Breakthrough: Episode 6
Monday, June 1 at 4 PM
Dial in to the fascinating history of the smartphone, from its roots in Morse Code to 2007, when Apple unveiled the first-ever iPhone. Plus, see how the next generation of smartphones will allow us to communicate through them just by thinking.
Grades 6-12
Turn Your Smartphone Into a Science Lab
In this video from Inside Science, see how researchers at the University of Washington turn your smartphone into a microscope.
Grades 6-12
Science Spotlight: How Your Smartphone Knows Where You Are
Quantum physics, Einstein’s theory of relativity and atomic clocks that are accurate to one billionth of a second—all of these are crucial in allowing your smartphone to pinpoint your precise location almost anywhere on Earth. Learn how GPS receivers use trilateration to track your location, even though atmospheric disturbances might occasionally cause accuracy problems.
Magical Land of Oz: Land
Tuesday, June 2 at 4 PM
An exploration of one of the most magical lands on the planet. Its unique wildlife includes a tree-dwelling kangaroo, a spider that survives underwater and a bird that spreads fire.
Grades K-4
Animal Adaptations: Polar Bear Paws
Polar bear cubs learn how-to walk-through snow and over ice in this video from NATURE “Snow Bears.” In the accompanying classroom activity, students use the engineering design process to design a slip stopper, mimicking the adult polar bear adaptation of footpads that prevent sliding on ice. Additional support materials are available, including discussion questions and vocabulary.
Grades K-12
Learn all about camels and the adaptations they have made in order to survive in harsh desert c onditions.
Grades 3-8
Animal Adaptations: Brush Turkey Mounds
In this video from NATURE: Animal Homes, explore the brush turkeys’ unique nest building practices on the forest floor.
Grade 1
Wild Kratts: Animal Adaptations: Teaching Tips
Lessons using informational texts, and digital games and video clips from Wild Kratts help children build concept knowledge about animal adaptations and how these adaptations help animals meet their needs and survive. Children also learn about ways in which humans can improve their performance and solve problems by mimicking the ways animals use their physical characteristics to meet their needs. Throughout the lessons, children use the creative coding app PBS KIDS ScratchJr to report and share what they learned about animal adaptations. All lessons are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
H2O: The Molecule that Made Us
Wednesday, June 3 at 4 PM
How did water arrive on Earth? How did it come to underpin every aspect of existence from dragonflies to deserts in bloom to human life? Dive in!
Grades K-5
Every day, we encounter water in its three different forms: liquid water, solid ice, and water vapor, an invisible gas. Most other substances can exist in these three phases as well, but water is unique because it is the only substance that can exist in all three phases at Earth's ordinary temperature conditions. This collection of still images produced for Teachers' Domain depicts water in each of its three phases: liquid water, solid ice, and water vapor.
Grades K-5
Watt Watchers: Water Conservation at Home
Saving water at home is easier than you think. By making small, intentional changes, you can save water at home.
Grades 6-12
Water, Water, Everywhere?
Where can water be found in the universe? For many years scientists believed that water could only exist in the "Goldilocks Zone"--an area where water can exist in liquid form. But there may be another way water can exist beyond this zone--and maybe alien life as well.
Grades 6-12
Life's Little Essential: Liquid Water
Without liquid water, terrestrial life could not exist. All living organisms on Earth depend on water and its unique chemical and physical properties. In the search for life beyond Earth, scientists have focused their efforts on looking for signs of liquid water. This essay from NOVA Online explores why liquid water is considered an essential ingredient for life as we know it.
Finding Your Roots: Episode 410
Thursday, June 4 at 4 PM
Comedic guests Amy Schumer, Aziz Ansari and Maya Rudolph take a serious look at their family trees, learning contrasting stories of assimilation, independence, hardship and success all over the globe.
Grades PreK-4
Providing daily exposure to various cultures will enrich your children's experiences. Enable them to appreciate and share their own heritage, in this activity from Arthur.
Grades 6-12
Researching Your Foreign Heritage
Explore the best methods to research your genealogy in other countries, in this clip from season 2 of Genealogy Roadshow. This clip focuses on Italian heritage, but you will learn about the kinds of records that are kept in other countries.
