PBS Teachers Newsletter: April 15 - 21, 2007

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PBS Teachers Newsletter: April 15 - 21, 2007
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Welcome to the PBS Teachers Newsletter, the weekly newsletter from PBS designed specifically for PreK-12 educators.

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The program times listed below are for PBS's national schedule and may not be accurate for your station. Please check your local station TV Schedules, http://www.pbs.org/teachers/tvschedules/, for the most accurate dates and times.

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PBS IN EDUCATION
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PBS Teachers "Media Infusion" Blog to Share in Earth Day Celebration
Online
3-5 / 6-8 / 9-12
When PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! kicks off its Earth Day celebration on April 16 with brand new programming and online activities, PBS Teachers will also share in the celebration with its newest blog "Media Infusion." Media Infusion's guest blogger for April is environmental science teacher Anthony Augustin. He will write about ways teachers of grades 3-12 can use media and technology to help students learn about the environment and meet academic standards.
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/mediainfusion/

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THE ARTS
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Independent Lens
Inside Indies
Online9-12
Read interviews with the filmmakers and subjects behind three "Independent Lens" documentaries and discover how the power of film has had an impact on individuals and society as a whole. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/insideindies/infocus/change/index.html

Great Performances
A Musical Place and Space
Lesson Plan
6-8
Describe architectural and acoustical elements that go into the construction and design of performance halls. Design a "dream music space" using these elements. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/plan_disneyhall_overview.html

Barney
Kazoo
Lesson Plan
PreK / K-2
Identify different kinds of musical instruments. Make a toilet paper tube kazoo and play a song as a band. http://pbskids.org/barney/pareduc/educators/lesson709.html

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HEALTH AND FITNESS
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Arthur
Just Desserts
Lesson Plan
K-2 / 3-5
Identify advertising techniques designed to encourage children to overindulge in unhealthy foods. Explore the motives behind advertising and use your knowledge to think critically about ads all around you. http://pbskids.org/arthur/parentsteachers/lesson/medialiteracy/index.html

Scientific American Frontiers
Wisdom of the Worms
Lesson Plan
6-8 / 9-12
Explore scientific research in gene mapping, and discover the way genes regulate aging in people. View actual DNA after isolating it from onion cells. http://www.pbs.org/safarchive/4_class/44_guides/guide_1003/44103_worms.html

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MATH
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PBS Mathline
Meadows or Malls?
Lesson Plan
9-12
Explore the use of matrices and graphing calculators to solve a complex linear programming problem. Solve a linear programming problem with six variables, then increase the complexity to determine the best division of land use for a fictitious city. http://www.pbs.org/teachers/mathline/lessonplans/hsmp/meadowsmalls/meadowsmalls_procedure.shtm

ZOOM
Paper Puzzle
Offline Activity/Project
K-2 / 3-5
Solve the challenge to assemble a collection of paper strips of different sizes into two equal-length rows. http://pbskids.org/zoom/printables/activities/

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READING AND LANGUAGE ARTS
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The Civil War
Civil War Letters
Lesson Plan
6-8 / 9-12
Investigate the role of letters as primary source documents in historical research. Role-play Civil War letter writers from all walks of life to explore critical events and the roles ordinary citizens, both male and female, played in making history. http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/classroom/lesson_letters.html

Maya and Miguel
It's All About Word Play
Lesson Plan
3-5 / 9-12
Identify picture-word associations, develop visual recognition skills, model correct language usage and identify specific graphics and words. Interpret conversational language through role play. http://pbskids.org/mayaandmiguel/english/parentsteachers/lessonplans/wordplay.html

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SCIENCE AND TECH
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Nature
Voyage of the Lonely Turtle
On-Air & Online
6-8 / 9-12
Sunday, April 15, 2007
8 - 9:00 pm
A female loggerhead turtle sets off to lay eggs in the place where she was born. Her voyage will take her across the Pacific, from the west coast of Mexico to Japan. It is the longest journey undertaken by any animal on land or sea and she will make it all alone. (CC, Stereo, DVI, 1 year)Download our lesson plan in which students use real data to plot loggerheads' migratory routes. http://www.pbs.org/nature/turtles
(Available April 12, 2007)

