Fill Me In on the Iditarod Name ____________________________________ Date __________________

Word Bank:Iditarod Nome March 1925 50 degrees curledfurry gee Kingmik mush mushers haw100 1,200 1967 weeks Anchorage Alaskamedicine coat 25 200 snowshoes

In the month of ______________ a sled dog race called the ________________ takes place in the state of _________________. The sled drivers, called ______________, drive their dog teams from the city of ________________ to the city of _____________________. The race route, or path, is about _________________ miles long. It can take the racers as long as three __________________ to finish the race. To get the dogs to start, the command _________________ is used. The command ______________ means turn left. _________________ means turn right.

The Iditarod helps people remember the brave sled drivers who worked together to deliver ___________________ to the people of Nome. The event occurred in ___________________. The Iditarod began in __________________. A good sled dog has many characteristics. It has a very thick fur covering or ________________. Its feet are like __________________ and help the dog to stay on top of the snow. A good sized sled dog is only ________________ inches high at the shoulder. A sled dog’s ears are _________________ inside to keep them warm. When a sled dog sleeps outside, it keeps its tail __________________ over its nose. These dogs can sleep comfortably even when it is _________________ below zero outside. A sled dog can pull about ___________________ pounds a day for a distance of 30-40 miles. ____________________ is the name of a type of pure-bred Eskimo dog. There

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are only about 200 left today. Most sled dogs used today are mixed breeds, Siberian Huskies, Samoyeds, or Alaskan Malamutes.