for a real challenge and as is common in her life an opportunity presented itself.  Community Day School is a contained last chance classroom for students that have been expelled. Now she is teaching everything from P.E. to Physics to British Lit.

It seems like challenge has been a commonly sought after theme in Blynne’s life and these students would not disappoint. Her signature use of patience and passion seemed to work for many, but something more intense was needed to draw in these very needy students and she was on the search again. By chance Blynne read a book about the Iditarod and shared it with her students. They shared her excitement. That was three years ago. What started as a half an hour read aloud turned into a cross-curricular thematic program around what she saw as the most important themes of goal-setting, planning, personal responsibility, problem solving and stewardship. It has found such fertile ground as to graduate twice as many students as before.

Blynne has embraced challenge not only in professional life, but in her personal life as well. What started as a whim, a couch to 5k running club, turned into another great passion. Three years and a hundred pounds later, she has completed two half marathonsand is training for a third.

View one of Blynne’s lessons,  Heroes of the Iditarod, A Living  Wax Museum.

Lesson Summary:  Students learn about an individual hero of the Iditarod and create a “wax museum” display.  This is an excellent culminating activity suitable to Open House Night.  Grades 5 and up, History, Social Science

Sally Simon

Sally Simon is from Westchester County, New York where she is an enrichment/gifted and talented teacher in the Hendrick Hudson School District. Her teaching duties are split between two schools: Furnace Woods Elementary School and Blue Mountain Middle School where she teaches advanced 6th grade math. Sally is also the video club advisor at the middle school which is pioneering a broadcast studio this school year. She feels fortunate to be in a position to create her own standards based curriculum, and has capitalized on using the Iditarod across the curriculum in every area from math and science to writing and social studies. While attending the Winter Conference for Educators in 2009, Sally, a self confessed “techie,” sent the 2009 Iditarod experience back to her students using a daily blog, and audio/video podcasts. She believes “to be a good teacher is to expose students to the world and guide them in their interpretation of it.”

The excitement of following a dog sled race is what first interested Sally in teaching the Iditarod. However, she soon discovered the Iditarod is not only an event, but a lifestyle rich with lessons to be learned: Alaskan culture, the spirit of the people, the history of the race, creative problem solving, character education, and life skills to name a few. This year, Sally is developing curriculum themed on a critical aspect of the Iditarod, TEAMWORK, for both her school and local community organizations.

Sally and her husband Gary have been married for twenty years and have two sons, 12 and 14. They share their home with three dogs, a legion of chipmunks, and a family of deer who call their backyard home. As a family they are active in the community through their schools, church and community theatre. They also share a love of travel and have visited many places in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Europe, and Costa Rica. In her spare time, Sally enjoys reading, fencing, acting in and directing plays, home decorating and playing games with her kids.

As a finalist for 2011 Target ® Teacher on the Trail,™ Sally’s goal is to make the Iditarod a meaningful learning experience for a greater number of people including senior citizens, community organizations, youth groups, and colleague

View one of Sally’s lessons,  It Takes a Team: Iditarod Volunteers

Lesson Summary:  Using the cooperative learning strategy of jigsaw, students learn the roles of various Iditarod volunteers.  Grades 3 – 8, English/Language Arts

****  Read more about the finalists at this link! (by Gypsy the K 9 Journalist)

Design your class Musher Trading Cards in a way that meets the needs and abilities of your students.

Each student can design one card about their favorite musher, or students can design a specific number of cards.  Students can ‘trade’ cards or students can use the cards as part of other projects.  No matter how you design your class project, this is a successful way to encourage students to read, research, and summarize information while being creative and having fun!

Ideas for you:

Students create and design musher trading cards for their favorite mushers.

Template and Activity Idea, Click Here!

Lesson on Musher Trading Cards and additional ideas by teacher, Linda Fenton, click here.

Lesson on Habits of the Mind, by Judi Roach, click here for project information.   For a lesson plan with additional information, click here.

*Note to teachers:  Keep in mind, not every musher releases the exact same personal information.  For example, birth dates are not always provided.  Not every musher wishes to share a lot of  personal information while some mushers have websites that contain a great deal of personal information.  Do NOT expect students to find the exact same information about each musher.  Encourage students to be flexible and creative.

Do you have a musher trading card project that you do with students each year?  Send us information about your project.  Send us images of student work samples.  We’ll post and share so others can enhance their projects.  Send an email.

Kim Busch, Montana

Kim is a 4th grade teacher.

Kim is applying for this position because, “I believe it is important to aspire to be the best you can be;  Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ is an opportunity to touch lives all over the world.”

