The following innovative, web-based project was awarded a National TeachNet Grant in April, 2002.

It is posted at http://www.teachersnetwork.org/teachnetusa/kreeve/alaska.htm

It was presented at the TCEA State Conference in Austin, TX on February 7, 2002 as Pack Your Bags For An Online Adventure

This project was developed during an online class taken from Connected University in February, 2001 called Virtual Fieldtrips: Exploring the World Without Leaving the Classroom, Section 2, Guide: Aaron Willis

Alaska Virtual Field Trip

We're going on a trip to Alaska!

Notice: Third through fifth grade students are invited to join the trip to Alaska. We'll travel for one hour daily for a three week period.

Before starting out on this voyage you'll want to check the climate of your destination so you'll know what to expect.. Check at: http://www.adn.com/weather/ This will give you the weather in Anchorage, one of our stopping points.

Brainstorm things in your journal that you already know about our destination and things you would like to learn. A large classroom map will be used to track the journey.

Students get your journals! Using Kid Pix design a cover for your journal. You'll be expected to write in them daily. Journal ideas can be found at http://es.houstonisd.org/wainwrightes/student/journal.htm

or

Journal Ideas:
*1. Write about things that you already know about the destination and things you would like to learn.
*2. What will you wear on your trip?
3. What pets do people own?
4. What will you eat on your trip? What do the natives eat?
5. Are there legends about the area?
6. What kind of houses do people live in?
7. Are any famous people from the area you visit?
8. What sports teams come from your area?
*9. What animals are native to the area you will visit?
10. What holidays are celebrated in the area you visit?
11. Are there any special places in the area you visit?
12. Are there rules unique to the area that you visit?
13. What historical places are in the area that you visit?
*14. What souvenirs did you find on your visit?
15. What geographic features or natural resources have you visited?
16. What special events take place where you went?
17. What transportation is used where you went?

* You are required to do the starred items.

Tour Stops

First Stop: Student Information Guide to Alaska http://www.dced.state.ak.us/tourism/student.htm This is the official student information guide to Alaska.  It includes everything you always wanted to know about Alaska . . . and more! Be sure to copy and paste photos from the Guide into a AppleWorks drawing document that you have saved in your folder on the desktop. These and other photos that you find will be used to make your scrapbook about Alaska.

Next Stop: Kids Corner http://www.mms.gov/alaska/kids/ Here is a place just for kids, where you can find more photos on topics related to the Alaska region. http://www.mms.gov/alaska/kids/gallery/gallery.htm At this site you will work with a partner to complete an activity page. Ask Mrs. Reeve for a hard copy of the activities on this page. http://www.mms.gov/alaska/kids/activity%20folder/index.htm

Next Stop: Alaskan Fun Stuff http://www.teelfamily.com/links/animals/default.html This page includes pictures of animals from Alaska. How many of the animals pictured here can you identify? Write about the animals in your journal.

Last Stop: 2001 Iditarod Official Website http://www.iditarod.com/ This is the official web site of the "Last Great Race on Earth". It runs from Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast. Each team of 12 to 16 dogs and their musher cover over 1150 miles in 10 to 17 days. It starts Saturday, March 3, 2001 in Anchorage.   You're going for a sled ride with a musher and his team of dogs. Your bid won at  auction so you won the chance to be a rider in a musher's sled from the start line for the first 8-9 miles of Iditarod. You'll need warm clothing for your ride. Visit these outdoor clothing stores to shop. Keep track of what you buy, the cost of each item, and the total in your journal. Ely Stuff wilderness tested gear http://www.elystuff.com/ Outdoor clothing http://www.sleddogcentral.com/clothing.htm Iditarod online store http://www.iditarod.com/estore/ Steger Moosehide Mukluks and moccasins http://www.mukluks.com/index.shtml Other Sites: Meet a Musher http://www.sleddogcentral.com/meet.htm Dog Sled Central http://www.sleddogcentral.com/ Iditarod, The last Great Race http://surfaquarium.com/iditarod.htm Alaska Community and Business Development http://www.dced.state.ak.us/tourism/student.htm#info Problem Solving With Facts About Iditarod Get with a partner. Using these facts make three story problems about the race. •12 to 16 dogs and their musher cover over 1150 miles in 10 to 17 days. • It is impossible to predict the exact day or time that the first musher will cross the finish line in Nome. However, we expect it to be between 9 and 12 days. •There are 20+ checkpoints or stopping points during the race. •The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race first ran to Nome in 1973. •The race has started in downtown Anchorage since 1983. •There are certain pieces of equipment each team must have -- an arctic parka, a heavy sleeping bag, an ax, snowshoes, musher food, dog food and boots for each dog's feet to protect against cutting ice and hard packed snow injuries. •Dogs are faster than horses over the long haul, capable of maintaining average speeds of eight to twelve miles an hour for hundreds of miles (including rest stops), and can exceed twenty miles an hour or more on shorter sprints. Even better, dogs can be fed from the land with moose, fish, or caribou in the winter.

Follow up:

Wow, you've done a lot of traveling! What was your favorite part? Use Kid Pix software to design a T-shirt of the favorite part of your trip to Alaska.
We will use transfer paper to make an iron-on transfer for a T-shirt on the ink jet printer.

Your final grade will come from your scrapbook, facts about Alaska that you wrote in Scott's eboard, completed activity page, T-shirt, story problems and attendance.

Rubric:

Learning Goals
•Students will surf the Internet independently choosing appropriate sites.
•Students will complete various writing activities; journal and descriptive.
•Students will use drawing tools and software to create a design.
•Students will read a map.
•Students will use copy/paste functions on the computer.
•Students will create, name, and save a word processing and drawing document to a folder on the desktop.
•Students will find, read, and identify facts about Alaska on the Internet.
•Students will shop in an online catalogue and keep track of money spent to prepare for their travels.
•Students will create math story problems using facts from Iditarod.

Created by:

Karen Reeve, technologist
Wainwright Elementary
Houston ISD