Mrs. Pearce, Mrs. Gerstlauer, Mrs. Metz, and Mrs. O Brien
Dear Parents,
On Friday, February 28, we will begin our Classroom Iditarod with an exciting banquet. The Classroom Iditarod is an optional, independent project where the children can complete tasks to reach first, second, or third place in the race depending on the number of tasks completed. At the same time, we will follow the actual Iditarod race taking place in Alaska beginning March 1. See the attached pages for details of the Classroom Iditarod tasks. You may access Classroom Iditarod information on my website, and there are paper copies of the tasks available in the classroom for the children to take if they want. Some tasks will require you to use your own plain paper. The children will have some time to work on tasks in school, but most of the work is to be completed at home.
If your children choose to participate in the Classroom Iditarod, they will be challenged with Common Core based, interesting, and fun activities. It is wonderful to see the children excited about learning, and you may enjoy learning about the Iditarod with your children as well!!!
We will give detailed explanations to the children in school, but please let us know if you have any questions or if you need some clarification.
Happy mushing,
Mrs. Pearce, Mrs. Gerstlauer, Mrs. Metz, and Mrs. O’Brien
Name: ______
***IDITAROD PROJECT***
You will be tracking the mushers racing in the Iditarod. We will be having our own race in the classroom. Follow the directions below to try to finish our Classroom Iditarod in FIRST PLACE. Good luck to all participants!!!!!!! (Tasks usually take about 2 weeks to complete. I will announce the deadline once I see how everyone is working.)
Þ In order to finish in first place you must complete 7 of the Iditarod activities.
-OR-
Þ Complete the Idita-read and one other activity.
Þ In order to finish in second place you must complete 5 of the Iditarod activities.
-OR-
Þ Complete the Idita-read.
Þ In order to finish in third place you must complete 3 of the Iditarod activities.
Directions must be followed carefully, and all work must be your neatest and best work or it will be returned to you to fix. We recommend turning in each task as it is completed instead of waiting for the deadline or for all chosen tasks to be finished.
***Turn to the next page to see your choices of activities.***
Iditarod Activities
1. Use a calculator to find the cost of purchasing one full set of musher equipment. Use the Equipment Price List Task #1 Sheet.
2. Volunteers are very important to the Iditarod. Draw a picture of something you might do as a volunteer to help a musher get ready for the Iditarod. Include a caption under your drawing. Use your own paper for this. There is some helpful information at http://www.iditarod.com/volunteers/ .
3. Write about the history of the Iditarod. Use http://iditarod.com/about/history/ to help find your information.
4. Read about the Junior (Jr.) Iditarod at http://www.jriditarod.com/ . Pretend you are racing in the Junior Iditarod. Write a short story about your adventure. Be creative!
5. Complete an Iditarod multimedia presentation using PowerPoint, Photo Story, or Movie Maker. Your presentation should explain the important parts of the Iditarod race. Task #5 can count for up to 3 tasks if it is well done and informative. CHALLENGING!!
6. Complete the Iditarod Sheet – Task #6 Math Problem Sheet. You must show all math thinking!!
7. Complete the Iditarod Scavenger Hunt using www.iditarod.com.
8. Describe one of the Iditarod rules and why it is important to the race. Use five or more sentences. Include what might happen if the Iditarod did not have that rule. Use http://iditarod.com/race/rules/ to find the rules.
9. Complete the Musher Profile sheet for your musher. Use http://iditarod.com/race/2014/mushers/ to find this information. You might have to go to your musher’s Web site to find more information.
10. Write a poem about the Iditarod. Remember, poems do not have to rhyme. Use your own paper to write or type it. You can illustrate it too. Two ideas are included in this packet but don’t have to be used. One idea is a cinquain which is included in this packet. Another idea would be to do an acrostic poem using the word “Iditarod.” Each line should be a phrase or sentence
11. Make an Iditarod word search to share with the class. Use at least 10 words related to the Iditarod. Use the word search form found in the packet or go to http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/ to create one.
