For Teachers » Idita Reads and Races

North Carolina Students Hold Idita-Race

Diane — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:07:06 +0000

Meet Cindy Wilson’s students!

Cindy’s brother made them a wheeled sled for their Idita Race.

Each year, hundreds of schools around the world hold their own Iditarod in parks, on school grounds, along beaches, or even in backyards. After studying the race and completing lessons, the learning is put to test in classroom or school wide Iditarod events.

No matter what you call it— Mini- Iditarod races, IKidARod, or School Iditarod, the result is the same. Students practice basic content skills and enjoy the race.

Send us pictures and information about the Idita Race in your school or community to help teachers plan their future events!

Idita-Read- California Style

Diane — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:07:53 +0000

Every year we hold an Idita Read. Our budget runs between $450 and $500. The following is a summary of the 2009 Idita Read:

We went to a company called imagestuff.com and ordered these cool dog tags as reading incentives for the kids. They run about $.30 apiece when ordered in a large quantity. Any student reaching their reading goals for the Iditaread received one. We have given the official Iditarod pencils in the past.

I got each classroom a dog bootie, and provided them with a poster board on which teachers could post maps to track their mushers and class reading totals.

I also hung a banner at the school entrance that read “MLD Iditaread”. Finally, we ordered about 12 new children’s books on Alaska and the Iditarod for our school library, and I set out my large collection of books, maps, videos, flags, etc., for all the teachers to use.

Ms. Blair

View the classroom packet created by Ms. Blair by clicking here! (PDF DOC)

Idita Read in Wisconsin

Diane — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:28:17 +0000

Hi! I teach 1^st grade at St. John the Baptist School in Green Bay, WI. I just wanted to share what we are doing for the Iditaread challenge. The Iditaread challenge was kicked off with a small banquet of dog bone shaped Scooby snacks, popcorn balls and snow cones. During the Banquet teams were announced. My students were divided into 5 groups of 4.

The students sit at a table with their team for the duration of the race. They work as a team each day to keep their space clean. They are asked to work as a team to complete various assignments. Students record reading minutes which are totaled each week. The students graph their minutes by teams until the last day of the race. During the 2009 race, our last day was March 22nd.

This year, I read many stories about the Iditarod, Alaska, and Eskimos. Students learned about totem poles and made their own totem pole to retell a story of their choosing.

This year I have found more lessons from the Iditarod Insider that I will work on incorporating into my curriculum. I am hoping in the future I will be able to teach many subject areas around the Iditarod during March.

From April

Ikidarod Math! Racing Sleds in South Dakota

Diane — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:02:25 +0000

My name is Andy Johnson and I am teacher in Brandon, SD. We have followed the Iditarod since I have been in Brandon and have been Iditarod Insider members the last two years.

We have created our own version of the Ikidarod that we have done since 2007 in which the students actually form teams and compete against each other. A local TV station came out in 2007 and did a short story on it if you would like to take a look. mms://media.k12.sd.us/aj031/ikidarod_2007_2007_05_17.wmv

Click here to view our Ikidarod Math Project. (PDF)

Idita Races! White Lake Elementary School

Diane — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:55:47 +0000

Each year, hundreds of schools around the world have their own IDITAROD — or I-Kid-A-Rod.

Take a look at this link to view the Ikidarod held at White Lake Elementary School. Be patient, it takes a few minutes to load the images, but it is well worth it to look at ideas for your own IKIDAROD.

Click here!

Send us information about your school’s Ikidarod so we can post information to help other schools plan their events.