Alaska & the Iditarod

Literature Focus Unit

EDU 315

Literature Selection Dogs of the Iditarod by Jeff Schultz

The Iditarod: Story of the Last Race by Ian Young

Loving a Happy Dog by Mary Shields

Iditarod Dreams: Dusty and His Sled Dogs Compete in Alaska’s Jr. Iditarod by Ted Wood

Akiak: A Tale from the Iditarod by Robert J. Blake

Animals with Jobs: Sled Dogs by Judith Janda Presnall

Can Dogs Talk? by Mary Shields

Secret Messages: Training a Happy Dog by Mary Shields

Sled Dog Trails by Mary Shields

Dog Heroes: Sled Dogs by Lori Haskins

Sled Dogs Run by Jonathan London

Sled Dogs Speeding Through Snow by Alice B. McGinty

Welcome to the U.S.A.: Alaska by Ann Heinrichs

Alaska: Hello U.S.A. by Joyce Johnston

Alaska Animal Babies by Deb Vanasse

The Salmon Princess: An Alaskan Cinderella Story by Mindy Dwyer

Alaska ABC Book by Charlene Kreeger

If You Lived in the Alaska Territory by Nancy Smiler Levinson

Alaska’s Three Bears by Shelly Gill

Midnight Dance of the Snowshoe Hare: Poems of Alaska by Nancy Carlstrom

Theme Study

The students will participate in this thematic unit about

Alaska and the Iditarod Dogsled races. The thematic unit

with integrate subjects from across the curriculum

including: language arts (with reading, writing, speaking,

listening, viewing and visually representing skills skills),

science, mathematics, social studies, music and art, and

physical education. Students will also be able to use

technology as it is incorporated into several activities

within these subjects.

The purpose of this themed unit is to help students

develop a better understanding of the state of Alaska and

characteristics of that region, as well as the Iditarod

race.

Language Arts: Reading Activities

Students will participate in reading and listening to the teacher read

various fiction and non-fiction books from the literature selection list

through shared reading, guided reading, independent reading, buddy

reading, and reading aloud to others while actively participating in grand

conversations, focusing on terms, and examining the author’s purpose.

Students will buddy read one of the books from the literature selection

about Alaska or the Iditarod and discuss 2 ideas or facts they liked or

learned from the story.

The teacher will read aloud from Iditarod Dream by Ted Wood throughout

the week.

Students will each take time to individually read a poem from Midnight

Dance of the Snowshoe Hare: Poems of Alaska by Nancy Carlstrom.

Students will read a few selections from their 10 day travel journal.

Students will read their ‘What Is It’ poems to the class and the audience

will guess what the poem is about.

Students will read their stories about their sled dog to the class.

Students will read their acceptance speech to the class.

Language Arts: Writing Activities Students will participate in various types of writing genres including

informational writing, narrative writing, personal writing, and poetry writing

and take part in proofreading and group sharing exercises to improve writing

skills. Students will write a “What Is It?” poem about something in Alaska: an animal,

plant, mode of transportation, food, etc. Students will keep a 10 day travel journal of their experience on the Iditarod

trail that includes descriptions of the weather, wildlife sightings, condition of

the dog team, supplies on the journey, and pictures of the journey with

captions. Students will write an acceptance speech for winning the Iditarod Jr. race. Students will write a story about a dog they own or found and include the dog’s

name, how they trained their dog for the race, and what the dog ate and so on. Students will write interview questions to ask a musher and dog sled team

about the Iditarod. Students will be assigned a letter of the alphabet and help to create an Alaska

or Iditarod alphabet using words from the Alaska and Iditarod resources. i.e. A

is for Alaska, M is for Musher.

Language Arts: Speaking Activities Students will participate in several speaking/talking activities including observing a guest

speaker, observing the teacher speaking, speaking as a group, participating in grand

conversations, practice reciting new words in a different language, and give short oral

reports in small groups and to the class.

Students will share one of their favorite lines from the poem they read in Midnight Dance of

the Snowshoe Hare: Poems of Alaska by Nancy Carlstrom and explain what they learned

about poetry and/or Alaska from the poem to a small group of peers.

As an introduction to the unit, students will participate in a group discussion about what they

know about Alaska, the Iditarod, sled dogs, and etc.

