iditarod

On this site you will find ideas to use in the classroom, links to many resources online and my "iditakid" sledkid race. The Iditarod becomes a natural extension to my "Around the world in 36 Weeks" unit. I begin the two - three week unit with an overview of the history of the Klondike Gold Rush. I read excerpts from books and show pictures taken from the internet. I found it interesting that large dogs were often stolen and sold to goldseekers to carry loads and show them Jack London's book The Call of the Wild. I made up a maze which uses some of the areas in the Klondike trail and some of the difficulties which were presented. You may wish to have the students make up their own board game which can incorporate some of the hurdles faced by the thousands who joined "the rush". One site with easy to navigate pictures and accompanying sentences is Writing Den: The Klondike. Another site with plenty of interesting information is The Klondike Gold Rush.

The week before the Iditarod begins I introduce the history behind the great serum run to Nome by reading information from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History on the Story of Balto. You can find a new version of this at the web site listed in resources below. As I read the information I show pictures on the overhead from the book "The True Story of Balto" - Step into Reading Book by Natalie Standiford. I make sure I point out that many were involved in the race and it was a team effort to bring the life-saving serum. Many people feel that the real canine hero of the Serum Run was not Balto, but rather Leonard Seppala's dog Togo. Togo covered the most mileage in lead during the run, but because Balto got to run the last leg into Nome he became famous.

The students are required to take jot notes (with some prompting) about the facts of the serum run. Later we watch the Disney movie "Balto". Fact and Fiction are discussed after the video as we compare the information given in both. Students enjoy pointing out the true facts. Check my links page for great sites on Balto.

Click here for Mrs. Morgan's Serum Run worksheet that you could also use as you read the story.

I use the internet site from Nome - Convention and Visitors Bureau to have the students find the answers to a multiple choice worksheet. There are some great sites but I found this one easy for my students to navigate. E-mail me if you wish the answers for the worksheet. You can also view 10 question Iditarod Scored Quiz Online - Surfing the Net with Kids site.

I have also found a neat gameboard, ready to be printed, at Hilinelake.com.

Using the musher's list found at designperfect.com/iditarod, I have the students pick two mushers. Each morning I announce the top twenty and read the last portion of Woodsong by Gary Paulsen to correspond with the day of the race. The kids love it. You can have them write letters to their mushers, make up their own journal as if they were racing, or write a story about what the moose think about this invasion. Scholastic had a great site which can help with some writing ideas.

Literature:

Paulsen, Gary. Woodsong. (ISBN: 0-140-3405) I read some selections aloud to my Grade 4's as we followed the musher's progress. (See back of book for Daily Journal).

Standiford, Natalie. The Bravest Dog Ever--The True Story of Balto. (Step Into Reading series, Step 2). Factual account for younger readers of the 1925 Serum Run from Nenana to Nome. Used as a resource to compare fact to fiction in Walt Disney's "Balto" cartoon.

O'Dell, Scott - Black Star, Bright Dawn

Paulsen, Gary - Winterdance: The Madness of the Iditarod.

Blake, Robert - Togo.

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