Teacher Tips and Tools

03/09/2010

From Tradition to Tradition: Musher Banquet

Do you wonder about the Musher Banquet that is held before the start of the race?
by Sally Simon, Finalist for Target® Iditarod 2011 Teacher on the Trail™
The Thursday night before the Iditarod is full of traditions.  The dictionary…

Filed under 2010 Race Season, Iditarod Facts, Data, History, People, Places, or Dogs, Teacher Tips and Tools

03/08/2010

Picture of the Day: Start Day! Filed under 2010 Race Season, Bulletin Board Displays, News and Information, Teacher Tips and Tools

03/08/2010

Bernard Harris: Dreams Do Come True

by Sally Simon, Finalist for Target® Iditarod 2011 Teacher on the Trail™, New York
Bernard Harris was a boy with a dream of becoming an astronaut.  Now he’s a man of accomplishment giving back to others so that their dreams…

Filed under 2010 Race Season, News and Information, People, Places, or Dogs, Target Teacher on the Trail, Teacher Tips and Tools

03/08/2010

The Dog Doctor, Stuart Nelson, Jr., DVM

By Martha Dobson, Finalist, Target® Iditarod 2011 Teacher on the Trail™, North Carolina
Twenty-four years of Iditarod dog experience. That’s what Dr. Nelson, the chief vet for the Iditarod has under his belt. Starting as a trail vet in 1986…

Filed under 2010 Race Season, News and Information, People, Places, or Dogs, Target Teacher on the Trail, Teacher Tips and Tools

03/05/2010

Get Ready! Track the Mushers! Record Race Data!

The race is about to begin!
All of the musher’s data (time in and out of checkpoints, etc.) will be easy to find on the front page of the website when the race begins.  This is FREE.  You can also…

Filed under 2010 Race Season, Charts and Templates, News and Information, Teacher Tips and Tools

03/02/2010

Picture of the Day: Packing the Sled

Have you ever wondered what is in the musher’s sled?  Have you thought about what you would put in your sled if you were the musher?
This picture was taken at the Jr. Iditarod.  You can get a glimpse of…

Filed under Iditarod Facts, Data, History, News and Information, Teacher Tips and Tools

03/02/2010

Educators in Action in Alaska!

The 2010 Iditarod Winter Teacher’s Conference began on Monday, March 1 with a get together at Wells Fargo’s Alaska Heritage Museum.  Teachers had the opportunity to meet each other and begin the very important step of collaborating with each other…

Filed under 2010 Race Season, Alaska Bound? Read This!, Curriculum for the Classroom, News and Information, Teacher Tips and Tools, Zuma's Paw Prints

02/27/2010

Where on the Iditarod Trail is Herb Brambley?

Herb Brambley is the Target® 2010 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™.
Herb flew to Yentna Station to stay at the half-way checkpoint of the Jr. Iditarod race.
Follow Herb’s journal and read his observations of the Jr. Iditarod and the…

Filed under News and Information, Teacher Tips and Tools

02/25/2010

Iditarod Poetry: Read then Get Writing!

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…

Filed under Curriculum for the Classroom, Language Arts, News and Information, Teacher Tips and Tools

02/24/2010

Meet the Finalists for Target® 2011 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™

Finalists have been chosen for the Target® 2011 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™.  The finalists, Blynne Froke, Martha Dobson, and Sally Simon will be in Anchorage during the week before the start of the race to complete selection process activities…

Filed under Contests: Win Prizes, Curriculum for the Classroom, Idita Reads and Races, Language Arts, Math, News and Information, Research and Testimonials, Science, Social Studies, Target Teacher on the Trail

02/11/2010

Can’t go to Alaska? Join us Via Internet!

The Iditarod Winter Teacher’s Conference will be held March 2 – 5 in Anchorage, Alaska.  This year, we’ll be providing our teachers and classrooms around the world ways to ‘join us’ for parts of our teacher conference events.  We’ll have…

Filed under 2010 Race Season, Conferences and Workshops, News and Information, Teacher Tips and Tools, Technology Integration, Technology-Information Highway

02/08/2010

Iditarod in the Classroom: Then and Now

By Kathy Kelly
*More than 20 years ago, educator Kathy Kelly recognized that the Iditarod was an engaging theme to hook students into reading, writing, and math.  Kathy wrote an article for the Learning Magazine.  A discussion between the magazine’s…

Filed under News and Information, Research and Testimonials, Teacher Tips and Tools

02/06/2010

Around the World: Iditarod: Kindergarten in Germany

Charlee Stevens, Educational Journalist, Germany
Things you need to know:

I teach Kindergarten on a military base in Germany.
I have 25 children in class.  They range from non-readers to about level 6 in DRA.
My class is run as…

Filed under Curriculum for the Classroom, Integrated Curriculum, News and Information, Teacher Tips and Tools

02/03/2010

The Race to Student Success

Why use the race with your students?  Here is what teachers are saying. . . .

