Musher Picture Dictionary Subject: Language Arts, Art Grade: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Brief Description

Students create a picture dictionary of musher terms.

Objectives

Students

• learn about mushers
• learn some musher terms
• draw pictures to illustrate some musher terms.

Keywords

Iditarod, musher, terms, dictionary

Materials Needed

• printouts from the sites listed in the lesson
• dictionary
• construction paper
• crayons or markers
• writing paper
• hole punch
• brass fasteners or report holders
• student-researched dictionaries, library books, or online sources about musher terminology
• computer(s) with Internet access (optional)

Lesson Plan

• Discuss a dictionary definition of musher or read the definition from What is a Musher?
• Tell students that mushers use certain words and terms. Give one or two examples from one of these sites:
  

  Iditarod.com Mushing Terminology
  Dogsled.com Mushing Terminology/Dictionary

• Organize students into small groups. Distribute the drawing and writing materials. Tell students that they are going to create a musher dictionary and draw pictures of some of the terms.
• Distribute one printout per group from the musher dictionary sites noted above. Assign each group five terms. Have students use dictionaries, library sources or, if Internet access is available to everyone, online sources to research pictures of their assigned terms.
• Have students draw the pictures, one per sheet of construction paper, and write the accompanying definitions.
• Have students arrange their completed pages in alphabetical order. Let students brainstorm and draw a cover for dictionary.
• Attach the pages with brass fasteners or report holders.

Assessment

Evaluate students' participation and completed dictionary pages.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Lois Lewis

National Standards

Language Arts:
  NL-ENG.K-12.1
  NL-ENG.K-12.3
  NL-ENG.K-12.8

Fine Arts:
  NA-VA.K-4.1
  NA-VA.5-8.1
  NA-VA.9-12.1