As we continue to learn at home, check out this week’s Learning at Home Highlights below! Watch these great programs and explore the PBS LearningMedia and web resources with your family to learn more.
Tuesday, June 2, 3 PM
The Art of Home: A Wind River Story
The Art of Home: A Wind River Story tells the stories of two indigenous artists who create new works reflecting on their tribal homelands, the Wind River Indian Reservation. Ken Williams (Arapaho) is a Santa Fe art celebrity, and Sarah Ortegon (Shoshone) is an up-and-coming actress in Denver. Both artists travel to Wind River Reservation to reconnect with their ancestors and present their art work to a somewhat isolated community.
PBS LearningMedia related resources
- Lived History: The Story of the Wind River Virtual Museum | Wyoming’s Native Americans – Lived History documents the creation of the “Wind River Virtual Museum” —an archive of high definition images of ancestral artifacts created with guidance from Wind River tribal elders.
- Who are the People of the Wind River Reservation? | Wyoming’s Native Americans – Learn about the treaty that established the Wind River Reservation and the two tribes that inhabit it, the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone.
- Why Teach Native American History? | Wyoming’s Native Americans – The Wind River Reservation contains some of the most unique features in Wyoming. Learn about the unique history, culture, and contemporary contributions of Wyoming’s tribes on the Wind River Reservation in a culturally responsive manner.
Wednesday, June 3, 3 PM
American Experience: Chasing the Moon (Part 1)
Chasing the Moon, a film by Robert Stone, reimagines the race to the moon for a new generation, upending much of the conventional mythology surrounding the effort. The series recasts the Space Age as a fascinating stew of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses and personal drama. Utilizing a visual feast of previously overlooked and lost archival material — much of which has never before been seen by the public — the film features a diverse cast of characters who played key roles in these historic events.
PBS LearningMedia related resources
- Sputnik’s Launch Begins the Space Race | Chasing the Moon – Learn why the launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957 sent shock waves through the United States and kicked off the United States–Soviet Union “space race” rivalry in this video adapted from Chasing the Moon: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. As the public expressed its surprise over Sputnik, politicians and the media soon elevated the space race to a national security issue.
- The Road to Apollo: An Interactive Journey – Discover the breathtaking failures and successes and the stakes and costs of the American space program as you take an immersive journey through Project Apollo’s missions 1, 8, and 11. An activity invites students to form jigsaw groups and watch one of the three mission segments in small groups, taking advantage of the unique interactive nature of the presentation.
- Sputnik’s Impact on America – Explore how the launch of Sputnik, the beach-ball-sized Russian satellite, came as a shock to Americans long accustomed to being number one. This article from NOVA focuses on the national and international, scientific and cultural repercussions of the launch of Sputnik.
Thursday, June 4, 1 PM
Life From Above – Changing Planet
Cameras in space show just how fast our planet is changing in Life From Above: Changing Planet. Cities are growing, forests are disappearing, and glaciers are melting, but in Tanzania locals have regenerated the landscape, saving a family of chimpanzees.
PBS LearningMedia related resources
- Effects of Environmental Change – Students investigate what might happen to plants and animals if their environment changes.
- Reforestation: Impact on Climate: Lesson Plan | Nature Works Everywhere – In this lesson, students learn about the importance of large-scale forest landscapes and the impacts of deforestation and reforestation with a focus on global climate change.
- Adapting to Change | Life from Above – Kigalye is home to one of the longest studied chimpanzee families in biology. The chimpanzees’ home has been under threat from human activities like deforestation and encroachment. These actions have had an impact on the chimpanzee and human populations.
Friday, June 5, 11 AM
TV Classroom: Science Grades 3-5 – Water as Ice
In this episode of TV Classroom, Ms. Pedrotti and Ms. Vilello use different experiments to investigate density, explore the properties of water, and explain how water acts and changes when it gets cold.
PBS LearningMedia resources:
- Images of the Past | Density Bowling – This hands-on activity uses household items to investigate density. Construct a “density tube,” and use it in a game of Density Bowling!
- All about Water: Teacher Guide | Ready Jet Go! – In this session, students will participate in activities to extend the concepts discovered in the Ready Jet Go! episode “Water, Water, Everywhere.” They will observe, describe, and compare the properties of liquids by using different tools.
- Water Density – Change the density of water, in this activity from Zoom.