*This section of the site is under construction.  When completed, it will contain the lessons Kim placed on the website and her journal that was posted capturing her experiences and observations along the Iditarod Trail as the 2002 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ .

Check back and watch the progress!

View Kim’s Language Arts Curriculum:

Iditarod Language Arts PDF Document

Curriculum information:  PowerPoint Presentation: (Same information as in the above PDF document.)

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3 to be uploaded at a later date.

View Kim’s Iditarod Journey in PDF Documents: (Created after Kim’s Journey)

Part 1

Part 2

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Iditarod Dedication by Kim Harrick

I would like to dedicate my involvement in the 2002 Iditarod Sled Dog Race to Michael Blank and his family.  Michael was a student in my 2nd grade class the first year I taught the Iditarod in-depth.  Michael’s trail led him to heaven in the Spring of 2001.

Michael taught me many things I hope to embrace throughout the race.  He had a heart that was kind to everyone he met.  He observed situations and was able to respond with a broad perspective. And Michael’s sense of humor continues to make me laugh today.

May Michael’s family know the peace, love, joy and laughter Michael brought to so many people’s lives.  Thanks so much for sharing him with me.

In loving memory of Michael Blank.

*************

Biography of Kimberly Harrick Kavanagh

Growing up in Edwardsville, Illinois, the oldest of three children, I enjoyed camping, hiking, softball and field hockey.  My father was a professor of business management and my mother was a mathematic teacher then a homemaker.  Together, they modeled the value of education and the importance of hard work.  They emphasized that if you work hard and try to learn from life’s experiences, you have a high probability of achieving your goals.  During college, I noticed that my most fulfilling experiences were related to my involvement with children.  Whether it was teaching field hockey to elementary students or facilitating adolescent discussion groups, I decided that teaching needed to be part of my life.

After I graduated I took a teaching job in Saipan, a small island that is part of the Northern Mariana Islands in the South Pacific.  It was most challenging to learn the customs, traditions and way of life encompassing the Chamorro culture.  I taught second grade at Mount Carmel Catholic School.

I returned to the United States and secured a second grade teaching position at a large, progressive school district in the St. Louis, Missouri, area.  Over the past ten years I have dedicated my life to the children of Ridge Meadows Elementary School in the Rockwood School District.

In 1996, I was selected as the Ridge Meadows Teacher of the Year.  Three years later, I received the district’s most prestigious award, Rockwood’s Outstanding Service in Education (R.O.S.E.) Award.  The award recognizes achievement in four categories:  excellence of character, performance, leadership and service. Since I received that award, I have served on the R.O.S.E. award selection committee.

During my time away from school, traveling has always been a priority. I have been able to see many parts of the world and have enjoyed each experience fully.  My love for international travel started while I was in high school.  My field hockey team traveled all over England to compete against other club teams.  One year later I departed to Finland and Sweden to visit a friend and was able to experience the Scandinavian way of life.  The Saipan adventure included travel to Japan and Hawaii.  Years later, I decided to fulfill a dream of backpacking across Italy. I euro-railed and backpacked to Venice, Rome, Florence and Sienna, staying at hostels along the way.  On a recent trip from California to Illinois, my sister and I stopped at Yosemite, the Painted Desert and the Grand Canyon!  As children, we dreamed of climbing a mountain.  That dream became a reality in August 1999 in Yosemite National Park as we conquered Half Dome.

During the summer of 2000, I became engaged to Sean, a pilot for Northwest Airlines.  Sean has spent many seasons in Alaska and longed to share his love for this great state with me.  It was then that I traveled with Sean to Alaska and visited the Iditarod Headquarters for the first time.  I acquired several children’s books, teaching materials, videos and rolls of film to share with my future classes.  Raymie Redington gave me my 1st dogsled ride around the headquarters.  He convinced me to apply for the Iditarod Teacher on the Trail Program.  After taking his advice, I was selected as a finalist and look forward to the opportunity of teaching from the trail in 2002!

July 14, Sean and I celebrated our wedding day with family, friends and former students.  We honeymooned in Bermuda and returned to our new residence in Kirkwood, Missouri.

Math: Problem of the Day

by Andrea Aufer-Hyde

Monday

1. Three pieces of equipment were in the snow–a gangline, a sled bag and a harness. They belong to Joseph, James and Jeffery. James does not own the harness or the gangline. Joseph’s equipment goes on the dog. Who owns the gangline?