Students will take part in a question/answer relay ‘Iditarod race’ where they advance to each

checkpoint along the trail by answering Alaska and Iditarod trivia questions correctly as a

small group or ‘sled team.’

Students will participate in a grand conversation about various types of transportation used

in Alaska in the past and the present and compare it to what we use here. Examples include:

dog sleds, ferries, ocean barges, trains, boats, plains, cars, snowmobiles, and etc. Then,

students will give a short oral report about a form of Alaskan transportation they have

experienced or would like to experience some day and explain why.

Students will listen to the teacher read If You Lived in the Alaska Territory by Nancy Smiler

Levinson and practice old Eskimo language/words as a class.

Teacher will invite a malamute or husky owner to come to class along with the dog and speak

about that breed of dog. Students will also be encouraged to ask the speaker questions

pertaining to the presentation.

Language Arts: Listening Activities Student will use three different types of listening including:

discriminative, aesthetic, and efferent listening throughout this

unit.

Students will practice respectful listening skills as their peers

present their stories, poems, and opinions in grand conversation

and general discussion.

Students will actively listen to the guest speaker’s presentation

and the teacher as she explains each aspect/activity of the unit.

Students will listen to audio recordings of various selections from

the literature selection of Alaska and Iditarod literature.

Students will listen to original songs native to the Alaska region.

Students will also respond to the music including information

about different sounds they heard, how it makes them feel, and

how that music is unique to that area of the world.

Language Arts: Viewing Activities Students will watch a short video that includes the lyrics of the Alaskan

state song and beautiful pictures of the region as the song is being sung.

Students will view artwork created by artists of Alaska.

Students will view a short video from the history channel about the

celebration of Alaska becoming the 49th state and compare it to modern

day events.

Students will view a short video on a massive oil spill in Alaska (will tie into

science activity).

Students will view a short National Geographic clip about Brown Bears in

Alaska.

Students will view photographs of wildlife in Alaska.

Students will view this website: http://www.jonvanzyle.com/ and discuss

the artwork in the shown picture books.

Students will view National Geographic photos of Denali National Park.

Students will look at and explore a map of Alaska and its different

landforms.

Language Arts: Visually

Representing Activities Students will create travel brochures with pictures and captions to persuade

tourists to vacation in Alaska.

Students will add pictures and two facts to their Alaska/Iditarod alphabet letter and

create a class alphabet book with the students artwork and facts and display the

book in the class library.

As a class, based off the group discussion, students will work together to create a

KWL chart at the beginning middle and end of the unit listing what they already

knew, what they want to learn throughout the unit, and the new information they

learned throughout the unit about Alaska and the Iditarod.

Students will create an idea web of items to take on a vacation to Alaska or on the

Iditarod trail and the use for each in small groups and present them to the class.

The class will then create two charts: Alaska Vacation and Iditarod Journey and

how many times each item was repeated in the web ideas.

Students will create their own Iditarod trail on a map of Alaska that includes a

compass rose, at least 8 checkpoints, distances between each checkpoint and the

total distance, and the distance measured in units of their choice along with a scale.

Students will use Jing to create a short video on the Iditarod race that includes 10

facts.

Science Activities

Mathematics Activities Students will measure the distances of the Iditarod on a map using

different materials. i.e. noodles, blocks, yarn, M&Ms, and etc.

Students will use the dog teams from the Iditarod to practice addition,

subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Students will graph the distances between the checkpoints on the

Iditarod trail using a bar graph. Using the information on the bar graph,

they will determine the longest distance, shortest distance, and if there

are any equal or almost equal distances.

Students will create line graphs of the most recent Iditarod times using

the musher’s name or number for the x-axis and the times for the y-axis.

Then, students will find the slowest time, fastest time, average time, and

the difference between first and last place.

Students will estimate how much dog sled weighs when it is ready to hit

the Iditarod trail and how much it will weigh when it crosses the finish

line.

Social Studies Activities

Students will explore the different land forms found in,

near, and around Alaska and how they contribute to the

economics of the area. i.e. mountains, oceans, plains,

etc.

Students will locate Alaska on a map, discuss where it is

in relation to where we live and in relation to the United

States. Then, students and teacher will discuss the

weather in this region and how it relates to its position on

the earth.

