EDU 315

Literature Focus Unit

Teha Haisley

Literature Selections

• Sled Dogs by Lori Haskins • Welcome to the U.S.A: Alaska by Ann Heinrichs • Sled Dogs: Speeding Through the Snow by Alice B. McGinty • Sled Dogs Run by Jonathan London • Secret Messages: Training a Happy Dog by Mary Shields • Loving a Happy Dog by Mary Shields • The Iditarod: Story of the Last Great Race by Ian Young • Dogs of the Iditarod by Jeff Schultz • Can Dogs Talk by Mary Shields • Animals with Jobs: Sled Dogs by Judith Janda Presnall • Iditarod Dream by Ted Wood • Akiak by Robert J. Blake • Dogteam by Gary Paulsen • Sled Dog Trails by Mary Shields

Theme Study

• Students will take part in a thematic unit focusing on the Iditarod race in Alaska. This unit will integrate all academic areas including reading, writing, art, music, math, science, social studies, and physical education.

• Students will gain an understanding of the Iditarod race, the Alaskan landscape, the history of the race, the treatment of the sled dogs, Iditarod vocabulary, and basic survival tips.

Language Arts: Reading Activities

• Students will read various fiction and non-fiction books about the Iditarod Trail, sled dogs, Alaska, and mushers. After each book they will be asked to write a short description of what they learned from the book in a class wide reading log.

• Teacher will read the book Sled Dog Trails to the class.

• Students will read their poems and other writing activities aloud in class as well as present their visual representation.

Language Arts: Writing Activities

• Students will keep a journal of a musher participating in the Iditarod race, through an activity called “Meet the Mushers”. The students will write a short biography of their musher in a notebook. Each school day during the race, the students will look up their musher and write down their statistics and write a paragraph about how they feel their musher is performing and any other pertinent information about what is happening in the race.

• Students will write a poem about the Iditarod race using a visual representation of the poem and share their poems in class. Poem examples: http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/2010/02/25/iditarod-poetry-read-then-get-writing/

• Students will write a letter to their particular musher asking them questions about the race.

• Students will write a paper expressing their opinion about the treatment of the sled dogs during the Iditarod Race.

Language Arts: Writing Activities Continued…

• Each day the students will write one thing they learned about the race on a sheet of paper and hand it in to the teacher.

• The teacher and students will come up with vocabulary words to add to the Iditarod Word Wall daily.

• Students will write a one page reflection on the movie Snowblind.

• Students will write a short paper about what breed of dog they would choose to use in the race and why.

Language Arts: Speaking Activities

• Students will share their poems with the class regarding the Iditarod race.

• Students will participate in a discussion regarding the treatment of the animals involved in the Iditarod Race.

• Students will be divided into two groups and have a debate regarding the treatment of the animals in the Iditarod. Including both training and the race itself.

• Students will discuss their musher and their progress within small groups in the class.

• After watching the movie Snowblind, students will work in small groups to discuss overcoming obstacles and a particular obstacle they have overcome and how it made them feel.

Language Arts: Listening Activities

• The teacher will read Sled Dog Trails by Mary Shields to the class.

• The students will listen respectfully to others when they are sharing any ideas or work with the class.

• The teacher will read from the UltimateIditarod.com website each day on a particular piece of the race.

• Students will listen and pay attention to videos and technology used in class.

• Teacher will invite a person who trains sled dogs, or has participated in the race to speak to the class.

Language Arts: Viewing Activities

• Students will watch the movie Snowblind, about a 23-year-old woman who is blind and decides to participate in the Iditarod race in March of 2008.

• Students will view other short clips about the Iditarod. (See technology slide).

• Students will look up information about a musher and view any available pictures of the mushers and their teams.

• Students will view the Iditarod Word Wall.

• Students will view each others poems.

Language Arts: Visually Representing Activities

• Students will use a map to track the progress of their particular musher along the Iditarod race.

• Students will create an artistic background to go along with their poems.

• Students will view other students’ poems while they are being presented to the class.

• Students will create an Iditarod Word Wall.

Science Activities

• Students will learn and understand how the dogs are trained and treated to survive the harsh conditions of the race.

• Students will learn about the different breeds of dogs used in the race.

• Students will learn about the diet of the dogs and the essential nutrients they need to sustain their energy.

• The teacher will lead a discussion about surviving in cold weather.