12. Use http://iditarod.com/about/trivia-facts/ to answer questions on the Task #12 sheet about the Red Lantern Award and the Widow’s Lamp.
13. Go to http://www.iditarod.com/mushers/ Scroll down, find, and print out the musher Race Application Form and fill it out as if you were applying to be a musher. Some of it can be fiction as long as sounds like realistic fiction.
14. Create a timeline of important Iditarod events. Your timeline must include the original Iditarod serum run, the first Iditarod race, and the current Iditarod race. You must include at least eight other important Iditarod events. You should include photos or drawings to improve the appearance of your timeline. The timeline should accurately show time. Use http://iditarod.com/about/trivia-facts/ to help you choose some important events. Search the Web site or books for other important events too. CHALLENGING
15. Pretend you are a news reporter. Your assignment is to write a newspaper report about a particular Iditarod event for the current year. Read the Iditarod updates. Use the Five W’s Chart (available at school) to help you plan your news story. Write or type your news story in the correct format. You must have a headline, your name, date, location where the story took place (example, Nome, Alaska), and important information. You can add a photo or drawing to help tell your story.
16. Create an Iditarod dictionary booklet. You can type it or write it. Place one word on each page. Write the definition of each word. Write each word in a sentence. Draw a picture to help explain each word. Use Task #16 sheet as a draft. Use http://iditarod.com/about/mushing-terminology/ or a dictionary to help you define your words. Use a definition that relates to the Iditarod, though. This will count as two tasks if it is well done.
**IDITA-READ**
Participate in the “Idita-read”
Ø Read a “just right” book for each checkpoint on the Iditarod trail (They don’t have to be Iditarod books). If you are reading a long chapter book, we will divide the book into sections to count for a few parts of the trail.
Ø Track your progress on your Iditarod trail log. Choose five of the books you have read and complete an Idita-read story summary for each one.
Ø Use the Northern Route (even years) to track your progress.
Ø If you are going to do the Idita-read, you will need a map, a book log, and at least five Idita-read story summary sheets.
Ø Make sure you start right away. This is a BIG task!!
Name: ______
Iditarod Race - Task #1
Directions: Use a calculator to find the cost of purchasing one full set of musher clothing equipment. Use the equipment price list below.
Polypropylene underwear $40
Long-sleeved, long-legged cotton underwear $35
Insulated jumpsuit $650
Hood with fur face protection $110
Insulated boots $230
Goggles $85
Wool pants $40
Wool shirt $45
Mitten liners $10
Mittens $80
Poly socks $9
Cotton socks $5
Wool socks $10
A full set of musher clothing equipment would cost: ______
Name: ______
Iditarod Race - Task #3
Directions: Write about the history of the Iditarod. Use http://iditarod.com/about/history/ to find your information. You will have to search the site for information you need. Use the back of the paper if you need to. Here are some questions you might want to answer: How did it get started? Who started it? Why do people race in the Iditarod? Who are some of the famous winners? What are the prizes?
Name: ______
Iditarod Race – Task #6
Solve each of the following math problems on a separate paper. Number your answers and show how you got your answers. Check your work.
1) Each musher dog needs a total of 8 booties for the Iditarod. If you have 12 dogs, how many booties do you need to buy?
2) Population means the number of people in a certain place. The checkpoint of Koyuk has a population of 347. How many more people need to move to Koyuk to reach a population of 400?
3) It is 49 miles from Anchorage to the checkpoint of Willow. It is 14 miles from Willow to Yentna Station. It is 86 miles from Yentna Station to Skwentna. How many miles is that in all?
4) If 10 dogs are dropped at Finger Lake, 15 at Rainy Pass, 12 at Rohn, and 13 at Nikolai, how many dogs in all were dropped?
5) Two Junior Iditarod mushers have a total of 17 necklines. One has five more than the other. How many necklines do they each have?
