Teacher Process

This curriculum web is designed for students to work with a partner.  The teacher may want to assign partners before introducing the project.

 You may also want to arrange for a guest speaker to talk to the class about the Iditarod Race.  The web site below allows teachers to find out it a guest speaker is available.

Guest Speakers for Teachers

If a guest speaker is not available, teachers may choose to read the story:  Mush!:  Across Alaska in the World's Longest Sled Dog Race by Patricia Seibert.

This book describes the annual Iditarod dog sled race with beautiful pencil and water color illustrations that help tell the story and show the dogs that compete in this important tradition.

 The teacher will then introduce the three different quests that students will complete.

Quest 1:  Scavenger Hunt

Iditarod_Race_Scavenger_Hunt.doc

Run off copies of the scavenger hunt worksheet for each student.  Review before giving out.

Quest 2:  Sports Reporter Presentation - Review and have index cards available for students if needed. 

Pretend that you are a sports reporter for your local newspaper.  Write an article for your local newspaper announcing the upcoming start of the Iditarod Race.  Be sure to explain the race thoroughly to your readers who do not know about it.

You will need to prepare a one to two minute presentation telling your audience about the Iditarod Race.   Your presentation must include all the information found on the following scavenger hunt worksheet.  You may also add information to make your presentation more interesting.  Remember:  you are to act like a sports reporter for a local newspaper while giving your presentation.

You will need to answer all questions on the scavenger hunt worksheet before you begin writing your article.  These questions will guide you in what information you need to include in your newspaper article.  When you present your article for the class you may have index cards as a guide.  However, you should not read them through the entire presentation.  Maintaining eye contact with your audience is important!  You may bring home your notes and practice giving your presentation.

Make sure you allow time in class for presentations over the next two days.

Quest 3:  Musher Poster

Using two class periods, students create a colorful poster of their favorite dog sled team. Students will use the link provided to get information needed.  The poster must include:

 Students create a rough draft first using notebook paper.  Then the teacher has poster paper for final copy. 

Make sure students understand that they will be graded on all three quests.  The scavenger hunt worksheet must be completed by each student – not just one per team.  These worksheets are to be handed in at the end of the project.  The presentation and the poster will both have rubrics that will be used for assessment.  Give students a copy of these rubrics before working on quest 2 and 3 in order for them to know how they will be graded.  These rubrics are found under the evaluation tab.

Teachers should also give students time frames on how long they have to work on each quest according to computer usage time frames in class.  The whole WebQuest should not take longer than two weeks.

Materials:

The following printed materials:


A copy of the scavenger hunt worksheet for each student
A copy of the assessment rubrics for each group
blank posters available for students
Optional: index cards for presentations

The following computer hardware and software:

For each group, a computer with access to the Internet, along with a web browser and word processing program
Access to a printer for the whole class
If only one computer is available for the entire class, these activities will have to be combined with other activities not requiring the computer. Then groups can be cycled through the computer along with outside activities.