• Students will keep a fact journal about the topics learned.

Mathematic Activities

• Students will keep an expense account on the amount of money spent on a team.

• Students will track their musher’s progress and decide how many miles they have to go as well as how many completed. They will graph and track their musher’s progress.

• Students will work in groups to write story problems relating to the Iditarod and exchange with other groups.

• Students will be required to keep an accurate log of their minutes for the Walking the Iditarod activity.

Social Studies Activities

• Students will learn about Alaska. Including climate, culture, and landscape. Each student will receive a interactive packet about Alaska and will turn it in for grading.

• Students will study the history of the Iditarod, through classroom discussions and read alouds.

• Students will learn and make a list of what must be carried in the sleds of the mushers to ensure safety for both the dogs and the musher.

• Students will make a map of the Iditarod trail including the checkpoints.

• Small groups will research different career options that include working with dogs/animals.

Music and Art Activities

• Students will come up with one song that they think should be the official song of the Iditarod and explain to the class why they feel it fits the race.

• Students will create the Alaskan Landscape using watercolor paints and tempera paint.

• Students will collectively create an Iditarod Bulletin Board in the classroom.

• Students will create a visual representation of their poems.

• Students will listen to Iditarod inspired music. http://www.fjhmusic.com/strings/st6221.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnH5CFf6El8

Physical Education Activities

• Students will train to run one mile. They will then relate this experience to what the training must be like for a sled dog.

• Students will Participate in an Iditarod Walking Activity where they will be challenged to walk 1,151 minutes. One minute for each mile of the race. They will be able to track their progress along with the progress of their chosen musher.

• The class will volunteer to go to the local animal shelter and learn about how to care for dogs and volunteer to walk and play with some of the dogs.

Technology

• http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/iditarod-mushing-lingo.html • http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/iditarod-a-tough-journey-for-dogs.html • http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/iditarod-the-alaskan-husky.html • http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/iditarod-a-mushers-life.html • http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/iditarod-head-veterinary-

technician.html • http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/iditarod-dogs-in-tip-top-condition.html • Discovery Channel movie: Snowblind. A movie about a 23 year old

woman who is legally blind and decides to participate in the Iditarod race.

• Using the internet to track their mushers in the Meet the Mushers lesson.

• http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/united-states/alaska-guide/

Language Arts Strategies

• Activating Background Knowledge: Students will think about and discuss what they already know about the Iditarod Trail.

• Brainstorming: Students will think of many ideas for the topic of their Iditarod poems.

• Evaluating: Students will reflect on the movie Snowblind, and will make their own judgments about the treatment of the sled dogs during the race and training.

• Monitoring: Students will monitor the progress of their chosen musher as well as monitor their own progress with the Walking the Iditarod activity.

• Organizing: Students will have to organize their journals and reflection/opinion papers logically.

• Playing with Language: The students will be given examples of poems and will be asked to write their own poem about an aspect of the Iditarod.

• Revising: Students will be given the opportunity to make changes to their written work through peer sharing.

Language Arts Skills

• Print: Students will use the Iditarod Word Wall to incorporate new words into their reading and writing repertoire.

• Comprehension: Students will be able to separate facts and opinions regarding the treatment of the dogs, note details, notice the organizational patterns of poetry, friendly letters, stories, and articles, and recognize literary genres of the books that will be recommended.

• Language: Students will avoid sentence fragments, use correct punctuation, and use simple, compound and complex sentences in their writing for this unit.

• Reference: Students will be able to locate information in an encyclopedia, atlas, or almanac regarding Alaska. They will also be able to read and make graphs, tables, and diagrams.

• Study: Students will follow directions for the activities throughout the unit.

Grouping Patterns

• Large Group: Field trip, grand conversations, Word Wall, viewing videos, debate of the treatment of animals, listening to teacher read Sled Dog Trails, Ultimateiditarod.com, watch Snowblind, learning activities, bulletin board, listening to music, listening to dog trainer,

• Small Group: Peer writing conferences, small group discussions, debate groups, sharing overcoming obstacles, Iditarod song, research different jobs working with animals,

• Individual: Following the progress of their musher, journal entries, reading literature selections, poems, reflection on Snowblind, art projects, papers, letter to mushers, one thing they learned, training for mile, Walking the Iditarod activity,

Schedule of Lessons

• Monday: – Language Arts: Students will be introduced to the topic and shown the literature

selections. Teacher will start reading from Sled Dog Trails and Ultimateiditarod.com.

