The Iditarod: Sharing the Last Great Race on Earth
Captivate students and extend on learning through an exploration of the Iditarod.
By andrea@lessonplanet.com
In less than a weeks time, mushers and their sled dog teams will head out into the Alaskan artic tundra to begin the iconic and arduous 1049-mile journey that is the Iditarod. Beginning in 1973, the race started as a way to test sled dog musher's skills. The first Saturday of every March, the journey begins anew with teams facing the elements as they travel from Anchorage to Nome. Over the years, the race has evolved into a highly competitive and publicized event, yet it has retained its historical and cultural significance.
Books Showcasing Elements of the Iditarod
- Children of the Midnight Sun: Young Native Voices of Alaska by Tricia Brown
- Iditarod Dream: Dusty and His Sled Dogs Compete in Alaska’s Junior Iditarod by Ted Wood
- Balto – Sled Dog of Alaska by LaVere Anderson
- Over in the Arctic: Where the Cold Winds Blow by Marianne Berkes
- Akiak: A Tale from the Iditarod by Robert J. Blake
- Dogteam by Gary Paulsen
- Woodsong by Gary Paulsen
- No End in Sight: My Life as a Blind Iditarod Racer by Rachael Scdoris and Rick Steber
- Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
- Dogsong by Gary Paulsen
- The Call of the Wild by Jack London
- White Fang by Jack London
Teacher on the Trail
Every year, one educator is chosen to be the "Teacher on the Trail" in order to support and foster education outreach. This educator flies between race checkpoints, observing and documenting the race. Their reflections and observations are recorded and shared through an online journal. Using their experiences to invigorate learning, this educator spends the rest of their year traveling around the globe developing and sharing related curricula with teachers and students.
Bringing the Race to Life in the Classroom
The excitement of the Iditarod carries across all subject matter, providing a fantastic thematic vehicle for exploring and mastering content objectives. There are a myriad of possible activities for students of all ages.
- Musher Cards: Many students enjoy creating trading cards featuring the mushers and dogs from the race. This can be a fun way to investigate and document stats related to the Iditarod.
- Iditarod Poetry: Taking part in the Iditarod takes tremendous physical and mental skill. The musher's experiences are inspiring and thought provoking. Poetry is a great medium to describe and celebrate the human and animal efforts from the race.
- Sled Design: Younger students can draft and label the design using appropriate terminology, while older students can draft and even build scale models.
- Biography of Life on the Trail: My students loved creating fictional biographies of the journey from a sled dog’s perspective. Their biographical account included facts from the race such as checkpoints, common hazards encountered, and scenery befitting the places traveled.
- Mapping the Trail: Using mapping software, students can graphically represent the race and track progress of their favorite mushers from this years race.
Iditarod Lessons:
Integrated Unit Using the Iditarod
Imersing students in the Iditarod, this four week unit is full of activities, assessments, and resources. The class is sure to enjoy building a sled, sharing new vocabulary, and much more.
As students explore the Iditarod through articles, web resources, and stories, they collect a variety of vocabulary terms. These terms are first recorded in a word web, then later used as inspiration to create a class picture dictionary. This lesson could be adjusted to allow students to create their own personal picture dictionaries using PPT and then share them with the class.
Working through a number of centers, kids will recreate the action and excitement of the race. While students are sure to enjoy charting, graphing and exploring Iditarod focused literacy projects, this 7 day mini-unit could be shortened to easily fit within an instructional week.