Tuesday

2. Two Jr. Iditarod mushers have a total of seventeen necklines. One has five more than the other. How many necklines do they each have?

Wednesday

3. DeeDee, Lyn and Joy ran a sprint race with only six dogs each. Joy’s time was faster than Lyn’s time, but Joy did not win. Who won the race? Who came in last?

4. Sam must be in Wasilla with his dogs for the vet check by 8:15 a.m. It takes him about three hours and ten minutes to get to Wasilla from his home. What time should Same leave his home to arrive in Wasilla on time?

Thursday

5. Choose four mushers’ names that are in the Iditarod. What are the possibilities for the way the race could have finished with those four mushers?

6. Four dogs each had their own sleds in a dog sled race. The dogs’ names were Bandito, Sweetie Pie, M&M and Paws. Paws finished the race before Sweetie Pie but behind Bandito. M&M did not win, but she beat Sweetie Pie and Paws. Give the order of finish.

Friday

7. Six mushers met each other at the mushers’ banquet. If they each shake hands one time with every other person, how many handshakes will there be?

8. In the morning the temperature was -28 degrees F. By noon it was -50 degrees F, by 2:00 the temperature was 31 degrees. How many degrees did the temperature rise during the day? What fact did you not need to know to answer the question?

Saturday

9. If each team has sixteen dogs and there are fifty-nine teams, how many dogs will leave Anchorage?

10. Abbi has a team of sixteen dogs. Eight of the dogs have blue eyes, two have yellow eyes, two have brown eyes and four have black eyes. Draw a circle graph to show the percentage of eye colors.

Sunday

11. Today is February 28, 1999, the end of the Jr. Iditarod. What was the date three days ago? What will the date be tomorrow?

12. Carole buys seventeen big bags of dog food. She can only fit two bags into each grocery bag. How many grocery bags will she need?

Monday

13. Finney is standing in line to board the airplane headed to Anchorage. There are thirty-six people in front of her. There are thirty-eight people behind her. What is Finney’s position in line? How many people are standing in line?

14. A small jar of Vaseline for the dogs’ feet costs ninety cents. The Vaseline costs fifty cents more than the jar. How much does the Vaseline cost? How much does the jar cost?

Tuesday

15. There are seven black huskies, four white huskies and five gray huskies. What fraction of the team of huskies is gray?

16. Samantha has thirty-two huskies. She buys twelve more from another muhers. She gives two dogs to each of her five friends. How many dogs does Sammie have now?

Wednesday

17. It is snowing two inches every hour. If it snows for twelve more hours, hmow many inches of snow will be on the ground?

18. Sloan leaves Safety checkpoint at quarter after four. He reaches Nome three and one-half hours later. What time did he arrive in Nome?

Thursday

19. Charlie and Don have one hundred thirty-six dogs combined in their separate dog lots. Don has twelve more than Charlie in his lot. How many dogs do they each have in their dog lots?

20. The race begins at 10:15 a.m. Alaska time. What time will it be in Pacific Time, Mountain Time, Central Time and Eastern Time?

Friday

21. Each dog eats approximately 5,000 calories a day while on the Trail. How many calories would a team of sixteen dogs consume?

22. During January, February and March, Peg read twenty-nine Iditarod books. She read 3 more in March than February. She read five more in January than February. She read twelve books in January. How many books did she read each month?

23. If it cost twenty-five cents per pound to send your food bags to the checkpoints, how much will two thousand pounds cost to ship?

24. This is a dog family. M&M is Lollipop’s mother. Bon Bon is M&M’s mother. How is Bon-Bon related to Lollipop?

25. Henry leaves McGrath at 9:52. It takes him four hours and sixteen minutes to reach the next checkpoint. What time is it when he gets there?

26. You have two pairs of long underware pants and three different tops. How many different outfits can you make? Draw a diagram.

