Lesson Title: Explore the Arctic: Tracking the Dog Teams in the Ididarod Race

Adapted From:

Duration: 3-4 weeks

Grades: Upper Elementary (grade 4)

TEKS: Science 4.2 (b, c, d, e), 4.3 (e), 4.4(a), 4.8(a) Social Studies 4.7 (c) Math 4.2 (a, c) 4.3 (a, b), 4.5 (a), 4.14 (a, b, c, d), 15(a, b)

Lesson Overview:

Students will use the internet to gather and to analyze information about competing Iditarod dog teams during the actual race. Simple math calculations based on the collected information will make for real life situations. Students will also have the opportunity to share and compare data collected by fellow students.

Objectives:

The student will be able to

· Use the internet to research information

· Collect and record data

· Compare and share collected data with fellow classmates

· Identify characteristics of Alaska’s terrain

· Identify characteristics needed for survival in the Artic terrain

· Make observations about dog team based on data collected

Materials:

· Physical map of Alaska

· Student copy of Iditarod Tracking Sheet, Iditarod trail map (available at http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/trail.html )

Optional worksheets: Iditarod Anticipation Guide, and Number Sense – Race for the Cure

· Internet access

· Pen / pencil

· Clipboard

· Chart paper

Advance Preparation:

· Copy student sheets

· Reserve computer time for internet research if needed

· Have sites listed in FAVORITES file for easy access and productive use of research time:

http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/trail.html

http://www.oregontrail.net/~thesmiths/iditarod2002/idit.html

http://www.adn.com/iditarod/

http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/weather.html

Procedure:

Prior to the start of the Iditarod Race, which takes place early March each year; students visit the website http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/mushers/index.html to select a musher and dog team to follow throughout the race. These choices may be based on any criteria, (ex. Student may know someone who lives in the same hometown as the musher. Student may like the sound of their name. Student may base the decision on the past record of the musher.) Students may learn more about the musher and their team by reading the posted musher biographies.
During the race, students visit the websites and use the Iditarod Tracking sheet (worksheet 1), to gather and record checkpoint information about their dog team. Students are also encouraged to highlight the path of the team on their trail map.

· As students are tracking their team’s progress as a class identify characteristics of the Alaskan terrain.

· A comparison of the Alaskan terrain to the terrain of the area in which they live may be done on chart paper using a Venn diagram.

· Practice addition of decimals using distance between checkpoints as the addends.

Throughout the race students are encouraged to comment on their team’s progress or lack of, based on information and data they have collected, gathered and recorded.
Daily questions may be posted for students to answer based on their collected data. Example:

What fraction of Martin Buser’s dog team remained in the race as of 2:00 p.m. today?

Which of the team’s the class is following has the greatest part of their team left? Which team has the least?

Based on your recordings as of 1:00 p.m. how much total time (hours and minutes) has your musher spent resting so far in the race? Ask fellow classmates about their findings and rank the musher/time in order from greatest to least.

At which checkpoint so far in the race have the most dogs dropped out? Why do you think this is?

This will encourage students to compare and share collected data with that of their classmates.

As teams near the finish line, leave the live cam of the finish line up for students to see when teams cross the line. Keep track of the finishing teams by posting the date and time on a wall chart.
List the prize money each finishing team received. Be sure to add any extra prize money awarded. Use this information to practice three digit addition and subtraction.

Evaluation/Assessment:

Do the students collect accurate information and is it recorded in a legible manner?
Do the students’ comments support the information they gathered?
Are calculations accurate?

Extensions/Optional Activities:

· Prior to learning anything about the Alaskan Iditraod survey what the students might already know using the Anticipation Guide (worksheet 2).

· As the students are making selections of which dog team to follow, the story of the Iditarod may be shared with them through the number sense activity (see worksheet Students will use the numbers listed in the text box to fill in the blanks of the story. Answers may be verified in the book by Bill Sherwonit, Iditarod: The Great Race to Nome.

· Visit these websites for other ideas and activities related to the Alaskan Iditarod

http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/education.html

http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/3796/

http://www.designperfect.com/iditarod/

http://teacher.scholastic.com/iditarod/tguide/index.htm

http://www.dogsled.com/

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/sleddogs/

Literature Connections:

Akiak: A Tale from the Iditarod, Robert J. Blake (Illustrator), School & Library Binding,1997.

