Get Ready Early for the Iditarod!!
Filed Under (Discovery, Project Approach) by Maryann Molishus on 22-11-2008
I was so happy to see that Discovery was featuring the Iditarod in a series this year. When I meet parents for the first time at the beginning of the year, one of the first questions I hear is, “Are you ‘doing’ the Iditarod this year?” I would imagine that there aren’t that many classrooms out there with parents asking that question!! Our Iditarod project has become such a hit with students, but even more exciting, the project is a hit with FAMILIES! It is because of the fabulous resources available through the official Iditarod Web site as well as other resources, which now include Discovery’s addition, that makes this project possible. Look through your district’s standards. I bet you can find a way to link standards to this historical/current event. I have some great resources if you are interested too. One of our favorite pre-race events is a huge banquet with singing and dancing, presentation of our “classroom mushers” by our fifth grade buddies/sponsors, and, of course, food! To prepare for the banquet the children spend time creating themed-tablecloths, learning manners, writing poems, and learning all about the real Iditarod that they are about to follow. Mark your calendars. The race begins Saturday, March 7. Don’t wait to start planning…
I was considering starting a different kind of lesson on dogs and I cam across this article. I had no idea what you were talking about through the entire article, so what a surprise to find it was about a dog race. How fun. I am starting to prepare for a virtual conference with a retired military dog trainer who now works for a private company in Iraq. I have been trying to be creative in ways I can fit it into k-5 curriculum because it is such a good opportunity. I can see it being part of a bigger unit now that I came across your blog post about the Iditarod. Please, share with me your resources and I too will share with you my experiences and new found resources as I go through them!
I will gather materials – send me an email – see retaggr (connect) on right side. The best place to start is at http://www.iditarod.com. There are so many resources there, and it takes a while to get through everything! Have fun.