Sample Lessons:

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race: The Big Book, Language Arts/Social Studies/Geography:  3rd Grade and Beyond:

Students research the different aspect of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Students write informational paragraphs and/or reports. Final products are published in a class big book.

Click here to view the lesson.

Determining Importance in Nonfiction: Fact – Question- Response, Language Arts/Social Studies:  Grades 4, 5, 6, and Beyond, depending upon on reading level

Student use F-Q-R Think Sheets to record significant facts and ideas, track questions that are generated during the reading, and reflect on their learning with feelings and opinions.

Click here to view lesson plans.

Click here to view the Fact-Question-Response Work Sheet.

Amy Dahmus, North Dakota

Amy teaches 5th grade.

Amy states that she is applying for this position because, “Becoming the Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ has always been a dream and teaching the Iditarod has always been a passion, now I would like to turn this dream into a reality.”

Sample Lessons:

Plate Tectonics & Alaska’s Mountain Ranges, Science:  Grade 4 and Up

Students will first hypothesize how the mountains in Alaska were formed. Students will research the mountains and categorize them by their origin, volcanic eruption or plate tectonics. Students will then create a spreadsheet using EXCEL to compare the mountains origins.

Click here to view the lesson.

Who’s on Your Cereal Box? Visual Arts, Technology, and Language Arts

Students design their own cereal box using a brand name cereal. Students then create categories such as Advice for Young People, What’s on Your I-Pod?, Team Members, Life at a Glance, and Achievements. Students use creative ideas, advertising strategies, technology, and language skills to complete the task.

Click here to view the lesson.

Martha Dobson, North Carolina

Martha is a 6th grade English/Language Arts teacher at a middle school.

Martha states, “I am reapplying for the Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ position because the Iditarod sparks interest and learning as nothing else has done in my classroom and because the challenge the race presents to mushers, dogs, and me is a metaphor for the challenges of life and life opportunities, a stron example of setting goals, determination, and perseverance to run one’s personal race.”

Sample Lessons:

Sled Dog Genetics:  Science, Grade 7

Students have learned about phenotypes, genotypes, dominant and recessive genes, heterozygous and homozygous organisms, and how to construct punnett squares in previous lessons. This lesson provides review and practice in using the previously learned skills with genetic problems based on Alaskan husky characteristics.

Click here to view the lessons.

Iditarod Word Problems, Math, Grade 6 and7

This is a review of math skills for each grade level. The problems contain factual data which shows students how math can be used in the real world. The problems can be used as extra credit opportunities or the problem of the day which provides an independent assignment for students to begin upon arrival in class.

Click here to view the lessons.

Blynne Froke, California

Blynne teaches 9- 12th grade students in a self contained ‘last chance’ school.

Blynne states that she is applying for this position because “The Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ program embodies the three great passions of my life:  teaching, dos, and personal challenge and for that reason, I want to share it with teachers and students everywhere.”

Sample Lesson Plans:

Life is a Trail, English/Language Arts, Grades 9 – 12 (could be adapted to other grade levels)

Through daily reading from Iditarod books list, oral group
sharing and written summaries in the Cornell notes style students will begin to identify moments that can be expressed succinctly in metaphor. Students will study and memorize the Jack London poem “Ashes and Dust” and identify the use of metaphor in that poem. Students will then brainstorm lists of potential metaphors for life. Students will then use a chosen metaphor to craft a reflective essay and take it from rough draft through revision and editing in small response groups.

Click here to view lesson plans.

It’s All About the Map, Geography. Visual Arts, Math, Cooperative Groups, Grades 4 – 12 with varied degrees of complexity or attention appropriate.

Students will project the outline of the state of Alaska from a transparency on an overhead projector onto butcher paper on the wall to the desired scale for the board they have been given. Each group has been given a slightly different size to ensure variety in the finished projects. They will locate and replicate physical and political features as per a list they have been given which again may have different themes.

Click here to view lesson plans.

Sally Simon, New York

Sally is an enrichment and Gifted/Talented teacher in an Elementary and a Middle School.

Sally states, “I want people young and old to see the Iditarod as an opportunity to learn abut themselves, community, and ho teamwork is needed to accomplish great things.”

Sample Lesson Plans

Altitudes and Temperatures, Math (Integers), Grade 5 – 8

Students use the altitudes of the checkpoints on the Iditarod Trail to calculate the differences (positive and negative) in altitude while running the race.  Students use some average temperatures (highs and lows) of the checkpoints during March to calculate the differences in temperature, and draw some conclusions about how the geography of the trail affects temperature.

