Balto, the Dog Who Saved NomeBalto, the Dog Who Saved NomeBy Margaret DavidsonBy Margaret Davidson

Companion WebQuestCompanion WebQuestBy Jon MossBy Jon Moss

To Supplement the Harcourt (Gr. 3) Trophies Reading Series: Theme 2, What a Team!

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IntroductionIntroductionNow that you’ve learned about Balto and Gunnar Kasson’s Now that you’ve learned about Balto and Gunnar Kasson’s adventure as they brought the diphtheria medicine to Nome, adventure as they brought the diphtheria medicine to Nome, you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about the journey you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about the journey from Anchorage to Nome.from Anchorage to Nome.

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TasksTasksAs you know, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is held each year. This year, you’ve been selected to participate in the Iditarod. (How exciting!) First, you’re going to go on a practice run. You’ll learn about many different parts of Alaska along the way! Are you ready? Click “Go on” to begin!

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Getting Ready to RaceGetting Ready to RaceAll good mushers need to be familiar with the area where they are racing. Click on the picture and read about Alaska. Then, answer the question at the bottom of this page.

Time to warm up! How cold can the temperature get? (Click on the correct answer!)

-150 degrees -60 degrees -25 degrees 32 degrees

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Planning Your RoutePlanning Your RouteGO BACK

Do you know where to go? As the musher, you need to lead your dogs. Click on the picture to review the route. When the webpage loads, click on the “Start” box. Then, click on the red dots to learn about the different checkpoints. Read about at least one checkpoint from each of the three sections.

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AnchorageAnchorageAlthough it isn’t the capital of Alaska, Anchorage is home to about half of all the people that live in Alaska. Let’s see what makes Anchorage stand out as a great city!

•Alaska Zoo

•Alaska Botanical Gardens

•Local wildlife

•Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights)

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Portage GlacierPortage GlacierYou can’t leave Anchorage without checking out the Portage Glacier! It may be hard to spot, at times. That’s because most of the glacier is under water. But if you know where to look, there is still a lot to see! Click on the picture to look at some more photos of the glacier. Then come back to this page.

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Snowed Out?Snowed Out?Most people in Alaska don’t travel by dog sled. In fact, many people rely on the trains. But what happens when it snows too much? Click on the snowflake to find out!

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Midnight Midnight Sun?Sun?Because Alaska is so far north, some parts of the state have sun shining for 24 hours a day during the summer, and have no sun at all 24 hours a day during the winter. Let’s take a detour to Fairbanks and see how they enjoy the summer midnight sun!

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Midnight Sun GameMidnight Sun GameDo you like baseball? How about a game where the first pitch gets thrown at midnight? For over 100 years, people in Fairbanks have held the annual Midnight Sun Game. No electrical lighting is used here! Only the sun lights the field! Click on the picture to watch a brief video.)

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Run, Fairbanks, Run!Run, Fairbanks, Run!GO BACK

Each year, the people in Fairbanks also have a 10 kilometer run at midnight. It may by 12:00am, but it’s still sunny! Click on the advertisement to see a few photos.

About how many people were rumored to have been at the 2004 Midnight Sun Run?

1,250 people

3,500 people

5,900 people

10,000 people

↑Click one answer!↑

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Alaskan NativesAlaskan NativesAlaska has a very large Native American population. In fact, natives make up about 18% of Alaska’s population. There are many different groups of Natives in Alaska, as you can see on the

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map. Click on the map to learn how to say some words in the Inuktitut language.

Native ArtistryNative Artistry

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Many groups of Natives in the northwest carve totem poles as a way of keeping history and sharing their own experiences. Click on the picture (above) and take an “eField Trip” to learn about Totem Poles in Alaska. You will need to type a trip password. The password is “totems” (but without the quotation marks). It may take a while to complete the whole field trip, but it’s well worth it! (Please be patient as the tour loads. It may take a minute or two.)

NomeNomeWelcome to the city of Nome, Alaska! The Iditarod trail ends here. Before heading back to Anchorage, take a few moments to check out this amazing city!

•Webcam of Norton Sound (updated each minute!)

•Lots of fishing

•A gold rush once happened in Nome.

•Many native crafts, including ivory carvings.

Did you look at the Nome webcam? How is the weather in Nome right now?

Sunny

Partly Cloudy

Cloudy

Snowy

Rainy

Dark

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All ready?All ready?Congratulations! You’ve practiced your route to race through the Iditarod! Hop on an Alaska Airlines flight and head back to Anchorage! (Click on the picture to continue.)

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On your mark… Get set…On your mark… Get set…Now you’re ready! Click on the picture. When the web page loads, click on “start on the trail” to begin the race. Make choices in order to reach the end of the Iditarod trail. Then, come back to this page.

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WELL DONE!WELL DONE!