A Harpist’s Legacy: Ann Hobson Pilot and The Sound of Change
Friday, June 5 at 4 PM
This program profiles the inspirational life and distinguished career of the revered harpist. This compelling documentary follows Ann Hobson Pilot's trailblazing journey as the first black female principal player in a major symphony orchestra and also as an international soloist, teacher, mentor and driving force behind music-education programs for underserved minorities. A HARPIST'S LEGACY uses her professional journey to explore the increasing racial diversity and shift in attitudes toward musicians of color in the classical music world.
Grades 2-5
Antonín Dvořák in the New World
It often surprises music lovers in this country that the great Czech composer Dvořák spent three years in the United States. The stay vividly shaped his music from then on and had a liberating impact on American composers’ acceptance of their own neglected musical forebears. "I did not come to America to interpret Beethoven or Wagner," he said. "I came to...discover what young Americans had in them and help them express it." Notably, Dvořák asked Americans to find inspiration in Native American and African American tunes and songs. This video traces Dvořák’s trek from Europe to New York to the Midwest, arriving at last at Minnesota’s Minnehaha Falls. There he composed a haunting sonatina, hurriedly jotting down its melody on his shirt cuff since he had no paper at hand.
Grades 5-12
In this From the Top at Carnegie Hall gallery, watch two video segments about 16-year-old Joshua Jones. In the performance video segment, Jones plays "Rhythm Song" on the marimba. Listen for the different rhythms in the piece. In the profile video segment, visit Jones at home in Chicago where he describes his love for percussion and the marimba. Whether he's accompanying the gospel choir in his church or playing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Percussion Scholarship Group, Joshua hears rhythms all around him.
Grades 5-12
Innovation through Experimentation: Kiyoe Wellington
In this performance video segment from From the Top at Carnegie Hall, fifteen-year-old double bassist Kiyoe Wellington plays a haunting piece by French composer François Rabbath on her grandfather's double bass, accompanied by pianist Christopher O'Riley. Listen for the low, sonorous tones that convey great depth of feeling.
Moving Planet: Life From Above
Monday, June 8 at 4 PM
See new footage of the greatest, most beautiful and powerful movements on our planet. Cameras in space capture events like an elephant family's struggle through drought, and thousands of Shaolin Kung-Fu students performing in perfect synchronicity.
Grades PreK-1
This video segment from Between the Lions is based on an edited version of the published book “Elephants Can Paint Too!” The clip compares the art done by elephants with art done by real kids in Thailand.
Each elephant student gets a paint brush, and there are many ways for elephants to hold the brush in its trunk. Some elephants drag the paint on the paper, others dab, some paint for a few minutes, others paint for an hour. Some elephant students like to paint dots, some paint with wiggly lines, some with spots. The elephants paint in bright colors. Most elephants don't paint real things, but some paint trees and flowers even if it takes them a year to learn.
Praise helps the elephants. Each elephant art student has their own style. Then they clean up. Elephants love the water. The clip ends with a paint-covered elephant getting its head patted. Featured vocabulary includes: city, jungle, hands, trunks, art class, brush, paint, dots, colors, flowers, and style. This video segment provides a resource for vocabulary, language and vocabulary development.
Grades 1-5
Wild Kratts: Mud Bath with a Baby Elephant
Join the Kratt brothers for a ritual mud bath with the elephants! Viewers learn that elephants have as much body heat as thirty people, so mud baths help keep them cool. Discover that elephants use their trunks to spread mud all over their bodies which can help prevent their thick skin from cracking.
Grades 7-12
Great Elephant Census Underway in Africa
Go inside the fight to preserve the elephant population in Africa with this video and educational resources from PBS NewsHour
Magical Land of Oz: Ocean
Tuesday, June 9 at 4 PM
In this episode we see why marine species are drawn to the coasts of Australia and discover that the country's three surrounding oceans - the Southern Sea, the Pacific and The Indian Ocean create a unique environment for ocean voyagers of all types. In the clean waters of Pearson Island off South Australia Sealions, once a rare sight are now protected from hunting and are thriving.
Grades 1-5
Wild Kratts: Baby Sea Turtle Journey to the Ocean
Join the Kratt brothers as they follow the journey of a baby sea turtle to the ocean while avoiding many predators along the way. The viewers watch as the number of sea turtles decrease as they encounter vultures, ghost crabs, and even crocodiles.
Grades 4-12
Most of the volcanic eruptions on planet Earth happen in the ocean! In 2009, marine scientists discovered the deepest ocean eruption ever found in the West Mata volcano in the Pacific Ocean. The kind of lava that it was spewing, called boninite lava, is some of the hottest lava on Earth and you can see some of the explosions of molten rock in this video.
