What is the Idita-Read?
Order FormThe Challenge
Mirroring the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Idita-Read students rely on reading minutes to travel the distance along the trail from Anchorage to Nome. WorldWide IDEA's 2008 Idita-Read race begins February 15 and ends March 31.
Registration for the race is ongoing, so even if the race has officially started, new student mushers can jump in at any time before March 31.
- Total Reading Goal= 1112 miles (minutes)
- Weekly Reading Goal = 185 minutes/week
- Daily Reading Goal = 37 minutes/day for 5 days OR 26 minutes/day for 7 days
What to read?
"I enjoyed that it seemed like I was in a real race with the mushers."
— Idita-Read.org musher
Teachers, parents and students can work together to find some great and engaging books to read. Our Web site's Book Reviews section also offers some helpful suggestions. Or, you may want to find some books that are directly related to the Iditarod or dog mushing. For beginning readers, parents or teachers can set the standard for what counts as "reading" — looking at picture books, reading memorized pattern books, phonics readers, listening to a read aloud, or any combination of reading activities.
What Do Students Do Online?
Log Reading Mileage
Login to Idita-Read.org to log reading mileage (minutes). The online system will automatically show mushers their current or most recent checkpoint. Click the checkpoint name to see the location via satellite maps. Track progress — and compare with other Idita-Read.org mushers — on the Trail Stats page.
Write & Share Book Reviews
Login to Idita-Read.org to submit a book review. Include the book's ISBN (usually listed on one of the book's inside pages), and when the review is saved, the online system will post an image of the book's cover (if available). Rate the book 1, 2, or 3 paws and mark the best you have read as a Favorite. See our Book Reviews page for example reviews and ideas for new books to read.
Enrich their Trail Experience
Along the way, we encourage students to take some time to explore some of the supplemental learning resources listed in our Mushing Kit.
How Do Students Participate?
Use Free Resources
Some of our Idita-Read resources, the Mushing Kit and ability to read student Book Reviews, are available for free to the general public.
Sign-up for Premium Activities
Our Idita-Read interactive Trail Stats and Book Reviews are available only by subscription. Subscriptions by group — i.e., Idita-Read Team — are available for public, private, parochial, and home schools. An individual student can also purchase a subscription (with parent consent, if under age 18). For more information about pricing and team management, please see our Subscribe to Idita-Read page.
Privacy Policy
We value the privacy and protection of all our participants. It is WW IDEA policy to not share any participant information with third-party entities. Furthermore, personal student information that is displayed publicly on the Idita-Read activity Web site will only include the following:
- Student's first name and first initial of last name
- Student's Team name
- Residency — state name if in the U.S., country name outside of the U.S.
- Student's grade level
We invite you to also review WW IDEA's complete Privacy Policy & Terms of Use and to email us at , if you have any additional concerns or questions.
How Are Teams Managed?
Each classroom teacher, homeschool parent, or other leading adult who signs up their "team" receives a special login as Musher Manager for his or her Team. Each manager can add students, create unique logins for each student, and view and edit mileage logs and book reviews, if needed. Technical support is provided, should you need any assistance.
For individual students who sign up (with parent consent under age 18), WorldWide IDEA's Musher Manager will set you up as an official Idita-Read Musher and work with you directly, as needed.