Opening the Door to Social Studies through Children's Literature

FROM Heidi:

For the second time in the history of the Winter Olympics, Japan is host to the games. The official Opening Ceremony is scheduled for 6 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Friday, Febuary 6. For the next 16 days, athletes from around the world will strive to join the ranks of Alberto Tomba, Bonnie Blair, Sonja Henie, Jean Claude Killy and Eric Heiden.

Official Olympic Games web site

The official City of Nagano Website
The city of Nagano, Japan provides a description of the seven Olympic venues.

Nagano Winter Olympic - The big Pachinko
Writer Eric Gingles gives his coverage and personal views of the 1998 Winter Olympics and the city of Nagano.

IFS Online
This online version of International Figure Skating Magazine covers the world of competitive figure skating with photos, features and news coverage.

CBS Sportsline Winter Olympics Coverage
CBS Sportsline devotes an entire site to the 1998 Games. Get the latest results from CBS Sports. You can also look up Olympians by sport or state and get profiles on them.

ESPN Sportzone
ESPN Sportzone provides up-to-the-minute Olympic coverage.

CNN/Sports Illustrated
CNN/SI also provides the latest results of competition.

Meet the Athletes
The IBM Surf Shack provides a site where the Olympic competitors can post their Home Pages. Send e-mail to your favorite athletes and read what other fans have to say.

US Ski Team Home Page
This is the official site of the US Ski and Snowboarding Teams.

IFS Online
This online version of International Figure Skating Magazine covers the world of competitive figure skating with photos, features and news coverage.

Speed Skating Canada
This fun and useful site contains information about the sport of speed skating, plus a look at the Canadian National Team.

The Luge Home Page
This fact-filled site gives a history of luge competition.

Hickok's Sports History: Biathlon
Sports writer Ralph Hickok gives an in-depth look at the combined cross country skiing and rifle shooting competition.

International Curling Information Network Group
There's more to this sport than simply sliding rocks across ice. These pages explain the rules and equipment of a sport that has appeared throughout the history of the Winter Olympics.

Bobsled Run
A member of the US Bobsled Team explains his sport.

The Hockey Nut
The Hockey Nut covers the NHL, European Leagues and Olympic competition.

FROM Donna:

I found this neat kids olympic site. There is history,games to play, activities,postcards,coloring and stories about the people.

Kid's Plaza
I bought a huge map of the world at Office Depot for under three dollars and used my clear contact paper and covered it. We put it in the hall and are using stars every morning to mark the countries that made the medals for the day before. It has seemed to help Ryan get a grip on the world better. Of course he loves sports and so this makes it fun for him. We are using class time for watching the Olympics at night and that has relaxed it here and we are all enjoying the games as a family.

My son loved the movie Iron Will about a dog sled race and a boy who made it a thing to do for his family and loosing a farm. It was put out by Disney and is PG. It is a true-life story; he watches it a lot. Well yesterday on a loop a teacher sent this site on the 1998 Iditarod Race across Alaska. What a find!!!! I am making a whole study unit on this race. The history of the race,the map of the race and the most wonderful day to day diary of a man getting ready for this race!!I printed out the map and put it on the front of a binder. I put the page with the distance and checkpoints on the back. Than I printed out the history of the race, Than I am doing each day of his diary as a chapter. You learn to know his dogs, the trail,what they eat, the sunrise and lengh of days,and so much more. I am using the STEPS method to make the lesson plans by Charity Lovelace.
S- for skeleton....the backbone of the study
T- for teachers resources.....all the resources
E- for envision....all the possible activities and projects.
P- for plan....take all the above brainstorming and fit it into a plan to fit your lesson planner.
S- for supplies....Take the time to have all the supplies you need for history,math,litature,language arts,and art.

FROM Heidi:

One fun thing I did learn that is if you get the outdoor life TV channel they do daily updates. We were able to add the channel for a couple weeks to help follow the race. . It told alot of history & the kids found it really informative. The daily audio updates via email were neat too. Information on this below.

Last year Susan Butcher was one of the hosts on the show; she was not racing last year because she had a baby daughter and she didn't feel she could be a good mom and do the race so she decided to put her daughter first. My kids were impressed with that.

Official Iditarod radio network - On this site you can listen to actual audio race updates & interviews from last years race, including the winner crossing the finish line. Last year I was able to subscribe on this site & they e-mailed me one of these audio updates each day.