Daily Oral Language Sentences

by Andrea Aufder-Hyde

Monday

1. yesterday we went to musher susans cabin to played with the dog’s

Tuesday

2. on the trail I founded snow moose wolves overflow and went threw white-outs

Wednesday

3. the iditarod trail sled dog race will begun in anchorage alaska on march 6 1999

4. is the iditarod headquarters located in wasilla alaska

Thursday

5. lynda plettner are a musher from big lake alaska which is located near willow

6. the iditarod race commemorates the serum run from nenana to nome

Friday

7. what do the musher use to sea in the dark

8. i wonder when I will take my 24 our mandatory layover said the musher

Saturday

9. it was the three veterinarians decision to shipped the dog’s back to anchorage

10. wow the northern light’s is glorious in the sky last night

Saturday

9. it was the three veterinarians decision to shipped the dog’s back to anchorage

10. wow the northern light’s is glorious in the sky last night

Sunday

11. the swirling snow ice and winds caused the musher to be un able to sea

12. the tallest mountain in north america is called denali

Monday

13. a incredible new book about huskys and mushing is called born to pull

14. walt disney made a movie from the book balto but we shouldnt overlook the importance of togo

Tuesday

15. the ending of the book stonefox illustrates the lifeskills of perseverance effort caring and friendship

16. i wonder what would have happen if kiana had finished the race in day light

Wednesday

17. there is an old gold mining ghost town called iditarod

18. my for dogs lizzie m&m emmyline and sport was dropped off at the white mountain checkpoint

Thursday

19. my sled broke and I need new runner a handle and stanchions

20. the old dog’s teach the young dog’s how to run together as a teem

Friday

21. is there a difference between the fir on a white huskie and the fir on a black and gray huskie

22. has dr herndon checked all the puppys foot

23. don’t play with rosie my pet huskie

24. were gonna go for a run with a teem of ate dog’s

25. im gonna get sum water for my dog’s don said

26. he gots my boots and sue gots my boot liners wicking sock’s and woolen sock’s

***

Trail Questions

1.      A musher must walk behind his sled to help his dogs.  If he is going across the Farewell Burn for 120 miles and will walk 75%  of the time,  How many miles will  he walk?

2.      Your team of dogs loves to eat honey balls as a snack.  You stop the team 12 times between checkpoints to snack them.  How many honey balls would you give to a  team of 16 dogs?  (They each only get one!)

3.      You have quickly come down a hill onto a frozen stream with an overflow.  Describe what the crossing was like for you (the musher) and the dogs.

4.      You fall asleep on your sled and awake to find your lead dog has taken the wrong turn and you are now floundering in deep snow and the dogs are all tangled.  What life skills will you use to get yourself and dogs out of this situation?

5.      If the temperature drops 4 degrees every hour, how many degrees would the temperature drop between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m.

6.      Because of the terrain, you must change your team’s booties every five miles.  There are now 11 dogs in your team.  The distance from one checkpoint to the other is 275 miles. How many booties will you need to use?

7.      The night sky is glorious with  an outstanding display of  the Northern Lights.  Create a visual to illustrate this

8.      You are totally exhausted.  Your team was recently fed, rested and booties.  They are pulling well.  What can YOU do to exemplify the life skill of perseverance

9.      It is 2:30 a.m. and the temperature is –47 degrees.  If the temperature drops 3 degrees every half hour, what will  the temperature be by 8:30 a.m.?

10.  The sun is so hot on the trail, that the snow is melting quickly.  In 15 minutes, five gallons of water are collected.  How much water will be collected in an hour?

11.  Visualize a musher and his team coming through a white-out. Create this as an art project using any medium to make it effective.

12.  Pretend you are the lead dog.  Write about your feelings and challenges as you lead the team from one checkpoint to another.

13.  If you are near the end of the teams on the trail and things look pretty bleak, how can you continue to motivate yourself and your dogs to finish the race?

14.  You must send all the dog food ahead to all of the checkpoints.  How do you calculate the amount of food that you will need to send for a team of 16 dogs?

15.  As a class project, see if you can create your own verse to Hobo Jim’s ‘Iditarod Trail’ Song.

Download Lesson Plan: Legends: Raven…A Trickster Tale From The Pacific Northwest

2/05/2008 2008 Iditarod Math Problem of the Day 21-25

1/29/2008 2008 Iditarod Math Problem of the Day 16-20

1/22/2008 Iditarod and the Science of Force

1/21/2008 2008 Iditarod Math Problem of the Day 11 – 15

1/13/2008 Barking Up the Right Tree (6 traits writing)

Worksheet: voice rubric

1/13/2008 Leaping to a Healthy Heart

Worksheet: Leap Olympics Checklist

Worksheet: Leap Olympics Events

1/12/2008 Mapping the Common Thread Quilt Project

1/10/2008 2008 Iditarod Math Problem of the Day 6-10

1/06/2008 Iditarod 2008 Math Problem of the Day 1-5

1/06/2008 Junior Iditarod Venn Diagram

1/05/2008 The Teacher Times January Edition

1/05/2008 What it Takes – citizenship (character ed)

