Dear Educators,
Fall is officially here! Check out these activities, lesson ideas, and featured programming from PBS LearningMedia that can help you make the most of the season!
October Educator Resources
Celebrate Fall with PBS
- Celebrate Fall with Festive, Autumn-Themed Classroom Resources (Grades PreK-12)
Explore the autumn scene while learning math, literacy, and science at the same time! These fall-themed resources highlight ways to make traditional fall activities - like visiting the apple orchard, going on nature hikes, and collecting colorful leaves - educational.
- Celebrating Fall Bingo: PreK and K | PBS KIDS (Bilingual Print out Booklet)
- Celebrating Fall Bingo: Grades 1 and 2 | PBS KIDS (Bilingual Print out Booklet)
American Masters: Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
Airs Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 8pm on 9.1
What is Puerto Rico's relationship to the United States? How did it come about? How was the destiny of Puerto Rico incidental to other objectives of the Spanish American War? What does this mean for Puerto Ricans, themselves? When did migration from Puerto Rico to New York begin? What was Operation Bootstrap? How were the Puerto Ricans of New York, particularly youth, portrayed in the 1950s? What were the pros and cons of the smash hit, West Side Story, for this community? What was Herman Badillo able to accomplish? Who are "Nuyoricans"?
Craft in America: Neighbors
Airs Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 2pm on 9.2
Susan Mullins (Kwaronhia:wi), a Mohawk from the Kahnawake reserve in Canada who now resides in Berea, KY, shows her grandchildren how to create a dreamcatcher, an item designed to catch bad dreams and let good dreams through. The dreamcatcher originated with the Ojibwe but has been adopted by other nations.
Learn about the exhibition Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists at the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. This exhibition explores the artistic achievements of Native women and features a variety of media such as beading, pottery and traditional materials made by Native American women artists.
Across cultures and throughout time people have woven tapestries, blankets, and clothing to tell stories, signify status, and document events. Through looking at the work of Consuelo Jimenez Underwood students will consider the expressive nature of what often is assumed to be a purely functional craft. Students will focus on how content informs the artist’s chosen materials, and how these materials contribute to the content of her work. Students will engage in selecting materials to create meaning in a weaving, and will create their own weaving with what the artist refers to as a “personal thread.”
Texas Parks and Wildlife
Airs Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 4:30pm on 9.2
Learn about wildlife research conducted at the Wildlife Center of Virginia. Rehabilitators and veterinarians treat tens of thousands of wild animals each year and are often the first to notice trends that contribute valuable insights to overall wildlife health. During the past 37 years, Center veterinarians have led a variety of research studies on wildlife health, using data from the patients admitted to the hospital. Join the Center staff and other wildlife professionals to learn about the critical role wildlife rehabilitators and veterinarians play in caring for wildlife population health.
Life from Above: Patterned Planet
Airs Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 9pm on 9.1
An aerial view is what you would see from an airplane or hot air balloon. Students can draw a map of Las Vegas or a specific area such as Hoover Dam based on what the balloon riders in the episode would see.
What effect does geography have on air quality? Use this model to explore the effect of point-source pollution, geography, and wind on regional air quality.
Ghost Forests
Airs Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 10am on 9.2
Forests play an essential role in our world, providing everything from a home to thousands of creatures to fuel and recreation for humans. Forests also give us all something more important, large amounts of oxygen to breathe. Host Joan Cartan-Hansen and her guests, Dan Johnson and Tara Hudiburg, assistant professors at the University of Idaho, answer students’ questions.
Native American tribes have deep connections to the whitebark pine. Learn about the spiritual beliefs held by these tribes about the species and how Native American tribes are working with scientists to save the trees.
Cyberchase: Back to Canalia’s Future
Airs Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 4pm on 9.1
Where does the water go when it rains? Learn how water flows through landscapes with this video from Cyberchase. This resource includes discussion questions, vocabulary, and a fun landscape modeling activity for students which demonstrates how the shape of the land helps collect water.
Learn about the great distances water travels in order to enter the Berkeley Springs, West Virginia International Water Tasting competition, the qualities judges are looking for in the winning entries, and the impact winning can have on the entrants.
In this media-rich activity from Cyberchase, students learn that drinking plenty of water is important for good health but the plastic water bottles they drink from can lead to trash problems. They gather data and use multiplication, sampling, and proportion to determine the magnitude of the problem. Then, they brainstorm ideas on how to reduce the number of disposable containers.
The purpose of this activity is to look at the different energy requirements of bottled water. The two largest energy inputs are bottle production and transportation. Students will use numerical reasoning to analyze different bottled water scenarios.
Generation A: Portraits of Autism and the Arts
Airs Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 10am on 9.2
Share the amazing by celebrating and supporting the uniqueness of every child, including those on the autism spectrum. All children experience the world differently, and those differences are even greater for children with autism. As a parent or caregiver of a child with autism (or as someone who knows a person with autism), your understanding and support can help ease daily challenges…while celebrating the uniqueness of all children. This resource is available in English and Spanish.
What does autism spectrum disorder look like in young children? Jennifer Rymanowski, a licensed behavioral analyst at Rochester Hearing and Speech Center, will describe how different each case of autism spectrum disorder is for each person they encounter. Visit the Move to Include collection for additional resources.
Tyler was diagnosed with autism at 22 months old when his language abilities regressed. Today, Tyler speaks publicly as an autism awareness advocate and says his biggest successes include graduating college, getting a full-time job and serving as a board member for the Autism Society of Iowa. This segment is from Iowa PBS’s online series The Life Autistic, which explores the challenges and successes of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder at different stages in life and ranges on the spectrum. The series features various age groups ranging from the very young to the elderly, including personal profiles and interviews exploring topics relevant to each age group.
Nature: Season of the Osprey
Airs Wednesday, Oct. 27 at 7pm on 9.1
Learn about diurnal birds of prey—a diverse group of birds across the globe which includes hawks, falcons, osprey, eagles, and kites. While these different families of birds have a variety of physical and behavioral traits, they are all specially adapted for daytime hunting. Today, most of these birds of prey are widely appreciated by the public, but they still face many dangers.
Explore how animals build homes with materials from their environment with Andrew Coletti from the Salvadori Center. Students will identify the materials different animal builders use to build their homes, and draw a picture of one of them.
For a list of KLRN's upcoming Teacher Trainings in October visit the KLRN events page.