by
Tracy Elkins, Ann Hooser, Rhonda Madrid, Becky Ortiz
Introduction | Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion
You know how weird parents can be, right? Well, yours have just announced that the family is going to take a vacation during the school year and you have a chance to decide where. The catch is (you know there's always one with parents) it has to be an educational experience. You know the other kids are trying to figure out how to make a trip to Disneyland educational. This will never get past your parents. You have to come up with a vacation plan that everyone will love. You have to make this good, cause you don't want to end up wandering through a stuffy old museum like last year. You've heard about this sled dog race in Alaska called the Iditarod and wonder if maybe this would be not only a vacation but an adventure your family would never forget.
To convince your parents that Alaska is the best place to go for a vacation, your class is going to learn as much as they can about the race, Alaska, and the people that live there. To add to the fun, the class will act as a TV news team to gather information. There will be 5 groups of reporters. Each one will cover one of the following topics: history, geography, art and culture, math, and science. We will have a live news cast that will be taped for parents who won't be able to make it.
History Reporters
1. You will need to know some history of the Iditarod. To help you with this there are several questions that you will answer before preparing your report.
2. What are you going to tell your parents when they ask about the mushers? You will need to read at least 3 diaries entries and 3 biographies of the mushers of your choice. Write down everything you learn about these successful mushers. What makes them successful? How do they prepare for a race? Create a collage of information that describes the characteristics of a successful musher.
Geography Reporters
1. It will also be important for you to know about the area you will be visiting. Is it mountainous, flat,rough... You will design and create a salt map that marks the journey you will be taking following the Iditarod race. Be prepared to tell mom and dad the correct terms used for type of land you will be traveling through.
2. You might want to visit other areas of Alaska while there. Find some interesting sites such as national parks or landmarks your family might like to see.
Art and Cultural Reporters
1. Alaskan culture is somewhat different from the rest of the United States in part because of the cold climate, the distance from the other states, and the influence of native people. Prepare a skit with costumes to present information you have gathered on Alaskan culture. Find a food Alaska is known for to include in the program that your teacher will make to give out at the taping of the show.
2. Art work is an important part of any culture and you will be making a Birch Bark Basket from the Athabascan Indians to show your parents the beauty of this unique people. Don't forget to impress everyone with what you learn from this unique Indian culture.
Math Reporters
1. We know how much preparation goes into the race for these racers. There are so many details. We want to show your parents how much food it takes at each checkpoint to feed the dogs. You will need to write a short word problem on how to figure out how much food is required for the dogs at each point. Can you think of a creative way to demonstrate this during the presentation?
2. You want to show your parents that you have used many skills in your studies of the Iditarod. Find the times and distances for 4 mushers of your choice and calculate the amount of time it would take to travel between 3 checkpoints of your choosing. Use the information to make a bar graph comparing the speeds of your chosen mushers.
Science Reporters
1. The Aurora Borealis are a beautiful phenomena that are highly visible in the Alaskan night sky. Learn about the "Northern Lights" also known as the Aurora Borealis. You will do a science activity to show the effects these lights make.
2. Your parents will surely want to see these beautiful lights and you can give them a taste by creating a painting of them using the "condensed milk paint" instructions.
History Reporters can gather answers at the Iditarod Background and History site. Learn more on the mushers at the Musher Bios and the 1999 Musher Diaries page.
Geography Reporters can visit Alaska's Parks and Preserves and State Parks to locate other exciting places to visit. To help you prepare the map of Alaska go to the map provided by the Iditarod Committee and the Mining Co. site. Learn some interesting facts at Alaskan Facts.
Art and Cultural Reporters will need to checkout the Athabascan Birch Bark Basket site for instructions on making the baskets. To help you learn about the culture of Alaskan's Indian culture here are several sites to explore: Alaska Facts and Figures, Alaskan Information Center, Everything Alaska. And to find an Alaskan recipe go to the Alaskan Seafood site.
Math Reporters can calculate the race times with the official Iditarod Race Results. To fine out what type of dog food is used during the race, go to Don Bowers diary entries. Ken Anderson also writes a diary entry detailing the types of ingredient he uses to feed the dogs on the trail and give you information on how much was sent out and how much it cost.
You can use the information from these two sites to calculate how long it would take 4 mushers to travel through the same three checkpoints. Pick 4 mushers and calculate the following: Using the calculated miles per hour (MPH) at the Elapsed Time site and the distances between checkpoints from the Checkpoints and Distances site, calculate the time it would take your mushers to travel between three different sets of checkpoints.
Science Reporters will learn more about the Northern Lights at the Aurora site. Then try one of the activities at the Science site. You will find the painting instructions at Northern Lights Art.
Off Line Resources
Now you are ready to begin your quest. A few more directions should get you on your way. Even though your tasks are different, these directions apply to all. Each group has four members, and each person will have an assigned job. Below are the jobs and their description. After you have read through the jobs, assign each member one of them.
Note to all group members: You are a team. To successfully complete your tasks, all of you must participate. Collaboration is the key to your success as a group. Collaboration means to work together by sharing ideas. So, have fun creating, brainstorming, researching, and working together!
Last bit of information that might be helpful for your groups is a few tips to make your newscasts awesome.
Now you are ready! May the race begin!!!!
Your presentation will be graded by yourselves and the teacher using a project rubric. Look it over carefully so you know what is expected. This will be a group grade, so pull together and make your parents proud of you.
Now that you are at the end of your project, you should be an expert on the Iditarod Sled Dog Race and Alaska. You have used your knowledge of the race and its history and important information about the state itself to convince your parents that Alaska would not only be a vacation but an adventure no one would want to miss.
Last updated May 4, 1999
Based on a template from The Webquest Page.
Introduction