6) Sam must be in McGrath with his dogs for the vet check by 8:15 a.m. It takes him about three hours to get to McGrath from his home. What time should Sam leave his home to arrive in McGrath on time?
7) Samantha has 32 huskies. She buys 12 more from another musher. She gives 2 dogs to each of her 5 friends. How many dogs does Samantha have now?
8) Sloan leaves Safety checkpoint at 4:15. He reaches Nome 3 ½ hours later. What time did he arrive in Nome?
Iditarod Race – Task #7: Scavenger Hunt
Name: ______
Use www.iditarod.com to complete this activity. Good luck!!!
1. Name three mushers and where they live.
______
______
______
2. Who won the Iditarod last year?
______
3. When does the Iditarod begin (what date)? ______
4. Where does the Iditarod begin and end (what cities)?
Begins: ______
Ends: ______
5. Write down one rule that the mushers must follow.
______
______
______
6. Write down two other interesting things you learned about the Iditarod.
______
______
______
Iditarod Race – Task #8: Iditarod Rules
Name: ______
Directions: Describe one of the Iditarod rules and why it is important
to the race. Use five or more sentences. Include what you think would happen if the Iditarod did not have the rule. Use http://iditarod.com/race/rules/ to help you find information.
Name: ______
Iditarod Race - Task #9
Directions: Complete the Musher Profile sheet for your musher. Go to http://iditarod.com/race/2014/mushers/ and select your musher.
All About My Musher
*First Name: ______
*Last Name: ______
*Hometown: ______
* Musher’s Bib Number: ______
1) Is your musher a veteran (has already been in the Iditarod) or a rookie
(first time in the Iditarod)?
*My musher is a ______.
2) Name two of your musher’s dogs.
______and ______
3) How old is your musher? ______years old.
4) What are your musher’s hobbies or job?
______
______.
5) Name one of your musher’s sponsors. ______
Name: ______
Iditarod Race - Task #10
Directions: Complete a poem about the Iditarod. You can use the two suggestions here or create your own free verse poem. Your poem should be on a separate piece of paper and have an illustration
Cinquain Poem:
First line: noun (the word Iditarod)
Second line: 2 adjectives describing your noun
Third line: 3 –ing words describing your noun
Fourth line: 4 word short phrase that makes a statement about your noun.
Fifth line: a synonym for your first line
Example:
Apple
Red Juicy
Biting Crunching Picking
A very healthy snack
Fruit
Acrostic Poem:
Write a poem using the letters of “Iditarod.” Each line should be a phrase.
I ______
D ______
I______
T______
A______
R______
O______
D______
Iditarod Race – Task #12: The Red Lantern Award and the Widow’s Lamp
Name: ______
Directions: Answer these questions about the Iditarod’s Red Lantern Award and the Widow’s Lamp. Use http://iditarod.com/about/trivia-facts/
or another related site if you find one.
1. Which musher is awarded the Red Lantern Award?
______
______
2. When is the Widow’s Lamp lit?
______
______
3. When is the Widow’s Lamp extinguished?
______
______
4. Why do you think the last musher to cross the finish line is honored with an award?
______
______
______
______
5. Think of the mushers and their awards. How could we have an award similar to the Red Lantern Award in our classroom?
______
______
______
______
Iditarod Race – Task #16: Iditarod Dictionary
Directions: Create an Iditarod dictionary booklet. You can type it or write it. Place one word on each page. Write the definition of each word. Write each word in a sentence. Draw a picture to help explain each word. Use this page as a draft. Use http://iditarod.com/about/mushing-terminology/ or a dictionary to help you define your words. Use a definition that relates to the Iditarod or Alaska, though.
Here are the words you need to include in your dictionary. You can include other words if you want. Make sure you put them in alphabetical order!!
1. double lead
2. burled arch
3. rookie
4. gee
5. haw
6. overflow
7. husky