Students will research the local economy and ways of life

related to Alaska, i.e., careers, food supply, wildlife,

tourist attractions, and so on.

Students will compare the size of Alaska to the rest of the

United States and discuss population sizes.

Music and Art Activities Students will listen to music common in the region of Alaska.

Students will look at and experiment with instruments heard in the

Alaskan music and instruments commonly used in Alaska.

Students will create a sign mushers would see at a checkpoint

along the Iditarod trail, including: the banner/poster with the name

of the checkpoint, what is available here (food, water, shelter),

how long they stay at that spot, and words of encouragement.

Students will create a collage or an Alaskan scene using various

art supplies: glitter, sequins, National Geographic magazines,

newspaper clippings, markers, paint, glue, cotton balls, and etc.

Students will create their own sled team out of any animal they

choose and clip them from magazines to create a winning team!

Students will make little dog booties like the ones Iditarod dogs

wear on their paws. They will decorate them and then put little dog

treats inside and donate them to local animal shelters.

Physical Education Activities

Students will divide into 3-4 teams and have their own

dog sled races in the snow with one student as the

musher and the rest as the dog team.

Students will dig out their own little pit and burrow down

in them like the dogs do when they take a break from the

race to rest or weather out a storm.

Students will discuss healthy habits for children and

adults. Then, students will discuss what dogs need to eat

and do to stay healthy and prepare for the Iditarod.

Students will create an Iditarod ‘trail’ mix for a healthy

snack based on what the mushers eat during the race

and foods found in Alaska.

Students will go sledding in the snow and ride on the sled

like an injured or resting musher.

Technology http://www.apples4theteacher.com/usa-states/Alaska

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/student-

activities/search?query=Alaska

http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=5810&CategoryID=

1183

http://www.history.com/topics/alaska/videos#alaska-becomes-49th-state

http://www.teachersdomain.org/assets/wgbh/ean08/ean08_int_contamina

nts/ean08_int_contaminants.swf

http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=6176&CategoryID=

1183 (brownbearvideo)

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/denali-photos/

National Geographic magazines

Ranger Rick magazines

Newspapers

http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

Audiotapes/CDs/MP3s of selected Alaskan/Iditarod literature

Language Arts Strategies Activating Background Knowledge: students will reflect on what they already know

about Alaska and the Iditarod.

Connecting: students will relate ideas they learn about Alaska and the Iditarod to

real world application through journaling and writing stories.

Play With Language: students will use language creatively by learning Eskimo

words, and writing creative stories, poems, and journals.

Recognize Genre: students will recognize journals, artwork, poetry, fiction, and

non-fiction stories about Alaska and the Iditarod.

Integrate Multimedia: students will view videos, listen to audiotapes, and use

technology to create a project online.

Visualizing: students will visualize themselves in the Iditarod race and in Alaska

through stories, poems, videos, and journals they read and write.

Elaborate: students will discuss information they have learned in the different

genres of literature and multimedia.

Organize: students will organize their ideas about topics of Alaska and the Iditarod

to write in their journals and stories and present ideas to the class.

Proofreading and Revising: students will reread and make changes to their writing.

Observe: students will observe a guest speaker and an actual sled dog, other

students opinions and speaking abilities.

Grouping Patterns

Large Group: grand conversations, class introductions and

discussions, simulated dog-sled races in the snow, sledding,

viewing videos, listening to guest speaker, creating a KWL

chart, listening to peers oral presentations/readings,

listening to teacher reading, compiling Alaskan/Iditarod

alphabet, making Iditarod trial mix, creating graphs to

measure distances and time.

Small Group: peer conferencing, small group discussions,

partner reading, making dog booties with treats to donate,

measuring distances between checkpoints,

Individual: reading poems and other literature individually,

keeping a travel journal, writing a poem, short stories and

other short pieces, creating Alaskan/Iditarod alphabet letter

Assessments Participation in group discussion/grand conversations.

Contributing to the KWL chart

Travel journal entries and short stories: rubric

Math graphs and Iditarod maps: checklist

Active participation in physical activities and asking questions to

guest speaker

Informal observation of oral presentations, participation in science

experiment and discussions, and other small group discussions

Informal observation of student work on Alaskan/Iditarod alphabet

with facts and pictures

What Is It? Poem: checklist and observation

Short stories: 6+1 Writing Traits