Akiak A Tale from the Iditarod
By: Robert Blake
Presented by: Sharon Coffield
Characters
•
•
•
•
Akiak-Main
Mick
Other dogs on the teams
Willy Ketchum
Setting
• Alaska
• Anchorage to Nome
Main Idea
• Akiak is the lead dog in the Iditarod race
and is injured. He was hurt and was left
behind to get better. He came back to finish
the race with his team.
Problem
• The problem is
when Akiak
hurts his paw
and has to be
left behind to
get better.
Solution
• Akiak did not want to be left behind so he
found his way out of the vet. He ran past all
the men and then joined his team again to
finish the race.
Reflection/Meaning of the Story
• I think the meaning of the story is that you should
never give up and finish what you start. Akiak
showed this in the story by coming back when he
was hurt to finish the race. When I was playing
basketball I fell and “ate it” in front of everyone. I
was SO embarrassed but, I got back up and kept
playing until the quarter was over. I felt great
after the game was over that I finished what I
started!
Comprehension Questions
• 1. Why did Akiak have to be left behind?
• 2. Why do you think a man opened the door for
Akiak? Would you have done the same thing?
• 3. When Akiak found Mick and the team why did
she ride in the sled?
Work Cited
•
•
Houghton Mifflin 4th gr text
Akiak
Iditarod
– http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/trail.html
– Sled dog Pictures
– http://www.goodnewsfeets.com/RacingSchedule.html
• Iditarod Pictures
– http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/3256/iditarod/iditarod.htm
• “Akaik”
– www.robertjblake.com/akiak
• Iditarod Pictures
– http://www.alaskan.com/iditarod/images/