NOVA
First Flower
On-Air & Online
6-8 / 9-12
Tuesday, April 17, 20078 - 9:00 pm
Join NOVA on a spectacular journey of discovery to a remote mountain region of China to explore our fascination with flowers and solve the puzzle of their beginnings. (CC, Stereo,DVI, HDTV, 1 year)

Play our online game ""Pick the Pollinator;" test your knowledge of how insects, birds and other pollinators help flowering plants flourish. http://www.pbs.org/nova/flower

Secrets of the Dead
Tomb of Christ?
On-Air & Online
6-8 / 9-12
Wednesday, April 18, 20078 - 9:00 pm
A mystery as old as the Christian faith is closer to being solved with proof that Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre might be the actual location of Christ's burial. Using a balance of traditional and modern archaeological techniques, an archaeological team is unearthing some astonishing new evidence. (CC, Stereo, 1 year)

Download our lesson plan in which students create their own thermographs. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_tomb/index.html

NOVA Wants to Hear From You
Online
6-8 / 9-12
NOVA wants to hear from you. They are starting development on an activity to accompany "Car of the Future," a program about innovations in clean and efficient vehicles, currently scheduled to air in the fall. They would like to know what you think a good activity would be. Join the discussion to let them know what would work for your classroom at the "Car of the Future" Educators' Forum. http://discussions.pbs.org/viewforum.pbs?f=185

KQED QuestStation
6-8 / 9-12
KQED's "Quest" is a new multimedia series about the people behind San Francisco Bay Area science and environmental issues and how their work is changing the way we live. The Web site includes online explorations, a community science blog, an interactive map and online discussion groups. http://www.kqed.org/quest

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SOCIAL STUDIES
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America at a Crossroads
JIHAD: The Men and Ideas Behind Al Qaeda
On-Air & Online
9-12
Sunday, April 15, 2007
9 - 11:00 pm
This series of 11 documentaries, hosted by journalist Robert MacNeil, explores the challenges confronting the world post 9/11. Tonight's episode provides an in-depth look at the ideas and beliefs that inspire modern, radical Islamic groups, along with the challenges they pose for governments in the Middle East and the West. (CC, Stereo, DVI, Unlimited through 4/14/12)

Use our "Educator's Page" to find out how to adapt our online discussion guide for high school students. The guide addresses current issues related to world history and U.S. government policy. http://www.pbs.org/crossroads

America at a Crossroads
Warriors and Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
On-Air & Online
9-12
Monday, April 16, 2007
9 - 11:00 pm
"Warriors" profiles a handful of Army soldiers filmed during the spring and fall of 2005 in some of the most dangerous areas in and around Baghdad. "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" is a documentary that explores the searing firsthand accounts of American troops through their own words-- fiction, verse, letters, essays and personal journals. (CC,Stereo, DVI, Unlimited through 4/15/12)

Explore our online timelines which look at the intersections of key events across four major timelines including the war on terrorism, the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan and Middle East modern history. http://www.pbs.org/crossroads

Frontline and America at a Crossroads
Gangs of Iraq
On-Air & Online
9-12
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
9 - 10:00 pm
Day after day, scores of bodies litter the streets of Baghdad. To stanch the violence, the U.S. has spent billions to "standup" the Iraqi forces. In this joint production of "Frontline"and the "America at a Crossroads" series, "Frontline" takes a hard look at how the four-year training effort has failed and how the Coalition-trained forces have themselves been infiltrated by various sectarian militias. (CC, Stereo, DVI,Unlimited through 4/16/12)

At the companion Web site, watch home video, shot by Iraqis, showing the physical and social destruction of their neighborhoods caused by sectarian hatred. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gangsofiraq/

America at a Crossroads
The Case for War: In Defense of Freedom
On-Air & Online
9-12
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
10 - 11:00 pm
With debate over the war in Iraq reaching a fever pitch, this program follows one of the advocates for the war against Saddam Hussein. Former Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle travels the globe articulating, defending and debating the neo-conservative case for an assertive American foreign policy.(CC, Stereo, DVI, Unlimited through 4/16/12)

