PBS Teachers Newsletter: April 8 - 14, 2007

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PBS Teachers Newsletter: April 8 - 14, 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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Create a profile, http://www.pbs.org/teachers/preferences/, at PBS Teachers and identify your local PBS station, your subject area, and/or the grade level you teach.

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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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Online Discussion
PreK / K-2 / 3-5 / 6-8 / 9-12
Want to learn about the new features of the PBS Teachers site and the wide array of the Social Studies resources that PBS has to offer? Join us in TAPPED IN at 8 pm ET on April 11 for an online discussion about ways the new site can help PreK-12 teachers find and use fun and interesting teaching and learning resources. http://www.tappedin.org

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THE ARTS
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Masterpiece Theatre
The Wind in the Willows
On-Air & Online
3-5 / 6-8 / 9-12
Sunday, April 8, 2007
9 - 10:30 pm

Mole, Water Rat, Badger and Mr. Toad pursue their merry adventures in a charming adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's magical tale of animals who behave like Edwardian country gentlemen in a world gone slightly mad. (CC, Stereo, DVI, HDTV,1 year)

Log on to the companion Web site to see how Kenneth Grahame's original novel is adapted into a scene as filmed by director Rachel Talalay. How is the world of the great river and the wild wood made real in character, costume and setting?
http://www.pbs.org/masterpiece/willows

The Blues
Blues Masters
Lesson Plan
6-8 / 9-12
Explore the history of Muddy Waters' and B.B. King's musical careers, recognize contributions made by both men to the role of electric guitar in blues music and understand the important role each has played in bringing the blues to wider audiences. http://www.pbs.org/theblues/classroom/defmasters.html

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HEALTH AND FITNESS
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When Parents Are Deployed
On-Air & Online
PreK / K-2
Monday, April 9, 2007
10:30 - 11:00 pm
This special telecast, hosted by actor Cuba Gooding Jr., is a behind-the-scenes look at an extraordinary effort by the producers of "Sesame Street" to help the approximately 700,000 children under the age of five who are waiting for a deployed mother or father to come home. This program is full of valuable information for parents in the military and those who care about them. (CC, Stereo, 10-day fair use)

Access our list of online resources designed to help families who are coping with the various stages of deployment.
http://www.pbs.org/wpad

Fat: What No One Is Telling You
On-Air & Online
6-8 / 9-12
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
9 - 11:00 pm
This program provides a window into the intense human dramas that rage inside people who have been labeled obese and the difficulty of solving their weight problem. (CC, Stereo, 1year, HDTV, Spanish audio track, Spanish captions)

Take 20 steps to better health; check out our online list of activities designed to move you toward a healthier body, mindand future.
http://www.pbs.org/takeonestep/fat

It's My Life
Bullies
Interactive/Online Activity
6-8 / 9-12
Understand different types of bullying behaviors, the factors involved and real-life solutions. Explore the issue further with a "Beat The Bully" online game, polls, a printable journal page, suggested discussion questions and lesson plan.
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/friends/bullies/

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MATH
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Mathline
Earth Day -- Adventures With The Fish Pond
Offline Activity/Project
6-8 / 9-12
Investigate recursive equations and use a calculator for exploring a population model. Determine a general rule to describe what happens to a fish population from one year to the next and translate it into a NOW-NEXT equation. http://www.pbs.org/teachers/mathline/concepts/designandmath/activity3.shtm

Dragon Tales
Tasting Carnival
Lesson Plan
PreK / K-2
Participate in a taste test and chart your likes and dislikes of various fruits. Interpret the chart to identify the opinions of other students.
http://pbskids.org/dragontales/parentsteachers/lesson03.html

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READING AND LANGUAGE ARTS
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Novel Reflections on the American Dream
The Voice of Dreams
Lesson Plan
9-12
Students explore the idea of the "American dream" in the past and present and through real and fictional human stories.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/classroom2.html

Concepts Across the Curriculum
Shakespeare and the Renaissance
Offline Activity/Project
3-5 / 9-12
Explore the life and times of William Shakespeare, perform lines from his plays, study his characters and examine the rhythm of his sonnets.
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/thismonth/shakespeare/index1.html

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SCIENCE AND TECH
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Georgia Aquarium: Keepers Of The Deep
On-Air
6-8 / 9-12
Sunday, April 8, 2007
10:30 - 11:00 pm
Measured by water volume at more than eight million gallons, the Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the world. Go behind the scenes to see how scientists, engineers and veterinarians are creating and managing the aquarium. (CC, 1year)

Nature
Encountering Sea Monsters
On-Air & Online
6-8 / 9-12
Sunday, April 8, 2007
8 - 9:00 pm
Imagine coming face to face with a cannibalistic creature that is as tall as you are and has long tentacles, a razor-sharp beak and skin that flashes with bizarre, dazzling color. This program does just that, as underwater cameraman Bob Cranston explores the remarkable world of marine creatures called cephalopods. (CC, Stereo, DVI, 1 year)

