PBS Teachers Newsletter: June 3 - 9, 2007

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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THE ARTS
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Independent Lens
La Lupe Queen of Latin Soul
On-Air & Online
9-12
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
10 - 11:00 pm

Legendary Afro-Cuban pop singer Lupe Victoria Yoli, The Queen of Latin Soul Music, rose to fame in the 1960s and died in 1992 virtually unknown. This film tells the story of a woman whose life was as dramatic as the songs she sung. (CC, Stereo, DVI, 1year)

Submit your thoughts about the film; have you taken risks similar to those that La Lupe did when she left Cuba during the revolution to start anew in New York City?

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/lalupe


Great Performances
We Love Ella! A Tribute to the First Lady of Song
On-Air & Online
9-12
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
9 - 10:30 pm

Ella Fitzgerald sang sultry ballads and swinging pop standards, earning 13 Grammy Awards and selling more than 40 million albums. This tribute to Ella, filmed on what would have been her 90th birthday, features Patti Austin, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, Ruben Studdard, Nancy Wilson and Stevie Wonder. (CC,Stereo, DVI, 1 year)

Learn more about the performers at the companion Web site.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/ellatribute
(Available May 30, 2007)


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HEALTH AND FITNESS
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NOVA
Disease Detective
Interactive/Online Activity
6-8 / 9-12

Emulate an epidemiologist by interviewing witnesses, filling out a graphic organizer and using logical reasoning skills. Identify the source of an unknown disease in this interactive medical mystery.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/typhoid/detective.html

Scientific American Frontiers
Exploring Vessel Physics
Lesson Plan
K-2 / 3-5

Explore the relationship between pressure and vessel diameter and create a model that represents how elevated blood pressure may affect weakened vessels. Design and critique a repair device.

http://www.pbs.org/saf/1104/teaching/teaching.htm


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MATH
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Cyberchase
My Cyberchase Summer
Interactive/Online Activity
3-5

"My Cyberchase Summer," offers kids fun math-rich activities that they can take on the go wherever the season takes them. Every Monday, June 4 - August 27, "My Cyberchase Summer" highlights favorite on-air episodes by offering downloadable activities -- games, journals and other activities designed to keep math skills honed all summer long.

http://pbskids.org/cyberchase

Mathline
Mystery Liquids
Lesson Plan
9-12

Collect mass and volume data for two mystery liquids plus oil and water, create scatterplots and graphs, calculate linear models and interpret the results.

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/mathline/lessonplans/hsmp/mystery/mystery_procedure.shtm


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READING AND LANGUAGE ARTS
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Dragon Tales
Finn's Toys
Interactive/Online Activity
PreK / K-2

Explore Spanish vocabulary while playing this interactive game. Select three toys for Finn the dragon to play with, listen while Enrique pronounces them in Spanish then test your memory by matching the toy to its Spanish word.

http://pbskids.org/dragontales/word_game/index.html

NOVA
In Search of the First Language
Lesson Plan
6-8 / 9-12

Understand that many of the words we use every day are the result of "importing" or "inventing" language to reflect changes in our culture. Identify the sources of everyday words by matching the words with their sources and definitions.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/activities/2120_firstlan.html


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SCIENCE AND TECH
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Nature
Wisdom of the Wild
On-Air & Online
9-12
Sunday, June 3, 2007
8 - 9:00 pm

From ancient times to modern, human lives have been influenced by animals. This episode illustrates some of the surprising ways in which animals help teach, heal and strengthen people in body, mind and spirit. (CC, Stereo, DVI, 1 year)

Log on to the companion Web site to discover dolphin's healing powers, learn about a planned chimp sanctuary and find out what animals have to teach us.

http://www.pbs.org/nature/wisdom

NOVA
The Great Escape
On-Air & Online
9-12
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
8 - 9:00 pm

The real Great Escape didn't feature Steve McQueen racing through the Third Reich on a motorcycle like in the 1963 movie,but the big breakout was still thrilling in every way. This program sheds new light on the audacious escape of 76 Allied airmen from a Nazi POW camp during World War II. (CC, Stereo,DVI, 1 year)

Download our lesson plan in which students try to invent a way to deliver a note across a fixed distance.

http://www.pbs.org/nova/greatescape

Secrets of the Dead
Gangland Graveyard
On-Air & Online
9-12
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
8 - 9:00 pm

This program explores the brave new world of federal investigation, which combines old-fashioned undercover work with cutting-edge financial sleuthing and forensics. The film tracks the dramatic downfall of "Big Joey" Massino, delving into the largely unheralded FBI effort to cripple the mob. (CC,Stereo, 1 year)

Convict a mob boss; not only are you the forensics scientist collecting evidence from a crime scene in this interactive, but you also get to play the role of criminal lawyer.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_gangland


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SOCIAL STUDIES
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Six Days in June
On-Air
9-12
Monday, June 4, 2007
9 - 11:00 pm

Based on new research and newly declassified documents, this program chronicles the Six Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors in 1967 and explores how those events shaped the contemporary Middle East. (CC, Stereo, DVI, 1 year)


Frontline
The Tank Man
On-Air & Online
9-12
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
9 - 10:00 pm

On a fateful day in June 1989, the world became fixed on the bold image of a lone man staring down a procession of tanks in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. This film explores a society in transition 17 years after the demonstrations at Tiananmen Square. (CC, Stereo, DVI)

Download our lesson plan in which students evaluate how access to open media can impact how the events of June 4, 1989, in Tiananmen Square are presented.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/


NOW
On-Air & Online
9-12
Friday, June 8, 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)

Check out our new beat on innovative solutions to social problems. Visit the "Enterprising Ideas" section of our Website for profiles, innovation tools and a contest.

http://www.pbs.org/now


Bill Moyers Journal
On-Air & Online
9-12
Friday, June 8, 2007
9 - 10:00 pm

This weekly public affairs series features interviews and news analysis on a wide range of subjects, including politics, arts and culture, the media, the economy and issues facing democracy. (CC, Stereo, 1 year)

Watch the program online; writer and peacemaker Maxine Hong Kingston talks to Bill Moyers about her writing, her activism and her work helping soldiers returning from war find peace within themselves through writing.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers


Online NewsHour EXTRA
Drug Trade Fuels Terrorism in Afghanistan
Lesson Plan
6-8 / 9-12

Once seen as only one of the problems facing Afghanistan, its thriving poppy crop is now thought to be linked to support of the Taliban.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june07/afghanistan_5-23.html


NET
Nebraskastudies.org
Station
6-8 / 9-12

This Web site produced by NET offers teachers, students and history buffs access to archival photos, documents, letters, video segments and more -- capturing the life and history of Nebraska from pre-1500 to the present.

http://www.nebraskastudies.org


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PBS BLOGS
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Learning.now with Andy Carvin
D-Day for Julie Amero
Online
3-5 / 6-8 / 9-12

Last week, the Connecticut substitute teacher convicted of exposing students to porn was supposed to find out her sentence. Yet once again, her sentencing has been delayed and even the press is beginning to demand her exoneration.

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2007/05/dday_for_julie_amero_1.html


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PBS PARENTS
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Talking About Meltdowns
Online
PreK / K-2

When kids get mad, they get really mad. And parents, despite their best intentions, get mad too and often react by yelling back. Explore our online "Talking With Kids" guide to get pointers on talking through angry feelings.

http://www.pbs.org/parents/talkingwithkids/tantrum.html

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