STEM
November 6-November 12, 2013

Find the latest educational resources from Iowa Public Television.

Picking Up Chickens
Grades: PreK-K

In this clip that corresponds to the activity "Count Your Chickens," Peg and Cat have a really big problem: they have to get the chickens back in the coop before the farmer notices.

What is an Integer? | PBS Math Club

Grades: 6-8

This episode of Math Club defines integers as positive whole numbers, their opposites and zero. It explains positive and negative integers using everyday examples such as YouTube "likes" and "dislikes" and borrowing money from a friend. It shows how integers are written on a number line.

I <3 Math: Division with Fractions and Whole Numbers

Grades: 3-8

This episode of I <3 Math establishes the concept of division with fractions by illustrating how to divide fractions by whole numbers, and how to divide whole numbers by fractions.

Additive Inverse
Grade Range: 7

This animated Math Shorts video explains the term additive inverse and provides several examples that demonstrate the concept. In the accompanying classroom activity, students create equations and solve problems that involve adding groups of negative and positive integers that sum to zero. To get the most out of this activity, students should be familiar with plotting positive and negative integers on a number line.

Let's Get Social! How To Effectively Incorporate Social Media Into Your Classroom
Grade Range: 13+

Join PBS LearningMedia and Edmodo to learn how to integrate social media into your classroom while exploring best practices, real-life examples of success, and helpful tools to get you connected!

Can Environmentalists and Frackers Be Friends?

Grade Range: 7-12

In an unlikely alliance, natural gas companies and environmentalists have decided to work together to make fracking safer.

A Partial History of My Stupidity, by Edward Hirsch

Grade Range: 7-12

This video segment from Poetry Everywhere features the poet Edward Hirsch reading his poem "A Partial History of My Stupidity" at the Dodge Poetry Festival. Edward Hirsch is drawn to writing about wandering alone in the night, when a person's thoughts can't be hidden or drowned out by daily activities, work, or other people's words. Facing up to what is really on your mind is the exhilarating and scary result of this night-time wandering.

Interpreting Data, Facts and Ideas from Informational Texts - A Different Kind of Fuel
Grade Range: 6-12

Students will watch a video segment that discusses the world's need to find a replacement for fossil fuels and scientists' attempts to produce energy from the heat of the sun using a man-made photosynthesis process. Students will then answer questions by using their understanding of the text and details from the segment to support their answers.

Blue Ribbon Readers: Make Connections
Grade Range: K-5

This WPSU interactive Make Connections Game gives students practice in making mental connections between the text and things the reader already knows. These connections can include things readers have read (text-to-text), things they've seen or heard (text-to-world), and things they've done (text-to-self). The game is part of Blue Ribbon Readers, a collection of games designed to help elementary school students learn to read.

Comic Strip Activity
Grade Range: 1-3

Motivate spatial intelligence learners by allowing students to create their own Wilson and Ditch comic strip. Students are challenged to take Wilson and Ditch's point of view and create a story of one of their adventures!

Resources | PBS LearningMedia | PBS KIDS | Iowa Public Television