While reading the story Balto, my students became fascinated with the journey and challenges Balto faced on his mission. Seeing their enthusiasm, I realized…

Filed under News and Information, Research and Testimonials

02/02/2010

Iditarod Musher Trading Cards

Are you looking for an activity to help students read, research, and summarize?  Join the hundreds of schools around the world.  Assign students to create Musher Trading Cards.
Design your class Musher Trading Cards in a way that meets the…

Filed under Charts and Templates, Language Arts, News and Information, Teacher Tips and Tools

01/31/2010

Four Paws for Logan

We know that each day around the world, service dogs make a difference in the lives of children with autism and in the lives of countless others with a variety of disabilities.  We have the opportunity to help make the…

Filed under News and Information, People, Places, or Dogs, Service Learning Projects, Teacher Tips and Tools

01/28/2010

Meet the 2010 Mushers: Get Ready for the Race!

As the countdown to the 2010 Iditarod begins, most students have begun to think about which mushers to cheer on during the race.   Classroom procedure for ‘picking mushers’ differs according to needs of each classroom or school.  Some building projects…

Filed under Bulletin Board Displays, News and Information, Rookie Mushers, Teacher Tips and Tools

01/27/2010

Reflections: Educational Impact of the Race

Educator Kathy Kent traveled the Iditarod Trail during the 2001 race.  She shared her experiences with her educational community and has since continued to share her experiences from the race with students and race fans.  Kathy contributes her expertise and…

Filed under News and Information, Research and Testimonials

01/19/2010

Go Idita-Walking and Get Healthy!

What is an Idita-Walk?

Idita Walk in North Carolina
An Idita Walk is a fun  way to improve your health and keep physically fit.  It involves creating a walking program and using the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race® as the…

Filed under Health/Physical Fitness, Idita- Walk, News and Information

01/18/2010

Iditarod Race Rules Activity

By Jane Blaile, Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™
It is important for students to be familiar with the rules of the race.  A copy of the 2010 rules can be found on the website at this link. At the…

Filed under Games and Activities, News and Information, Teacher Tips and Tools

01/13/2010

Meet the Applicants for Target® 2011 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™

Each year, the Iditarod Education Department accepts applications for the ‘next’  Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™.  This year, five teachers applied for this educational teaching experience.  Meet each applicant and view a sample of their lessons.
Kim Busch, Montana…

Filed under Art, Music, FACS, Indust Arts, Character Education, Curriculum for the Classroom, Integrated Curriculum, Language Arts, Math, Math Probem Solving, News and Information, Science, Social Studies, Target Teacher on the Trail, Technology Integration

01/11/2010

Iditarod Tunes: Iditarod Pokey and A Musher’s Song

Contributed by Sharyn Allen, PA
Sharyn is a retired Kindergarten teacher.  She wrote this as a gift for her grandson’s classroom.
Sing it students!
Sled Dog Pokey
You put your right paw in.
You put your right paw out.
You…

Filed under Art, Music, FACS, Indust Arts, Teacher Tips and Tools

01/11/2010

Qualifying Races for Iditarod

By Sally Simon, Educational Journalist, NY
I have to admit that in years past, I haven’t thought much about the qualifying races for the Iditarod.  I knew that rookies had to compete in qualifying races of over 300 miles, but…

Filed under 2010 Race Season, News and Information, Teacher Tips and Tools

01/06/2010

Decorating Iditarod Style

By Betsy Anderson, Educational Journalist
The best part of last year’s Iditarod unit was that we adopted a Junior Iditarod rookie musher, Justin Fink.  He visited us in December and again in May with some of his puppies.  He even…

Filed under Bulletin Board Displays, Jr. Iditarod, Teacher Tips and Tools

01/05/2010

Idita Kennel Activity

Idita-Kennel by Nancy Carroll
Students bring in a stuffed animal (dog) to place in our Idita-Kennel.  We use the dogs for all kinds of lessons throughout the race.  In ELA, after researching ‘Sled Dogs’ we write about different positive personality…

Filed under Integrated Curriculum, Math, Teacher Tips and Tools