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ProcessProcessYou made it through the Iditarod! Bravo! Now I want you to show what you learned throughout your journey. Read all of these directions before beginning the next task. Open a Microsoft Word document. Write a brief story that shares some of your experiences on the Iditarod, just like how the Balto story shared Gunnar Kasson’s experiences. Be sure to mention some of the sights you saw along the way. (Don’t just focus on mushing the sled dogs through the ice and snow!) Look at the next page to see how your story will be evaluated.

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EvaluationEvaluation

BeginningBeginning DevelopingDeveloping(GOAL)(GOAL)

SecureSecure

DetailDetail You should go back and You should go back and add some more detail add some more detail about what you saw and about what you saw and experienced along your experienced along your journey.journey.

You have given good detail You have given good detail about your experiences about your experiences along the Iditarod journey. along the Iditarod journey. You’ve included some of You’ve included some of the things you learned the things you learned about during this about during this WebQuest.WebQuest.

You have included terrific You have included terrific detail in your story. Many detail in your story. Many parts of the WebQuest are parts of the WebQuest are included, and you have included, and you have clearly shown what you clearly shown what you learned.learned.

AccuracyAccuracy Many of the facts you Many of the facts you shared were incorrect. shared were incorrect. Please check over your Please check over your work.work.

Most of your facts were Most of your facts were correct. There were some correct. There were some errors, however.errors, however.

All of your facts were All of your facts were correct. Well done!correct. Well done!

G.U.M.G.U.M. Check your work over to Check your work over to make sure you are using make sure you are using proper punctuation, proper punctuation, grammar, and capital grammar, and capital letters.letters.

Appropriate punctuation, Appropriate punctuation, grammar, and capital grammar, and capital letters were used in nearly letters were used in nearly all cases. A few errors all cases. A few errors were found.were found.

You used excellent You used excellent grammar, usage, and grammar, usage, and mechanics! Way to go! mechanics! Way to go! You may have challenged You may have challenged yourself to use advanced yourself to use advanced G.U.M. skills.G.U.M. skills.

TechnicalTechnical Make sure you have Make sure you have appropriately used appropriately used WORDWORD to write your narrative.to write your narrative.

In general, you correctly In general, you correctly used used WORDWORD. There may . There may have been a few spelling or have been a few spelling or spacing errors.spacing errors.

Excellent use of Excellent use of WORDWORD. . You correctly used spell You correctly used spell check, spacing, and other check, spacing, and other features. Congratulations!features. Congratulations!

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ConclusionConclusionWell done! You seem to have become quite an expert on Alaska. Throughout this WebQuest, you have learned about the Iditarod, Anchorage, the Northern Lights, the Portage Glacier, the Midnight Sun activities, the native population in Alaska, the city of Nome, and much more! This spring, when the new Iditarod race is held, be sure to follow the different teams’ progress since you’re now familiar with the area, and what they might experience.

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Other Recommended WebsitesOther Recommended Websites

Interactive Iditarod MapInteractive Iditarod Map (Advanced) (Advanced)

Learn about the Junior Iditarod for kidsLearn about the Junior Iditarod for kids

Virtual Totem Pole Tour Virtual Totem Pole Tour (Advanced)(Advanced)

Alaska Video Library Alaska Video Library OnlineOnline

View the Northern Lights from space!View the Northern Lights from space!

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For TeachersFor TeachersIntroductionIntroduction– This WebQuest is designed to supplement the Harcourt Trophies Grade 3 This WebQuest is designed to supplement the Harcourt Trophies Grade 3

reading series selection of reading series selection of Balto, the Dog Who Saved NomeBalto, the Dog Who Saved Nome..– Some tasks in this WebQuest are more challenging than others. This is Some tasks in this WebQuest are more challenging than others. This is

intentional, so that students on different learning levels can enjoy the activity and intentional, so that students on different learning levels can enjoy the activity and feel appropriately challenged.feel appropriately challenged.

Skills AddressedSkills Addressed– Reading for information, narrative writing, Alaskan culture and history, Reading for information, narrative writing, Alaskan culture and history,

PowerPoint navigation, web site usage, general computer skills.PowerPoint navigation, web site usage, general computer skills.RecommendationsRecommendations– Because of the length of this WebQuest, students are expected to require Because of the length of this WebQuest, students are expected to require

multiple sessions in which to complete the project.multiple sessions in which to complete the project.– Consider reviewing rules and restrictions regarding internet usage. Many of the Consider reviewing rules and restrictions regarding internet usage. Many of the

sites to which I have linked have ad bars and could derail an improperly-trained sites to which I have linked have ad bars and could derail an improperly-trained student’s progress.student’s progress.

AcknowledgmentsAcknowledgments– All images were obtained from the websites to which I have linked, or from All images were obtained from the websites to which I have linked, or from

Google Images.Google Images.– Special thanks to J. Brian Szender and Cheryl Pierce-Szender.Special thanks to J. Brian Szender and Cheryl Pierce-Szender.

Revision 1.0, Created on June 16, 2007, by Jon Moss