Click here to view lesson plans.

Wilderness Trading Activity, Social Studies (economics) and English, Language Arts (Speaking and Listening), Grades 2 and up.

Students learn that all humans have 5 needs (food, clothing, shelter, clear air, and water) that must be met before the things they want. After discussing the concept and practice of “trading,” students participate in a trading activity where they trade items they have with those things they need and want in order to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. At the end of the activity, students evaluate what items they have and predict how well they will survive with those items.

Click here to view the lesson plan.

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On our about January 15, 3 finalists will be announced.  The finalists will travel to Alaska prior to the start of the 2010 Iditarod to continue the selection process.

Teacher!  Are you looking for the teaching experience of a life time?  Would you like to visit the Iditarod Checkpoints and teach from the Iditarod Trail?  Are you ready for an awarding challenge?  Applications for the 2012 Teacher are due December 1, 2010.   Learn more about the application process for the Target® 2011 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ program at this link.

Click on this to use the Iditarod forms for your students.  Tip:  Ask students to save the forms to the computer.  Students can then type on the form instead of printing out the forms to practice ‘green’ habits.

To use a map to track student progress in an Idita Read™  follow these directions:

First click on the image to view the larger version of the image.

Next, right click on the image to save the image to your computer.  (Save Image As)

Choose a name such as, “Diane’s Iditarod Trail map” (only your name!) so you can easily locate your map on the computer.

Once you have completed that step, go to the PAINT program and open that program.   Select: File and then Open.  Locate the image on your computer.  (Find it where you saved it!)

After your map is on your screen, select a color and tool (such as the spray paint) to trace your progress along the Iditarod Trail.  Be sure to save the map so that race progress is updated.

Each students can save their own map and use it to show their progress during the Idita Read™.

For those who do not have a PAINT program on the computer, click on the map to enlarge the view.  Print the map.  Use markers to trace your progress or glue colorful stars or stickers on the checkpoints to show reading progress.  Print in gray scale to save on ink.

Optional method of recording progress using these bookmarks to record the book titles.

Teacher’s tool:  Award Certificate

Teacher’s tool: Bookmarks to download for students.  Give as rewards or incentives!

*Special thanks to teacher, Sheila Blair, for sharing the forms she used with her students.   Her ideas were used in the creation of the forms for this article.

For additional information on Idita Read projects™ click here.

Editor’s note:   Hundreds of schools around the nation have created incredible Idita Read projects that align reading goals and use our race, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, as the project’s theme. Teachers have provided testimony that an Idita Read project is engaging to students and that students are empowered to read more during an Idita Read project than other times of the school year.   Students enjoy reading and ‘racing’ the mushers from Anchorage to Nome.  An Idita Read™ program can be used at any grade/reading level and be designed to meet individual or group reading goals.  We salute those schools and teachers for using the race as a tool to encourage students to read more!

An example of a school project that exemplifies an Idita Read can be found at this website link.  This Idita Read project is run by Sally Javier of IDEA. (Homeschool with Interior Distance Education of Alaska, a part of the Galena City School District.)  At this link, you will find many great ideas that you can adapt to your own classroom or school Idita Read™ project.  The IDEA Idita Read project that Sally Javier facilitates for homeschool families each year serves as a modal for a school district wishing to create or design their own Idita Read™ project.  As education director for Iditarod, I applaud Sally for her dedication to encouraging students to read and thank her for willingness to share her ideas with others.

Photo of Jeff King, provided by Sally Javier.

Other successful Idita Read projects have been run by Sheila Blair  (Click here to learn more) and this project in Wisconsin.  (Click here.) Check back for other examples soon to be posted!

The education department does encourage teachers or schools to create their own Idita Read projects using the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race as inspiration for the project.  We welcome your using  the race theme or our materials (or creating your own materials to use), but do not give permission for you to create an Idita Read project to sell to others.  If you do discover an Idita Read project that requires you to pay a fee to participate in the Idita Read, keep in mind this is not an official Iditarod project and permission to sell an Idita Read™ — Iditarod Educational project to teachers/schools/home school families has not been granted.

We encourage teachers to create an Idita Read program that ‘works’ for their own students because we know that our race is an inspirational tool to encourage your students to read and learn!   Students have fun reading, enjoy racing their musher to checkpoints and into Nome, and many students discover new books and authors along the Idita-Read Trail!

We’d enjoy hearing about your Idita-Read projects and your success.  Please send an email. We’ll post your ideas to help others create projects for their students.