The best thing about this project: The best thing about the project was the excitement of following the race and seeing what was happening to the dogs and the mushers. My second grade students chose a musher to follow and made a large map to put in the checkpoints and log what happened on the trail. The activities in the teachers pack were very good-they especially loved doing their own trail race out in the school yard with cardboard sleds they made and decorated. We ended with a Red Lantern award given to a hardworking student and had Klondike bars and salmon out on the "trail." The kids really liked the "Zuma" report; Zuma is a husky who describes the race in dog terms. We added the second website because it gave us more coverage, pictures, and good chat. We began the unit with me reading the book Balto, the Bravest Dog Ever to the students and I supplemented with another Iditarod lesson book that had good activities.
The worst thing about this project: There was no down side to this project other than it would have been nice to do this when we were having all the snow and cold. Of all the internet projects our school followed this year, this was the favorite and other classes kept up with it as well when they heard about it.
What I would change to improve this project (and why): I can't think of anything to improve the project. It was short and easy to follow and it had a lot of excitement for students. It's hard to miss when you combine dogs, racing, and snow.
Joined by: Melany Kirschman
Date: Sunday, April 13, 1997 6:45:47 PM