Alaska ABC Book by Charlene Kreeger and Shelley Gill, Paws IV, Sasquatch Books, 1978.

Alaska Mother Goose (Last Wilderness Adventure) by Shelley Gill, Shannon Cartwright (Illustrator), Paws IV, Sasquatch Books, 1996.

Alaska's Three Bears (Last Wilderness Adventure) by Shelley Gill, Shannon Cartwright (Illustrator), Paws IV, Sasquatch Books, 1990.

Balto and the Great Race (Stepping Stone) by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, Nora Koerber (Illustrator), Random House Children Books, 1999.

Black Star, Bright Dawn by Scott O'Dell, Mass Market Paperback, 1989.

The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto (Step into Reading/ Step 2), Natalie Standiford, Donald Cook (Illustrator), Random House, 1989.

Danger: The Dog Yard Cat (Last Wilderness Adventure), by Shelley Gill, Shannon Cartwright (Illustrator), Paws IV, Sasquatch Books, 1989.

Dashing Through the Snow: The Story of the Junior Iditarod
Sherry Shahan, Millbrook Press, December 1996.

Dogteam by Gary Paulsen, Ruth Wright Paulsen (Illustrator), Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young readers, 1995.

Iditarod: The Great Race to Nome by Bill Sherwonit, Jeff Schultz (photographer), Sasquatch Books, 2002.

The Iditarod Fact Book: A Complete Guide to the Last Great Race by Sue Mattson (Editor), Epicenter Press, 2001.

Kiana's Iditarod (Last Wilderness Adventure) by Shelley Gill, Shannon Cartwright (Illustrator), Paws IV, Sasquatch Books, 1984.

One Small Square – Artic Tundra by Donald M. Silver, Patricia J. Wynne (illustrator) Learning Triangle Press, 1994.

Running with the Big Dogs by Lori Yabuchi, Wendy Brown (illustrator), Ridge Rock Press, 1998.

Storm Run: The Story of the First Woman to Win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race by Libby Riddles, Shannon Cartwright (Illustrator), Sasquatch Books, 2001.

Worksheet 1 – Use to track the musher’s progress during the race.

Iditarod Tracking Sheet

_______________________________

(musher’s name)

Date	Checkpoint location name	Time-in	Time-out	# of dogs	Temp	Length of rest hrs:minutes	Ranking	Comments

(More cells should be added before copying for classroom use.

The further into the race the more often the students like to update their chart.)

Worksheet 2 Before reading anything about the race, fill in the BEFORE T/F. The AFTER section is filled in when some information has been learned that supports or disproves the answers listed in the BEFORE section.

Helpful websites information may be found at are:

http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/trail.html

http://www.oregontrail.net/~thesmiths/iditarod2002/idit.html

http://www.adn.com/iditarod/

Iditarod Anticipation Guide

Before choices will vary After

True	False	The route for the Iditarod remains the same each year.	True	False X
		Mushers must finish the race with the same number of dogs as they started with.		X
		Hike is a term used to tell the dogs to GO.	X
		A dog sled team may be scratched from the race even after the race has begun.	X

Worksheet 3 – Number Sense - Use the numbers at the right in the text box to fill in the blanks of the story below. Information collected from Bill Sherwonit’s book Iditarod: The Great Race to Nome.

The Race for Life

In ___1925___ the Great Race of Mercy to Nome, Alaska is said to have taken place. This is what led to the ___1149___ mile dog race of today, the Iditarod.

On January __26_th a ___20 lb__ bundle of diphtheria serum left Anchorage on a __298__ mile train trip to Nenana, Alaska. The package of medicine was needed in Nome to help stop an outbreak of the deadly “black death” disease. Since the state’s rail lines stopped in Nenana, dog sled teams were the only hope of getting the medicine across nearly ___700__ miles of one of the world’s roughest landscapes. In the deadly cold winter temperatures of __-50___ degrees the dog sled teams would successfully carry the life-saving serum a total of __674____ miles, Nenana to Nome. The last team of dogs arrived safely with the medicine at __5:30___ a.m. on February ___2__nd just ___7__ days after leaving Anchorage by train.

5:30

20 lb.

1149

674

-50

1925

26

2

700

298

7

Iditarod Tracking Sheet

Checkpoint