Scientists compare it to a spectacular underwater fireworks display at nearly 4,000 feet deep. They also found shrimp living near the volcano's most active areas. This glimpse into undersea volcanic activity and life helps scientists understand how processes deep within Earth shape the surface and how life adapts to some of the harshest conditions on our planet.
Grades 9-12
There's a lot more to the oceans than salt and water. Many other ingredients make up the rich broth that sustains marine life and helps regulate the Earth's climate. But where do those ingredients come from? To answer that question, French geochemist Catherine Jeandel has collected seawater from all over the world and is examining it for elemental clues. Find out more in this article from NOVA Online.
H2O The Molecule That Made Us: Civilizations
Wednesday, June 10 at 4 PM
Travel into the past to see how water may have driven our own evolution -- and created civilizations. But can the Earth's water supplies guarantee our future?
Grades K-2
Learn about different water bodies and the various characteristics that make them distinct from one another in this multimedia gallery from WGBH. Water bodies are natural accumulations of water that make up about three-quarters of Earth’s surface. Each one looks different when viewed from the ground (ground view) and from above (aerial view). Students can use the media in this gallery to explore, identify, and describe characteristics of various water bodies and to compare near-ground-level and aerial views.
Grades 5-12
Water: The Lifeblood: Sharing and Conserving Water
The desert city of Las Vegas, Nevada is an oasis based on water availability and usage. The resort industry uses much less water than the residents of the city. Water must be shared between existing residents and those who move there.
History Detectives 1008
Thursday, June 11 at 4 PM
The History Detectives investigate four stories from the American West. Did a biography of legendary frontiersman Kit Carson once belong to members of his family? Then, from the rodeo to Hollywood, a saddle tells the story of Yakima Canutt, who made life safer for movie stunt artists. What is the meaning behind the mysterious inscription on sheet music of the popular western song "Tumbling Tumbleweeds"? Finally, did a pivotal character in the Modoc Indian wars weave this basket?
Grades PreK-1
Elmo the Musical: Cowboy Costume Printable
Dress up Elmo as a cowboy. Use your imagination to take him on an adventure in the wild West.
Grades 3-5
Profiles of the American West: Sacagawea
With her baby boy on her back, Sacagawea aided Lewis and Clark through the rough terrain of what is now the northwest US.
Grades K-12
Manifest Destiny: Developing Cultural Awareness
Discover compelling stories of creativity, struggle, and resilience in this new set of resources for K–12 educators featuring works of art that reflect the richness and diversity of the people, places, and cultures of the United States. Encourage creative, critical, and historical thinking in your students as you examine works of art from the country’s creation to the present day.
Pomp Under the Circumstances
Friday, June 12 at 4 PM
With the cancellation of Graduation Ceremonies and the tradition of the inspirational commencement address, millions of students are being deprived of a rite of passage. Pomp Under the Circumstances: A Virtual Commencement will feature excerpts from commencement speeches and messages to the class of 2020 from a variety of public figures – journalists, philanthropists, sports figures, historians, writers and performers – and from the students themselves, offering graduating high school and college students insight, inspiration, and some wisdom about how to navigate their lives in these next few crucial years.
Grades K-3
Learn about Graduation Day. Whether it's from college, high school, or kindergarten, graduation is an important day for every student!
Grades 7-12
What's Driving Gains in High School Graduation Rates?
Increasing graduation rates have long been a goal in the field of education. Let your students weigh in on the subject with this PBS NewsHour video and educational resources from April 29, 2014. The graduation rates for American high schools have reached eighty percent, according to statistics from the Department of Education. For further background and materials to support student understanding of the issue see the Teacher’s Guide, Student Handout, and Informational Text in Support Materials.
Training Opportunity for Teachers
At PBS, we are gathering FREE resources on PBS Learning Media to help the learning continue at home. You can choose from videos, interactive games, activities and TEKS-aligned lesson plans to teach your child from home. You can also use it with the Remind app, Google classroom, and you can even create folders for your own reference and to share with your students, colleagues, and families! To help navigate PBS Learning Media and this transition to digital learning, KLRN will be holding 1-hour online training sessions. Check our Event Page for a list of upcoming trainings!
Also, stay tuned for KLRN's Summer Virtual Plans for students!