Balto, the Dog Who Saved Nome
By Margaret Davidson
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Companion WebQuest
By Jon Moss
To Supplement the Harcourt (Gr. 3) Trophies Reading Series: Theme 2, What a Team!
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Introduction
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Now that you’ve learned about Balto and Gunnar Kasson’s
adventure as they brought the diphtheria medicine to Nome,
you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about the journey
from Anchorage to Nome.
Tasks
As 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 Race
All 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 Route
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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Anchorage
Although 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 Glacier
You 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?
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 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 Game
Do 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!
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
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Alaskan Natives
Alaska 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
map. Click on the map to learn how to say some words in
the Inuktitut language.
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Native Artistry
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.)
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Nome
Welcome 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
Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Rainy
Snowy
Dark
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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.)
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!
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Process
You 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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Evaluation
Beginning
Developing
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Secure
(GOAL)
Detail
You should go back and
add some more detail
about what you saw and
experienced along your
journey.
You have given good detail
about your experiences
along the Iditarod journey.
You’ve included some of
the things you learned
about during this
WebQuest.
You have included terrific
detail in your story. Many
parts of the WebQuest are
included, and you have
clearly shown what you
learned.
Accuracy
Many of the facts you
shared were incorrect.
Please check over your
work.
Most of your facts were
correct. There were some
errors, however.
All of your facts were
correct. Well done!
G.U.M.
Check your work over to
make sure you are using
proper punctuation,
grammar, and capital
letters.
Appropriate punctuation,
grammar, and capital
letters were used in nearly
all cases. A few errors
were found.
You used excellent
grammar, usage, and
mechanics! Way to go!
You may have challenged
yourself to use advanced
G.U.M. skills.
Technical
Make sure you have
appropriately used WORD
to write your narrative.
In general, you correctly
used WORD. There may
have been a few spelling or
spacing errors.
Excellent use of WORD.
You correctly used spell
check, spacing, and other
features. Congratulations!
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Conclusion
Well 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 Websites
Interactive Iditarod Map (Advanced)
Learn about the Junior Iditarod for kids
Virtual Totem Pole Tour (Advanced)
Alaska Video Library Online
View the Northern Lights from space!
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For Teachers
Introduction
– This WebQuest is designed to supplement the Harcourt Trophies Grade 3
reading series selection of Balto, the Dog Who Saved Nome.
– 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
feel appropriately challenged.
Skills Addressed
– Reading for information, narrative writing, Alaskan culture and history,
PowerPoint navigation, web site usage, general computer skills.
Recommendations
– Because of the length of this WebQuest, students are expected to require
multiple sessions in which to complete the project.
– 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
student’s progress.
Acknowledgments
– All images were obtained from the websites to which I have linked, or from
Google Images.
– Special thanks to J. Brian Szender and Cheryl Pierce-Szender.
Revision 1.0, Created on June 16, 2007, by Jon Moss