• Students will research and pick a musher from the list of participants and write down relevant information in journal.

• Students will write one thing they learned today.

– Science: Students will learn about the different breeds of dogs used in the race and the benefits/downfalls of each.

• Students will watch short videos about the breeds. • Students will write one opinion paragraph explaining which breed they would choose.

– Social Studies: Students will learn about the history of the Iditarod. – Art/Music: Listen to music about the Iditarod. – P.E.: Introduce training for one mile activity.

• Introduce Iditarod Walking Activity. Give the students the information to get started.

– Math: Students will develop the graph to be used while tracking their mushers.

Schedule of Lessons Continued….

• Tuesday: – Language Arts: Teacher will explain the Word Wall and

encourage students to come up with relevant words to add to it daily. Begin watching Snowblind. • Teacher reads from Sled Dog trails and Ultimateiditarod.com. • Journal about their musher’s progress • Students will write one thing they learned today.

– Science: Small group discussions about what breed they chose and why.

– Social Studies: Students will learn about Alaska (Landscape). • Make a map with the checkpoints to help track their mushers.

– Art/Music: Watercolor of Alaskan Landscape – P.E.: Go outside and time the students running ¼ mile. – Math: Learn how to accurately graph first points.

Schedule of Lessons Continued….

• Wednesday: – Language Arts: Students will learn about the treatment of dogs in

the race. Teacher will assign debate teams. Watch Snowblind. • Teacher reads from Sled Dog trails and Ultimateiditarod.com. • Journal about their musher’s progress • Students will write one thing they learned today.

– Science: Discuss snow and how to survive in cold weather. (Large group discussion).

– Social Studies: Learn about Alaska (Climate) – Art/Music: Small groups come up with official song for the Iditarod.

• Create the classroom Iditarod Bulletin Board.

– P.E.: Continue mile training and discuss progress towards Walking the Iditarod Activity. • Students will be timed running ½ mile.

– Math: Students create Iditarod math worksheets and answer keys.

Schedule of Lessons Continued….

• Thursday: – Language Arts: Write poems about Iditarod. Finish watching Snowblind

and discuss in small groups about overcoming obstacles. Assign one page reflection on the video.

• Teacher reads from Sled Dog trails and Ultimateiditarod.com. • Journal about their musher’s progress • Students will write one thing they learned today.

– Science: Learn about the diet of both the dogs and the mushers. – Social Studies: Students learn about what must be carried in the sleds

for survival. • Discuss the culture in Alaska.

– Art/Music: Make a visual representation of their poems. • Students will bring a copy of the song they chose and present to the class why

they chose the song.

– P.E. Students will be timed running ¾ mile. – Math: Students exchange math worksheet and work through other

student created worksheets.

Schedule of Lessons Continued….

• Friday: – Language Arts: Debate on treatment of animals. Assign paper about

personal views of the treatment of the dogs. Small group discussion about musher’s progress. • Teacher reads from Sled Dog trails and Ultimateiditarod.com. • Journal about their musher’s progress • Students will write one thing they learned today.

– Science: N/A – Social Studies: Visit the Humane Society/have a person that

participates in sled dog races come and speak to the class.. Small groups research different careers that include working with animals.

– Art/Music: Present poems with visual representations to the class. – P.E.: Time the students running one mile. – Math: Worksheet on the amount of money spent on a sled dog

team.

Schedule of Lessons Continued….

• This activity will continue on throughout the next week. – The students will continue to work on the Walking the Iditarod

trail. – The students will continue to try to improve their time on the

mile. – The teacher would finish Sled Dog Trails. – The students will write a letter to their musher asking them

any questions they may have. – The students would continue to follow their musher until they

finish the race. They would eventually write a summary on the last page of their journal explaining how their musher did, and what they could have done better in the students opinion.

– Also would be able to fill in any activities that we were not able to accomplish in the first week.

Assessments

• Participation in Grand Conversations • Rubrics for poems. • 6+1 Writing Traits for written assignments. • Informal observation during peer sharing and small

group activities. • Spelling test with words from the Iditarod word wall. • Active participation in music and physical education

activities. • Portfolio assessment of all of the assignments

throughout the unit. • Perform classroom art critiques on completed art

projects.