GOAL:
1. Students will read 1,049 minutes or pages, appropriate to their reading level.
PROCEDURE:
1. Teachers explain to their students that they will compete in their own Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Only their race will be a reading race.
2. Each student draws a musher ‘s name from entries on the Iditarod website: www.iditarod.com. Each day during the race, they’ll try to read faster (pages or minutes) than the number of miles covered by the musher they have drawn.
3. Teachers will track each student’s progress on a large map of Alaska. (Tracked by daily visits to the website during the race.) The goal is for students to read faster than their musher is traveling down the trail.
4. Students select their books before the ‘vet check.’ Teachers will decide if the student’s books are “healthy” (grade/reading level).
5. As students read to each checkpoint, it’s their job to log in their time and have it checked by a race marshal (teacher).
MATERIALS:
1. Large map of Alaska with Iditarod Trail & checkpoints clearly marked.
2. Legend listing distances between checkpoints.
3. Name pins/tags to mark students’ reading progress on the trail.
4. Sleds or dogs (felt or construction paper) to mark progress of mushers.
5. Iditarod Reading Log for each student.
6. LOTS OF BOOKS!
OBJECTIVES:
1. Encourage recreational reading.
2. Develop an interest in history and geography of Alaska.
3. Encourage completion of a project.