Anchorage Daily News- 97 daily race guide. This site has some audio clips too & a list of last years winners

96 race winners

Books about the Iditarod and dog sledding:

• Racing Sled Dogs: An Original by Cooper, Michael.
• Black Star, Bright Dawn by Scott O'Dell is the story of an 18-year-old Eskimo girl who runs the Iditarod in place of her injured father.
• Woodsong is Gary Paulsen's autobiographical book about his experience training sled dogs and unforgettable running of the Iditarod.
• Racing the Iditarod Trail by Crisman, Ruth. New York: Dillon Press, 1983.
• Susan Butcher and the Iditarod Trail by *Dolan, Ellen M. . New York: Walker Publishing, 1993.
• "A Legend Still Lives as Sled Dogs Race Across the Snows." by Dougherty, Jim. Smithsonian, March: 1988.
• Stone Fox by *Gardiner, John Reynolds. New York: Harper & Row, 1980.
• Kiana's Iditarod by *Gill, Shelley. Homer, AK: Paws IV, 1992.
• Iditarod Runner Magazine. Iditarod Trail Committee, Wasilla, AK. Mush with P.R. I. D. E.-Sled Dog Care Guidelines. Mush with P.R.I.D.E., 1993.
• "Dogs on Duty" by *O'Neill, Catherine. National Geographic Society, 1988.
• Dogteam by *Paulsen, Gary. New York: Delacorte Press, 1993.
• Race Against Death by *Reit, Seymour. New York: Scholastic, 1976.
• Danger, the Dog Yard Cat by *Riddles, Libby. Homer, AK: Paws IV, 1989.
• Mush! by *Seibert, Patricia. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press, 1992.
• Iditarod: The Great Race to Nome by Sherwonit, Bill. Anchorage: Alaska, Northwest Books, 1991.
• Can Dogs Talk? by *Shields, Mary. Fairbanks: Pyrola Publishing, 1991.
• Loving a Happy Dog by *Shields, Mary. Fairbanks: Pyrola Publishing, 1992.
• Secret Messages. Training a Happy Dog. by *Shields, Mary. Fairbanks: Pyrola Publishing, Fairbanks, 1993.
• Sled Dog Trails by Shields, Mary. Pyrola Publishing, Fairbanks, 1984.
• The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto by Standiford, Natalie. New York: Random House, 1989.
• Alaska Women in the Iditarod by Stout, Peg. Alaska State Education Agency, Alaska, 1992.

Books about Native Culture

• Heroes and Heroines: Tlingit-Haida Legends by Beck, Mary L. Anchorage: Alaska Northwest Books, 1985.
• Northern Lullaby by *Carlstrom, Nancy White. New York: Philomel Books,1992.
• Ka-Ha-Si and the Loon-An Eskimo Legend by Colene, Terri. New Jersey: Watermill Press, 1990.
• Arctic Memories by Ekoomiak, Normee. New York: Henry Holt, 1988.
• "The Eskimos of Alaska." Cobblestone, November, 1985.
• I Am Eskimo: Aknik My Name by Green, Paul. Anchorage: Alaska Northwest Books, 1959.
• Tlingit Tales by Harris, Lorle K. Happy Camp, CA, Naturegraph Publishing Co., 1985.
• Arctic Hunter by Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane. Holiday House, New York, 1992.
• An Arctic Community by Kalman, Bobbie, and Belsey, William. New York: Crabtree Publishing, New York, 1988.
• Eskimo Boy by Kendall, Russ. New York: Scholastic, 1992.
• The Bentwood Box by McNutt, Nan. Petersburg, AK: Nan McNutt, 1984.
• The Button Blanket by McNutt, Nan. Petersburg, AK: Nan McNutt, 1986.
• Indian and Eskimo Artifacts of North America by Miles, Charles. Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1963.
• The Eskimo: The Inuit and Yu'pik People by Osinski, Alice. Chicago: Children's Press, Chicago, 1985.
• Northwest Coast Indians Coloring Book by Rickman, David. New York: Dover Publications, 1984,
• Goodbye, My Island by Rodgers, Jean. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1983.
• An Eskimo Birthday by Robinson, Tom D. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1975.
• Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes by Waldman, Carl. New York: Facts on File, 1988
• The Totem Pole Indians by Wherry, Joseph H. New York: Wilfred Funk, 1964.

Books about Alaska: