Explore PBS LearningMedia and web resources with your family after watching some of these great Learning At Home programs. To learn more, click the links below for a variety of fun, educational tools and activities!
Monday, April 20, 11 AM
SciGirls | Multitasking Mania
To multitask or not to multitask, that is the question. Scientists are divided over whether multitasking is good or bad. One theory says that people can only multitask if they are really good at both tasks, while another claims that we don’t actually multitask – instead, our brain switches between tasks. Most scientists agree, however, that your performance on any task is worse when multitasking than when doing it on its own.
PBS LearningMedia related resources:
- SciGirls Collection – SciGirls has the bold goal of changing how millions of girls think about science, technology, engineering and math—or STEM.
- SciGirls Role Model Profiles – Head here for an inside look on SciGirls Role Model profiles.
- Life Science – Explore life science with SciGirls while you stay at home.
Tuesday, April 21, 1 PM
NOVA | Inside the Megafire
The California wildfires of 2018 took a worrisome trend to a new extreme, claiming scores of lives and over a million acres. Scientists investigate how forestry practices, climate change, and drought may contribute to the rise of deadly megafires.
PBS LearningMedia related resources:
- On Fire – Explore the basics of fire, including the complex molecular interactions between oxygen and other substances that cause combustion, or burning, as well as the chemical and physical properties of a flame, with this interactive activity from NOVA.
- Fighting Fire with Fire | Nature Works Everywhere – Wildfires occur naturally when lightning strikes a forest or grassland. Alternatively, controlled burns, also known as prescribed fires, are set by land managers and conservationists to mimic the effects of natural fires. In this video, students can explore controlled burn scenarios and the positive impacts of fire on ecosystems.
Thursday, April 23, 3 PM
Secrets of the Dead | Cleopatra’s Lost Tomb
Learn about the legendary queen Cleopatra, who ruled the Egyptian empire. Will an amateur archaeologist’s theory reveal where the queen’s lost tomb is hidden?
PBS LearningMedia related resources:
- Egypt: A Taste of Arabian Music | Music Arts Toolkit – Baladna, a musical group in Louisville, Kentucky, performs a contemporary Egyptian song whose title translates as “Oh, Goodness.” Members of the group are from various Middle Eastern countries, and their instruments include the oud (pear-shaped guitar) and tabla (drum).
- Cleopatra Sculpture – Check out these images of a Greek sculpture of a Syrian Woman sometimes identified as Cleopatra, carved in stone, first century BCE. Private collection.
- Building the Pyramids of Ancient Egypt – In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students learn how historians think the pyramids were built and why they were built—as doorways to the afterlife for the pharaohs. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore a social studies focus on ancient Egyptian society and how those at the top organized the rest of the population in order to build these amazing structures.
Friday, April 24, 1 PM
H2O: The Molecule that Made Us
H20: The Molecule That Made Us dramatically reveals how water underpins every aspect of our existence. In the emptiness of outer space, Earth is alive because of water. Humanity’s relationship with this simple molecule is everything.
PBS LearningMedia related resources:
- The Water Planet – Observe a view of Earth from space based on observations captured by instruments aboard the NASA’s Terra satellite.
- Water Simulation – Explore the behavior of water molecules in this interactive simulation as they bounce, ricochet, and attract each other.
- Water Phases – 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.