Home Page Game Closing Lesson
Closing Day Game
General Explanation of the race:
The students are going to be
in their own Iditarod race. They have all been
previously split up into groups of seven. In these groups,
six of the students are
designated as sled dogs and one student is the musher. They
must act together as a
team to pull a sled along the route and make it to the finish
line. In this race each
team must check in all their dogs at each checkpoint. They
may be penalized if this does
not happen. Points may also be taken off for various other
infractions. Go to these
websites for more information:
Game Rules and Penalties:
http://www2.grand-forks.k12.nd.us/iditarod/rules.html
Examples of the checkpoints:
http://www2.grand-forks.k12.nd.us/iditarod/checkpoints.html
Mandatory Supplies for each team:
http://www2.grand-forks.k12.nd.us/iditarod/rules.html
The race route:
Each team will need a map of
the route and checkpoints. I would suggest having
four checkpoints, but more can be added if appropriate. Each
school will need to
map out their own route for the race because every school has
a different property
and location. It may be a good idea to go to a park or a
space that has a variety of
terrain for the students to race across such as a creek, flat
grass, hills and a wooded
area. This will make it more interesting. Allow plenty of
room between checkpoints
so students will get more of a feel for what the real race
might have been like.
The Sled:
I
believe a plastic snow sled will work great for this activity. It is lightweight
and it
can hold the supplies each team needs. In the example from
the Internet sites given above,
they use a homemade wooden sled; this would work also. A
plastic sled could be used
whether or not there is snow on the ground. Tie the ends of a
long rope to the sled.
Then have the six students who are sled dogs hold on to the
rope to pull the sled.
They may decide as a team what the best way to do this is.
Parent involvement:
Parents are need for this activity for many different reasons. Parents are
need
at each checkpoint to check in all the dogs and mushers.
They need to make sure the
students are taking the time to feed and water all of
their dogs at each point. Other
parents need to be timers to time the whole race. Some
parents can be “wildlife”; they
can hide behind trees and jump out at different teams
through out the race. The rules
say the students may not touch or harm the wildlife but
they have to somehow creatively
get past them. Finally, other parents can just be
there to cheer the students on;
students will just like it if their parents are there
to show interest in their lives at
school. This is such a fun event; both students and
parents will learn a lot and have
a lot of fun working together.