School District of Grand Island

The True Story of Balto

Name: Betty Foster

Building:Jefferson Elementary School

Curriculum Area: Reading, Language, Social Studies, Science

Grade Level: Third - fifth

Concept: "The True story of Balto" is one reason the Alaska Iditarod Dog Race is run.

Balto's Story in HyperStudio

Brief Description of Lesson: After discussing the Disney video version of the story of Balto, the students read the True Story of Balto.They will then explore the Iditarod web pages to learn about the race.Next,they choose a musher to follow during the race.They will check the race progress, and track the weather during the race. Students will draw conclusions about the race outcome , and compare it to the weather.Poetry or songs about Balto will also be written and shared.

Nebraska State Curriculum Standards: 1.6 , 4.1.4 . 4.8 ,

District Curriculum Objectives: Guided Reading Activities, Social Studies : maps , Science: Animals , Language : Visual organizers to support comprehension

Nebraska State Technology LEARNS Competencies: Use a wide variety of media and technology resources for directed and independent learning.

District Technology Objectives: Data retrieval, email

Hardware Needed:Computer connected to the internet.

Computer to Student Ratio: 1 per class for the race. 1 computer per two students for exploration.

Software Needed: Internet connection

Amount of time needed online: 10 - 15 minutes per day, during the race. 30 min. for exploration.

URLs of Sites

The Iditarod Race Site - All Race information .

Alaska 's Climate to check the weather.Kid's Zone - for activities related to dog sled racing.

Teacher's Hyperstudio about Balto's Story

Class Product - Pyramid Poem

Lesson Design

1. Capture the attention of the learners by connecting them to the concept in a personal way.

Talk about the Disney video on Balto .(Many have seen it in the local cable station, or show the video.)

2. Guide the students to reflect on the activity.

Discuss the story and whose point of view the story is being told. List this information on a chart or an overhead sheet

3. Give the learners a new and wider view of the concept by connecting to their personal knowing of the concept.

Discuss the fact that the video is NOT the true story of Balto.That when people make movies, they often change the story to make it more to their idea of what would be interesting.Talk about where could you find out about the true story of Balto.

4. Provide an acknowledged body of information related to the concept.

Present the book, The Bravest Dog Ever, the True Story of Balto. Work with small ,guided reading groups, to read this story.Go over vocabulary and comprehension questions.

5. Provide a hands-on activity for practice and mastery of the elements of the concept.

Use the Paperback Plus Guide for this story to select activities to develop vocabulary and comprehension further . Also, use the Hyperstudio short version of the story created by the teacher.

6. Learners apply the concept to a constructive project.

Kids will explore the web sites related to the Alaska Iditarod Race. Then, choose mushers to follow in the March race.

Two students will check the web site for the children's information with Zuma, the Dog. The teacher will sign up with the cabela's daily newsletter updates on the race, to be sent to the e-mail address..Then , they will also check the email for their reports during the race. Also go to the weather site daily, and record the weather for that race day.A second pair of students can do this activity.

Use the Iditarod materials by Shelly Gill to also study the animals and land forms of Alaska.

7. Refine and edit work.

Track the racers on an Alaskan Iditarod Trail Map to see where their racers place.Keep individual records of when their racers reach the required check points. Compare the race mileage and the weather reported.

8. Share the work with others.

Students will create pyramid poems or write songs to share about Balto.Share these in a published form on the web.*

Compare the winner of the race and their time to how long it takes everyone to finish, Compare how many registered to race, and how many actually finished.

Then, brainstorm why the numbers came out as they did.Write a conclusion about the results. Post this information on a class web page.Students will also put their information into a packet to be handed in for evaluation.(A collection of race info, weather and conclusions.)

Bibliography

Iditarod Curriculum, the Last Great Race to Nome , by Shelly Gill , Paws Publishing ,Homer,Alaska,1993

The Bravest Dog Ever, the True Story of Balto , by Natalie Standford, Houghton Mifflin, Boston,MA , 1996.

*Directions for Pyramid Poetry

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1. One word naming the main character in the story.

2.Two words to describe the main character.

3.Three words describing the story setting.

4. Four words describing the the problem in the story.

5.Five words describing an event in the story , as a beginning.

6. Six words describing another event in the story.

7. Seven words describing another event in the story.

8.Eight words describing the story ending.

Poetry Rubric

Pyramid Poem	1 Point	2 Points	3 Points	4 Points
Correct Form	Not Correct Form	<--------->	<----------->	Is in Correct Form
Subject	Not correct topics	Some topics listed are correct	Most topics correct	All of poem on correct topics

Poem or Song page

Iditarod Packet Rubric

Iditarod	1 Point	2 Points	3 Points	4 Points
Weather Data	Needs assistance recording all data.	Needs assistance to start recording data each time.	Needs occasional assistance from peers or teacher to record data.	Independent in all recording of data.
Race information	Has not recorded any data on the race.	Has some data recorded on the race.	Most of race data is recorded.	All data on race is recorded.