Log on to washingtonpost.com/liveonline to discuss the program with Richard Perle on April 17 at 11 am. http://www.pbs.org/crossroads

America at a Crossroads
Europe's 9/11 and The Muslim Americans
On-Air & Online
9-12
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
9 - 11:00 pm
The first episode explores in-depth the phenomenon of homegrown terrorism, examining the bombings in Madrid, Spain, and the connections between those bombers and al Qaeda cell activities in Milan, Italy, and the Van Gogh murder in the Netherlands. The second episode explores the diversity of Muslims in America today, focusing on communities' experience after 9/11 and contrasting life for Muslims here in the United States with Muslims in Britain and Europe. (CC, Stereo, DVI, Unlimited through 4/17/12)

Join the national conversation about the television series with screenings and panel discussion events in several U.S. cities.

Check out our Web site for a listing of events located near you. http://www.pbs.org/crossroads

America at a Crossroads
Faith Without Fear and Struggle for the Soul of Islam: Inside Indonesia
On-Air & Online
9-12
Thursday, April 19, 2007
9 - 11:00 pm
Muslim dissident Irshad Manji is on a journey to help restore humanity and reason to Islam. Trekking through Yemen, Europe and North America, she discovers that Islamic faith can be reconciled with individual freedom -- if Muslims have the courage to change. The second episode explores Indonesia's long history of moderation in its practice of Islam and how Islamist radicals have made the country a flashpoint in the global war on terror. (CC, Stereo, DVI, Unlimited through 4/18/12)

Learn more about the films and the filmmakers at the companion Web site. http://www.pbs.org/crossroads

NOW
On-Air & Online
9-12
Friday, April 20, 2007
8:30 - 9:00 pm
Through documentary segments and interviews with original thinkers, "NOW" goes beyond the noisy churn of the news cycle and gives you the context to explore your relationship with the larger world. (CC, Stereo, 1 year)

Travel with NOW to Egypt for an international perspective on America, Americans and the war in Iraq. http://www.pbs.org/now

America at a Crossroads
Security Versus Liberty: The Other War and The Brotherhood
On-Air & Online
9-12
Friday, April 20, 2007
9 - 11:00 pm
Following 9/11, the U.S. government adopted some controversial new policies to help prevent terrorism at home. The film explores this urgent national debate by talking with both critics and advocates of the new policies and telling the compelling real-life stories of people whose lives have been directly affected. The second episode investigates the Muslim Brotherhood -- a movement dedicated to the spread of a fundamental form of Islam throughout the world. (CC, Stereo,DVI, Unlimited through 4/19/10)

Find out what people around the world have to say about the issues raised in the "America at a Crossroads" series. Watch personal video diaries submitted by viewers from around the globe. http://www.pbs.org/crossroads

Learning Matters
Lessons of War
Online
9-12
What is life like in a school where half of the children have a parent in a combat zone? What can a teacher do to comfort a child whose mother or father has just deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and at the same time stay focused on the writing lesson of the day? "Learning Matters" produced a series of podcasts that provide an in-depth and personal look into the lives of parents, children and teachers who are associated with the war in Iraq. http://www.pbs.org/merrow/tv/newshour/lessons_of_war.html

Online NewsHour EXTRA
Dogs Give Researchers Clues on Cancer
Online
6-8 / 9-12
Researchers are finding that purebred dogs may help provide answers about the genetic basis of cancer -- in dogs and humans. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june07/cancer_4-04.html

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PBS BLOGS
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Learning.now with Andy Carvin
Wikipedia's New Competition: CitizendiumOnline
3-5 / 6-8 / 9-12
This week Andy reports on Citizendium, a new wiki created by the co-founder of Wikipedia. http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2007/04/wikipedias_new_competition_cit_1.html

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PBS PARENTS
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Connecting Kids to Nature
Online
Preschool / K-2
There are many reasons to get your kids outdoors. It's good for their bodies, it stimulates their minds and the more they are exposed to nature the more they appreciate this wonderful resource and want to preserve it. But did you know that playing outside also helps kids learn and be more creative? Check out our online guide for tips on how to get your kids engaged with nature. http://www.pbs.org/parents/special/earthday.html

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