Learning Advice for Musher Journals

Educators need to be aware that some students may need modifications and accomodations in the requirements for daily writing. There have been years where geographical information has been omitted. Other accomodations or modifications that can be made are: requiring particular students to simply list the necessary items without writing in "first"person; requiring students to only chart their daily standings as suggested in above spreadsheet printable example. Students of all learning abilities will be able to efficiently participate in this activity.

A classroom size Iditarod Trail Map with checkpoints will be beneficial as a visual for students to move their flag pins as their musher progresses through the race.

Educators also will need to provide musher bio sheets of the competing mushers. If I have 23 students, I cut apart the top 23 winners who are currently competing in this race. I also give each student a back-up musher in case of a scratch or disqualification during the race.

Any past Iditarod videos that can be acquired and viewed by students is beneficial. Students are then able to see the personality many of their "adopted" mushers have and can then adapt that during role-playing of this activity.

Standards

The Musher Journal webquest has supported the following standards:

Standards for English/Language Arts
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
International Reading Association (IRA)

• Stduents read a wide range of print to acquire new information
• Students read a range of literature in many genres to build an undertanding of the many dimensionsof human experience
• Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes
• Students use a variety of technological and informational resources (e.g., libraries, databases,
  computer networks, and video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge
• Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of
  literacy communities
• Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purpose (e.g., for
  learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information)

Standards for Social Studies
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)

• Culture - Students learn how to understand multiple perspectives that derive from different cultural vantage points
• People, Places, and Environments - Students utilize technological advances to connect to the world beyond their personal locations. The study of people, places, and human-environment interactions
  assist learners as they create their spatial views and geographic perspectives of the world
• Individual Development and Identity - Students learn to ask questions such as "Why do people
  behave as they do? What influences how people learn, perceive, and grow?"

Standards for Mathematics
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)

• Whole Number Computation - Students select estimation and computation techniques appropriate to specific problems
• Measurement - Students make and use measurements in problems and everyday situations
• Fractions and Decimals - Students apply fractions and decimals to problems and everyday situations

Standards for Science Education
National Academy of Science

• Physical Science - Students gain an understanding of motion and forces and transfer of energy
• Life Science - Students gain an understanding of regulation and behavior, and populations and
  ecosystems
• Earth and Space Science - Students gain an understanding of the earth's systems; technological
  design; and science in personal and social perspective, including health, the environment, and
  natural hazards

Thinking and Communication Skills

• inference making
• critical thinking
• creative production
• creative problem-solving
• observation
• categorization

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