1/03/2008 That’s the Name of the Game (culture)

12/29/2007 The Teacher Times December Edition

12/27/2007 New Year – a sled dog pup’s first year (science)

Worksheet: sled dog pup first year synopsis

Worksheet: sled dog pup math problems

12/27/2007 Order! Order! (6 Traits writing)

Worksheet: organization rubric

12/23/2007 What it Takes – stewardship (character ed)

11/28/2007 Choose Your Words Wisely (6 Traits writing)

Worksheet: sentences to revise for word choice

Worksheet: word choice rubric

11/25/2007 What it Takes – respect (character education)

11/25/2007 Christmas – the season of giving-service learning

Worksheet: Mushers Charitable Organizations/Causes

11/25/2007 Call for Quilts

11/18/2007 Your Personal Slogan

11/03/2007 What it Takes – positive attitude (character ed)

11/03/2007 Who Has – money management terms (economics)

Worksheet: game cards

11/03/2007 World Wide Pie (geography)

Worksheet: introduction

Worksheet: rubric

11/03/2007 Thanksgiving – game birds on Iditarod (science)

11/03/2007 The Teacher Times November Edition

10/22/2007 Woodsong Journal Ideas

10/14/2007 The Teacher Times October Edition

9/23/2007 Money Then and Now (soc. st./economics)

Worksheet: Fact Finding Worksheet

9/23/2007 He Says, She Says (soc. st./culture/foreign lang.)

9/22/2007 Halloween – Musher Costume (science)

Worksheet: Musher Costume Investigation Lab Sheet

9/06/2007 The Teacher Times September Edition

9/03/2007 What it Takes – self-control, self-respect

8/29/2007 Labor Day- Iditarod Workers (soc. st./economics)

8/18/2007 Classroom Checker’s Reports (classroom management)

8/13/2007 Happy Trails (geography/history/social studies)

8/06/2007 SOS! (economics)

Worksheet: Budget Sheet

Worksheet: Musher Expense Information

8/06/2007 What it Takes – goal setting (character education)

8/02/2007 The Teacher Times August Edition

7/06/2007 What it Takes – responsibility

7/06/2007 The Teacher Times July Edition

7/06/2007 And The Nominees Are (character education)

Worksheet: scoring rubric

7/06/2007 Take a Left on Cactus Road (cultural influence)

Worksheet: scavenger hunt checklist

7/06/2007 Let’s Go! Hike! (economics)

Worksheet: fundraising worksheet

7/06/2007 Alaskan Cinderella Stories (literature)

7/06/2007 Iceberg to Iceberg (P.E.)

7/06/2007 Is It Still Summer? (seasons)

Worksheet: seasons activity

7/06/2007 Arctic Animal Trading Cards (science)

Worksheet: trading card pattern

Worksheet: trading card rubric

7/06/2007 And in Corner #49 – Alaska! (map skills)

7/06/2007 There’s More Than One Way! (creative thinking)

Worksheet: SCAMPER activity guidelines

7/06/2007 There’s a Moose on the Loose! (models)

7/06/2007 Northern Lights (art)

7/06/2007 Investigative Reporters (science)

Worksheet: example guidelines

Worksheet: investigative reporters rubric

7/06/2007 In Other Words (vocab)

Worksheet: vocabulary map

7/06/2007 Alaskan Living Wax (cross-curricular)

Worksheet: wax museum abstract rubric

Worksheet: wax museum display rubric

6/30/2007 The Common Thread Quilt

• Download Lesson Plan: Readers Theater (PDF)
• Download Lesson Supplement: Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Script (PDF)
• Download Lesson Supplement: First and Second Grade Script (PDF)

• Download Lesson Plan: Iditarod in Rhyme and Song (PDF)
• Download Lesson Supplement: Iditarod Song Sheet (PDF)
• Download Lesson Supplement: Iditarod Song Chart (PDF)
• Download Lesson Supplement: Five Little Huskies Poem (PDF)
• Download Lesson Supplement: Iditarod, Iditarod, A Dog Sled Race Song Sheet (PDF)

• Download Lesson Plan: Sing to Read (PDF)
  
• Download Lesson Supplement: Iditer-cise Song Sheet (PDF)
  
• Download Lesson Supplement: Iditarod Puzzle (PDF)
• Download Lesson Supplement: Photo of Student in Action (PDF)