Explore the companion Web site and meet cephalopod expert Dr.Mark Norman and see the first photographs of a live giant squidin its ocean home.
http://www.pbs.org/nature/seamonsters

NOVA
Sinking the Supership
On-Air & Online
6-8 / 9-12
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
8 - 9:00 pm
In April 1945, the largest battleship ever built set out on the ultimate suicide mission. "Yamato," the pride of Japan's fleet, sailed to a solo confrontation with the U.S. Navy; the battleship sank within minutes. A NOVA team discovers the wreck and retells the "Yamato's" saga through the eyes of the few Japanese crewmembers who survived the sinking. (CC, Stereo,DVI, 1 year)

Download our classroom activity in which students describe the Battleship "Yamato's" design, capabilities and significance.
http://www.pbs.org/nova/supership

Secrets of the Dead
Shroud of Christ?
On-Air & Online
6-8 / 9-12
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
8 - 9:00 pm
This program reveals new evidence about the Shroud of Turin, one of the Catholic Church's most precious and controversial artifacts (CC, Stereo, 1 year)

Download our high school science lesson plan in which students learn about carbon-14 dating, perform an analogous activity to solve a mystery and then analyze the validity and reliability of certain science practices.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_shroudchrist/index.html

KSMQ -- Austin, Minnesota
Pet Connections
Station
6-8 / 9-12
This KSMQ-produced series is designed for pet lovers and owners alike who want to ensure their pets live long, healthy and happy lives. Check out the companion Web site to watch archived videos of episodes on topics including birds, cats and dogs.
http://www.ksmq.org/connections/pet_connections.html

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SOCIAL STUDIES
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American Experience
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
On-Air & Online
6-8 / 9-12
Monday, April 9, 2007
9 - 10:30 pm
This film reveals the true, tragic story behind enigmatic preacher Jim Jones and the largest mass murder-suicide in history. It goes beyond the salacious headlines to provide a revealing portrait of Jones, his followers and the times that produced the calamity in the Guyanese jungle. (CC, Stereo, DVI,1 year)

Watch our online video interviews with eight former Temple members -- including one who survived the deaths at Jonestown.
http://www.pbs.org/amex/jonestown

Frontline/World
Afghanistan: The Other War
On-Air & Online
6-8 / 9-12
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
9 - 10:00 pm
Correspondent Sam Kiley confronts the reality of the West's struggling campaign in Afghanistan, with exclusive access to the NATO command in Afghanistan and provocative reporting from the front lines in the run up to a major offensive the Taliban has promised this spring. (CC, Stereo, DVI, HDTV, 1 year)

Learn more about the situation in Afghanistan at the companion Web site.
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/Independent Lens

Black Gold
On-Air & Online
9-12
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
10 - 11:30 pm
Multinational companies have made coffee the second most valuable trading commodity in the world. But as westerners revel in designer lattes, impoverished Ethiopian coffee growers suffer the bitter taste of injustice. Tracing one man's fight for fair trade, this film is an eye-opening look at the $80 billion coffee industry. (CC, Stereo, 1 year)

Log on to the companion Web site to find out what's really behind the label on that can of dark roast in your kitchen cabinet.
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blackgold

The Hidden Child
On-Air
6-8 / 9-12
Thursday, April 12, 2007
10 - 11:00 pm
Of the 1.6 million Jewish children who lived in Europe before WWII, only 100,000 survived the Holocaust. This documentary chronicles the experiences of Maud Dahme, one of an estimated 5,000 Jewish children hidden from the Nazis by "righteous gentiles" in the Netherlands. (CC, Stereo, HDTV, 1 year)

NOW
On-Air & Online
9-12
Friday, April 13, 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)

Tell us what you think in our online weekly poll; should the U.N. Security Council impose new sanctions on Iran to curb their nuclear ambitions?
http://www.pbs.org/now

Online NewsHour EXTRA
Campaign 2008, The Role of Technology and the Internet
Lesson Plan
6-8 / 9-12
This lesson focuses on the use of technology in the political and campaign process and examines how this new medium might impact the outcome of the 2008 presidential election.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/politics/vote2008_internet.html

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PBS BLOGS
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Learning.now with Andy Carvin
Stop Cyberbullying Day: My Own Story
Online
3-5 / 6-8 / 9-12
As part of Andy's contribution to Stop Cyberbullying Day, he shares his experiences with online harassment.
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2007/03/stop_cyberbullying_day_my_own.html

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PBS PARENTS
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A Primer on Dyslexia
Online
Preschool / K-2
Dyslexia is a term used to describe a specific kind of reading difficulty in which children have trouble perceiving differences among sounds and remembering how letters and sounds go together. Learn the facts about dyslexia, how it is diagnosed and how it can be treated. In addition, find resources, including books for children, books for parents, Websites and organizations that focus on dyslexia.
http://www.pbs.org/parents/readinglanguage/articles/dyslexia/main.html

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